Male or Female Corporate Leaders (Recovered)

7/30/2019 Male or Female Corporate Leaders (Recovered)

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

1.0 Introduction ...................................................................................... 1

1.1 Overview ......................................................................................... 1

1.2 Problem Statement ........................................................................... 2

1.3 Definition of Terms ........................................................................... 4

2.0 Literature Review on Leadership in Corporate Entrepreneurship .... 5

2.1 Gender Issues in Corporate Leadership .............................................. 5

2.2 Characteristics of Effective Leadership in Corporate Entrepreneurship.. 8

2.3 Male Vs. Female Corporate Leaders ................................................. 13

3.0 Discussion ........................................................................................ 20

4.0 Conclusion ....................................................................................... 23

References .............................................................................................. 24


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1.0 Introduction

1.1 Overview

There have been many debates on the place and significant roles

played by women in the workplace, especially in an entrepreneurial

firm. Freeman and Varey (1997) stated that there is evidence to

support the idea that there is a marked difference between male

and female management values when it comes to business relations.

According to Budworth and Mann (2010), academician views are

that male and female leaders do not differ and they can be prepared

and developed to become leaders in the same way. However, Carter

and Cannon (1992) stated that there is a marked difference of

management values with different gender.

Andersson and Tell (2009) stated that individual traits and

characteristics influenced growth in small firms. These are like

experience and education (Richbell et al., 2006; Gray and Mabey,

2005; Maes et al., 2005), achievement motivation, risk-taking

propensity and preference for innovation (Stewart et al., 1999) and

personal values (Kotey et al., 1997). According to Halikias and

Panayotopoulou (2003), traits belonging to entrepreneurs are: risk-


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taking, attitude, need for achievement, activity, tolerance of

ambiguity, resistance to change, reflectiveness, impulsiveness, locus

of control, and a motivation to create growth.

Female entrepreneurs also contribute to employment creation

and economic growth as they set up business in different sectors,

develop different products, pursue different goals and have different

management and organizational solutions to business problems

(OConnor, Hamouda and McKeon, 2006). Thus, the debate on who

is the better leader in corporate entrepreneurship goes on male or

female.

1.2 Problem Statement

Entrepreneurship has been linked with value creation because it has

a significant impact on economic growth, continuous business

renewal, and employment (Tang and Koveos, 2004). In

contemporary business, entrepreneurial firms are led by both men

and women. The success of an entrepreneurial firm is closely related

to the leadership quality of the entrepreneur running the firm.

However, there are varying degrees of success in entrepreneurial


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firms led by women or men, which resulted in the debate of who is

the better leader, male or female, in the corporate entrepreneurship.

One of the most traditional debates on gender issues in

leadership concerns whether leadership style differs among the two

genders, as an expression of different psychological patterns

(Vinnicombe and Kakabadse, 1999; Stanford et al., 1995). In earlier

meta-analytic studies it was actually shown that the two genders are

equally effective in leader roles (Eagly et al., 1995), but lab

methodologies indicated that women tend to be more democratic

and more focused on relationships than men (Eagly and Johnson,

1990).

Thus, this paper debates this stance, by looking at what past

literatures say about the issue. This paper examines the gender

issues in corporate leadership, the characteristics of an effective

corporate leader and the male vs. female leadership styles and

effectiveness. From these evidences, a discussion ensues to

determine which notion is acceptable male or female as the better

corporate leader.


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1.3 Definition of Terms

There are several terms in this paper that needs to be defined and

elaborated within the context of discussion. These are listed as

follows:

1.3.1 Male and female leaders : Refers to gender-based leaders

i.e. whether the corporate leader in the entrepreneurial

organization is a male or a female.

1.3.2 Corporate entrepreneurship : Refers to organizations,

most likely small and medium enterprises which are created

or incorporated with entrepreneurial characteristics.


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2.0 Literature Review on Leadership in Corporate Entrepreneurship

2.1 Gender Issues in Corporate Leadership

According to Freeman and Varey (1997), females are more anxious

to develop group-based, consensus-driven ventures whereas males

are keener towards leader-based ventures. Oliver (1996) explained

that females measure their success qualitatively (personal

satisfaction, customer service ratings and additional employment)but males favor success measurement in a quantitative manner

(market position, turnover and profitability).

Heath (1994) mentions that women emphasized on an open

and flexible atmosphere and general ethos, reflected in their

management style and use of open channels of communication,

flexible systems and the establishment of good interpersonal

relationships. Contrary, men perceive power over their subordinates

which are embedded in the traditional powerful male boss role.

Freeman and Varey (1997) also stated that women prefer a

democratic style of management but men go for authoritarian styles.

According to Allen and Truman (1993), women tend to use a


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transformational management approach and adopt certain

management styles as listed below:

loose hierarchy with a less-structured organization;

co-operation and fluid style;

less conscious of authority and status;

a personal approach to customers and employees;

caring, involvement and equality;

open communication and access;

taking satisfaction from developi ng others skills; and

a team-based approach.

Table 1 below shows the gender differences in relation to

management of business. This table was the result of a study on

how men and women communicate, carried out over seven years

with 25,000 participants. Gray (1992) found that there are such

basic differences between the sexes on many criteria in how they

communicate in the business environment. Heglesen (1990)

stressed that it is commonly accepted that communication defines

the style of leadership.


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Table 1: Matrix o gender differences

Criteria Men Women

Defining self Ability to achieve

results

Through feelings and

quality of relationships

Making

themselves feel

better

Retreat to security and

solve problem alone

Be with people and

talk about the

problems

Feel motivation

and empowerment

When they feel

needed

When they feel

cherished

Use of common

language (facts

and figures)

Use words to express

information

Use words to express

feelings

Giving and

receiving support

Difficult to

differentiate between

empathy and

sympathy (hate to be

pitied)

Don t offer help unless

asked

Dont want help unless

they ask

Need reassurance that

they are behaving

correctly

Dont wait to be

asked, offer it anyway

Give support whether

wanted or not

Emotional needs Trust, acceptance,

appreciation,

admiration, approval,

encouragement

Caring, understanding,

respect, devotion,

validation, reassurance

Source: Gray (1992)


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However, Govender and Bayat (1993) suggested that gender

issues in organizational management should not be the focal point.

Rather, both men and women can learn from each other styles and

make the transition from one style of leadership to another for the

sake of organizational success.

Also da Cunha and e Cunha (2002) stated that it is not gender

that is the issue but rather the masculine and feminine

perspectives of leadership. Chodorow (1978) explained that a

masculine ethos corresponds to a worldview in which status and

independence are important whereas the feminine perspective

corresponds to a worldview where connection and intimacy is

dominant. Fondas (1997) stated that the management has become

more feminine as there have been major changes in organizational

structure and the shift to customer-driven economy.

2.2 Characteristics of Effective Leadership in CorporateEntrepreneurship

The organizations of today are inclined towards a flatter and

knowledge-intensive which are best managed through networking

and trust, thus calling out for feminine leadership than though

power and hierarchy (masculine leadership) (Da Cunha and e


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Cunha, 2002). According to Rosener (1990), the call for diversity in

organization favors the female advantage which implies the need

for women managers to lead the corporate firm.

Heglesen (1990) also agreed that the talents, experiences,

attitudes and skills that women brings with them are precisely those

needed in the evolving post-industrial economy. Belenky et al.

(1989) stated that women managers have a way of relating to

people and ideas thus, can help to bridge the gap between demands

of efficiency and the need to nurture people. Heglesen (1990) stated

that contemporary organization prefer a web-type organizing

structure where lines of authority is not clear. In fact, the integration

of female values is already producing a more collaborative kind of

leadership and changing the ideal of what constitutes strong

leadership (Heglesen, 1990).

Storey and Strange (1992) noted that male entrepreneurs are

more motivated by market factors compared to women whom place

greater emphasis on non-market factors such as low staff turnover

and strong customer relationship, of which, these two factors

contribute to a sustainable organization.


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According to Freeman and Varey (1999), communication

competence is a control factor in organizational success that

effective communication styles manifest themselves through

peoples personae, and that relationships between people constitute

the structure and power distribution in a company.

Thus, Pfeffer (1992) commended that effective managers now

have to campaign rather than coerce, communicate rather than

mandate, and cooperate rather than dominate. Women who seem to

be better in communication and interpersonal skills are able to

improve the effectiveness of the organization.

Effective management strategies are seen to be closely linked

to the ability to delegate (Carter and Cannon, 1992) and this

bonding together into teams to amplify individual efforts needs

communication as both an instrumental and a social tool. The

investigation has shown t

According to the modern motivational theory, a successful

company is achieved when the employees are appreciated, their

contributions are acknowledged and highly valued, and that their

quality of life is important to their employer (Freeman and Varey,

1999). Hudetz (1995) added that these motivational aspects can


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also be achieved by empowering employees and providing open

communication opportunities and involvement in decision making.

Although most literatures seem to favor women entrepreneurs

as effective leaders, Farr-Wharton and Brunetto (2009) reminded

that the very basis of being an entrepreneur must be to improve the

productivity and value of the opportunity they are exploiting.

According to Ardichvilli et al. (2003), there are three parts to the

process of finding new opportun ities: (i) Identifying potential

business ideas (opportunity identification); (ii) Recognising the

idea as an opportunity (opportunity recognition); and (iii)

Developing the opportunity (opportunity exploitation). Effective

entrepreneurs must be able to identify and exploit a venture

opportunity.

Farr-Wharton and Brunetto (2009) commented that women

entrepreneurs tend to be less proactive in searching for new

opportunities and are less likely to pursue an aggressive growth

strategy. They are keener to seek opportunities to further continuity

of the business (Brush, 1992; Verheul et al., 2002). This implies that

they still need to learn about ideas that may potentially become

venture opportunities; however, their aims may be more about


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achieving slow steady growth rather than fast expansion of the

venture (Farr-Wharton and Brunetto, 2009).

OConnor et al. (2006) commented that established measures

showed that small businesses owned by women exhibit more

modest levels of performance than those owned by men. Carter et

al. (2002) and Robichaud and McGraw (2003) also highlighted that

female-owned firms are generally smaller and are more likely to be

in the service sector as well as having slower growth compared to

businesses owned by males (Rooney et al., 2003).

A great difference in business view indicates that male

entrepreneurs focus on economic goals but female small business

owners are inclined towards such aspects as personal enjoyment

and the opportunity for self actualization (Brush, 1992; Buttner and

Moore, 1997). Thus, intrinsic factors are more important to women

than men (McGregor and Tweed, 2000; Kirkwood, 2003; Robichaud

et al., 2005).

According to McGraw and Robichaud (1998) and Minniti et al.

(2005), female business owners are more likely to have training and

experience in fields other than business but having lesser experience


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and confidence when running a business (Legare and St-Cyr,

2000; SBS, 2001).

The UK Household Survey (2001) showed that more women

were scared of getting into debt than men (as cited in Elliot et al.,

2001). On the contrary, women tend to have lower incomes, prefer

to work part-time, have perceptions of poor opportunities and report

low self-efficacy (Zinger et al., 2005).

2.3 Male Vs. Female Corporate Leaders

There are many studies that found gender differences in leadership

style (Heglesen, 1990; Hennig and Jardim, 1977; Rosner, 1990)

although there are other studies which showed no difference (Bass,

1990; Dobbins and Platz, 1986; Donnell and Hall, 1980; Macoby and

Jacklin, 1974).

According to Kolb (1991) and Shimanoff and Jenkins (1991),

their research showed that there are more similarities than

differences in the leadership behaviors of men and women and that

they are equally effective. Nevertheless, Appelbaum, Audet and


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Millet (2003) stated that stereotypes keep on saying that women are

less capable leaders than women.

Leadership in the twenty-first century seemed to suit women

more rather than men (Eagly et al., 2003; Sinclair, 1995). However,

when it comes to attainment of leadership positions, men are the

better competitor compared to women (Eagly, 2007). For instance,

in Canada, only 26 percent of senior leaders in 2006 are women,

compared with 37 percent of leaders at other levels (Statistics

Canada, 2006). Catalyst (2006) also reported that women hold only

7.9 percent of the highest corporate officer titles and make up only

5.2 percent of the top earners in Fortune 500 companies.

Applebaum et al. (2003) concluded that effective leadership is

not exclusive domain of either gender but both can learn from each

other. They also disagreed that womens styles are less effective ; in

fact, they believed that women are more effective within the context

of team-based, consensually-driven organizational structures that

are becoming more prominent now.

However, Eagly et al. (2003) in their study showed that female

leaders were more likely to engage in transformational leadership

behaviours: a form of leadership found to be more effective


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compared to other leadership styles. Transformational leadership is

based on the personal values, belief and qualities of the leader

rather than on an exchange process between the leaders and

followers (Oshagbemi and Gill, 2003). Transformational leadership is

concerned with the performance of followers and also with

developing followers to their fullest potentials (Bass and Avolio,

1990). Dvir et al. (2002) stated that, .transformational leaders

exhibit charismatic behaviours, arouse inspirational motivation,

provide intellectual stimulation and treat followers with individualized

consideration .

Burns (1978) explained that transformational leadership is

characterized by the ability to bring about significant change, not

only in the organizations vision, strategy and culture but also in its

products and technologies.

Heglesen (1990) stated that there are several characteristics of

a female leader which can be of advantage such as heightened

communication skills (especially the ability of a good listener and to

be empathetic), advanced intermediary skills (for negotiation and

conflict resolution), well-developed interpersonal skills and a soft

approach to handling people (Stanford et al., 1995). Thus, female


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leadership traits tend to conform to structures of contemporary

organizations.

Male leaders who are more likely transactional leaders usually

employ technical and instrumental solution to employees problems

(Oshagbemi and Gill, 2003). Male leaders often expect their

subordinates to follow strictly-designed solutions and do not expect

them to assume responsibility (Dvir et al, 2002).

Heglesen (1990) also stated that women are better at seeing

the human side, quicker to cut through competitive distinction of

hierarchy and ranking and impatient with cumbersome protocols.

This implies that women leaders are better suited with the trend of

lean organization of today.

Van der Boom (2003) added that women tend to focus on

relationships, comfort with direct communication and diversity,

refusal to compartmentalize skills, talents and lives, innate

skepticism of hierarchy and, most importantly, desire to lead from

the middle (and not from the top). These are key attributes of

tomorrows leaders.


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Kabakoff (1999) reasoned that women managers are more

results-oriented while men are more engaged in business analysis

and strategic planning. Studies by the Hagberg Consulting Group

(1998) found that female managers were rated higher than male

managers in leadership and problem solving skills (Brokaw, 1999).

In another study by a marketing consulting and research firm in the

USA (Copernicus, 1998), men tend to make decisions without input

from others. Female leaders were perceived to be more effective in

building consensus before making the final decision. Also, women

leaders were more thoughtful in their decision-making process and

carefully examined many options before acting.

Another survey by Management Today Magazine (2000)

showed than women are better at time management compared to

men. Men were found to be insensitive with management traits such

as being a know-it-all, losing sight of the truth, short-term thinking

(not focusing on long-term goals, solutions and strategies),

egocentric and aggressive behaviors. Patterson (1998) said that in a

flattened organization, things are done through people which favor

the kind of management styles belonging to women.

The management differences of men and women can be seen

from Table 2 below.


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Table 2: Managerial Differences of Gender

Cooper (1992) added that his research indicated that men tend

to manage by punishment and women using reward management.

He stated that women are more socialized due to their management

of people and relationship at home and seem to have extended their

skills in the workplace. Bass (1990) and Bass and Stogdill (1990,

1991) also stated that women are less likely to practice

management-by-exception, intervening only when something goes

wrong. Women are prone to temper criticism with positive feedback.

Thus, women are better able to deal with employee relations in the

organization.


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Oshagbemi and Gill (2003) concluded that men are more

directive and bureaucratic leaders and female are more collaborative

and rational. In a crisis situation, Bartunek et al. (2000) explained

that a democratic orientation that enables decision-making

processes based on the diversity of ideas, brainstorming and

consensus increases cooperation. Thus, female leadership is more

valuable in time of organizational crisis.


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3.0 Discussion

It becomes clear that there are a lot of articles which supported the notionof women being a better corporate leader in todays organization.

However, there are arguments stemming from others which stated that

gender is not the issue but the ability of the individual male or female

to gather both feminine and masculine skills that are needed to lead the

organization.

In my opinion, the notion of female leaders better than male leaders

is not true. I prefer to acknowledge that the individual, regardless of male

or female have to equip himself or herself with the characteristic traits of

an effective corporate leader. Thus, both feminine and masculine

leadership traits that make him or her, a transactional and transformational

leader should be acquired by the individual leader.

The reengineering of business process, the emphasis of team work,

effective communication and customer-driven approach seem to appeal to

womens leadership styles thus implying that women are better leaders

than men. However, we have to look at reality around us and see that

entrepreneurial firms led by both male and female entrepreneurs are

showing signs of success, thus requesting a closer scrutiny of what makes


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it work. Surely, we cannot state that gender is the key determinant as

male-led entrepreneurial firms also show success and productivity. At the

same time, there are women-led entrepreneurial firms which also show

success. Nevertheless, there are failed firms led by either male or female

entrepreneurs. Thus, the success of the firm cannot truly lies in the gender

issue of who is the better leader between these sexes.

The articles cited in this discussion paper merely highlighted that

female leaders have greater advantages because by being a woman, they

are already endowed with the natural traits of feminism. However,

structural and systematic trainings and development programs can ensure

that male counterparts can acquire some feminism traits. Thus,

entrepreneurial education comes into play.

Aaltio-Marjosola and Takala (2000) highlighted an important point

about the essence of communication as the lifeblood of organizations. They

stressed that effective communication is an essential reason for major

organizational success. Ineffective communication, on the other hand, can

lead to disaster. Communication is a complex process and not involved just

about giving the right information. More importantly, the information must

also reach the right decision makers, be clearly understood and believed,

and be weighted correctly.


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I tend to agree with Freeman and Varey (1998) who stated that

women behave in the way they do because it f eels natural to them, but

that men can behave in that way if it is shown to be beneficial. They also

stated that women adopt more male approaches if they feel that in doing

so they are likely to be more successful in attaining their stated goals.

It remains that the impact gender differences on communication and

management styles, strategic decision making and ultimate business

success are important to understand. Although researches have

acknowledged that this is true but there are a lot of arguments about

female or male being the better corporate leader in the entrepreneurial

perspective.

Studies have highlighted the reasons why more men are on the

corporate ladder and why women are still not dominating as corporate

leaders. It is more or less imbedded in the socio-cultural issues such as

stereotyping, the psychological effect of modesty due to womens docile

upbringing and mens agg ressive upbringing but it definitely had nothing to

do with the biological difference of being a man or a woman.


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4.0 Conclusion

The question, who is more effective leader male or female entrepreneur,sparked off some insightful information from various journal articles which

dominantly favor women as the better leader. However, I believe that the

argument of effective leadership based on gender is not valid as leaders

are individuals with specific entrepreneurial traits and characteristics. The

emergence of so many entrepreneurial schools and training institution

suggest that these entrepreneurial traits and characteristics are not

specifically bound to a certain gender but can be learned, assimilated and

assumed as ones traits and characteristics.

Therefore, as a conclusion, I would like to restate that male and

female entrepreneurs are equal effective leaders in the corporate world,

provided they acquire the traits and characteristics that makes them the

better leader in corporate entrepreneurship.


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Andersson, S. and Tell, J. (2009). The relationship between the manager andgrowth in small firms , Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development , Vol. 16 No. 4, pp. 586-598

Carter, S. and Cannon, T. (1992), Women as Entrepreneurs, Academic Press,Oxford.

Dobbins, G. H. and Platz, S. J. (1986). Sex differences in leadership: how real arethey? Academy of Management Review, Vol. 11, No. 1, pp. 118-27

Donnell, S. and Hall, J . (1980). Men and women managers: a significant case of no significant differences, Organizational Dynamics, Spring, pp. 60-77

Farr-Wharton, R. and Brunetto, Y. (2009). Female entrepreneurs as managers:The role of social capital in facilitating a learning culture , Gender inManagement: An International Journal Vol. 24 No. 1, pp. 14-31

Gray, J. (1992) Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus A Practical Guidefor Improving Communication and Getting What You Want in YourRelationships, HarperCollins, Glasgow.

Gray, C. and Mabey, C. (2005), Management development: key differencesbetween small and large businesses in Europe, International Small Business Journal , Vol. 23 No. 5, pp. 467-86

Heath, R.L. (1994), Management of Corporate Communications, LawrenceErlbaum Associates, Hillsdale, NJ

Halikias, J. and Panayotopoulou, L. (2003), Chief executive personality andexport involvement, Management Decision , Vol. 41 No. 4, pp. 340-50

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OConnor, V., Hamouda, A. and McKeon, H. (2006). Co-entrepreneurial ventures A study of mixed gender founders of ICT companies in Ireland , Journal of Small

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Male or Female Corporate Leaders (Recovered)