Comparing the Managerial Styles of Males and Females Essay -- Business

Comparing the Managerial Styles of Males and Females Nearly half of the U.S. workforce is now made up of women, and women are a growing percentage of the workforce in most countries throughout the world (Robbins, 2005:18). It is common to find a woman supervising or managing a group of men. This paper will discuss the difference, if exists, between the managerial styles of males and females. First, we will shed some light on the basic differences in personality traits and competencies between men and women, and then will analyze the different cultural perceptions of a working man and woman, after that, we will discuss the interaction effect of gender of supervisor and gender of subordinate on perceived mentoring, and finally will discuss the selection differences in recruiting men and women for a managerial position. Differences in personality between men and women: Intellectual Ability There is an interesting pattern of gender differences on the various cognitive measures. Women performed better than men on most of the memory tests, while men performed better than women on most of the executive function tests. The gender difference on memory is in line with many published studies, but the gender difference on executive function measures has received relatively little attention to date. Socially, women are encouraged to be good mothers while men are encouraged to work and protect family and to make money. Commonly held views regarding men and women continue to suggest that women are more committed to family than to work and that men are more committed to work than to family (Cook, 1994: P85-95). Further, employers are likely to view family responsibilities as a sign of limited work commitment... ... L. McShane & Mary Ann, 2000, Organizational Behavior, McGraw-Hill, US. The CPA Journal, 1996, ‘Female management accountants are better off’, [Online], Mar 1996.Vol.66, Iss. 3; p 13, Available: Proquest 5000, [Accessed 30 June 2005]. Training Strategies for Tomorrow, 1998, ‘Women, management and change’, [Online], Nov/Dec 1998.Vol.1, Iss. 6; p 12, Available: Proquest 5000, [Accessed 30 June 2005]. Williams M. Lee, 1999, ‘Supervisor Mentoring: Does a Female Manager Make a Difference?’, Metacomm, Available: http://www.imetacomm.com/otherpubs/pdf_doc_downloads/supervisor_mentoring.pdf#search='williams%20male%20and%20female%20mentoring' [Accessed 23 June, 2005]. Wood, Chapman, Fromholtz, Morrison, Wallace, Zeffane, Schermerhorn, Hunt, Osborn, 2004, Organizational Behavior a Global Respective, 3rd Edition, John Wiley & Sons Australian Ltd, Australia.