Women are in these positions, and must earn their way to be accepted by both males and females. There are other changes within organizational styles that may be impacted by the entrance of more female managers into the workplace. For instance, the older authoritarian styles of the early part of the century are slowly being replaced by a more "team" approach (McGuire and Hutchings, 2006). These cultural changes within organizations represent a switch to an organizational culture that is more oriented towards the female managerial style. Male managers may need to soften their approach in order to make the transition to a "team oriented" organization.
The differences in the way in which males and females approach problems is an accepted paradigm in psychology. Historically, women have had difficulty adjusting to the male authoritarian style of management. As the woman was typically the one to change, this tended to select for the authoritarian style of management. The goal of organizational change is to accommodate the change in a manner that causes as little conflict as possible. As organizations change from a decidedly "male" style to a more feminine style, managers and employees alike will have to adjust to new ideas about gender and managerial issues.
Current theory on organizational change does not address the issue of gender. The context of the change dictates the relationship between individual differences and the change process (Walker, Armenakis, and Bernerth, 2007). Individual differences mediated the differences in the commitment to make the change work (Walker, Armenakis, and Bernerth, 2007). In addition, negative change experiences can have an impact on the willingness to cooperate in future change activities (Walker, Armenakis, and Bernerth, 2007). Organizational change means learning to unlearn past habits and attitudes (Akgun, et al., 2007). The new organization not only has to learn new behaviors, they must also break old patterns and habits. Some of these changes can be on a fundamental level, which can create a stressful situation.
A group of women can accomplish a task, even in the absence of a clearly defined leader (Rippin, 2007). The top-down approach to change management is masculine approach where changes are dictated to underlings. Male bank managers were unable to form teams for a common goal in absence of an official control structure. They finally resorted to a hierarchical structure in order to accomplish the task (Sallyanne, 2005). This style has been associated with more discord that a wholistic approach to change (Diefenbach, 2007). The organizational change model relies on power, leadership, rewards, and discipline, as well as role norms and values as the key drivers to facilitate change (McGuire and Hutchings, 2006).
There is a significant body of evidence that suggests that change management should be approached from a gendered perspective and that differences in managerial styles between men and women need to be considered to make a successful transition (Linstead, Brewis, and Linstead, 2005). In an examination of the conflict-filled change of Marks and Spencer, violent, "hyper-masculine" behavior was at the heart of the conflict and created a destructive, rather than productive environment (Rippin, 2005). Regardless of the outcome, gender differences in managerial style are an important component to the success of the change process.
Current organizational change models are dependent upon a decidedly masculine approach, from a managerial approach. The purpose of this study was not to determine which management style was better. Both masculine and feminine styles have their place within certain organizations. However, as we become more aware of how gender differences affect change management, it becomes apparent that this concept needs to become a conscious part of the process.
Past, Present and Future of the Issue
In the past, gender differences in the corporate world were more clearly defined. The business world that we know today had its roots at the beginning of the industrial era. This was a decidedly male world. In the industrial era, women were minor players. They could be a part of the workforce, but not the management. This resulted in a decidedly masculine style of management as the only acceptable way to run a business. In the last part of this century, women began to assume a more important role in the management of businesses. It is estimated that approximately one out of four corporations have a female CEO (APA, 2006).
As women become more prominent in the corporate world, it has become apparent that they have a definitively different managerial style from men. One cannot determine which style is better. It appears that in some cases, both gender styles prevail. Gender differences in management style can be constructive or destructive. The situation dictates which...
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