Top Management Jobs Research Articles

“It’s a Man Who Runs the Show”: How Women Middle-Managers Experience Their Professional Position, Opportunities, and Barriers

The ratio of women in top-management positions is improving very slowly, even in countries scoring high on gender equality like Iceland. Despite over three decades of research having documented the barriers faced by women seeking top-management positions, understanding is still lacking as to why women are not overcoming these barriers at a greater rate. This study presents the lived experiences of women in middle-management positions in some of the largest organizations in Iceland, aiming to understand how the women experience the barriers and opportunities they face. It is important to give voice to these women as they are the ones who could be in line for top-management positions. Interviews with 11 women were analyzed and interpreted according to phenomenological methodology, revealing four themes. Findings show that the women experience top management as a network that is closed to them. Top-management jobs appear tailored for men and would require the women to take on unbearable responsibilities. They experience their hard work and diligence as unappreciated. Finally, they compare and contrast themselves with the stereotype of the male executive and blame themselves for not fitting the role. Thus, they feel pressured to adapt to the masculine gender role if they are to stand a chance of a top-management position. Not fitting this role further undermines their self-confidence and ambition, rendering them less likely to seek advancement.

...hvað segið þið strákar? Upplifun kvenmillistjórnenda af stöðu sinni, möguleikum og hindrunum í starfi

Hægt gengur að jafna stöðu kynjanna í efstu stjórnunarþrepum fyrirtækja á Íslandi. Í rannsókninni er sjónum beint að konum sem gegna stöðum millistjórnenda í stórum eða meðalstórum fyrirtækjum og eru því í hópi mögulegra yfirstjórnenda framtíðarinnar. Markmið rannsóknarinnar er að öðlast skilning á upplifun og reynslu kvennanna af stöðu sinni, hindrunum og möguleikum til starfsþróunar. Viðtöl við þær voru greind og túlkuð eftir aðferðum fyrirbærafræðinnar. Helstu niðurstöður benda til þess að flókinn vefur óáþreifanlegra hindrana sé til staðar í formi karllægrar menningar, viðhorfa, formgerða fyrirtækja sem og langlífra staðalímynda. Konurnar upplifa efsta stjórnunarlagið sem lokaða karlaklíku; yfirstjórnendastörfin sem sniðin að þörfum og aðstæðum karlmanna og að þær geti ekki bætt á sig frekari ábyrgð; vinnusemi og vandvirkni þeirra finnst þeim ekki metin að verðleikum og loks máta þær sig í hlutverk yfirstjórnandans og áfellast sjálfar sig fyrir að falla ekki að staðalímyndinni. Í sameiningu draga þessir þættir úr sjálfstrausti kvennanna og þrótti til að sækjast eftir hærri stöðum ásamt því að valda þeim álagi og um leið viðhalda raunverulegum vanda ójafnréttis kynjanna í æðstu stjórnendastöðum fyrirtækjanna.

Bending the Pipeline? Executive Search and Gender Inequality in Hiring for Top Management Jobs

We study the sources of women’s underrepresentation in hiring for top management jobs by focusing on the context of executive search. Using data that include proprietary information on 10,970 individuals considered by a search firm, we examine the sources of the low proportion of women placed in senior roles. Contrary to received wisdom, we find limited evidence that demand-side screeners strongly contribute to gender disadvantage in this setting. What gender differences exist tend to play out at the start of the hiring process and are driven both by supply-side and demand-side actors. Once considered for a position, women are no less likely than men to be hired—though they are slightly less likely to be interviewed by the search firm. Our findings highlight the theoretical importance of disentangling candidates’ “self-steering” behavior from the “pipeline bending” of hiring agents. We discuss the implications of our results for understanding gender inequality at upper echelons of the labor market. This paper was accepted by Olav Sorenson, organizations.

Analysis and Evaluation of Jobs – Important Elements in Work Organization

Human resources represent one of the most important investment of the company, and for that reason decisions in this field are some of the most difficult to make because they include individual and organizational factors with different influences by the variation of factors diversity. The arguments given to the human resources importance within company are multiple, being necessary a decisional frame in order to reflect a value system socially accepted and to realize a description and analyze of the job, to be reflected into an balanced organization through an equidistant evaluation of jobs and preparation of the pay scale properly done to fit the job complexity and the hierarchical level.The exemplification of the job evaluation and analyze methods in our case reflects the necessity and applicability of such steps, which give a large work volume afferent to the implementation of the interview method, finished by completing a questionnaire. This method is applicable especially for the jobs that already exist and it is done by interviewing the employees of the respectively jobs, with the purpose of knowing the employee's opinions and to set exactly the requirements of every job. Once the interview is applied, it is prepared “The flow diagram observed activity” where are centralized the responsibilities and the frequency of the documents, received/sent documents and all the explanations regarding the future situations. The presentation of the points method two top management jobs reflects the importance of the criteria that delineate the difference between one job and another, criteria that refer to: trainings imposed to the employee, experience needed in order to execute specified operations required by the job, the difficulty of the operations required by the job, the responsibility involved in the job, the relations sphere (to get into connections, to respond).

A study on convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women

Article history: Received October 8, 2011 Received in Revised form November, 18, 2011 Accepted 22 November 2011 Available online 1 January 2012 For many years, there was much discrimination against women in the world in terms of social benefits, job opportunities, etc. In many cases, women received less for similar job than men did and in some cases, many important top management jobs were not even open for women. During the past few decades, there have been tremendous efforts on removing any discrimination laws and regulations against women. In this study, we present a study on convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women (CEDAW) adopted in 1979 and discuss that it is possible to remove some barriers and regulations in Iran without violating Islamic rules and regulations. In fact, the present study explains that there are many rules and regulations, which are in accordance with CEDAW and in some cases there are better rules for women in Iran such as early age retirement plan, breastfeeding, etc.

If You’re So Smart, Why Aren’t You the Boss? Explaining the Persistent Vertical Gender Gap in Management

Since 1970, women have made substantial inroads into management jobs. But most women are in lower- and middle-management jobs; few are in top-management jobs. Human capital theory uses three individual-level variables to explain this vertical gender gap: women acquire fewer of the necessary educational credentials than men, women prefer different kinds of jobs than men, and women accumulate less of the required work experience than men. The authors argue that cultural schemas, specifically gender roles and gender norms, explain most individual-level differences between men and women and that when cultural factors are ignored, any observed effects of these factors can be dismissed as spurious. This analysis is based on data on nationally representative samples and the results of published research.

Women and the glass ceiling in South African banks: an illusion or reality?

PurposePresent research seeks to examine the reality of the glass‐ceiling phenomenon in South Africa's four major retail banks.Design/methodology/approachInvestigates women's low numbers in their top management jobs. A total of 40 women managers were interviewed for their in‐depth responses, which were content analyzed.FindingsResults indicate that the glass ceiling considered a myth by many, is real and is nurtured by the organizational culture, policies and strategies besides women's own inadequacies. Only the most decentralized organizations, characterized by a culture that supports women's top positions, will help in breaking down the glass ceiling, along with women's own efforts to grow, develop and empower themselves through academic and career development.Research limitations/implicationsIt is limited to South Africa's four largest retail banks only and provides limited awareness about certain work practices that are insufficient tools to break down the glass ceiling, hence, future research may construct such tools and examine the extent to which the glass ceiling exists in different countries and the influence of the local culture in it is formation.Practical implicationsThe paper provides clarity for organizational leaders to identify growth barriers existing in their organizations, leading their women workforce towards a glass ceiling.Originality/valueIt distinguishes between a glass ceiling and a job barrier and recommends organizations to practise cultural change and decentralization to break it down. This is a research paper and clarifies the difference between common career barriers and the glass ceiling by attempting to elucidate the existence of the glass ceiling.

Do women in top management affect firm performance?A panel study of 2,500 Danish firms

PurposeThis paper aims to examine the relationship between management diversity and firm performance in the case of women in top executive jobs and on boards of directors. Corporate governance literature argues that board diversity is potentially positively related to firm performance. This hypothesis is tested in the paper.Design/methodology/approachIn this paper with the use of data for the 2,500 largest Danish firms observed during the period 1993‐2001 various statistical models for firm performance are specified and estimated. The main focus in the models is the estimated relationship between the proportion of women in top management (CEOs and on boards of directors) and firm performance.FindingsThe results in this paper show that the proportion of women in top management jobs tends to have positive effects on firm performance, even after controlling for numerous characteristics of the firm and direction of causality. The results show that the positive effects of women in top management strongly depend on the qualifications of female top managers.Originality/valueThis paper provides solid statistical evidence of the effects of women in top management on firm performance. The use of a large sample and the panel nature of the data set make it possible to properly control for direction of causality and, furthermore, much firm and individual information is included to estimate genuine effects of women in top management.

Human Resource Dependence and Organizational Demography: A Study of Minority Employment in Private Sector Companies

This study examines the extent to which firms’ human resource dependence explains the representation of Black employees in nonmanagement, management, and top-management jobs. Human resource dependence is a firm-level construct describing the degree to which an organization has difficulty procuring and maintaining supplies of human resources. Indicators of human resource dependence in 154 private sector firms explained the representation of Black employees in nonmanagement and management-level jobs but did not predict Black employee representation in top-management jobs. The results provide new insights into characteristics of firms that shape the demographic makeup of the workplace.

Do Women in Top Management Affect Firm Performance? A Panel Study of 2500 Danish Firms

Corporate governance literature argues that board diversity is potentially positively related to firm performance. This study examines the relationship in the case of women in top executive jobs and on boards of directors. We use data for the 2500 largest Danish firms observed during the period 1993-­2001 and find that the proportion of women in top management jobs tends to have positive effects on firm performance, even after controlling for numerous characteristics of the firm and direction of causality. The results show that the positive effects of women in top management depend on the qualifications of female top managers.

Action Based Selection for Top Management Jobs: Are Existing Selection Methods Really Good Enough

Action Based Selection for Top Management Jobs: Are Existing Selection Methods Really Good Enough

US business: the sex equality myth

Ambitious women can now compete for top management jobs in Britain, buttressed by the latest equality laws. But what sort of obstacles have they still to overcome? Donald Huffmire looks at US business where legislation has failed to remove the “Men only” presence in corporation boardrooms.

How Aspiring Managers Promote Their Own Careers

Why do some young men in business progress rapidly to top management jobs while others, with the same educational background, reach a stalemate? The decisive factor, according to this article, lies in the young businessman's strategy in the game he plays with his company.

Obtaining Administrative Personnel for Defense Agencies

O N March 2o, 1951, nine months after start of Korean emergency, United States Civil Service Commission announced to all federal employees an examination with title of Federal Administrator for purpose of identifying those with administrative ability at grades 12 and above for possible transfer to defense agencies. On May 23, results of examination of 4,700 competitors were made available to defense agencies. This was first time that a governmentwide promotion examination had been given. This was also first time that government had tried to identify on a systematic basis persons throughout government with ability to fill a variety of administrative posts. In addition, this examination fulfilled in part responsibilities of commission to assist defense agencies in meeting their staffing needs. There is a wide interest in and a great need for extending competition for higher-level positions, broadening experience of federal executives, and opening up career opportunities. The need is partly indicated by a study, conducted by commission in 1955, among 8oo government executives at grades i5 and above. Of these executives, 53 per cent had worked in only one federal agency; 44 per cent had worked in only one bureau of one agency. The reports of Hoover Commissions have indicted federal government for its lack of progress in developing career opportunities. The task force of first Hoover Commission reported that no planned, predictable promotion pattern existed, that relative opportunity for promotion varied widely among agencies and locations, and that there were few planned efforts assuring that top positions would be filled by trained career employees. The task force recommended Civil Service and agency programs to identify able and promotable candidates.' The task force of second Hoover Commission continued indictment. It noted absence of a system to discover managerial manpower and barriers affecting free interchange of departmental and field employees.2 The commission in its own report stated that little had been done to identify potential candidates for future top management jobs.3 The American Assembly has noted that Civil Service Commission is hampered in its efforts to promote interagency transfers by lack of funds and authority-that it is entirely dependent on voluntary agency cooperation. It reports John Corson's summary of promotion methods: (a) the cream always rises to top; (b) shoe-leather shopping around approach; and (c) desk-to-desk ascent of a narrow promotion ladder.4