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 differen

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Introduction

        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). And it's so common these days to find a woman who are supervising or managing 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 on the part of the employee (Fletcher & Bailyn, 1996, P 256-267).

 

        Emotionally, women can show greater emotional expressions, can experience emotions more intensely and display emotions more frequently, they are more comfortable in expressing emotions and better at reading others’ emotions while men believe that displaying emotions is inconsistent with the male image and they are innately less able to read and to identify with others’ emotions and have less need to seek social approval by showing positive emotions. 

Perception

        People selectively interpret what they see on the basis of their interests, background, experience, and attitudes. The importantly different perspective of such attitudes is the perception that prejudice and unfair evaluation exist for women managers. That is, even if one does not personally endorse a negative attitude toward women managers, one may still believe that others in the work environment hold such beliefs and treat them unfairly. the argue that this perception of what others believe or of how others treat managerial women, specifically when considered from the viewpoint of managerial women, is similar to the concept of stereotype threat (Steele,1997, P613-629). This concept has been defined as the social-psychological threat that arises when one is in a situation for which a negative stereotype about one’s group applies. Finally we can say women are more Stereotyping than men.

Communication

        At work, men tend to talk to emphasize status, power, and independence, complain that women talk on and on, men always offer solutions, to boast about their accomplishments, on the other hand we found women talk to establish connection and intimacy, criticize men for not listening, speak of problems to promote closeness, express regret and restore balance to a conversation.

Conflicts & Negotiation

        Women and men differ in the ways they talk about their conflicts. Women talk in-depth and at length about the context of the dispute, particularly focusing on their involvement in the relationship with the other party. Men use more rational, linear and legalistic language to talk about their disputes. Women talk about fairness in a way that incorporated both their material interests and the network of relationships in the dispute.

Contrary to what the researchers expected, women significantly use more strategies to resolve conflicts than men. Also unexpectedly, women were no more concerned than were men with maintaining a positive relationship with the other party. Finally, women were as concerned with resolving the particular issue as were men, however, managerial women felt significantly less confident about negotiating than managerial men did, and women were particularly uncomfortable when negotiating with another woman. Women did not enjoy the role play and were very uncomfortable with whatever role was assigned to them. Women also underrated their performance compared to men, and these are some findings between genders in negotiations:

        Women negotiate no differently from men, although men apparently negotiate slightly better outcomes. Men and women with similar power bases use the same negotiating styles. Women’s attitudes toward negotiation and their success as negotiators are less favorable than men’s.

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Problem-Solving

        Men and women approach problems with similar goals but with different considerations.  While men and women can solve problems equally well, their approach and their process are often quite different. For most women, sharing and discussing a problem presents an opportunity to explore, deepen or strengthen the relationship with the person they are talking with. Women are usually more concerned about how problems are solved than merely solving the problem itself. For women, solving a problem can profoundly impact whether they feel closer and less alone or whether they feel distant and less connected. The process of ...

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