The Glass Ceiling

This paper addresses two articles, Women and the Labyrinth of Leadership written by Alice H. Eagly and Linda L. Carli, and A Modest Manifesto for Shattering The Glass Ceiling, written by Debra E. Meyerson and Joyce K. Fletcher. The phrase glass ceiling is described in many articles as a barrier that prevents women from achieving success in their careers. Women are found at the top of middle management and are being denied of higher positions in the corporate ladder and are getting paid less than men for similar type of work. Both articles address the question whether is the glass ceiling the reason why women are not getting advancement in their careers or it is the sum of many obstacles that hold women back into the high level jobs. According to the authors of both articles, the answer to this question is that it is not the glass ceiling the barrier for women’s advancement. To understand and overcome these barriers, the authors of the articles have used terms such as labyrinth and small wins strategy. According to Meyerson and Fletcher, it is not the glass ceiling but the organizational structures and its hidden barriers to equity and effectiveness what are holding back women. This paper will explore the author’s recommendations for overcoming these barriers and for helping women prevail by changing workplace’s practices in organizations. Overview The two articles chosen to write this abstract have been selected from the Harvard Business Review. In the first article, Women and the Labyrinth of Leadership, the word labyrinth is described as a contemporary symbol that â€Å"conveys the idea of a complex journey toward a goal worth striving for† (Walls all around section, para. 1). If women are able to understand the barriers in this labyrinth, they will be able to overcome many obstacles they encounter. Throughout awareness and persistency during the process, women will have a much better chance to obtain their desirable goals in their careers. In the article A Modest Manifesto for Shattering The Glass Ceiling, the authors mentioned that is very rare to find women holding high evel positions in organizations. Women represent only 10% of senior manager positions in Fortune 500 companies. According to Meyerson and Fletcher, the best way to destroy this glass ceiling is throughout the use of the small wins approach. Main Issues In the article Women and the Labyrinth of Leadership, the term labyrinth is described as what wo men have to go through in the workplace to be able to occupy high level roles. Woman who desire top positions, will encounter barriers during the journey, and some of them will be able to find solutions to those obstacles to improve the situation. Some of the obstacles or barriers named in the article are (a) prejudice; (b) resistance to women’s leadership; (c) leadership style;(d) demands of family life; (e) underinvestment in social capital. Prejudice The beginning of the labyrinth starts here with prejudices that hurt women and help men. Women in this country, with full time positions, earn 81 cents for every dollar than men earned (Vestiges of prejudice section, para. 1). Research has been done by many professionals seeking an answer to explain the difference in pay between genders. One of the most comprehensive studies, from the Government Accountability office, showed that men worked more hours per year and also had more years of experience (Vestiges of prejudice, para. 3). Even though variables such as marriage, parenthood and years of education were adjusted for both genders, the study showed a gender gap that lead to wage discrimination (Vestiges of Prejudice section, para. 4). According to Eagly and Carli, men are promoted more quickly than women with equivalent qualifications even in female settings such as social work and education (para. 5). The authors add that â€Å"White men were more likely to attain managerial positions than white women, black men, and black women† (Vestiges of prejudice section, para. 5). Resistance to Women’s Leadership The author describes women as having communal associations and men with agentic ones. Women are compassionate, affectionate, friendly and sympathetic among other communal qualities. On the other hand, men are described with agentic qualities such as aggressive, ambitious, controlling, etc, which are associated with effective leadership (Resistance to women’s leadership section, para. 3). Eagly and Carli consider that women are at a tough place, which she describes as the â€Å"double bind†, because people perceive women as lacking the right traits to be effective leaders (Resistance to women leadership section, para. 4). Women who are described by the peers as effective managers possess the following traits: insincere, avaricious, and pushy amongst others ((Resistance to women’s leadership section, para. 11). Leadership Style Women are struggling with people’s perceptions about by being compassionate and caring. Qualities such as assertive and controlling are perceived by people on great leaders. According to Meyerson and Fletcher, women are considered as transformational leaders. They encourage employees, and mentor them to achieve desired goals. It is described as the type of leadership that leads to a more innovating, productive and efficient for organizations (Issues of leadership style section, para. 6). Transactional leaders are described as leaders that reward employees for meeting their goals. Men are considered to be more transactional leaders than women. According to the article, the most effective type of leadership is the transformational style. Demands of Family Life. Studies showed that women are working less hours a year than men and have fewer years of experience due to family responsibilities. Women are confronted with the challenge of balancing work and family responsibilities. Many of them end up leaving their professional careers due to work-family conflict. According to the authors, in 2005 women devoted 19 hours per week to household work, while men just helped 11 hours a week (Demands of family life section, para. 3). Meyerson and Fletcher explain that married mothers increased their hours per week from 10. 6 in 1965 to 12. in 2000, and married fathers increased theirs from 2. 6 to 6. 5 week (Demands of family life section, para. 4). Underinvestment in Social Capital Women are trying to balance their responsibilities at home and at work which leaves them little or no time to build the social capital needed to succeed in the workplace. Another obstacle encountered by women is the fact that these networking activiti es are mostly composed by men who concentrate their meetings in male activities. The C-suite is described by the author as those positions such as chairman, chief executive officer and chief operating office. These positions are held mostly by men and only 6% hold by women (para. 1). The authors mention the following organization actions to help women obtain positions in the C-suites (a) Increase people awareness of prejudices against women; (b) change hours spent at work; (c) be more objective in the evaluations; (d) use transparent recruitment within the organization; (e) place more women in executive positions; (f) help women build strong social capital; (g) give women opportunity to return back to work when circumstances change. The second article, A Modest Manifesto for Shattering The Glass Ceiling mentions the difficulties women confront in organizations to work effectively: (a) women bear more responsibility at home than men; (b) women who have a set schedule missed important company meeting set after hours; (c) missing meetings made them look less committed; (e) meetings put women in a double bind (The problem with no name section, para. 5). Meyerson and Fletcher mention three different approaches that have dealt with the solution to the symptoms of gender inequity (a) encourage women to assimilate to minimize the differences. In other words to act more like men; (b) accommodates women’s needs and situations such as extended maternity leave, flexible work arrangements, etc; (c) emphasize the differences that women bring to the workforce such as their collaborative style (Tall people in a short world, para. 5). The fourth approach mentioned by the authors, deal with sources of gender inequity. This approach consists on the belief that a change is needed in the organization due to a gender inequity problem. After recognizing the issue, this fourth approach should be linked with the small wins strategy (A fourth approach: Linking equity and effectiveness, para. 2). The article mentions the reason why the small wins process is so effective for organizations (a) tied to the fourth approach help organizations to understand erroneous practices and assumptions; (b) make a difference in the big picture in the road to change; (c) create sense that a small change is a huge and systematic change and have great impact throughout the organization; (d) have a snowballing effect. By adding small wins, one by one, it will create a whole new system of revised practices and efforts; (e) defeat discrimination by accepting that change is needed and that it will help the organization’s effectiveness. Factual Impact of the Main Issues in Organizations Labyrinths can be thought of as a symbolic form of pilgrimage. As paths, women walk among its turnings confronting difficult situations that need to be managed along the way. What it is important for women it is to know that the passage for the labyrinth is not simple journey. It requires for women to be aware on their progress and also to be persistent to navigate it. Organizations need to be proactive about taking measures to understand the labyrinth that leader women confront in the workplace. Building unique leadership traits with a supportive work environment will help them to overcome the barriers to obtain the desire goals. To be more effective, organizations need to support women by becoming advocates for female to advance as managers finding endless opportunities for promotion. Organizations need to understand that women had slowed their careers and earnings for taking the majority of family responsibilities. Thus, the implication for organizations is that women are choosing to work part time, work from home or take many days off from work. Another implication for organizations, it is the need to address the challenge for women to be perceived as capable leaders. The article describes this challenge as the double bind term where women at the workplace have to please both expectations in organizations, one as leaders and one as females. Meyerson and Fletcher explain that â€Å"Most organizations have been created by men and for men and are based on male experiences† (The roots of inequity section, para. 1). Women have been entered in the workplace confronting the fact that organizations still embrace traits associated with men such as though, aggressive, assertive, etc. Organizations must develop a culture of fairness by creating practices that benefit both men and women where the division of labor by gender does not exist and where women feel that they add an enormous value and feel as competent as men. Also, organizations should foster a work environment that values working parents. It is crucial to create structures and policies where work and family complement each other and where women have the opportunity to fulfill their careers without felling guilty of abandoning their families. In the second article the authors described how important is to shatter the glass ceiling using the small wins strategy. Since this strategy initiates change using diagnosis, dialogue, and experimentation, it promotes efficiency and efficiency within the organizations. The authors add, â€Å"The strategy benefits not just women but also men and the organization as a whole† (para. 4). The organization during this strategy go through the follow steps (a) the diagnosis of the problem in which managers dialogue to find out what is happening within the organization culture; (b) experimentation where correctives practices are replaced to obtain real wins. Text Comparison According to Greenhaus et al (2010), the glass ceiling is â€Å"an invisible but impenetrable barrier that prevents qualified women and people of color from advancing to senior management jobs† (p. 321). The text agrees with the authors of the two articles, about the fact that even though the number of women in managerial positions had risen dramatically, women are experiencing difficulties in getting jobs above lower and middle managerial positions. For the authors of the article, Women and The Labyrinth of Leadership, the glass ceiling is a barrier which limitations are fading. Women are facing are not only barriers, but what they describe as a labyrinth. It has obstacles and turns. For the authors of A Modest Manifesto for Shattering The Glass Ceiling, the glass ceiling is not the reason why women are holding back. The main reason, they affirm, are the organizations in which women work. The authors state that it is â€Å"the foundation, the beams, the walls, the very air† (The power of small wins section, para. 7). Greenhaus et al (2010) identified factors that organizations can seek to support women advance in their careers such as (a) giving more authority; (b) inclusion to formal networks; (c) establishment of mentor relationships; (d) mutual accommodation; (e) elimination of access and treatment discrimination; (f) minimal intergroup conflicts; and (f) responsiveness to work-Family issues (p. 33). Eagly and Carli mention some these actions such as (a) establishing mentoring programs; (b) using job performance assessments that are not biased against minority employees; (c) using open recruiting tools; (d) implement family-friendly policies for both male and female employees; (e) emphasize the visibility of women in high-level leadership positions. Debra Meyerson and Joyce Fletcher explain the need for organizations to address the power of small wins since â€Å"they unearth and upend systemic arriers to women’s progress (The power of small wins section, para. 1). According to Greenhaus et al (2010), it is the glass ceiling that limits opportunities to minorities to develop and reach top management positions in America (p. 323). They authors add that â€Å"The small portion of women at senior management level suggest that many women do not move beyond jobs in lower and middle levels of management† (p. 323). For the text authors the glass ceiling, in contrast with the authors of the articles, is about managing diversity since organizations are in need to understand why women and minorities experience restricted careers opportunities. According to Greenhaus et al (2010), organizations must develop a culture where employees understand multiculturalism that is the heart of the organization’s mission that must be communicated and enforced at all levels (p. 349).ReferencesEagly, A. H., Carli, L.L. (2007). Harvard business review. Women and the labyrinth of leadership. Retrieved from http://hbr.org/2007/09/women-and-the-labyrinth-of-leadership/ar/2 Greenhaus, J. H., Callanan, G.A., Godshalk, V.M. (2010). Career management. Los Angeles, CA: SAGE publications Inc. Meyerson, D. E., Fletcher, J.K. (2000). Harvard business review. A Modest manifesto for shattering the glass ceiling. Retrieved from http://hbr.org/2000/01/a-modest-manifesto-for-shattering-the-glass-ceiling/ar/1

Abraham Lincoln Essays - Lincoln Family, Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln Cinder26 On the stormy morning of Sunday, February 12, Nancy Hanks Lincoln, wife of Thomas, gave birth to a boy. He was born on a bed of poles covered with corn husks. The baby was named Abraham after his grandfather. In 1811 the Lincolns moved to a farm on Knob Creek which was also near Hodgenville. In 1811 or 1812, Abraham's younger brother, Thomas, died in infancy. Abraham spent a short amount of time in a log schoolhouse. He began to learn his ABC's from a teacher named Zachariah Riney. He attended school with his sister, Sarah. Late in 1816 the Lincoln family moved to southern Indiana and settled near present day Gentryville. A cabin was constructed near Little Pigeon Creek. It measured 16 X 18 feet, and it had one window. Abraham's mother, Nancy, passed away on October 5th, 1818, she died of milk sickness. In 1819, Abraham would barrow books from his neighbors to read. In 1821 Abraham attended school taught by James Swaney for about 4 months. Also in 1824 Abraham attended school taught by Azel Dorsey. In 1827 Abraham's sister, Sarah died giving birth to her son. In 1831, Lincoln decided to leave his family and go off on his own. In July he moved to New Salem, Illinois, where he boarded at Rutledge's tavern and became acquainted with the owner's daughter, Ann. New Salem was a frontier village consisting of one long street on a bluff over the Sangamon River. On August 6th, 1832 Lincoln was defeated while running for the Illinois State Legislature. Lincoln began to operate a general store in New Salem along with William F. Berry. Again, In 1834, Lincoln ran for the Illinois State Legislature, but this time he was elected. During the summer, John T. Stuart advised Lincoln to study law. On December 1 he took his seat in state government in Vandalia. In 1837 Lincoln, 28, was admitted to the Illinois Bar on March 1, and he moved to Springfield on April 15. He became a law partner of John Stuart and lived with Joshua Speed. Lincoln now had income from a law practice as well as a state legislator. November 4,1842 Lincoln married Mary Todd. The first son of the Lincolns, Robert Todd, was born August 1, 1843 at the Globe Tavern. In 1844 Abraham and Mary purchased a home from Dr. Dresser in Springfield for $1500. It was located at the corner of Eighth and Jackson. The family moved in on May 2nd. In 1849 Lincoln failed in his attempt to be appointed commissioner of the General Land Office, and he returned to a full time law practice in Springfield as his term in the House of Representatives had expired on March 4th. On March 7th he was admitted to practice law before the United States Supreme Court. In 1850 Lincoln's son, "Eddie," died on February 1. His third son, William Wallace was born on December 21st. The fourth and last son of the Lincolns, Thomas, was born on April 4th, 1853. In 1858 Lincoln was nominated by the Republicans to run for the U.S. Senate against Stephen Douglas. He gave his famous "House Divided" speech. The Old State Capitol in Springfield where Lincoln gave the House Divided speech. During the summer, Lincoln and Douglas engaged in a series of 7 debates throughout Illinois. On November 2nd Douglas won the election. On May 18th, 1860 Lincoln was nominated for President at the Republican National Convention in Chicago. On November 6th Lincoln was elected President over 3 opponents (Stephen Douglas, John Breckinridge, and John Bell) winning 39% of the popular vote but nearly 60% of the electoral vote. On January 1st, 1863 the Emancipation Proclamation, which freed the slaves in the rebelling areas, took effect. On March 3rd Lincoln approved the first draft law in U.S. history. In early July the Union won two major battles at Gettysburg and Vicksburg. In 1864 Lincoln nominated Ulysses S. Grant as the first full lieutenant general since George Washington. Grant assumed his role as General-in-Chief of Union armies. Lincoln received the Republican nomination on June 8th to run for a 2nd term as President. Andrew Johnson was his Vice-presidential running mate. On November 8th he easily defeated Democrat

Herman Melville, Bartleby, the Scrivener or Gail Godwin, A Sorrowful Essay

Herman Melville, Bartleby, the Scrivener or Gail Godwin, A Sorrowful Woman choose one - Essay Example s and actions and the actions of the people around her, the objectivity of the voice is a mask for the subjectivity of womanhood where womanhood is subjective because society narrowly defines and controls it. The narrator of the story is an objective omniscient narrator because she can follow any character around and do not provide interpretations. The narrator provides information on other characters which makes her omniscient. The narrator follows what the father and son to do together one time. The woman is sleeping, but the narrator knows what the father and child did together: â€Å"He took the child for a walk, and when they returned, red-cheeked and boisterous, the father made supper† (Godwin 1). The narrator also turns to other characters to inform the audience of what they are doing. The narrator, furthermore, is also objective because she does not offer judgments or interpretations and lets the readers interpret what is happening. For instance, as the story ends, the narrator describes everything the woman did and then adds: â€Å"The house smelled redolently of renewal and spring† (Godwin 5). There is something ironic about â€Å"renewal and spring† when t he woman plans to kill herself after doing her household duties. The narrator is then leaving the interpretation to the readers. Aside from being objective and omniscient, the narrator’s subjectivity helps readers to understand that the objective tone is ironically subjective because focusing on women’s roles and responsibilities showed that the woman wanted to die because she is tired of being a woman. The narrator hides her subjectivity through objective omniscience. Still, it is clear that the narrator is obsessed with feminine roles and obligations. For example, the narrator describes what the girl maid did as part of her daily work: She painted the room white, fed the child lunch, read edifying books, raced the boy to the mailbox†¦She knitted dresses for herself and played chess with the

PRICE, CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOR AND MARKETING ACTIVITIES Essay

PRICE, CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOR AND MARKETING ACTIVITIES - Essay Example Pricing behaviors used to advertise goods and services to consumers such as twenty thousand pounds for a Ferrari, are common in contemporary society, showing that they are advantageous for businesses (Baines et al. 2011). Further, price consultants have emerged to provide advice to business people on how to price their goods because of existence of a strong relationship among price, consumer buying behavior, and marketing strategies. It is significant for businesses to determine which pricing behaviors will harness more consumers. Buying behavior is an act where people make decisions whether to buy a certain product or not. Consumer buying behavior is the buying behavior of the final consumer product. Consumers tend to show distinct behaviors when buying products and services of their choice. It is significant to note that the type of goods they want to purchase affects their purchasing behaviors. Consumer buying behavior incorporates a long process in that the purchaser has to ident ify and study the product advantages and disadvantages before deciding whether to purchase it or not. Since the intention of marketing is to ensure satisfaction of the customer in return for profits, business managers need to understand the relationship among price, consumer behavior, and marketing activities. Marketers need to identify customers’ needs, preferences, tastes, desires, and expectations of consumers in purchasing their products (Doyle 2006, pp. 73–4). ... Some buyers have an intricate purchasing behavior that is linked with different products that they intend to purchase (Grewal & Mamorstein 1994, p. 462). An intricate purchasing behavior is seen when the product to be bought is expensive; therefore, the consumer will tend to be more cautious when purchasing such products. For instance, intricate buying behavior is evident when purchasing things such as cars or computers. When setting prices for such products, marketers should consider the consumer’s income since high prices will drive them away (Lichtnstein 1993, p. 239). Price is one of the most significant marketplace signals. The issue of price is very important in buying situations since it represents to customers the amount of capital they must pay for a certain product. In addition, price represents how much money a consumer is going to give to a product seller in order to acquire a product; therefore, if prices are high, they negatively affect the chances of the consume r buying a particular item (Bolton et al. 2003, p. 476). Consumer perception of the price level of a particular product has a negative influence on the buying behavior of the consumer and an indirect positive influence on buying intentions through product quality perceptions. This trend is attributed to the fact that consumers are heterogeneous in respect of their intentions and response to product prices (Lichtnstein et al. 1993, p. 241). In most cases, consumers utilize a product price to choose if they will purchase it or not. They utilize a product price to determine the efficiency and quality of that product since they tend to believe that high prices imply good quality. According to research by

The General characteristics of Angels in Supernatural Research Paper

The General characteristics of Angels in Supernatural - Research Paper Example The paper discusses the angels in the TV series appear to show commonalities with the Bible, but the divergences are profound. I have stated the proof and the verses to show the conclusion of what I found in the research. The research has been somewhat more expansive than what is provided here. What was really found was that post modern and humanistic thinking is behind the portrayal of the TV series? â€Å"Humanism is naturalistic and rejects the super naturalistic stance with its postulated Creator – God and cosmic Ruler†. The most recent trend is to make the super natural a fad but still reject the creator at the center and replace one’s own ideas there. The TV series supernatural has done that successfully. The Biblical angels too are extremely powerful. However unlike the beings in the TV Series there power is focused and driven by a purpose. As ministering spirits, angels carry out the commands of God pertaining to the heirs of salvation. This involves warning, guiding, protecting, comforting, providing, and delivering the children of God according to His perfect will. This is exemplified in the verse â€Å"The angel of the LORD encamped round about them that fear him, and delivered them†. The power of the Angles in the Bible is derived from them being the army of God. Again central is God and his purposes to all this. They are so under the command of God that the meaning Gabriel is man of God. A relevant question is ‘What Is the Army of God?’.

DecisionMaking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

DecisionMaking - Essay Example Generally, decision making consists of the following six steps (Glynn, Before taking the final decision, managers need to get an idea about the effectiveness of the course of action or remedy they intend to apply on a particular problem, so a post decision evaluation via feedback can be worth while. In the managerial decision making process, the management accountants play a decisive role although they neither indulge in making nor in implementing the final decision, the management accountant is held responsible for providing the information at each of the six stages mentioned above. Management is not concerned about how and from what procedures an accountant uses in his analysis and evaluation; eventually the main concern of the management is the information regarding the problems and on the basis of this information, management reaches on a decision (Steffan, 2008). Management accountant is responsible to elaborate the management that the data that is been taken is relevant to provide the information. Relevant data are the single most important ingredient in decision making (Drury, 2007). Relevant data usually consist of relevant cost and relevant revenue which must be considered by the accountants while choosing the alternative course of action; make sure only those cost and revenues will be incurred which are relevant to the decision making. BUDGETING: The budget is a quantitative expression of management objectives and a means of

Eliminating the Home Mortgage Tax Deduction Essay

Eliminating the Home Mortgage Tax Deduction - Essay Example White argue that taxpayers were now allowed to deduct interest they pay on secured loan by qualified homes, either their main home or a second home. The loans in this case include first and second mortgages, credit’s home equity line and home equity loans. White (1) argues that recreational vehicles and even boats may also qualify as home in case they have cooking sleeping and toilet facilities. White notes that millions of US homeowners depend on the Mortgage Interest Tax Deduction as a way of reducing their true cost of homeownership and have more disposable income. This interest is filed on form 1040 of schedule A accompanied with other itemized deductions such as medical expenses, real estate property tax and donations. In this case, taxpayers are expected to fill in Schedule A, to determine if their itemized deductions exceed the standard. If this is proved so, then taxpayers will save more money based on their taxes by itemizing. Over the past years, many issues and cont roversies surrounding Home Mortgage Tax Deduction have arisen as to whether or not it should be scraped. Many economists consider it a waste of money due to concern about the federal budget deficit (Perez 1). They argue that Home Mortgage Tax Deduction does very little to assist in lowering income homeowners make the changeover from renters to owners. These economists say that Home Mortgage Tax Deduction only encourage upper income buyers to buy big homes to take bigger mortgages a view which I also concur with. This paper will discuss why Home Mortgage Tax Deduction should be scraped as a way of cutting the budget. History of the residential housing market Muth and Goodman (1) argue that housing is the most precious and unique commodity. In US for instance, about one-seventh of all personal consumption expenditures are on housing exclusive of other household operations and furnishing. They notes that residential real estate accounts for more than half of the US fixed capital stock and about one-quarter of the country’s gross lending investments are made up of construction of residential estates. Mortgage lending has however varied for one-quarter to one-fifth of all funds raised by Americas credit markets. United States is one country that has faced economic housing bubbles over the past few years affecting many parts of the countries housing market. For instance, the prices of housing peaked at the beginning of 2006 with a decline towards 2007 reaching its low recently in this year. For instance, at around December 2008, the home price index of Case-Shiller reported the largest drop in prices in America’s history. It is argued that increased rates of foreclosure between 2006 and 2007 among homeowners in US is what led to the crisis that hit the country in August 2008 for credit, subprime, mortgage, hedge funds. Leader of the realty and mortgage industries Economy Watch (1) notes that real estate industry emerged as one of the major industries i n the united states over the past few years. It argues that the housing bubble witnessed in Florida, California, and Michigan, and New York brought with it major changes in real estate in US. The housing bubble was the result of an increase in valuation of real estate in the US domestic territory. Economy Watch reports that mortgage lenders, commercial banks and other financial