Crystal L. Owen

Attitudes toward women as managers: sex versus culture

This paper examines attitudes toward women managers in Chile (n=194) and the USA (n=218) using the women as managers scale (WAMS) and a Spanish version of WAMS developed for this study. Across both cultures, two coherent measures were labeled “acceptance” and “ability”. No cultural differences in the acceptance of women as managers were discovered. The differences in acceptance were divided solely according to sex. There were differences in the perceived ability of women managers for both the sex and culture variables. The paper then compares the impact of the sex and culture variables. Results show that sex explained approximately three times more variance than culture. These findings can inform both the expatriate woman manager who is likely to encounter friction in interactions with males in many cultures and the human resource manager interested in improving the success of women managers working overseas.

Dimensionality of the women as managers scale: Factor congruency among three samples

PERCEIVED AND ACTUAL BARRIERS to women’s career advancement persist (Deal & Stevenson, 1998; Ragins, Townsend, & Mattis, 1998), and, recently, there has been a renewed interest in assessing attitudes about women as managers. During the last three decades, investigators have produced a catalog of research using several different instruments (e.g., Shein’s, 1973, Descriptive Index; the Managerial Attitudes Toward Female Executives Scale of Dubno, Costas, Cannon, Wankel, & Emin, 1979; the Women as Managers Scale or WAMS of Peters, Terborg, & Taynor, 1974). However, the measures have undergone little refinement, despite some early concerns about the strength of some of the scales. In particular, Crino,

Deriving benefits from conflict resolution: A macrojustice assessment

Effective conflict resolution procedures serve to minimize dysfunctional effects of conflict and maximize functional effects. In the literature on conflict resolution procedures, the effectiveness of procedures has been evaluated primarily from the perspective of the individual. This article suggests that a system-level analysis of the pattern of outcomes resulting from different conflict resolution procedures is a necessary component in formulating a comprehensive framework for the design and evaluation of conflict resolution systems in organizations. The analytic questions addressed by this study concern associations between resolution procedures and outcome patterns in a system created specifically for conflict resolution within organizations: the grievance system. The pattern of outcomes was found to vary with the conflict resolution procedure. It is suggested that this has important implications for effective conflict resolution systems.

Perceptions of Women as Managers in Chile and the United States

The objective of the current study was to determine if stereotypical perceptions of women as managers existed among men and women in two different cultural settings, the U.S. and Chile. Using the Women as Managers Scale (WAMS), 412 participants from the U.S. and Chile responded to questions about their perceptions of women performing managerial roles and tasks. Gender and culture effects were identified at both the multivariate and univariate levels.1 The results showed that male subjects in both cultures had more stereotypical and negative perceptions of women as managers than did female subjects, and the U.S. participants (both male and female) had more positive and less stereotypical perceptions of women as managers than the Chilean participants. Implications for research and practice in cross‐cultural and international management are discussed.

Rater and Ratee Sex Effects on Performance Evaluations in a Field Setting A Multivariate Analysis

The following study investigates the separate and combined effects of rater sex and ratee sex on performance evaluations. A 2 x 2 multivariate analysis of variance was performed to ascertain the effects of rater and ratee sex on seven performance appraisal measures. Results indicate the female raters provided higher ratings than did male raters, and female ratees received higher ratings than did male ratees. There was no interaction of rater and ratee sex. The findings are discussed within the context of the gender contrast effect where women are overvalued relative to men.

Evaluating Differences in Cognitive Appraisal and Coping Over Stages of a Transaction

Abstract We evaluated appraisal of and coping with a college examination over three stages of the transaction for 138 American undergraduate students. The transactional process approach allowed for the identification of differences in the magnitude and direction of appraisal and coping between adjacent stages and stages separated by an intervening stage. Repeated measures tests revealed that differences in appraisal and coping could occur between all pairs of stages, suggesting that, in research limited to investigating changes between adjacent stages only, the concept of a transactional process may be attenuated and important changes overlooked as the process of a stressful encounter unfolds.

INITIAL DEVELOPMENT OF AN EMIC METHODOLOGY FOR CLASSIFICATION OF STRESSFUL WORK SITUATIONS

Research on stress in the workplace has generally focused on situations which the investigator a priori perceives to be stressful for people at work. In the current study, an emic (insider) approach to identification of what constitutes a stressful work event is described as a complement to the outsiders perspective. Using content analysis, two broad categories of work-related stressful events were used to classify situations which the employee perceived to be stressful. Recommendations for research using the methodology are provided.

OSHA Inspections: Process and Outcomes in Programmed Inspections Versus Complaint-Investigated Inspections

Inspections are an important tool for enforcing OSHA regulations. As with any enforcement procedure, OSHA inspections are an effective tool to the extent that they are conducted in a consistent manner. In this study we compared 3,000 inspections randomly initiated by OSHA with 3,000 inspections conducted by OSHA in response to an employee complaint. Significant differences in both process and outcome variables were found between the two types of inspections. We discuss the findings in terms of the “threat effect” as a tool for enforcement of OSHA safety standards.

The “Iron Law of Paternalism” in Employee Grievances and Arbitration? A Comparison of Disciplinary and Nondisciplinary Cases

In the criminology literature, the “iron law of paternalism” suggests that women receive less serious sanctions in the judicial system. This examination of three years of grievance outcomes (n= 1216) and arbitration outcomes (n= 1146) tests this “iron law” in the context of organizational disciplinary and dispute resolutions. These data, across several levels of outcomes (win, lose, compromise), controlling for the severity of grievances (disciplinary/nondisciplinary) and arbitrations (termination/nontermination) provide no support for the paternalistic thesis. Moreover, we find no support for the paternalistic thesis with regard to either the incidence or length of suspensions as a function of gender.

Assessment of Cognitive Appraisal and Coping Linkages Using Two Forms of Canonical Correlation

As a conceptual framework for research on stress and coping, the transactional model of Lazarus and Folkman is process-oriented and requires methodologies that capture the process nature of cognitive appraisal and coping across stages of a transaction. Two forms of canonical correlation were used to analyze strength of association measures between pairs of cognitive appraisal and coping variable sets for 138 student subjects. Analysis indicated that, when an environmental transaction includes more than one time period, the generalized canonical correlation approach may offer some advantages in assessing linkage strength over the pairwise method.