Joseph Tomkiewicz

The Relationship Between Sex Role Stereotypes And Requisite Management Characteristics Revisited

The relationship between sex role stereotypes and perceived requisite management characteristics among men and women who were managers was examined and compared with the results of studies of manag...

A comparative analysis of the attitudes toward women managers in the US and Poland

As globalization intensifies, the need for tapping the capabilities of corporations’ human resources, gecome more paramount. To this end, businesses cannot afford to have their most important resource, their people, hampered by attitudes that detract from their abilities to perform at their best. This is especially relevant when there may be a misconception that being male is synonymous with management competency. The focus of this research was on exploring the attitudes towards women managers in the United States and Poland. Questionnaires were distributed to two groups of individuals within each nation, professionals and graduating business students or “future managers”. There were 157 and 295 usable responses from Poland and the United States, respectively. The results indicate that Polish women may have more negative attitudes to overcome in becoming managers in comparison to the US counterparts. Perhaps more disconcerting is the potential that “future managers” in Poland may have even more negative attitudes toward women as managers.

Gender differences in job orientation: the case of Poland

Purpose – This survey‐based study examines gender‐based perspectives of job orientation, expectations, and motivations in the country of Poland.Design/methodology/approach – Polish professionals were asked to rate 25 job characteristics according to their importance to the rater on a five‐point scale (5 = very important, 1 = not important). Mean scores were calculated and rank ordered for males and females separately. Two‐tailed t‐tests between male and female scores for each item tested for significant differences. A principle components factor analysis with rotation by the varimax method was performed on the correlation matrix of the 25 job characteristics.Findings – Results show that males and females differ on 15 of the 25 job characteristics. Standard deviations of the importance ratings were examined. They were higher for males on 21 of 25 items, with a mean standard deviation of 0.96 for males and 0.87 for females. A paired t‐test ((1−(2 = 0)) resulted in rejecting the null hypothesis (p ≤ 0.001). ...

Attitude toward women and managerial ability of African Americans

The purpose of this research was to examine the relationship between attitudes toward women and managerial ability of African Americans. African American males were compared with African American females on both the Attitudes Toward Women Scale and the Supervisory Ability Scale. No differences were found between the groups regarding supervisory ability. However, significant differences were found between males and females on the AWS scale. According to their score on the AWS scale, males were divided into those who had traditional views of the roles of women and those who held liberal views of the roles of women. Those characterized as liberal had a significantly higher score on the Supervisory Ability Scale than those characterized as traditional. These findings imply that as more able African‐American males advance in management, African‐American females may fare better than at present.

PERCEPTUAL DIFFERENCES IN RACIAL DESCRIPTIONS OF EURO-AMERICAN AND HISPANIC PERSONS

This study examined negative stereotypes held about Hispanic persons by 116 Euro-American graduating MBA students. Scheins 92-item Descriptive Questionnaire (1973) was rated by subjects as either positive (e.g., intelligent, persistent, ambitious, etc.) or negative (e.g., uncertain, passive, nervous, etc.). 53 items were characterized as positive while 18 were considered negative. When applied to Euro-American and Hispanic persons, zero and 8 negative items, respectively, could be used to describe these two groups in general. Conversely, while 26 positive items were used exclusively to describe Euro-American persons, only one could be applied exclusively to Hispanic persons. The potential effects of such perceptions on Hispanic persons job opportunities are discussed.

SEX DIFFERENCES AMONG BUSINESS GRADUATES ON FEAR OF SUCCESS AND FEAR OF APPEARING INCOMPETENT AS MEASURED BY OBJECTIVE INSTRUMENTS

Sex differences in fear of success and fear of appearing incompetent among graduating business students (ns = 162 males, 113 females) were investigated using the objective measures described by Good and Good in 1973. No sex differences in fear of success emerged, but females showed a significantly greater fear of appearing incompetent than males. A significant positive moderate correlation of .54 exists between fear of success and fear of appearing incompetent. Caution is urged in attempts toward universal application of research involving these constructs.

Hispanic Persons in Business: Is There Cause for Optimism?:

An investigation was undertaken to assess whether Hispanic persons have cause for optimism in their quest to compete for managerial business positions. Using three instruments, statistical analysis of data from 262 students graduating with Master of Business Administration degrees indicated that 109 respondents perceived Hispanic managerial candidates no differently in comparison with white managers than 153 students saw black managerial candidates in comparison with white managers. Given that black managerial candidates have experienced difficulty in achieving high organizational status, Hispanic people may experience similar barriers.

Comparing job expectations of Chinese male and female college students

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine gender differences in job expectations among Chinese university students and how they may affect the activities of organizations in attracting and retaining talent.Design/methodology/approach – Since 1972, a number of studies have utilized a job‐orientation survey instrument developed by Manhardt. This study asked Chinese university students to rate 25 job characteristics according to their importance to the rater on a five‐point scale (5 – very important, 1 – not important) in the same manner as had previously been done by Manhardt and others, subsequently. There were 101 Chinese university business students surveyed.Findings – Results showed that the rank order of importance which male and female students placed on job characteristics was similar. In addition, there were no significant differences between male and female students on either the intrinsic or extrinsic subset of variables, indicating that both genders could be approached similarly with rega...

Comparing fear of success and fear of appearing incompetent among African Americans’ and Whites’ business candidates

This research was designed to investigate what differences might exist between graduating African American and White business students regarding achievement motivation as determined by their fear of success and fear of appearing incompetent and whether there exists any moderating influence based upon their attitude toward the role of women in society. The sample consisted of 99 African American students and 102 White students. African Americans scored significantly lower than Whites on the Fear of Appearing Incompetent Scale. Likewise, African American women scored significantly lower than white women on this scale. No differences were found in the scores among African American Males and White males on the Fear of Appearing Incompetent Scale. For the entire sample, those with a progressive view of women scored higher on the Fear of Success Scale than those with traditional views of women. Achievement motivation among the groups of respondents is also evaluated.

ETHICS IN FAMILY VS NONFAMILY OWNED BUSINESSES

This study investigated the ethical judgments in family vs nonfamily owned businesses. Respondents rated their ethical evaluations of 5 scenarios which involved ethical issues, e.g., promotion of a family member ahead of an equally qualified nonfamily employee. Analysis of responses from 120 participants yielded no statistically significant differences between the ethical judgment ratings of owner/managers of family and nonfamily owned firms.