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Topic:
Critical analysis of Article on Gender and Leadership
Essay Instructions:
can you please do a "critical analysis" for this topic (Gender and leadership ? leadership and gender ? A journey through the landscape of theories ) You must avoid
opinion; do provide logical, considered reasons for your analysis of the paper's
approach to its subject, assertions and conclusions. Identify the key ideas and
concepts being put forward by the author. Rigorously consider the relevance,
validity, consistency and logic of the evidence provided by the author to justify
his/her ideas or to support the conclusions reached. Discuss any identifiable bias
or motive that may have coloured the author's approach or influenced the formulation
of the conclusions. the attachments: 1- the paper for analysing which is (Gender and leadership ? leadership and gender ? A journey through the landscape of theories)
2- An example just for more clarification( Example.doc)
Ali,_Gender_and_leadership.pdf
Essay Sample Content Preview:
Running Head: Critical analysis of Article on Gender and Leadership
Gender and leadership ? Leadership and gender? A journey through the landscapeof theories
Name
Affiliation
March 31 2011
Contents TOC \o "1-3" \h \z \u Introduction PAGEREF _Toc289381036 \h 3Summary PAGEREF _Toc289381037 \h 3Key Assertions PAGEREF _Toc289381038 \h 4Identifiable bias PAGEREF _Toc289381040 \h 6Conclusion PAGEREF _Toc289381041 \h 6References PAGEREF _Toc289381042 \h 8
Introduction
The article discusses two of the most controversial topics in corporate history, gender differences and leadership. The introduction to leadership studies always starts with the question of whether leadership traits are innate or whether they can be developed. Theorists have argues time and again that leaders can be developed, but the studies keep on revealing that skills can be groomed and leaders can be made only if they possess certain inborn characteristics that are developed in light of a stable and learning environment. The paper: "Gender and leadership? Leadership and gender? A journey through the landscape of theories" delves into the factors that are attributed to there being a very few women being present in the top organizational positions. CITATION Ste03 \l 1033 (Appelbaum, Audet, & Miller, 2003)
Summary
The paper is a review of various researches and is a compilation of the conclusions that various studies on leadership in women and leadership traits have drawn. Gender and leadership? Leadership and gender? A journey through the landscape of theories is an appropriate heading to the paper which seeks to ascertain what factors are present predominantly in leaders, and which attributes are preferred from the view of the organization. Given the various ups and downs that the industry in recent times has gone through and the latest spurs of acquisitions and mergers, the dynamic commands a leaner structure with more emphasis on soft skills that are the domain of women primarily.
Four key schools of thought are mentioned which include: biology and sex, gender role, causal factors, and attitudinal drivers. Each of these is discussed in the light of why there are so few women in leadership positions in organization. The first school of thought of biology and sex is primarily ruled out. However that of general roles identifies that while there are the traditional male and female traits of assertive, technical skills and softer communication skills, people who are identified as having a combination of both, called the androgynous role is seen to be the most successful. The key assertions of this paper are discussed as follows.
Key Assertions
Biology and Sex does not determine leadership:
The study negates the fact that biology has any role to play in leadership potential. In fact it asserts that such a belief that females cannot be leaders can only be chauvinistic opinions and that they have been frequently negated by studies. The key assertion here is that opinions which state that only males can be leaders might not hold true in the new era of business development. Moreover there are conclusions that indicate that men and women are equally effective and that many differences other than the perceived ones do not exist in the corporate environment.
Gender Roles rather than gender itself is a determinant of leadership:
This assertion indicates that there are differences in leadership style exist and that if these are not determined by biological factors, there has to be some other reason for this factor and this could be due to the various male and female traits. Moreover, the conclusions of the androgynous factor imply that women have a chance of developing the desired male leadership characteristics in order to gain a foothold into a male dominated realm.
Environmental Factors:
The paper asserts that there are several key factors that have played a role in there being very few women in leadership positions. The foremost factor is women`s attitude itself which accounts for women not being taken seriously in the corporate world. They feel inferior and in that their attitude depicts their hesitation. Moreover they are encourag...
Gender and leadership ? Leadership and gender? A journey through the landscapeof theories
Name
Affiliation
March 31 2011
Contents TOC \o "1-3" \h \z \u Introduction PAGEREF _Toc289381036 \h 3Summary PAGEREF _Toc289381037 \h 3Key Assertions PAGEREF _Toc289381038 \h 4Identifiable bias PAGEREF _Toc289381040 \h 6Conclusion PAGEREF _Toc289381041 \h 6References PAGEREF _Toc289381042 \h 8
Introduction
The article discusses two of the most controversial topics in corporate history, gender differences and leadership. The introduction to leadership studies always starts with the question of whether leadership traits are innate or whether they can be developed. Theorists have argues time and again that leaders can be developed, but the studies keep on revealing that skills can be groomed and leaders can be made only if they possess certain inborn characteristics that are developed in light of a stable and learning environment. The paper: "Gender and leadership? Leadership and gender? A journey through the landscape of theories" delves into the factors that are attributed to there being a very few women being present in the top organizational positions. CITATION Ste03 \l 1033 (Appelbaum, Audet, & Miller, 2003)
Summary
The paper is a review of various researches and is a compilation of the conclusions that various studies on leadership in women and leadership traits have drawn. Gender and leadership? Leadership and gender? A journey through the landscape of theories is an appropriate heading to the paper which seeks to ascertain what factors are present predominantly in leaders, and which attributes are preferred from the view of the organization. Given the various ups and downs that the industry in recent times has gone through and the latest spurs of acquisitions and mergers, the dynamic commands a leaner structure with more emphasis on soft skills that are the domain of women primarily.
Four key schools of thought are mentioned which include: biology and sex, gender role, causal factors, and attitudinal drivers. Each of these is discussed in the light of why there are so few women in leadership positions in organization. The first school of thought of biology and sex is primarily ruled out. However that of general roles identifies that while there are the traditional male and female traits of assertive, technical skills and softer communication skills, people who are identified as having a combination of both, called the androgynous role is seen to be the most successful. The key assertions of this paper are discussed as follows.
Key Assertions
Biology and Sex does not determine leadership:
The study negates the fact that biology has any role to play in leadership potential. In fact it asserts that such a belief that females cannot be leaders can only be chauvinistic opinions and that they have been frequently negated by studies. The key assertion here is that opinions which state that only males can be leaders might not hold true in the new era of business development. Moreover there are conclusions that indicate that men and women are equally effective and that many differences other than the perceived ones do not exist in the corporate environment.
Gender Roles rather than gender itself is a determinant of leadership:
This assertion indicates that there are differences in leadership style exist and that if these are not determined by biological factors, there has to be some other reason for this factor and this could be due to the various male and female traits. Moreover, the conclusions of the androgynous factor imply that women have a chance of developing the desired male leadership characteristics in order to gain a foothold into a male dominated realm.
Environmental Factors:
The paper asserts that there are several key factors that have played a role in there being very few women in leadership positions. The foremost factor is women`s attitude itself which accounts for women not being taken seriously in the corporate world. They feel inferior and in that their attitude depicts their hesitation. Moreover they are encourag...
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