Women & Men in Management

Chapter 5 – Working in Diverse Teams

Current increase in organizations’ use of work teams to:◦ Achieve strategic objectives◦ Produce goods and services◦ Design new products◦ Solve organizational problems◦ Lead organizations

Teams are used across all industries and global organizations

Work Teams Today

Definition: When men’s and women’s behavior in teams or experiences as team members differ

In mixed-sex teams:◦ Sex is a distinguishing factor between others◦ Influences interactions◦ Influences the evaluation of behaviors

Sex Effects in Mixed-Sex Teams

Communication style◦ Self-assertion and dominance (male associated)◦ Deference and warmth (female associated)

Behavior types◦ Task behaviors

Males devote a somewhat higher percentage of communications to task behavior

◦ Social behaviors Women display a higher percentage of positive social

behaviors

Dimensions of Communication and Behavior

Men:

◦ Have more positive evaluations of their task contributions

◦ Tend to have more influence in mixed-sex teams

◦ Are more likely to become informal leaders

Evaluation of Task Contributions and Group Influence

Women:◦ Tend to devalue their own performances

◦ Are judged on a higher standard

◦ Receive less social support from team members when recognized as better performers

◦ Are more influenced than men

Evaluation of Task Contributions and Group Influence

Female behaviors

◦ Confidence, assertiveness Receive less feedback, makes a woman less

influential, especially among male team members Increases influence among other women Viewed as less likeable than male counterpart

◦ Assertiveness combined with “friendly, nice” behaviors Demonstrates a desire to help the entire group Combination not required of men

Increasing Evaluations of Influence

How does team composition affect women’s and men’s experiences as team members?

Factors to consider: ◦ If the individual’s sex in the group is a minority◦ Women vs. men in the minority◦ Exact number of each sex within the group

Sex Similarity Effects

Two Extremes: Uniform and Balanced groups

Uniform groups◦ All males or all females (no sex issues)

Balanced groups◦ Approximately equal numbers of women and men

Four Major Work Groups

Between Uniform and Balanced Skewed groups

◦ Ratio of one sex to another 85:15 to nearly 100:0◦ Dominants vs. Tokens◦ Tokens are viewed as representatives of their sex

Tilted groups◦ Ratio of one sex to another 65:35 to 85:15◦ Minorities tend to ally, and are distinguishable

from each other and the majority

Four Major Work Groups

How are tokens treated?◦ Seen as representatives of their sex, not

individuals◦ Receive special treatment detrimental to:

Performance Attachment to the group

◦ Face performance pressures, due to high visibility◦ Work harder to have accomplishments recognized◦ Excluded from social activities◦ May experience stereotyping effects

Tokens in Skewed Groups

Research has shown that…◦ Women typically feel the negative effects of token

status, especially in male-intensive settings

◦ Men experience attention that works to their advantage in female-intensive settings Nursing example

◦ Men are very (negatively) sensitive to sex composition changes from male-dominance to a more balanced group

Male vs. Female Tokens

Pessimistic view◦ Identification with similar others causes members

to reject those who are different

◦ Leads to: Factions Conflict Communication breakdowns

◦ Group performance and member satisfaction are impaired

Sex Diversity Effects

Optimistic view◦ Differences among members enhance creativity

and problem-solving ability

◦ More likely to occur on complex tasks and innovation

◦ Greater diversity increases interaction and decreases prejudice and stereotyping

◦ Improves relations among team members

Sex Diversity Effect

Mixed results

Recognize: sex diversity has advantages and disadvantages

Set goals: maximize the advantages and minimize the disadvantages

Which Has More Prevalence?

Team demographic composition◦ More subgroups = less negative effects

Team longevity◦ Greater team longevity = less importance in sex

composition

Sex-neutral, cooperative tasks

Electronic communication technologies◦ Reduce sex-based categorization◦ Benefits women more than men

Importance of Situational Factors

Demographics of the larger organization

Sex composition of the top management team◦ Can influence the relative status of women and men in

smaller teams

Organizational culture and values◦ A cooperative culture reduces negative effects of sex

diversity◦ An inclusive diversity culture stresses equality and

recognizes merits of all types of individuals

Societal culture

Importance of Situational Factors

Proactive Tips for Organizations and Team Leaders

1. Strive for diverse work teams, but do not select members based solely on sex or demographic characteristics.

2. Select members with values and skills conducive to teamwork.

3. Structure work assignments to require cooperation among members.

4. Make a wide array of electronic communication technologies available to the team.

5. Do not assign tasks to team members on the basis of sex.

Making Mixed-Sex Teams Work

Proactive Tips for Organizations and Team Leaders (cont’d)

6. Encourage rotation of roles and tasks to develop team members competencies in all areas and roles.

7. Reward team AND individual performances.

8. Train team members on how to manage team processes and deal with difficulties from stereotyping and dissimilarity.

9. Publicize qualifications of all individuals assigned to teams as leaders or members.

10. Coach leaders on how to encourage expression of diverse points of view and discourage dysfunctional team processes.

Making Mixed-Sex Teams Work

Proactive Tips for Team Members

1. Understand how your sense of self-identity influences your interactions with other team members.

2. Guard against your own stereotypes and prejudices as you evaluate others’ behavior.

3. Build good relationships with other members of your team.

4. Majority group members: do not subject minority team members to performance pressures or exaggerate differences between your group and theirs.

5. Minority group members: take actions to enhance your own power and guard against stereotypes that limit your behavior and abilities.

Making Mixed-Sex Teams Work

Sex effects Sex similarity effects Sex diversity effects Self-assertion and dominance Deference and warmth Task Behaviors Social Behaviors Task contributions Social support Influence Informal leader Uniform groups Balanced groups Skewed groups

Tilted groups Tokens in skewed groups Pessimistic view of sex diversity effects Optimistic view of sex diversity effects Overall demographic composition Longevity Sex-neutral, cooperative tasks Electronic communication technologies Demographic composition of the larger

organization Top management team sex composition Cooperative culture Inclusive diversity culture

Chapter 5 Terms