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View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by LSE Theses Online The London School of Economics and Political Science Gender and Competition: A Dynamic for Managers Jane Dennehy A thesis submitted to the Gender Institute of the London School of Economics for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, April 2010 1 DECLARATION I certify that the thesis I have presented for examination for the MPhil/PhD degree of the London School of Economics is solely my own work other than where I have clearly indicated that it is the work of other (in which case the extent of any work carried out jointly by me and any other person is clearly identified in it). The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. Quotation from it is permitted provided that full acknowledgement is made. This thesis may not be reproduced without prior written consent of the author. I warrant that this authorisation does not, to the best of my belief, infringe the rights of any third party. __________________________________________ Jane Dennehy 2 Gender and Competition: A Dynamic for Managers ABSTRACT Gender inequality continues to exist in the labour market and this project contributes to discussions on why women are not equally represented in management hierarchies relative to their labour participation rates. Competition is the central lens used to evaluate current debates and add new perspectives to gendered processes in management. As an area of research, competition is largely neglected in the gender and management body of work. This study is important in exploring how as a concept and a practice, competition can operate in organisations and in the individual careers of men and women managers. Informing the thesis is a review of theories including gender performance, individualization, stereotypes and management styles which contribute to building a framework for understanding and engaging with competition and competitive relations. Adapted from Bradley’s (1999) model of gendered power, competition is defined as a series of dimensions which are investigated to research how and in what ways competition is gendered. Qualitative data was collected and analysed with the findings indicating a confused and often contradictory picture demonstrating how managers engage with competition and competitive relations. Within organisations and management hierarchies competition, some managers claim, remains distant from their experiences at work and is not widely discussed. For others external competition located within the marketplace is strongly identified with, whereas other managers cite personal competition and its role in their own self development as the base for their experience. Suggesting competition is a single concept or has a single location for practice has limitations. The model designed and used in this project builds competition as a multidimensional concept which can be explored across a range of activities and attitudes examining how increased visibility and understanding of competitive relations can inform those management practices and policies which sustain gender inequality. 3 Acknowledgements I would like to thank my family, Tim, Grace, Amelia and Archie. Also thanks to Diane for her patience and insights throughout this journey. 4 1.0 Introduction 8 1.1 Context of research 9 1.2 Managers in the UK and Australia 11 1.3 Overview of thesis 14 2.0 Gender at Work 18 2.1 Defining the thesis parameters 18 2.2 Social theories framing the labour market 24 2.2.1 Beck and competition 24 2.2.2 Hakim and competition 26 2.2.3 Preference theory 27 2.2.4 Choices and constraints 29 2.3 Gender in the labour market: the inequality debates 33 2.3.1 Patriarchy: influencing organisations 35 2.3.2 Embedding a job with a person 39 2.3.3 The evolution of attitudes 44 3.0 Competition and its Dimensions 49 3.1 Defining competition 50 3.2 The eight dimensional competition model 51 3.3 External competition 52 3.4 Personal Competition 54 3.5 Interpersonal competition 55 3.5.1 Constructive competition and management 56 3.6 Internal competition 58 3.6.1 Gender and competition 60 3.7 Symbolic competition 63 3.7.1 Heroic and engaging manager 64 3.7.2 Men as managers, women as managers 66 3.8 Positional competition 68 3.8.1 Role models 69 3.8.2 Mentoring relationships 70 3.8.3 The positive and negative outcomes of conflict 71 3.8.4 Gendering conflict and co-operation 71 3.9 Collective competition 74 3.9.1 Formal and informal networks 74 3.9.2 Gendering relationships at work 76 3.10 Temporal competition 77 4.0 Discovering the Knowledge of a Manager’s Work 83 4.1 Discovering knowledge 83 4.1.1 Standpoint theory – the position of managers 84 4.1.2 Reflexivity - the position of the researcher 85 4.2 Methodology - grounded theory and beyond 88 4.3 The publishing context 90 4.4 Methods – the time and the place 92 4.4.1 The questions 93 4.4.2 Considering classifications 94 4.5 The fieldwork 95 4.5.1 The selection of interviewees 97 4.5.2 Sample size 98 5 4.5.3 The interviews 100 4.5.4 Transcription 101 4.5.5 Power relations 102 4.5.6 Ethics 103 4.5.7 Validity and objectivity 103 4.6 Project motivations 105 4.7 Challenges and outcomes 106 5.0 Temporal Competition 109 5.1 Gender, work and time 110 5.1.1 Working long hours 111 5.1.2 Juggling commitments 114 5.1.3 Working practices 115 5.2 The blurred lines of work and non-work time 117 5.2.1 Travel time 118 5.2.2 Leisure and holidays 119 5.3 Managing time 122 5.4 Conflict between work and family time 125 5.4.1 Gender, management and children 126 5.4.2 Choices and constraints 128 5.5 Flexible working for all or just family friendly for some 130 6.0 Competitive Relations at Work 136 6.1 Healthy competition - is it really good for you? 138 6.1.1 Benchmarking and winning 139 6.1.2 Money, money, money 139 6.1.3 The rules of healthy competition 141 6.1.4 Competition: just a necessary evil 142 6.2 Good or bad competition: it’s all about the organisation 144 6.3 My relationship with organisational structures 146 6.3.1 Organisational benchmarking 147 6.3.2 Managers position in the hierarchy 149 6.3.3 Internal promotions 150 6.4 The story of me and my career so far 152 6.4.1 Measuring individual actions 153 6.5 My portfolio of relationships at work 155 6.5.1 Networks the key to information 155 6.5.2 Being a role model or mentor: motivating or restricting? 158 6.5.3 Good managers are good mentors 161 7.0 Practising Competition 165 7.1 The competition matrix 165 7.2 Management Styles 170 7.2.1 Being the boss 170 7.2.2 Not moving up the ladder 173 7.2.3 Gendered trade-offs for managers 176 7.3 Confidence breeds success 177 7.3.1 Gendered confidence 178 7.4 What makes managers successful? 181 7.5 Good managers and bad managers 183 7.6 Sexuality and competition 186 6 7.6.1 Sexuality still potent 187 7.6.2 Still working with dress and language 189 7.6.3 Old issues, new practices, new experiences 191 7.7 Gender and competition 193 8.0 Gender, competition and management 201 8.1 Engaging with competition 203 8.1.1 Rules of the game 203 8.1.2 Sport and competition: an exemplar for managers 205 8.1.3 The misdirection of engaging with healthy competition 206 8.2 Moving competition beyond winning and losing 207 8.2.1 The comfort of external and personal competition 207 8.2.2 Personal competition: a popular starting point 208 8.2.3 Temporal competition: an opportunity to think about time 209 8.2.4 Practising temporal competition 211 8.2.5 Relationships: the essence of positional competition 212 8.2.6 Relationships with internal and interpersonal competition 214 8.2.7 Collective competition: not delivering the keys to the club 215 8.2.8 Symbolic competition: good managers’ help develop good managers 216 8.2.9 Linking confidence and success 218 8.2.10 Moving up the ladder, new challenges, new wisdom 219 8.3 Competition, gender and management 220 8.3.1 The gender relations of women at work 220 8.3.2 Attitudes to management careers 222 8.3.3 Is the gender and management landscape really changing? 224 8.3.4 Leveraging competition as a lens for change 225 8.3.5 The art of management 227 8.4 The strengths and weaknesses of the study 228 8.5 Next steps 230 Bibliography 232 7 Chapter One Introduction Competition has always been a dirty word for me. As long ago as I can remember, I have never felt comfortable competing with others...Why was it necessary to be pitted against others in order to discover one’s potential? I like to think I am no longer as naive as I was at school and after being in the workforce I’ve come to view competition less simplistically. Debra Matsumoto: 1987 Continued gender inequality in the labour market, specifically in management, lies at the heart of this study. The high rates of women in part-time work, prevailing pay gaps across industries, on-going occupational segregation and the double burden women carry in terms of care and career apparent across western societies, remains on social science research agendas (McRae: 2003, Brannen: 2005, EOC: 2005, Connelly: 2008).