Attitudes of men and women toward a woman manager using three management styles.

Abstract

This study investigated male and female attitudes toward a woman manager using three different styles of management. Subjects were 80 working people, 40 males and 40 females. Mean age for males was 35.4, mean age for females was 47. Subjects viewed three video tapes which portrayed a female manager using the autocratic, supportive, and collegial styles of management. Subjects' attitudes toward the female manager using each of the three styles were measured by an adapted version of the Women As Managers Scale. The Scale to Determine How a Person Feels About Working With a Woman Manager was administered to further assess subjects' attitudes toward a female manager. Differences between males and females attitudes were significant at the E ~.05 level. A significant difference (E<:.05) was also indicated among subjects' attitudes toward each of the three management styles, with the supportive style receiving the most positive attitudes. An interaction between sex and management style was significant (E~.05), with males having more positive attitudes than females on the supportive style, while males had lower attitudes toward the other two styles. Differences for males and females on potential to work well with a woman manager were significant, with more males having low potential than females. Findings suggest a female manager may be viewed more positively when using a supportive style of management, in comparison to autocratic or custodial styles.