FINALDISSERTATION

What is Needed to be an Effective Manager? A Study of
Student Perceptions.
Lauren Murray
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Dissertation submitted in part fulfilment for the degree of
B.A. (Hons) Business Studies
University of Stirling
March 2016
12138 WORDS

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Abstract
The aim of this study is to discover student’s perceptions of an effective manager, looking at
both masculine and feminine related qualities and styles. This will be done in order to
discover whether the participants perceive managerial effectiveness to be closely linked to
male or female managers. The research aims to provide recommendations for those who
may wish to become a manager or have little experience in the workplace. Academic
literature was discussed throughout, providing the basis for the research topic. Topics
discussed include; managerial roles and traits, sex role stereotypes, what it takes to be seen
as a good manager, transformational and transactional leadership styles and the preferred
gender of a manager. A self-selection sampling method was used in order to distribute the
compiled questionnaire for this study. This was emailed to current undergraduate University
of Stirling students, uploaded to the online “Portal” for the University, and a link was posted
to social media pages linked to the University. One hundred and fifty-seven students
completed the questionnaire, and the findings suggest that the vast majority of students
agree on what they perceive an effective manager to be. The research highlighted that
participants perceive that an effective manager must operate using a combination of both
masculine and feminine characteristics. In the analysis, only one significant difference arose,
indicating that where participants largely agree on the matter, in relation to one trait; one
gender agreed on a larger scale. Research also revealed that the majority of participants do
not have any specific preference on the gender of their manager. The main
recommendation was to conduct further research looking at the difference in perceptions
of younger, inexperienced individuals, to the perceptions of individuals with more
experience. Organisations should also look at developing new training schemes, to allow
inexperienced employees to develop the qualities needed to be an effective manager in the
future.

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Acknowledgements
I would like to thank my both supervisor Dr. Robbie Wilson for all her help and advice
throughout the process of writing my dissertation, and Dr. Carol Marshall for her guidance
on how to approach statistical analysis.
I would also like to thank my amazing friends who have provided me with motivation and
shared the stress and experience with me in putting together their own dissertations.
Thank you also to my family who have supported me throughout the 4 years I have studied
at the University of Stirling - support that I cannot thank them for enough.
Finally, I would like to thank my fantastic partner who has given me countless levels of
support and encouragement throughout the whole process. Whilst also making sure I took
time for myself and have a break from writing.

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Contents
Abstract 1
Acknowledgements 2
Chapter One - Introduction 6
Research Problem 6
Research Aim 7
Research Objectives 7
Research Structure 8
Chapter Two - Literature Review 10
Managerial Roles 10
Agentic and Communal Traits 13
The “Good Manager” - Introduction of Androgyny 14
Sex Role Stereotypes 15
Transactional/Transformational Leadership 16
Battle of the Sexes - A Preference of a Male or Female? 18
Chapter Three - Research Methodology 20
Methodological Approach 20
Sample and Sampling Technique 21
Questionnaire 22
Draft Questionnaire and Editing 23
Limitations and Ethical Issues 24
Analysis of Data 25
Chapter Four - Findings and Analysis 27
Background of Respondents 27
Gender Preference of Manager 29
Managerial Roles and Traits 31
Agentic and Communal Traits 35
Managerial/Leadership Style 37
Conclusions 39
Chapter Five - Conclusions and Recommendations 40
Bibliography 46
Appendices 51
Appendix One - Questionnaire Distributed to Participants 51
Appendix Two - Code Book for SPSS Analysis 58
Appendix Three - Age Cross-tabulations 59

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List of Tables
Table 1 - Participant Gender Split 28
Table 2 - Age of Participants 28
Table 3 - Number of Male and Female Students Within Each Age Group 28
Table 4 - Frequency and Percentage of Respondents That Strongly Agree/Agree with Each
Quality 33
Table 5 - Count and Percentage of Respondents That Rate Each Role Very
Important/Important 34
Table 6 - Count and Percentage of Respondents Linking Qualities to Male Managers 36
Table 7 - Count and Percentage of Respondents Linking Qualities to Female Managers 36

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List of Figures
Figure 1 - Quinn and Rohrbaugh’s (1983) “Competing Values” framework 12
Figure 2 - Reasons Provided by Respondents as to Why They Would Prefer a Male 30
Manager
Figure 3 - Reasons Provided by Respondents as to Why They Would Prefer a Female 31
Manager

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Chapter One - Introduction
Research Problem
For many years, the role of women in management has been subject to vast levels of debate
and discussion. It has been widely researched and ascertained that managers have several
roles that they should occupy in order to be successful and effective in the day-to-day
running of the organisation. Mintzberg (1990) highlights the interpersonal, decisional and
informational roles that managers must seek to uphold – irrespective of gender.
Management level positions have seen an evolution over the last 50 years, and it can be
seen that females are growing in presence within organisations. An important factor to take
into consideration in this instance is the varying leadership styles that both males and
females occupy respectively, and how their perceived success hinges on their interpersonal
qualities. It is also vital to remember that both males and females are desirable within an
organisation, but as males are viewed as being the more effective manager – what can be
done to highlight the leadership qualities of the female manager? As significant
developments have been made over time to highlight the leadership qualities of women, it
is important that these do not go unnoticed by those they affect most. These developments
not only affect existing managerial workers, but will also affect current and recently
graduated university students in particular – but to what extent will this have an impact on
them both in employment under a manager, and when (should they desire) they uptake a
managerial position?
Although there is now a greater presence of the female manager, the perception of Schein’s
“think manager, think male” mentality still exists in many organisations (Schein, 1996). This
may be as a direct result from engendered socialisation from childhood, or from the
manager’s own experiences whilst occupying lower level positions in employment. In the
past, autocracy and transactional leadership styles portrayed by males were viewed as being
more effective (Schein, 1983) – however, more recent literature expresses that in modern
organisations, this may not be the case (Korabik and Ayman, 1989). The rise of perceived

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female managerial qualities within organisations prompts the question as to which
management qualities are most desirable, and who displays them?
With this context in mind, this piece of research seeks to discover students’ perceptions on
the subject matter, and ascertain which qualities and managerial styles they believe to be
imperative to the effectiveness of a manager at his/her organisation. This population
sample was chosen to complete the study as many of the students may have some
experience of working for either a male/female manager, or both. However, due to the age
of some of the population, they may not have had extensive experience of working within
organisations. As a result, it is important for the researcher to ascertain which qualities the
students believe to be most important. The research also aims to take a different
perspective on gender in management research, as many pieces of research currently look
at organisational contexts, instead of focusing on the student population (Baker, 2014;
Schein, 1975). Therefore, it is desirable to discover what students’ perceptions are in
relation to current leaders. As a result, this piece of research can make contributions to
many students and outlets of higher education by highlighting areas of theory(ies) that may
require better focus in order to transition into the organisational setting with relative ease.
Research Aims
The purpose of this piece of research is to investigate students’ perceptions on the topic of
effective managerial traits, focusing on which traits males and females express the most,
and what this can mean for organisations. In turn, this will discover which qualities
individuals perceive to be desirable within an organisation, for the students to possibly aim
to develop these qualities. It will also highlight if students believe there to be any
differences in the qualities that males and females display.
Research Objectives
In order to provide a sufficient answer to the proposed research question, the following
research questions have been developed:

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1. To determine what roles students believe should be displayed by an effective
manager.
2. To establish what students’ perceptions of managers are.
3. To determine students’ attitudes towards transformational and transactional
leadership.
4. To identify which sex (if any) makes a more effective manager.
Research Structure
In order to successfully achieve the outlined research objectives, this dissertation will now
undertake the following structure.
Chapter two will discuss a variety of existing academic literature on the topic of managerial
roles and the effectiveness of both male and female managers. Firstly, theories that outline
non-gender specific managerial roles will be discussed. From this, literature associated with
agentic and communal traits displayed by managers will be discussed – using previous
studies within the topic area. Additionally, further academic literature will be explored in
relation to what other individuals perceive to be a “good” manager, and whether or not this
has saw the onset of the “androgynous” manager. Finally, common “sex-role” stereotypes
and both transactional and transformational leadership styles are discussed before leading
on to the discussion of the effectiveness of either managerial sex and whom makes a more
effective manager. As this piece of research will focus on the perceptions of students
regarding the effectiveness of managers and in particular, female managers – existing
literature regarding the views of students has been discussed within the literature review
when appropriate.
Following this, chapter three will move on to outline and discuss the preferred methodology
that will be used in order to carry out the research. This will involve identifying the
population of the study, alongside the sampling method in combination with the relevant
data collection methods. With this being said, both limitations and ethical issues related to

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the study are important and will be considered within this chapter. In turn, this enabled the
researcher to come to a conclusion on the overall feasibility for the research paper.
Chapter four will then outline the results of the research that has been carried out,
alongside appropriate analysis of results being discussed. The analysis will refer to
previously mentioned literature in order to provide any connections between findings or to
highlight more recent results which may differ. Finally, chapter five will provide the
conclusions to the study and will include a summary of the results achieved, along with any
suitable recommendations that can be formed from the research findings.
This research paper will now discuss and analyse any appropriate academic literature that
exists on managerial roles and the effectiveness of managers – this will contribute a detailed
background on the topic area, in order to defend the research aims and objectives.

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Chapter Two – Literature Review
Over time, academic literature has continually evoked the disparity among male and female
managers/leaders in the workplace. Defined as a “masculine” occupation as a result of the
ratio difference between males and females in an organisation, perceptions in relation to
the suitability of women occupying roles above middle management were formed (Schein,
1973). From this, the focus of academic literature shifted to the differences between the
sexes and how this then reflects on the productivity of the organisation as a whole. This
includes the differing leadership styles between males and females, their personalities and
their socialisation from an early age (Jogulu and Wood, 2006). Billing (2011) identifies that
managerial positions still appear to be in favour of masculine characteristics. As a result, this
chapter will explore key areas of literature surrounding the role(s) of managers and the
required characteristics that individuals perceive to be ‘successful’. This will include looking
at both agentic and communal characteristics that managers/leaders may display, alongside
the associated managerial styles. The emergence of sex role stereotyping in managerial
roles will also be discussed and this will lead on to coming to a conclusion as to who makes
the more effective manager – a male or female? Or neither. This piece of research aims to
study the perceptions of current students in relation to the roles of a manager and the
inequalities surrounding the effectiveness of either sex in management roles. Therefore, it is
vital that former literature is examined in the same context, alongside the existing literature
on female managers/leaders.
Managerial Roles
It can be determined from existing literature that managers/leaders occupy a role in which
subordinates/employees (and their work) should be organised, planned, coordinated,
commanded and controlled. Mintzberg (1990) identifies 10 gender-neutral roles a manager
should fulfil if they aspire to become both effective and successful. This framework
proposed by Mintzberg divides the 10 roles into three sub-groups; interpersonal qualities,
informational qualities and decisional qualities (Mintzberg, 1990). Interpersonal roles

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highlight that managers must attend various events (both internal and external) to the
organisation. They also must lead subordinates employed by the organisation and motivate
them to become productive and establish well-formed relationships with them to avoid
conflict. The prevalence of interpersonal roles requires a significant amount of time –
accounting for at least ¾ of the working day (Vinnicombe, 1988). Managers are also
required to be aware of the internal and external environments of the organisation and how
this may impact the success of the organisation. They then must have the ability to pass this
information onto subordinates to allow for communication to be passed throughout the
organisation more freely. This then provides the opportunity for both the manager and the
organisation to become more successful. Finally, Mintzberg (1990) identifies that managers
operate by using four “decisional” elements in relation to their job. Managers are required
to establish and plan for any intended changes within the company. In turn, this also
requires managers to have the qualities to be able to rectify any disturbances, and then to
allocate resources and capabilities appropriately throughout the organisation in order to
attain the desired effect. To enable this, managers may need to negotiate for the allocation
of existing resources or to obtain new resources from current suppliers.
Similarly, Quinn and Rohrbaugh (1983) developed a gender-neutral “competing values”
framework outlining eight required managerial qualities for any organisation to be
successful (Vilkinas and Cartan, 1997). Encompassing two axes in the framework,
managerial roles and effectiveness can be analysed on a basis from flexible to stable
conditions, and also from an external and internal stance. Quinn and Rohrbaugh (1983)
identify that each segment of the framework has a representation of four different
organisational theories; human relations, open systems, internal process and rational
models (see Figure 1). Within the ‘human relations’ section, it has been established that in
order to be effective, managers should become a guide and coordinator of the organisations
employees – this would result in an increased emphasis on the organisational resilience and
internal factors. In order to act upon the ‘open relations’ model, a manager must appear to
be entrepreneurial in nature – much like those qualities outlined within the “decisional”
roles highlighted by Mintzberg. Also, like Mintzberg, monitoring and coordinating roles of a

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manager are represented through the ‘internal process’ theory. In the final section of the
competing values framework, Quinn and Rohrbaugh address both the leadership and
fabricator roles that a manager must encompass and evoke – proposing the “rational goal”
management theory. Comparable to the framework proposed by Mintzberg, this highlights
the importance of a managers’ authority over those within the organisation and the
external direction and purpose of the organisation.
Where these pieces of literature have some considerable age, the information found within
them can still be applied to current issues. The role(s) of a manager have not significantly
changed over time, it is the perceptions of individuals that have changed as a result of
changes in society and culture. Thus, individuals may perceive certain roles as more (or less)
effective as those that would have been viewed as being the most effective in the past.
Figure 1 – Quinn and Rohrbaugh (1983) ‘Competing Values’ framework

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Agentic and Communal Traits
Male managers/leaders can be associated with “agentic” managerial roles, which are
perceived to be masculine in nature. Where female managers tend to have an association
with “communal” qualities as these are formed from relationships, making them appear as
more feminine (Berkery et al, 2013; Koenig et al, 2011; Cameron and Nadler, 2013). Rosette
and Tost (2010) highlight that male managers will act in ways that appear to be task-
orientated, by portraying themselves as being assertive, influential and independent – all of
which are agentic qualities in relation to their managerial role(s). However, it is worth
noting that the required agentic behaviours will vary between managerial levels within any
particular organisation, and thus, managers at each stage will exhibit these qualities in
differing manners in accordance to situations (Scott and Brown, 2006).
Conversely, communal qualities address the requirements of compassion, willingness to
cooperate, alongside an ability to motivate subordinates are commonly exhibited by female
managers (Rudman and Glick, 1999; Rosette and Tost, 2010). In an organisational context,
these qualities may be displayed via working well within a team context, quickly rectifying
any issues that may arise and speaking in a non-authoritative manner towards other
colleagues (Berkery et al, 2013). Female managers who portray themselves in ways that
could be perceived as being more agentic in nature may be at risk of appearing less
desirable by the organisation and its employees (Willemsen, 2002). Berkery et al (2013)
further highlight that communal characteristics are frequently linked to a more
transformational approach to leadership style. This can put females at an increased
disadvantage as it may give other male managers the opportunity to exercise more power
and influence over them and subordinates (Rudman and Glick, 1999). It is imperative to
remember that these agentic and communal qualities are displayed throughout the roles
highlighted by Mintzberg. As a result, these traits need to be addressed in order to highlight
any inconsistencies in respondent perceptions between the two.

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The “Good Manager” – Introduction of the Concept of Androgyny
The qualities perceived to contribute to the success of a manager can be seen throughout
both the Mintzberg framework and Quinns’ matrix. However, many individuals are more
inclined to believe that a “good” manager is stereotypically male (Willemsen, 2002). That
being said however, the image portrayed of the contemporary successful manager, reflects
a significant increase in certain qualities that would have previously been grouped as being
highly feminine. Highlighted by Eagly (2007), specific managerial traits need only be applied
under specific constraints and under influence from varying external and internal influences
(e.g. culture of the host country and organisation and the working environment).
Progressively, a good manager has been described as portraying someone who is less
authoritarian and more participative – with a demand for an increase in both feminine and
masculine traits, this proposes the notion of the androgynous manager (Berkery et al, 2013).
Kark et al (2012) proposes androgyny as being “a blending of ‘feminine’ and ‘masculine’
types of behaviour that can give both female and male managers more flexibility and
advantage as leaders” – whilst equipping them with exceptional qualities to ensure conflicts
remain minimal. An increase in the existing equilibrium between masculinity and femininity
within an organisation has been resultant of the affirmation of female managerial qualities
over time (Powell and Butterfield, 2015). Powell and Butterfield also propose that the
concept of androgyny lies on a four-part scale; “conceptualised” androgyny (both high
masculinity and femininity indexes), a masculine trait construct, a feminine trait construct,
and one which is “undifferentiated” (i.e. it retains low indexes in regards to masculinity and
femininity). Having a leader that may be perceived as being androgynous in nature may give
the organisation a greater opportunity to create a wider skills-set (Korabik and Ayman,
1989). Androgynous characteristics also gives individual managers the opportunity to be
able to adapt their approach should the circumstances dictate, as previously mentioned.

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Sex Role Stereotypes
In relation to the information found throughout both gender-neutral frameworks regarding
managerial roles, it can be ascertained that gender roles in management are formed
surrounding both descriptive and prescriptive norms (Ritter and Yoder, 2004). Qualities
exhibited by male managers include; directive, able to make decisions quickly and action-
orientated (Schein, 1973; Baker, 2014); and so many male individuals have a general
perception that males have the essential attributes to be a successful manager (Schein et al,
1996; Kiser, 2015). Due to this, it has made it significantly difficult for many females to
attain managerial status within an organisation (Powell, 2002). Many individuals have the
assumption that females are short of the desire required to excel in management, and are
lenient in nature during disciplinary situations (Reif et al, 1975). Schein (1975) identifies
from this that many females believe they should portray themselves in-line with the
characteristics that would be deemed as “masculine” in nature.
Korabik and Ayman (1989) highlight that no significant discrepancies occur between the
effectiveness or managerial style for both male and female managers – with typically male
characteristics hindering the success of an organisation. As previously highlighted, female
managerial traits are recognised as being more participative and open in nature, whilst
encompassing coordinator, mentor and monitoring roles and deploying them more
effectively than their male counterparts (Bass and Avolio, 1994; Vilkinas and Cartan, 1997;
Jogulu and Wood, 2006). These leadership behaviours portray female managers as adopting
a “transformational” leadership style; a requirement for an organisation to be successful
due to the need for organisations to become more relationship orientated than ever before
(Jogulu and Wood, 2006). Liu and Wilson (2001) highlight that by adopting a more
participative and transformational approach, this then increases the motivation and
commitment levels of staff – leading to a more productive and successful organisation. As a
result of this, the prevalence of females in a managerial context has increased (Eagly and
Carli, 2003).

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Transactional/Transformational Leadership
Transactional leadership can be described as when one manager takes initiative in
communicating with subordinates in order to achieve something of value (Kuhnert and
Lewis, 1987). Any offerings from either party are recognised and a reward is then given. By
focussing on the interaction between managers and subordinates, this facilitates the
achievement of organisational goals, increase of available rewards and the fulfilment of
delegated tasks (McCleskey, 2014). Adopted more frequently by male managers,
transactional leadership is focused around two significant schools of thought; contingent
rewards and management by exception (Sarros and Santora, 2001). Contingent reward
leadership displays the use of rewards (monetary or otherwise) to incentivise subordinates
to achieve objectives more readily. This ensures an increased level of engagement from
subordinates (Densten, 2006; Hargis et al, 2011). Management by exception (MBE) focuses
on the ways that mistakes can be avoided/rectified. Hargis et al (2011) states that active
MBE is represented by managers paying particular attention to subordinates, in order to
achieve the desired standard of work. Thus, minimising the prevalence of any mistakes
being made. However, passive MBE occurs where managers neglect to provide their
subordinates with the appropriate levels of attention. As a result, they can only rectify
mistakes after they have occurred.
Where transactional management styles seek to achieve results, transformational
leadership focuses on the motivation and contentment of subordinates; through influential
techniques such as mentoring (Kark et al, 2012). In order to do so, transformational
leadership encompasses 4 areas – individualised consideration, inspirational motivation,
intellectual stimulation and idealised influence (Bass and Avolio, 1994; Sarros and Santora,
2001). Individualised consideration highlights the need to emphasise the importance of
employees in their contribution within the organisation. By acting with empathy and
showing emotion, this initiates the improvement in required workplace behaviour via a
means of coaching and mentoring employees. Inspirational motivation focuses on
increasing the depth of understanding employees have in regards to overall organisational
goals and how they can be achieved (Bass and Avolio, 1994; Bass 1999). To do so, managers

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will operate in such a way to increase the level of motivation within the workforce.
Intellectual stimulation has the objective to give employees the opportunity to become
more creative and to accept new challenges that may face them. This requires a heightened
presence of coaching/mentoring within the organisation, in order for employees to gain
more confidence and build on key existing strengths they may have (Sarros and Santora,
2001). Finally, Sarros and Santora (2001) highlight that idealised influence promotes the
desire for employees to utilise their managers as a role models. In order to do this,
managers must emphasise three groups of qualities – personal qualities, social qualities and
fighting qualities. These qualities highlight the need for managers to portray themselves in a
way that shows that they have an interest in their employees, that they have the ability to
control situations and can show the desire of working independently.
The capacity to be able to change management styles when the situation dictates is crucial
in improving organisational effectiveness (Sarros and Santora, 2001). Highlighted by
McCleskey (2014), situational management styles show the relationship between
subordinate maturity and whether the manager operates utilising an autocratic or
democratic approach. The “life cycle” theory emphasises four areas of situational leadership
– high autocratic trait behaviour & low participative behaviour, both high autocratic and
participative behaviour, low directive behaviour in combination with high relations-
orientated behaviour; and lastly, low levels of both task and relations behaviour (Johansen,
1990). Throughout each section, the maturity of subordinates (or follows) increases, until it
reaches a point where neither task, nor relations-orientated behaviour is required from
managers (Hersey and Blanchard, 1969). In order to become more effective (and successful)
it is imperative that leaders choose the most appropriate management style, i.e. when
subordinates have a higher level of maturity and the organisational context is not harsh,
leaders will benefit from utilising a transformational style. However, when the external
environment becomes more volatile, a more task-orientated approach may be most
appropriate – i.e. in times of crises (Sims et al, 2009). However, it is worth noting, as
highlighted by Johansen (1990) – the management style which achieves the best outcome
from followers arises from one where both transactional and transformational behaviour

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are high. Whittington et al (2009) argues that transactional leadership and task-orientated
management styles provide the foundations for relations-orientated style. This is the result
of trust forming as objectives are achieved by employees; providing the opportunity for
relationships to form.
Battle of the Sexes – A Preference of Male or Female?
As previously stated, modern efforts in academic literature propose that organisations must
operate using contrasting management styles than previously in order to be a success – i.e
leadership must adapt to become more participative than authoritarian (Jogulu and Wood,
2008). Cann and Siegfried (1990) also highlight that in order to be successful, managers
must have the ability to act upon the vast array of demands imposed on the organisation,
both internally and externally. This requires them to be docile in their approach and have
the ability to appear more androgynous in nature (Willemsen, 2002).
As previously mentioned, the most prominent male leadership characteristics are agentic
and autocratic in nature – portraying them as task orientated and focussed on achieving
greater results (Scott and Brown, 2006). In this organisational context, males tend to be the
preferred gender of a manager (or leader). As a perception of gender success still exists, it
can be said that there is a “double standard”, when females show agentic qualities to the
detriment of communal ones, they are perceived to be breaching many assumptions of sex
role stereotypes (Rosette and Tost, 2010). These stereotypes have a significant contribution
to the under-evaluation of many female managers – despite current evidence that they
encompass more transformational traits (Jogulu and Wood, 2008).
Over time, a shift in managerial preference has occurred. A study conducted by Frank (1988)
highlighted that there was a significant preference of participants who would prefer to work
for a male (60% of male respondents, and 67% of female respondents). Elsesser and Lever
(2011) highlight the change in preference in their study. The study found that over half of
participants did not hold any preference in regards to their manager. Whereas one third of
participants would prefer a male manager, with just over one tenth indicating a female

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manager preference. Participants in the study conducted by Elsesser and Lever provided
reasons why they preferred a male/female. Reasons ranged from disliking managers of the
opposite sex, to a manager displaying more competence, and managers being more
understanding of situations employees may face. However, it was indicated that a male
manager was a particular preference if the organisational environment was particularly
masculine.

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Chapter Three – Research Methodology
The previous chapter discussed and analysed existing academic literature that is related to
the given research topic which has provided the framework for this present research. This
chapter will now move on to highlight the preferred research methodology for this piece of
research, alongside reasons why questionnaires were used as a data collection method.
Moreover, constraints to the completion of this piece of research will also be highlighted, as
it is crucial that these be taken into account when completing the research. In order for this
study to achieve the previously stated objectives, the preferred methodological approach
will now be outlined to assure that the objectives are met.
Methodological Approach
Research has the potential to be conducted in two ways – quantitatively and qualitatively.
Quantitative approaches to research can primarily focus on an application of numerical
information and data, providing an easier means of analysis (Bryman, 1984). Whereas,
qualitative research is thought to be more flexible in nature than other available methods.
Barnham (2015) highlights that where qualitative data collection methods focus on the use
of words and can also allude to gaining results from hidden qualities of the individual (i.e.
the respondents body language). By asking questions that can evoke a more emotional
response, it can provide a stronger basis for results. Nevertheless, quantitative research was
chosen as the preferred method for this study. By utilising surveys and sampling as a
method of quantitative research, it gives the opportunity for research to be imitated easily –
both to gain more respondents in the initial study, and to carry out more research in the
future (Bryman, 1984). Other benefits of using quantitative data collection methods include
the opportunity for more complicated analysis techniques to take place, such as regression
analysis (Bryman, 1984; Brannen, 2005). It also gives the researcher the opportunity to
potentially collect a vast level of data for later analysis.

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Sample and Sampling Technique
The population used for this study included both male and female undergraduate students
currently studying at the university. The quantity of students currently studying at the
university, made it impossible to take a census due to the inflexible time-restrictions in
place for completion of the study (Saunders et al, 2016). As a result, a sample of the
population was selected for further analysis.
A non-random (also known as non-probability) sampling method was used as a sampling
frame cannot be formed due to the inability to obtain a complete account of the whole
population. As a result, a “convenience” (or volunteering) sample has been taken, as
individuals currently studying at the university are readily available to take part in the
proposed study (Kitchen and Schultz, 1999; Yu and Cooper, 1983). The adopted technique to
obtain results centred around volunteer sampling via a means of a self-completed online
questionnaire. This provides a favourable method of gathering information from students as
they are under no obligation to complete the questionnaire should they not want to
(Lefever et al, 2007). Initially, the intended sample for this piece of research was University
of Stirling management school students. However, due to the possible limited number of
responses, the questionnaire was made available to all undergraduate students at the
University. Primarily, the questionnaire was distributed by emailing students who are
currently in the process of completing their own dissertations, alongside those students
who are studying “core” modules on their degrees. During this process, students were asked
to take part, and were also informed that they were under no obligation to do so. Another
method was also implemented in order to distribute the questionnaire in the event of
prospective participants not receiving the email. This focused on University of Stirling
module group pages on social media websites such as Facebook and Twitter – where vast
numbers of the student sample in question can be located. Making it an excellent method
for survey distribution in this case. In addition, the University of Stirling’s online “portal”,
was an excellent platform for showcasing the questionnaire, giving the opportunity to
obtain more responses from the relevant students.

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A volunteering sampling technique is beneficial as it gives the opportunity for those
individuals who have a genuine interest or opinion on the proposed topic to take part in the
research. Moreover, a substantial bias may arise should a number of respondents currently
have a well-formed opinion/stance on the research topic. If bias should occur, this may
make the results less reliable and valid as they may realise what the proposed study is
aiming to look at. Making use of this sampling technique it allows for a larger sample to be
obtained. In relation to the significant time constraints placed on completing the study, the
lead-time in awaiting responses was incredibly short and so the self-sampling questionnaire
technique allowed for a shorter wait for receipt of responses (Saunders et al, 2016). The
questionnaire was released to students on 21st January 2016 and then closed on the 12th
February 2016. This allowed three weeks for responses to be collected to take part in the
analysis. By taking advantage of the opportunity available to email the questionnaire to
schools within the university so all students could access it. In addition to the publication of
the questionnaire on the University portal and social media sites – in total 157 responses
were obtained. It is unknown if all schools were able to distribute the questionnaire on
behalf of the researcher. However, the management school, law and politics, computing
and mathematics and sociology, social work and criminology were all willing to distribute
the questionnaire.
Questionnaires
The questionnaire was compiled via the use of an external questionnaire provider, Bristol
Online Surveys (BOS), a software package available to everyone that is studying within the
university. Online questionnaire packages such as BOS allow for questionnaires to be
distributed and completed with speed, which is very beneficial when under strict time
constraints (Wright, 2005). Advertising the questionnaire via multiple online methods
provided an effective method for gaining responses from the students required for the
research. Using questionnaires allows for the opportunity to receive more information and
responses in comparison to qualitative research methods such as interviews. In using a self-
completed questionnaire format, it allowed for receipt of a wider range of data to get a
more detailed image of the perceptions of students within the limited time available.

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The questionnaire consisted of two, five point, likert-scale style questions, asking
respondents to identify how strongly they agreed with a given statement, or the level of
importance they believed specific managerial qualities to have. Following on from these
questions were four scenario vignettes, depicting managerial styles within an organisational
setting. Adapted from Levy et al (2002), the scenarios highlighted both a transformational
and a transactional manager/leader. Each scenario outlined the manager’s behaviour in
relation to both the subordinates/employees and the general organisational context.
Gender neutral names were given to the individuals within the scenarios, so respondents
were unable to ascertain the sex of the manager. If participants could come to a conclusion
on the gender, this may have resulted in an increased level of bias in responses, as
participants may have answered in conjunction with existing perceptions of each gender.
Open-ended questions were located at several points throughout the questionnaire in order
to secure a rich and varied level of data. Demographic questions were also put forward to
respondents, this then allowed for analysis to be conducted in relation to comparing the
perceptions of male and female students on the stated questions throughout (see Appendix
1 for the questionnaire).
Draft Questionnaire and Editing
Before the main questionnaire was launched for the beginning of this study, a draft
questionnaire was compiled in-line with the outlined aims and objectives. This allowed for a
small “pilot” study to be conducted on a small group of individuals. This then gave the
opportunity to assess whether or not the direction of some questions may be misconstrued
and misunderstood by participants (Kent, 2007). It is crucial that a pilot study be carried out
prior to launching the questionnaire as it can significantly affect the results of the study if
participants do not understand what is being asked of them. Individuals that took part in the
pilot study have recently completed studies of their own, both at undergraduate and
postgraduate level, within the last two to three years; making them ideal to give criticism
and feedback on any weaknesses that the draft questionnaire had. The general feedback
attributed to the study was received well and found that whilst the proposed questionnaire

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would prove effective, some participants may not fully understand some questions. As a
result, this was taken into consideration and small changes were made prior to the
commencement of the questionnaire. One question was removed in order to make the
questionnaire open to more participants. This question centred on finding out the degree
each respondent was studying, but this was not central to the aims and objectives of the
study.
Limitations and Ethical Considerations
When undertaking any piece of research, there are a number of limitations that may affect
the outcome and progress of the research. In regards to this current study, the most
significant limitation imposed is the strict time period for conducting the research and for
analysis. Due to this, as previously stated, the researcher was unable to obtain information
from the whole student population.
Secondly, due to the topic of the research, it may prove difficult to receive information from
a relatively equal number of both male and female students. This could be problematic
when making comparisons between the perceptions of males and the perceptions of
females. However, in relation to this study, this did not prove to be a significant limitation as
comparisons were able to be made from the data received from participants.
A particular limitation that could result from using self-completed questionnaires as a data
source is that it may fail to achieve the desired level of responses in a specific period of time
(Saunders et al, 2016). Prospective respondents may also opt to not complete the
questionnaire should they believe that it is too lengthy and will take up too much of their
free time to fully understand the questions given. All questions within the questionnaire
carry a level of significance in relation to the study, and these could not be adapted without
making changes to the proposed research question.
Whilst carrying out this particular study, ethical issues had to be taken into account before
research could be conducted. A statement was made to (potential) respondents prior to

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them completing the questionnaire informing them that any data obtained from their
results would remain fully anonymous and only be used solely for the purposes of this
study, with all information being destroyed on completion of the analysis phase.
Analysis of Data
In order to get any significant meaning from the data available after receiving questionnaire
responses, it had to be analysed. To do so, raw data obtained was input into IBM SPSS
version 21 statistical software – allowing for analysis to be completed and any relationships
and themes highlighted. This then allows for graphs and tables to be formulated, in order to
be able to compare results if appropriate, and easily present information that may
otherwise be difficult to understand.
To be able to analyse the data, responses needed to be coded. In relation to the likert scale
questions contained in the questionnaire (i.e. questions 7 and 8), these were coded in the
following way; 15 = strongly disagree, 16 = disagree, 17 = neutral, 18 = agree and 19 =
strongly agree (see appendix 2 for code book). In order to analyse the information received
in regards to open-ended questions throughout the questionnaire, responses were studied
prior to identifying any relevant themes in order for analysis to take place. As many of the
open-ended questions required respondents to provide multiple elements to their answer,
this made it extremely difficult to make any attempts at coding this data with the view to
submitting it to SPSS. This is because the software does not have the capacity to analyse
written answers where it has the potential to contain upwards of one element. As a result,
these themes were analysed separately using Microsoft Excel, as this allows for easier
manipulation of data.
Subsequently, after data from respondents was coded for analysis, this allowed the
opportunity for statistical testing to be completed. Cross-tabulation analysis was conducted
on questions 7 through 10 in order to achieve one of the desired research objectives.
Following from this, chi-square analysis was conducted in order to demonstrate if there

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were any substantial differences between the perceptions of male and female students
respectively (P < 0.05). Cross-tabulations were also conducted on the questions that
provided respondents with scenarios in relation to managerial/leadership style to ascertain
which style students view as being most effective. Again, from this, independent sample t-
tests were conducted in an attempt to indicate if there are any significant differences in the
thoughts of male and female students.
Although not the prime objective of the study, cross-tabulations were carried out regarding
the age of the respondents, to establish if this would highlight any other relationships in the
data received. These cross-tabulations can be found in appendix 3, as they are not fully
relevant to the stated objectives.

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Chapter Four – Research Findings and Analysis
This chapter will now go on to highlight and analyse the results obtained from the
questionnaire, where SPSS has been used to facilitate several statistical analyses. Results
will be compared to previous literature discussed within this study, to provide the
opportunity for any significant similarities or differences to be discussed. This then presents
the opportunity to highlight any unfamiliar trends that may be highlighted via the
responses. The results from the questionnaire will be related to the initial research
questions and objectives, in order for them to be realised:
manager.
2. To establish what students’ perceptions of managers are.
3. To determine students’ attitudes towards transformational and transactional
leadership.
4. To identify which sex (if any) makes a more effective manager.
Background of Respondents
The questionnaire was completed by 157 respondents, which allowed the researcher to
benefit from a rich source of data for analysis, in order to complete the study. Forty-eight of
the responses were male students (30.6%), with one hundred and nine responses coming
from female students (69.4%). This difference was previously outlined as a limitation to the
completion of the study, as due to the topic of the research, some potential respondents
may not have an inclination to complete the questionnaire. However, the chasm between
the response rate of males and females is in-line with the student population as a whole
(Lytton, 2013).

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Table 1 – Participant Gender Split
Respondents were grouped into three categories – aged between 17-20 years old, 21-24
years old, and 25 years and above. Those respondents between the ages of 17 and 20 had
the highest number of participants, contributing to 46.5% of total responses. The group
containing responses of those aged 25 and over contained 21% of total responses (see table
2). Table 3 then moves on to indicate how many male and female responses are included
within each age group.
Frequency Percent
17-20 73 46.5
21-24 50 31.8
25+ 33 21.0
Total 156 99.4
Missing 1 .6
Total 157 100.0
Table 2 – Age of Participants
Age Total
17-20 21-24 25+
Male 17 19 11 47
Female 56 31 22 109
Total 73 50 33 156
Table 3 – Number of male and female students within each age group
Frequency Percent
Male 48 30.6
Female 109 69.4
Total 157 100.0

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Respondents were also asked to state whether or not they have any work experience, as
due to the age of some of the participants, they may not have experience of working within
organisations. As a result, in conjunction with the stated research objectives, comparisons
could have been made during analysis in regards to the differing views those with
experience and those without any experience may have. However, this was not the case as
one hundred and forty-six of the respondents have some work experience, where only
eleven respondents do not have any work experience.
Gender Preference of Manager
Respondents were asked to state their preferred gender of manager, regardless of their
experiences. This was asked in the questionnaire in order to highlight any significant
differences in preference between male and female respondents. All responses were
studied thoroughly in order to identify major themes to use in analysis, as statistical analysis
could not be conducted. The themes identified from all responses include; potential
friendships, bad experiences, engagement, dominance and authority, better
communication, comfort and understanding. Counts were formed for each respondent
gender under these themes, to ascertain their preferences.
Firstly, in regards to male respondents, only 2 responses (5%) to this question drew a
response where they would prefer a female manager. 14 (34%) male respondents stated
that they would prefer a manager of the same sex. These respondents mainly stated their
response due to their belief that male managers are more engaged within organisations,
that they are more willing to appear authoritative and that they communicate with
subordinates and other employees more efficiently. 61% of respondents highlighted that
they feel they would be happy to work for either gender, and thus stated that they do not
hold any preference.

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Figure 2 – Reasons provided by respondents as to why they would prefer a male manager
When looking at responses from female participants, there appears to be a slight preference
towards having a female manager (40% or 39 individuals). However, 37% of female
participants highlighted that they do not have any preference for a manager. Participants
cited female managers to be more understanding and better communicators in day-to-day
occurrences. Less than a quarter of female respondents stated that they would prefer to
work for a male manager. Reasons for this include that they feel male managers are more
authoritative and engaged with the organisation.
These results are in stark contrast to a similar study completed by Frank (1988). Frank
(1988) highlights that 60% of male respondents indicated that they would prefer to have a
male manager. Two thirds of female respondents also highlighted that they would also
prefer to work for a male. Organisational cultures and society has changed significantly in
the years spanning this present study and Frank (1988), this may account for the significant
difference in results obtained. Those respondents who identified that they hold no
preference regarding their manager did so in that they perceive the manager/leaders
behaviour to be of higher importance. This is supported by Scott and Brown (2006) who also

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highlight that it is the behaviour of leaders that affects the actions of employees and peers;
not necessarily gender, however, gender can be an influential factor.
Figure 3 - Reasons provided by respondents as to why they would prefer a female
manager
Managerial Roles and Traits
Question 7 in the questionnaire sought to identify student perceptions on several traits that
managers may or may not display, as shown in Appendix 1, in order to meet research
objective one. This question invited respondents to identify their level of agreement (i.e. if
they strongly agreed or disagreed) with each quality. Nine of the stated qualities were
masculine in nature, with a further eight qualities associated with being feminine. As
previously stated in the literature review, male managers frequently display qualities that
can be determined as being more powerful (or agentic) in nature, where female managers
display traits that are more communal in nature (Koenig at al, 2011). The results from this
question are highlighted in table 4, with the overall number and percentage of males and
females that either agree or strongly agree with each of the stated traits.
Willingness to help; a stereotypically feminine trait, scored equally highly amongst both
male and female respondents with 94% of each gender agreeing (or strongly agreeing) that

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this trait should be displayed by managers. Alongside this, productive (a masculine trait) and
determination (also masculine) scored 94% from female respondents. In relation to male
respondents, willingness to help saw the highest response rate, with self-assurance and
productivity coming in close second at 92%. The second highest scoring feminine
characteristic amongst male respondents saw caring for others achieve a result of 90%. In
female responses, self-assurance achieved a score of 91%, with caring for others achieving
the third-highest rate of 87%. More male students agreed with 3 of the stated feminine
characteristics than females, these being; caring for others, approving and
coaching/mentoring. However, in contrast, females agreed more strongly in relation to 6
masculine qualities, including; productivity, powerful, determination, independence,
dominance and focused on results. Respondents largely disagreed (or strongly disagreed)
that narcissism should be displayed by managers as only 10% and 7% of male and females
respectively agreed that this quality is necessary.
Within the present study, male and female respondents appeared to agree or strongly agree
with a combination of both masculine and feminine traits. However, as mentioned above,
this level of agreement slightly varies between some traits. The three bottom-ranked traits,
narcissistic, focused on results and powerful, are all masculine. This may indicate that there
is a slight change in perceptions on the effective manager. A particularly interesting finding
from this question is males ranking some stereotypically feminine qualities higher than
female respondents, and females ranking stereotypically masculine qualities higher than
males. Given that the vast majority of both male and female respondents agree highly with
the traits, this implies that respondents believe that both males and females possess the
desired qualities to be an effective manager.
In the past, where successful managers were more inclined to portray masculine
characteristics, these results highlight how perceptions have evolved. Successful
managers/leaders are now thought to incorporate a mix of masculine and feminine
characteristics (Berkery et al, 2013). This “blending” of qualities has allowed for
managers/leaders to develop a higher degree of flexibility. Thus, giving them the

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opportunity to make decisions more freely and effectively (Korabik and Ayman, 1989).
Powell and Butterfield (2015) also identify an increased equilibrium in male/female
qualities. This is the result of the affirmation of feminine characteristics in organisations.
However, this will differ in organisations where the culture of the host country has a
significant impact.
Males Females Perception of each
quality
Self-assured 44 (92) 99 (91) Masculine
Willingness to help 45 (94) 102 (94) Feminine
Productivity 44 (92) 102 (94) Masculine
Caring for others 43 (90) 95 (87) Feminine
Approving 37 (77) 72 (66) Feminine
Powerful 23 (48) 54 (50) Masculine
Coaching/mentoring 41 (85) 89 (82) Feminine
Sympathetic 25 (52) 70 (64) Feminine
Determination 39 (81) 102 (94) Masculine
Friendly 34 (71) 89 (82) Feminine
Caring 28 (58) 77 (71) Feminine
Independent 28 (58) 71 (65) Masculine
Dominant 11 (23) 40 (37) Masculine
Thoughtful 29 (60) 73 (67) Feminine
Focused on results 13 (27) 45 (41) Masculine
Narcissistic 5 (10) 8 (7) Masculine
Dynamic 34 (71) 73 (67) Masculine
Table 4 – Frequency and percentage of respondents that strongly agree/agree with each
quality

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Respondents were also asked to rank how important they believe each of Mintzberg’s
managerial roles to be. Highlighted in table 5 are the counts and percentages of
respondents who believe each role to be either important or very important. The three
roles that female respondents identified as being important or very important are; leader,
disturbance handler and finance allocation. These were ranked at 99%, 91% and 91%
respectively. In contrast, male respondents identified leader, disturbance handler and
monitor to be most important. These scored 94%, 88% and 79% respectively. The roles
which received the lowest scores from both male and female respondents are liaison and
disseminator/spokesman. Half of male respondents’ view entering into external
relationships that would be beneficial to the organisation as important, whereas slightly less
than half of females’ view this as being important. 56% of both males and females perceive
the disseminator/spokesman role to be important or very important. Highlighted by
Vinnicombe (1988), roughly 80% of managers work should include each of the interpersonal
roles. As a result, it is interesting to note that respondents only identify one of the
interpersonal roles as being significantly important, with all “decisional” roles also being
significantly important
Male Female Mintzberg
Category
Leader 45 (94) 108 (99)
INTERPERSONALFigurehead 30 (63) 72 (67)
Liaison 24 (50) 51 (47)
Monitor 38 (79) 78 (72)
INFORMATIONALDisseminator/Spokesman 27 (56) 61 (56)
Entrepreneur 34 (71) 88 (81)
DECISIONALDisturbance Handler 42 (88) 98 (91)
Finance Allocation 35 (73) 98 (91)
HR Allocation 37 (77) 97 (90)
Table 5 – Count and Percentage of Respondents that rate each role as important/very
important

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Agentic and Communal Traits
Questions 9 and 10 asked students to tick all the qualities they perceive to relate to a male
and female manager respectively. They were provided with ten qualities in total; five
agentic qualities and five communal. In relation to the data obtained from responses no
significant differences arose when looking at male managers. The qualities most male
respondents linked with male managers are; motivating (79%), directive (66%), powerful
and encouraging (62%). However, this is slightly different to female respondents who view
male managers to be; directive (76%), powerful (74%) and motivating (70%).
When looking at the female manager, largely no significant differences were received.
However, “powerful” as a quality appeared to be significant (P ≤ 0.05). 54% of female
respondents thought of female managers as being powerful in nature, where only 26% of
males shared this view. This highlights that many females view their fellow females to hold
more power than others may think. Data received from male respondents alluded that they
find female managers to be encouraging (85%), motivating (75%) and concerned for others
(72%). Female responses also highlighted that respondents find female managers to be
encouraging (79%), concerned for others (78%) and motivating (77%). All of which are
communal in nature, and relate to interpersonal roles identified by Mintzberg, as they focus
on relationships with others (see tables 6 & 7 for full information on results).
By looking at the highest-scoring qualities for each manager (i.e. a male or female manager),
respondents within this study perceive managers to have a combination of both agentic and
communal characteristics. With this being said, it must be noted that the level of agency
linked with managerial/leadership roles increases in higher levels of organisations (Rosette
and Tost, 2010). Vinnicombe (1988) highlights that many females characterise “power”
differently to their male counterparts. This may account for the higher rating achieved in
regards to the qualities female respondents perceive female managers to have.

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Male Female Agentic/Communal
Powerful 29 (62) 80 (74) Agentic
Aggressive 14 (30) 33 (31) Agentic
Motivating 37 (79) 76 (70) Communal
Encouraging 29 (62) 50 (46) Communal
Concerned for
others
15 (32) 20 (19) Communal
Controlling 24 (51) 47 (44) Agentic
Cooperative 20 (43) 41 (38) Communal
Independent 26 (53) 73 (68) Agentic
Directive 31 (66) 82 (76) Agentic
Team-Worker 28 (60) 47 (44) Communal
Table 6 – Count and Percentages of Respondents linking qualities to male managers
Male Female Agentic/Communal
Powerful1 12 (26) 58 (54) Agentic
Aggressive 11 (23) 14 (13) Agentic
Motivating 35 (75) 83 (77) Communal
Encouraging 40 (85) 86 (79) Communal
Concerned for
others
34 (72) 85 (78) Communal
Controlling 23 (49) 30 (28) Agentic
Cooperative 27 (57) 62 (57) Communal
Independent 20 (43) 55 (51) Agentic
Directive 21 (45) 55 (51) Agentic
Team-Worker 30 (64) 47 (44) Communal
Table 7 – Count and Percentages of Respondents linking qualities to female managers
1 P0.05

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Managerial/Leadership Style
Participants in the study were presented with four managerial scenarios. This consisted of
two scenarios depicting a transformational (or relations) approach, with the other scenarios
highlighting a transformational (or task) approach. This provided the researcher with an
opportunity to use gender-neutral names to participants, in an attempt to eliminate any
bias or prejudices towards either sex. Only the researcher knew the true identity (or sex) of
each manager. After each scenario, participants were asked the following questions; did
they perceive the manager to be effective; would they be happy to work for said manager;
and what elements of the style did they like or dislike.
The first scenario outlined a transformational style to participants, with the manager in
question being a male. Of all the male respondents that provided an answer regarding the
effectiveness of the first manager, 100% stated that they perceive them to be an effective
manager. This result was also displayed in relation to those male respondents that provided
an answer when asked if they would be happy to work for the manager or not. 99% of
female respondents thought that the first scenario highlighted an effective manager and
one they would hope to work for now or in the future. When faced with a scenarios
highlighting task-orientated/transactional styles of management, 57% and 67% of males
stated that they view the manager to be effective, with 67% and 61% of female respondents
agreeing with this. In regards to these scenarios, 47% and 52% of male respondents would
be happy to work in this environment. With 47% and 48% of female respondents sharing
this view. In relation to the final scenario, respondents were again, faced with a scenario
highlighting a transformational/relations-orientated approach, this gained a response rate
of 96% males and 98% females who perceived the manager to be successful. None of these
results had any significant differences both at P≤0.05 or P≤0.10.
Participants were then asked to state which elements of each leadership style they both like
and dislike. In terms of the transformational/relations-orientated style, the top three
elements of the style that respondents particularly enjoyed are; coaching and mentoring,
team-worker, attentive. With other respondents citing that they like the supportive and

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appreciative nature of this style. A small number of respondents also stated that they
perceive a manager using this style to be the “perfect manager”. This is supported by Eagly
and Carli (2003) who also found relations-orientated styles to reinforce objectives of
organisations. If managers/leaders can establish themselves as mentoring this assists in
motivating employees to be effective. Eagly and Carli (2003) also highlight that many female
managers/leaders display qualities that are more transformational in nature. This can be
advantageous to the female manager as many elements of transformational leadership
require the use of both masculine and feminine qualities. However, in relation to disliking
the style, several respondents noted that there is a lack of authority and structure in the
way that the organisation could be managed. This highlights that this may be a weakness in
operating using such a style. The majority of respondents listed that they had no significant
dislikes towards the style outlined.
When looking at transactional/task-orientated styles, respondents highlighted that they
particularly like the incentives offered by the manager. Other elements that respondents
like include; the driven & focused nature, that independence is given to employees and they
are motivated by the rewards. On the other hand, participants felt that the style does not
seek to improve any further than rectifying prominent issues. Participants stated that the
style also lacks any sign of initiative in making any changes or attempts to evolve the
organisation.
Upon reading the first two scenarios, a number of respondents noted that the second two
scenarios were the same, and so did not provide any other statement in regards to what
they like or dislike. This also saw an increase in missing information/unanswered questions,
possibly because they felt they had already provided an answer from the previous
question(s). Despite this, some participants provided answers that coincide with the themes
found when analysing the likes and dislikes of the first transformational and transactional
scenarios.

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Conclusions
This chapter has highlighted a number of interesting findings, some showing a shift in
attitudes and perceptions from previous literature, some in agreement with more recent
studies. Male and female participants appear to largely agree on the majority of questions
put forward in this study. However, in regards to one question in particular, a significant
difference could be highlighted, and the respondent could ascertain the reasons why. This
shows that where males and females can hold similar views, one sex may still hold a
stronger preference in regards to some things.
Respondents were asked to highlight the traits they believe are essential for managers and
leaders to be effective. From the results, it can be seen that in this study, respondents agree
that in order to be effective in modern organisations, managers should operate using both
masculine and feminine qualities. Females also agreed or strongly agreed higher in regards
to six of the masculine qualities put to them, with males agreeing or strongly agreeing
higher on three of the feminine qualities. This highlights that females may still believe that
in order to be effective, managers should frequently display a higher level of masculinity.
However, the general consensus is one that a combination of both would be the most
effective means of managing an organisation. Male respondents highlight that where the
majority do not have any specific preference on the gender of their manager. It was
highlighted that there is a large difference in those who indicated a male preference over a
female preference. However, the preferences of female participants is largely spread across
preferences for males and females, or they have no preference.

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Chapter Five – Conclusions and Recommendations
The main purpose of this research aimed to look at students’ perceptions on which
managerial/leadership qualities are effective. This looked at the traits students believe a
male or female manager to display most, highlighting any significant differences in
perceptions. In order to fulfil this aim, the research had the following objectives:
manager.
2. To establish what students’ perceptions of female managers are.
3. To compare the perceived effectiveness of both male and female managers.
4. To identify which sex (if any) makes a more effective manager
The majority of participants taking part in the study stated that they do not have any
preference for which gender they wish their future manager to be (61% males and 37%
females). 5% of male participants and 40% of female participants highlighted that they
would prefer to have a female manager. Reasons given for this preference include; more
understanding, give better communication (and feedback) and they would generally feel
more comfortable within the organisation. 34% of male respondents stated that they would
prefer to have a male manager, with 23% of female respondents sharing this preference.
Those who would prefer to have a male manager do so because they believe a male
manager/leader to be more engaged in their work. They also believe that male managers
portray themselves as more authoritative. As Frank (1988) highlighted that 60% of male
respondents within that study preferred to have a manager of the same sex. Scott and
Brown (2006) support this change as it is highlighted that whilst gender can be an influential
factor in the perceived effectiveness of managers/leaders, it is their behaviour that has the
most influence. Elsesser and Lever (2011) indicated that 54% of respondents do not have
any preference in regards to managers. This reinforces evidence of a change in preference
as perceptions of managers and leaders have changed over time. Where preferences
occurred in the study by Elsesser and Lever, reasons identified by participants are in
conjunction to those stated by participants in this current study.

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With regards to the perceptions of stereotypical managerial traits and qualities, the views of
both male and females have evolved over time. Studies undertaken by Schein (1975) and
Schein et al (1996) found that those within the studies linked managerial effectiveness to
those qualities that are masculine. With less emphasis on a desire for feminine
characteristics. Findings from the analysis highlight that participants perceive an effective
manager to now possess both masculine and feminine qualities. Largely, male respondents
strongly agreed or agreed with the majority of the masculine traits. However, they also
significantly agreed with all the feminine traits within the question. The vast majority of
female respondents strongly agreed or agreed with all but one masculine trait. This
indicates that modern effective managers (regardless of gender) should display a variety of
both masculine and feminine characteristics. Furthermore, the three traits that received the
lowest levels of agreement from both males and females were all of masculine nature.
There is no longer a significant preference for managers to display all masculine
characteristics. Eagly (2007) also found similar evidence that the “Great Man” theory is no
longer prevalent. Eagly also states that an effective manager/leader is now perceived to
operate in a coaching role, instead of dominating the organisation. Where there has been a
decline in the requirement for masculine characteristics, under particular constraints,
different behavioural combinations are needed.
The majority of participants (both male and female) highlighted that they perceive all of the
managerial roles set out by Mintzberg to be important or very important. Almost 100% of
respondents indicated that being a leader is the most important role of a manager.
However, participants do not believe that there is an overwhelming need for
managers/leaders to readily liaise with subordinates and the external environment.
Participants indicated that they perceive “decisional” roles to be more important overall.
Indicating that they believe a manager should be able to facilitate changes within an
organisation, in combination with allocating capital and staff accordingly. This contrasts with
a study completed by Vinnicombe (1988) who highlights the importance of the
“interpersonal” roles of a manager, as these form the majority of the managers daily duties.

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In the past, male managers have been perceived to be more powerful, or agentic in nature.
With Rudman and Glick (1999) finding that males can exert power more easily, compared to
females who act in the same manner. Communal traits, however, have been more
commonly associated with female managers. This is due to the focus of forming
relationships with peers that many of these traits have. Respondents highlighted in the
study that they feel male managers should be motivating, directive, powerful and
encouraging. These qualities are a combination of both agentic and communal in nature,
with scores ranging from 62% to 79%. There were no significant differences in respondents’
perceptions of a male manager. When applying the same traits to a female manager, the
results were slightly different. Respondents indicated that they believe female managers to
be encouraging, motivating and concerned for others. All of these qualities are perceived to
be communal in nature and focused on emotions and relationships – with scores between
72% and 85%. One significant difference was found when applying agentic and communal
qualities to female managers. Over half of female respondents highlighted that they believe
managers of the same sex to be powerful, with only a quarter of male respondents sharing
this view. In relation to this, Vinnicombe (1988) highlights that many females perceive
“power” differently to males. Females tend to look at power as their ability to use their
“talent” or qualities to be able to have control over events. This may account for the
significant difference in views between male and female respondents. It must be taken into
account that the level of agency/control/power within managerial and leadership roles
increases throughout the upper levels in a chain of command (Rosette and Tost, 2010). This
evidence supports the analysis previously discussed, highlighting that participants believe a
manager/leader should encompass both masculine and feminine characteristics, in any
combination.
Participants were then asked questions regarding task-orientated and relations-orientated
(transactional and transformational) management/leadership. This required participants to
provide answers to four scenarios with gender-neutral names, in order to see if assumptions
were made regarding gender and style. Thus, participants had to focus on the traits and

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qualities within the style itself. The scenarios were adapted from a study by Levy et al
(2002). Two scenarios highlighted a transformational manager/leader, where the scenario
outlined the managerial style in such a way where their subordinates would feel
empowered and where their actions focused on future action (Eagly and Carli, 2003). The
other two scenarios outlined a transactional style, where the manager/leader in question is
focused on results and uses rewards as an incentive for good work. When enquiring
whether participants found each manager to be effective/successful, the transformational
manager/leader scenario received scores ranging between 96 and 100%. This shows that
the participants overwhelmingly agree that managers exhibiting this style are more likely to
be effective. However, significantly less participants agreed that transactional styles were
effective (scores ranging from 57% and 67%). The questions then prompted participants to
provide their likes and dislikes about each style. In relation to a relations-orientated
approach, respondents highlighted that they particularly like the team-working and
mentoring aspects of this style. With a few respondents stating that they perceive this
particular style to be “perfect”. Very few respondents indicated that they disliked the style,
however, some noted that it lacks focus and authority. Bass (1999) also states that
managers exhibit both task-orientated and relations-orientated behaviour - with those that
frequently display relations-orientated behaviour more being evaluated as more effective.
Evidence highlighted by Wolfram and Gratton (2013) shows that many transformational
leaders fail to conform to the perception of an assertive manager. In regards to the task-
orientated approach, respondents noted a particular appreciation for the use of rewards in
the organisation. However, they also stated that they felt this style of management does not
have any incentives for the employees to show initiative in their work. From this, it
highlights that participants believe that a transformational or relations-orientated approach
is the most effective.
Overall, this study highlighted a number of findings that answer the stated research
objectives. Participants (both male and female) appear to agree on the majority of elements
throughout the study, with very little significant differences between the two. This gives an

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indication that their perceptions are similar. A major finding of this study was to find that
the majority of responses indicated that they do not hold any particular preference in
regards to who they would like their manager to be. However, female respondents
highlighted the slightest preference towards having a female, where a very small number of
male respondents shared this view. The study also discovered that there is a high level of
agreement between respondents in regards to the traits and qualities that
managers/leaders should frequently display in order to be effective. Participants believe
that in order to be effective, a combination of both masculine and feminine (agentic and
communal traits) is required. This provides the manager/leader with a higher degree of
flexibility, providing the opportunity to react better to changes in the organisational
environment. Participants also highlighted that a transformational (relations-orientated)
approach to management would be the most effective, and one where they would be
happier to work under. However, there appeared to be some criticism in towards this style
as some participants feel this style lacks any form of authority and direction, which is a
necessity. The findings suggest that there have been changes in attitudes towards the
gender of managers/leaders in comparison to research completed in the 1970’s and 1980’s.
Some findings find agreement in research completed more recently, which supports the
findings of this study. It is a possibility, however, that there may be differences in the
perceptions and preferences between those who are younger with little experience, and
those who are older and have experience of working with organisations. However, no
conclusions can be expressed on this as it was not the main aim of this study.
The first recommendation formed from the findings of this research would be to complete
further research, using qualitative methods, in order to obtain a more comprehensive set of
results. Also, further research should also seek to look at investigating if there are any
significant differences in perceptions in relation to the age and experience of participants.
This would be particularly interesting to look at as those who are relatively inexperienced
may be ignorant to past perceptions on this research topic. It may be beneficial for
universities and schools to promote that there is no singular effective managerial/leadership
style, in order to show students that not only one set of traits should be highlighted. In

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addition to this, organisations should establish new methods of training and development
for their current employees, giving them the opportunity to develop the traits and skills
required for effectiveness. This may be done via organising various mentoring schemes so
inexperienced employees can shadow those in the organisation with experience.

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Appendices
Appendix One - Questionnaire Distributed to Participants
1. Are you..
Male
Female
2. What age are you?
17-20
21-24
25+
3. Do you have any work experience?
Yes
No
4. If yes, which gender was your direct manager? (if both, go to Q5. If male/female, go
to Q6)
Male
Female
Both
5. Which gender did you perceive to be more effective?
Male
Female
6. Regardless of work experience, would a male or female manager be your
preference? And why?

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7. On the given scale, please indicate your level of agreement in regards to the traits of
a manager.
Strongly
Disagree
Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly
Agree
Self-assured
Willing to help
Productive
Concerned for other
employees
Approving
Powerful
Coaching/mentoring
Sympathetic
Determined
Friendly
Caring
Independent
Dominant
Thoughtful
Focused on rewards
Narcissistic
Dynamic
8. On the given scale, please state the importance of each statement in relation to the
roles of an effective manager.
No
importance
Little
importance
Some
importance
Importa
nt
Very
important
A manager must be
able to motivate
their employees to
do well
A manager must
represent their
organization at
suitable external
events
A manager should
enter into external

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relationships that
would be beneficial
to the organization
Managers should
be aware of
activities both
internal and
external to the org
Information
gathered from
these activities
must then be
transferred to
subordinates/BOD
They must innovate
and initiate
(controlled) change
in the organization
(i.e. the
development of
new policies)
In times of crisis,
they are able to use
their skills to inhibit
any negative effects
They are able to
allocate financial
resources
appropriately
They are able to
allocate HR
appropriately
9. Which of these attributes would you associate with a male manager? (tick all that
apply)
Powerful
Aggressive
Motivating
Encouraging
Concerned about others
Controlling
Cooperative
Independent
Directive

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Team-Worker
10. Which of these attributes would you associate with a female manager? (tick all that
apply)
Powerful
Aggressive
Motivating
Encouraging
Concerned about others
Controlling
Cooperative
Independent
Directive
Team-Worker
11. 1- Concerned with results and independence, 2- Concerned with relations and team-
working. Outlined are two management styles, which do you think would be more
successful?
Concerned with results and independence
Concerned with relations and team-working
12. “OfficerDickson (OD) hasheld a leadership position asa supervising officerforthe
DartmouthPoliceDepartment(DPD) forthe past5 years.
Subordinateshavecompletefaith in OD and are proud to be
associated withOD. They say that ODhas a way of making them
enthusiasticabouttheirjob assignmentsand isviewed as being a symbolof successand
accomplishment.ODconsiderssubordinatesindividualsand givespersonalattention to
subordinateswho otherwiseseemneglected.ODis also known to giveboth newcomers
and moresenior subordinatesa lotof help and advice - ready to serve as a teacher or coach
wheneverneeded.ODdelegatesdutiesto subordinatesto offerthemlearning opportunities.
OD findsoutwhatsubordinatesneed and helpsthemobtain it. OD lets all subordinatesknow
howwell they are doing and expressesappreciation when they do a good job.“ADAPTED
FROM(Levy et al, 2002)
Do you think Officer Dickson is an effective manager?
Yes
No
13. Would you feel comfortable to work for Officer Dickson now/in the future?
Yes
No
14. What elements of Officer Dicksons’ management style do you like? And why?

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15. What elements of Officer Dicksons’ management style do you not like? And why?
16. “Officer Morris(OM) hasheld a leadership position as a supervising officerforthe
DartmouthPoliceDepartment(DPD) forthe past5 years.Subordinateshavean agreement
with OMaboutwhatthey will getin exchangefordoing whatneedsto beaccomplished.
Similarly, subordinates“understand”whatthey areexpected to put into their group’seffort
and whatthey can getout of it. Subordinatesfeelthey can getwhatthey wantif they work
as agreed and showsupportforOM.OMis said to give subordinatesrecognition and talks
aboutspecialcommendations forperforming atstandard orbetter.Clearly,rewardsare
based on performance.
Furthermore,OM’ssubordinatesdescribeasa leader who is satisfied with letting them
continueto do their job in the sameway as before,particularly aslong as thingsare going all
right.OM arrangesto knowand givesspecial attention to mistakes,irregularities,
exceptions,and deviationsfromthestandard waysof doing something.In thesecases,
corrective action is taken.OMconsidersimprovementsonly if goalsand plansare notmet.
OMis a firm believer in the idea that“if it ain’tbroke,don’tfix it.” In short,OfficerMorrisis a
management-by-exception leader.”ADAPTEDFROM(Levy etal, 2002)
Do you think Officer Morris is an effective manager?
Yes
No
17. Would you be happy to work for Officer Morris now/in the future?
Yes
No
18. What elements of Officer Morris’ management style do you like? And why?
19. What elements of Officer Morris’ management style do you not like? And why?
20. "OfficerJenkins(OJ) hasheld a leadership position as a supervising officerfortheDartmouth
Police Department(DPD) forthe past5 years.Subordinateshavean agreementwith OJ
aboutwhatthey will get in exchangefordoing whatneedsto be accomplished.Similarly,
subordinates“understand”whatthey areexpected to put into their group’seffortand what
they can get outof it. Subordinatesfeelthey can get whatthey wantif they workas agreed
and showsupportforOJ.OJis said to givesubordinatesrecognition and talksaboutspecial
commendationsforperforming atstandard orbetter.Clearly,rewardsarebased on
performance.
Furthermore,subordinatesdescribeOJasa leader who is satisfied with letting themcontinue
to do their job in the sameway as before,particularly aslong asthingsare going all right. OJ
arrangesto knowand givesspecial attention to mistakes,irregularities, exceptions,and
deviationsfromthestandard waysof doing something.In thesecases,corrective action is
taken.OJconsidersimprovementsonly if goalsand plansare not met.OJ is a firm believer in
the idea that“if it ain’tbroke,don’tfix it.” In short,OJis a management-by-exception
leader.” ADAPTEDFROM(Levy et al, 2002)

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Do you think Officer Jenkins is an effective manager?
Yes
No
21. Would you be happy to work for Officer Jenkins now/in the future?
Yes
No
22. What elements of Officer Jenkins’ management style do you like? And why?
23. What elements of Officer Jenkins’ management style do you not like? And why?
24. “Officer Frame(OF) hasheld a leadership position asa supervising officerforthe Dartmouth
Police Department(DPD) forthe past5 years.OFis able to get themto thinkand workfor
the welfareof the DPD and the citizens it serves.Subordinateshavecompletefaith in OFand
are proud to be associated withOF.OF's subordinatessay thatOFhasa way of making them
enthusiasticabouttheirjob assignmentsand isviewed as being a symbolof successand
accomplishment.
OF considerssubordinatesasindividualsand givespersonalattention to subordinateswho
otherwiseseem neglected.OFis known to giveboth newcomersand moresenior
subordinatesa lotof help and advice.OF is ready to serve as a teacher or coach whenever
needed.OFdelegatesduties to subordinatesto offerthemlearning opportunities.OFfinds
outwhatsubordinatesneed and helpsthemobtain it. OFlets subordinatesknow howwell
they are doing and expressesappreciation when they do a good job.OFis also able to get
subordinatesto think forthemselves.“ ADAPTEDFROM(Levy et al, 2002)
Do you think Officer Frame is an effective manager?
Yes
No
25. Would you be happy to work for Officer Frame now/in the future?
Yes
No
26. What elements of Officer Frames’ management style do you like? And why?
27. What elements of Officer Frames’ management style do you not like? And why?
28. Should managers be able to change leadership style if the situation dictates so?
Yes
No
I don’t know

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29. Under difficult conditions, which management style would you say being aggressive
and concerned with results is important? Or would you say being helpful and
concerned is important?
Aggressive and concerned with results
Helpful and concerned
30. Which of these behaviour combinations do you perceive to be most effective? task-
orientated = powerful, organised & outlined relations-orientated = emotional
support, group work & good relationships
High task-orientated/Low relations-orientated
High task-orientated/High relations-orientated
Low task-orientated/Low relations-orientated
31. Do you think that the maturity/experience level of employees impacts on a
managers effectiveness?
Yes
No
32. Do you feel that skills can easily be acquired in order to become an effective
manager?
Yes
No

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Appendix Two - Code Book for SPSS Analysis
1. Male
2. Female
3. 17-20
4. 21-24
5. 25+
12. Yes
13. No
14. Both
15. Strongly Disagree
16. Disagree
17. Neutral
18. Agree
19. Strongly Agree
20. No importance
21. Little importance
22. Some importance
23. Important
24. Very important
35. Results and independence
36. Relations and team-working
38. Aggressive and concerned with results
39. Helpful and concerned
40. HT/LR
41. HT/HR
42. LT/HR
43. LT/LR

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Appendix Three - Age Cross-tabulations
Age Strongly
Disagree
Neutral Agree Strongly
Agree
Total
17-20 0 7 48 18 73
21-24 0 2 32 16 50
25+ 1 3 24 4 32
TOTAL 1 12 104 38 155
Table 1.1 - Age x Self-Assured
Age Strongly
Disagree
Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly
Agree
Total
17-20 0 1 3 23 46 73
21-24 0 1 2 11 36 50
25+ 1 0 1 9 21 32
Total 1 2 6 43 103 155
Table 1.2 - Age x Willingness to Help
Age Strongly
Disagree
Neutral Agree Strongly
Agree
Total
17-20 0 7 20 46 73
21-24 0 1 17 32 50
25+ 1 1 10 20 32
Total 1 9 47 98 155
Table 1.3 - Age x Productive

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