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Transcript of Collective Bank
Lisa Hammerton/ Q79728537/ CCA 503
Management Communications
CCA 503
Collective Bank
Unit Leader: Dominic Walters
Student Number: Q79728537
2637 words
Lisa Hammerton: Q79728537
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Contents
Description page number
Abstract 5
Introduction 6
Terms of Reference 7
Literature Review 8
Methodology 12
Results 13
Discussion 16
Conclusion 19
Recommendations 20
Reference List 21
Bibliography 22
Appendix 23
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Abstract
Collective Bank is a medium sized retail bank. They take Corporate Social
Responsibility very seriously within the company but were embarrassed to discover that
their diversity within senior management was not up to scratch due to the lack of women
who want to put themselves forward for the promotion. It was found that this is common
across most banks within the industry although they are working towards increasing the
number of women female managers.
This report produces a strategy as to what Collective Bank can do to tackle the issue.
Some recommendations include resolving the career vs. family debate, changing the
view that typically males make better managers and ways to motivate women within the
company.
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Introduction
Collective Bank is a medium sized retail bank in the UK which strives to put ethical
practices and investments as a center of its activities. Corporate Social Responsibility is
taken seriously within the company. It has recently been found however, that there are
too few female senior managers within the company and current senior management
are predominantly white and male.
The purpose of this report is to investigate reasons as to why there are currently not
many women that hold senior management roles within Collective Bank and why
women do not seem keen to put themselves forward for promotion. Therefore, this
report aims to produce a strategy to deal with this problem. This will be investigated
through market research and also theory.
Themes in order to tackle the issue will be to conduct reading into management, gender
and management including stereotypes and motivation.
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Terms of Reference
1. To review existing theory about gender and management
2. To construct primary research on the banking industry
3. To analyze how research can be applied to Collective Bank
4. To make recommendations to encourage women to consider a career in senior
management for Collective Bank
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Literature Review
This literature survey will review theory about management and gender differences in
management. The aim of this literature review is to fulfill the first terms of reference
within this report.
Management
Management is active, not theoretical. It is about changing behaviour and making things happen. It is about developing people, working with them, reaching objectives and achieving results. (Mullins 2007 p.411)
Mullins (2007) states that management is based within an organizational setting and is
about fulfillment of aims and objectives achieved through other people’s efforts using
systems and procedures.
A constant debate discussed by Watson (1986) and other theorists, is whether
managers are born or made and whether management is an art or science.
Management as art consists around personality and intuition and management as a
science is the knowledge and application of skills. Mullins (2007) suggests that
successful management is a combination of both as the natural talent must be
developed through training, planned experience and guidance.
Gender and Management
Harriet Harman (2009) famously quoted ‘if it had been the Lehman sisters…’ in relation
to a bank crisis which was run by men. This statement, in relation to Collective Bank,
shows how the company would differ it were to be run by women.
Unfortunately, traditional views of managers are based upon masculine qualities.
Therefore ‘women reject their gender stereotypes and embrace goals, personalities and
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behaviours similar to male managers (Powell & Graves 2003). ‘This is particularly the
case where women seek to compete with men for managerial positions’ (Collinson &
Hearn 1996, p.86). ‘Women are still poorly represented in management roles and were
largely ignored in leadership until the 1990’s’ (Buchanan & Huczynski 2010 p.603).
Hannagan (2008 p.43) believes that the ‘glass ceiling’ prevents women from becoming
senior managers and when women do become senior managers, they are just as
effective as men. Equality and ability of opportunity is often required however sub-
consciously stereotyping is an obstacle for women.
Powell and Butterfield study (1989) found that both men and women described good
managers to be higher in stereotypical masculine traits than in stereotypical female
traits. These masculine traits consist of a more direct and task driven approach and a
greater use of organizational power. Stereotypical female traits are that they have a
more democratic managerial style, are more motivational, power is shared and have
emotional intelligence. It could be suggested that female traits are much needed within
a modern workplace.
Konrad and Kramer (2006) found that women make three contributions that men are
least likely to do. Firstly, take into account a broader and wider range of stakeholders,
secondly, are not afraid to get answers to awkward questions and lastly they are more
collaborative which improves communication.
Vinkenburg et al (1997, cited in Davidson & Burke 2000 p.120) said that an increased
amount of organisations are actively looking for women to join their top management
teams. This is due to demographic changes and the increased need for diversity in
order to create managers of the 21st century. He also states that a growing amount of
women withhold managerial positions but currently only a few at a senior level. A recent
study by Social Trends (2009) found that senior women tend more to ‘support’ jobs –
HR, legal, marketing than general management. This is relevant to Collective Bank as
this may give an insight into roles women have within the bank.
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Motivation
Motivation is the ‘cognitive decision making process through which goal-directed
behavior is initiated energized, directed and maintained’ (Buchanan & Huczynski, 2010
p.732).
McGregor (1960) states that there are two types of motivational theories; X and Y.
Theory X, when people do what they are told eg. Work because they have to. Theory Y,
people do things off their own accord and because they want to, perhaps because they
like to achieve things. This is relevant to Collective Bank as motivation may be an
influence on why women are not keen to put themselves forward for promotion.
Some people are motivated within their career by having an extreme job. With
relevance to the report, senior management could be described as an extreme job. This
consists of huge responsibility, 10 hour or more days and unpredictable workflow.
Buchanan & Huczynski (2010) found that there are more men than women in extreme
jobs.
The opposite of extreme jobs however is the effect of boreout. Uninteresting, and
unchallenging jobs can lead to poor attendance and a lack of enthusiasm within the job.
A case study of this is Boyes (2007) a journalist from the Financial Times saw that the
employees developed the ‘Italian Jacket system’. If Collective Bank wishes to have
more senior managers within their team, they will have to motivate women and perhaps
encourage them out of boreout.
Environmental Influences
‘One of the major issues that have emerged as women have entered the work force is
the question of balance between work and family.’ (N. Snyder as cited in Konek and
Kitch, 1994 p.155).
Women tend to not hold extreme jobs as much as men. They worry that their absence
from home will lead to their children having an unhealthy lifestyle and are less
disciplined.
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A case study of Barclays Bank found that many organisations re-developed their
training programs in order to make them sound ‘sexier’. In reality, they found that
employees were not engaged by attending training courses. Instead they tried to involve
employee’s families, partner and children in order to develop their opportunities within
the bank. This case study (cited in Buchanan& Huczynski 2010) shows what a
competitor is doing to engage employees.
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Methodology
Within this report, a mixture of both primary and secondary research has been carried
out in order to investigate the issue.
Primary research takes form of a questionnaire used for market research. The
responses come from people that work/have worked in a bank and also business and
management students. These participants were chosen due to their knowledge and
experience within banks and also management.
Responses were collected by emailing the questionnaire to the target group, personally
asking staff within banks and also talking to staff by telephone.
Secondary research comes from looking at current bank’s websites and their corporate
responsibility reports and interpreting this in order to find answers to why there is a lack
of female senior managers at Collective Bank.
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Results
Market research
From the market research, the overall result was that they agreed with the statement
that there are too few women that are senior managers in banking. The key themes that
came out of this research were:
males are more ruthless in getting the jobs they want,
a lack of female senior manages across all organisations as it is mostly men at
top level
women are more tied to family commitments.
When analyzing the results, most women that answered the question had administrative
job titles or worked as customer advisors. Responses from a Natwest branch showed
that they were a minority as there were more women that worked there than men, but it
was then revealed that there were more men at the top level.
After grouping answers, Themed recommendations were made from the question ‘What
do you think can be done to encourage more women into senior management roles’
were:
Equal rates of pay for males and females
Training and confidence boosting within management
Increased advertising showing women carrying out managerial tasks or perhaps
making jobs gender specific
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CSR reports
Collective bank claimed to take their corporate social responsibility very seriously.
Research showed that this is a common value within all retail banks as they encourage
equal opportunities and thrive upon diversity.
The female FTSE 100 board report 2010, rated HSBC 30th with 16.7% of the
organisation made up of women and three on the board. Barclays was 36th and Lloyds
70th.
Santander has a range of strategies to incorporate within their CSR. ‘We recognise our
people as individuals and understand that diversity is important to the success of our
business’ (Santander CSR report p.16). The diverse teams represent the diversity of
customers and also add value to the success of the company.
Within the literature review, a theme was drawn about the dilemma women have
between family and their career. Santander has recently launched a new ‘passport to
parenting’ reward system which is ‘a comprehensive package of support for employees
who are parents or about to become parents (Santander CSR report p.17). This
includes maternity pay and leave which are bespoke to personal needs and
requirements.
Fig 1 shows Santander’s recent CSR rewards
Royal Bank of Scotland also has a good CSR report with relevance to women in
banking. Diversity and inclusion is again an important factor within the company and in
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2010, ‘sought to ensure that at least one woman featured on the shortlist for executive
vacancies’ (RBS 2011, Employee Engagement).
HSBC state that ‘Representation of women at senior management is steadily increasing
and there are further ambitious targets in place through our Gender Plan to ensure this
upwards trend continues’ (http://www.hsbc.co.uk/1/2/about/diversity-values/more-info). The
bank offer a range of family friendly polices to help balance their work and home life. A
like Santander HSBC recognizes that by supporting employees with childcare, it can
help attract and keep working parents in the company. HSBC therefore provide access
to over 500 nurseries in the UK and childcare is available up until the age of 16.
Fig 2.2 shows how banks are increasing women senior managers to create a gender balance
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Discussion
Looking back at the literature review and the results, strategical improvements need to
be made to Collective Bank in order to tackle the issue and improve their CSR. Three
main areas must be taken into consideration; eliminate gender stereotypes, motivation
and children.
After comparing Collective Bank’s CSR with other banks, it would be recommended that
they should create a policy which matches if not goes above what is currently being
done.
Gender Stereotype issues
Traditionally, the typical manager stereotype portrays masculine traits; task driven,
direct and powerful with authority. Although, as the literature review shows,
management is about making things happen and achieving results, the addition of
women to the senior management teams will bring a fresh array of skills and traits. The
amount of emotional intelligence and democratic managerial style they stereotypically
hold will enhance the team and will lead to even more successful management.
From the research, females said that they would like to be promoted to a higher position
within the company. Perhaps a reason why women at Collective Bank prefer to work as
a customer advisor instead of a manager is because men are more competitive to get
the job that they want. Collective bank will need to make sure that women do not feel
discriminated and have an equal chance of being a senior manager as men have.
Introducing training sessions on management may boost female employee’s confidence
and make them feel like they can fulfill the senior manager role within the bank.
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Motivation
Research found that currently, women mostly hold administrative jobs within the bank.
The literature survey found that motivation can play a key part in enjoyment at work. If
women are motivated, themselves or by colleagues, then they may be more inclined to
put themselves forward for promotion.
McGreggor (1960) produced theory X and theory Y. In order to engage employees,
especially women, Collective Bank need to make sure that most effort is aimed at
making theory Y dominant. Doing things because they want to will make the
atmosphere within the company less tense and restrictive and may also motivate
women to put themselves forward for senior management roles.
Feedback from market research found that equal pay may encourage women to apply
for the role. Although, legally, companies should be already achieving this, Collective
Bank must ensure that this is in their policy. This also shows good corporate social
responsibility as they are doing their bit towards society.
A long term suggestion, also from research is to promote women in an equal way to
men within Collective Bank’s advertising. Doing this would hopefully Change the
perception and idea that males dominate the world of banking and senior management
roles.
Childcare
It was found in the results section that one of the hardest dilemmas women face when
they go back to the work force is the balance between work and family.
Women tend to take time off (sometimes up to two years) to look after their children and
in some cases so not chose to return back to their place of work. It could be suggested
that this is a key reason as to why not many women seem to put themselves forward for
promotion and would rather stick to a part time administrative or customer advisor
position.
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After researching Collective Bank’s competitor’s CSR reports, it was found that some
banks have childcare schemes. In order to tackle the key issue within the organisation,
Collective Bank could produce a scheme similar to that of Santander.
Collective bank could develop their policy to incorporate maternity leave for mothers
and paternity for fathers. Perhaps a Collective Bank crèche could be created for women
to leave their children whilst at work and know that childcare is sorted and paid for,
therefore being able to concentrate at work. This new scheme would potentially
motivate women to apply for senior management positions as they would no longer face
the dilemma of children vs career. It would also increase CSR which is an important
aspect of the company.
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Conclusion
To conclude, it is obvious that Collective Bank need to improve their CSR and make
their senior management team more diverse. Although at first they prided themselves at
being good at having diversity within the organisation it was then decided that as
compared to what other banks are currently achieving it is evident that collective bank
need to improve and re-develop their policies.
From market research and the review of literature, there are definitely barriers which
prevent women from applying/ getting promoted to senior management roles. One of
the main barriers is the sub-conscious gender stereotype that males make better
managers/leaders than women. If the perception of this changes then it will improve
CSR and will perhaps encourage and ensure women that they are capable to undertake
a senior manager position.
Overall, if women are motivated to get the senior management role, this will definitely be
a key factor to putting themselves for promotion. Even if it is for a manager role of their
department, it is a step towards the bigger goal. They would be even more motivated
with rewards of equal and increased pay and the major reward of not having to choose
between their careers and looking after their family.
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Recommendations
One could suggest the following recommendations in order to tackle the issue of
increasing diversity within the senior management teams of Collective Bank in order to
solve the recent embarrassment they have experienced regarding their Corporate
Social Responsibility.
1. Promote equality within the bank in order to boost confidence and make women
feel as competent to be a successful senior manager within Collective Bank.
2. Produce a childcare scheme or a reward system for employees. This will eliminate
the childcare vs. career dilemma and will keep Collective Bank consistent with what
other retail banks are offering their employees.
3. Engage employees with management training programs which will educate what will
make a good manager specifically at Collective Bank and/ or to fill in with updates/
re-training if they have been away from the organisation for some time (eg. Maternity
leave).
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References
BUCHANAN, D and A.HUCZYNSKI., 2010. Organizational Behaviour. 7th ed.
Prentice Hall: Pearson Education Ltd p.603, 732
COLLINSON, D and J.HEARN., 1996. Men as Managers, Managers as Men.
London: SAGE Publication Ltd p.86
DAVIDSON, M and R.BURKE., 2000. Women In Management. London: SAGE
Publication Ltd p.120
HANNAGAN, T., 2008. Management Concepts and Practices.5th ed. Pearson
Education Ltd p.43
HSBC., 2011. Diversity. [online]. Available: http://www.hsbc.co.uk/1/2/about/diversity-
values/more-info [accessed 10th December 2011]
KONEK, C and S.KITCH., 1994. Women and Careers. California: SAGE
Publications Inc p.155
MULLINS, Laurie J.. 2007., Management and Organisational Behaviour. [online].
Pearson Education UK.
Available from:<http://lib.myilibrary.com?ID=155253> 9 December 2011 p.411
SANTANDER., 2010. Corporate social responsibility report 2010. [online]. Available: http://www.aboutsantander.co.uk/media/29010/csr%20report%202010.pdf
[accessed 10th December 2011]
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Bibliography
BUCHANAN, D and A.HUCZYNSKI., 2010. Organizational Behaviour. 7th ed.
Prentice Hall: Pearson Education Ltd
COLLINSON, D and J.HEARN., 1996. Men as Managers, Managers as Men.
London: SAGE Publication Ltd
DAVIDSON, M and R.BURKE, 2000., Women In Management. London: SAGE
Publication Ltd
KONEK, C and S.KITCH., 1994. Women and Careers. California: SAGE
Publications Inc
MULLINS, Laurie J.. 2007., Management and Organisational Behaviour. [online].
Pearson Education UK.
Available from:<http://lib.myilibrary.com?ID=155253> 9 December 2011
http://www.lloyds.com/Lloyds/Corporate-Responsibility/Diversity
viewed 4th December 2011
http://www.rbs.com/about-rbs/g2/sustainability/employee-engagement.ashx
viewed 4th December 2011
http://www.aboutsantander.co.uk/media/29010/csr%20report%202010.pdf
viewed 10th December 2011
http://group.barclays.com/cs/Satellite?blobcol=urldata&blobheader=application%2Fpdf&blobheadername1=Content-Disposition&blobheadername2=MDT-Type&blobheadervalue1=inline%3B+filename%3DThe-Female-FTSE-Board-Report-2010.pdf&blobheadervalue2=abinary%3B+charset%3DUTF-8&blobkey=id&blobtable=MungoBlobs&blobwhere=1231890665326&ssbinary=true
viewed 10th December 2011
http://www.hsbc.co.uk/1/2/about/diversity-values/more-info
viewed 10th December 2011
http://www.coaching-for-new-women-managers.com/business-women.html
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APPENDIX
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Appendix 1
Questionnaire Responses
1. Are you male or female? ( please erase accordingly)
Male 2
Female 4
2. How old are you?
25 or under 3
26-35 1
36-45 1
Over 45 1
3. Have you ever worked within a bank, if yes, then what was your job title?
Yes Secretary Lending Department 1
Customer Advisor 2
No 3
4. If you answered yes to question 3, do you wish or have you ever thought about progressing
to a higher role?
Yes if a suitable promotion arose
Yes 2
5. It has been suggested that there are too few women that are senior managers in banking,
Do you agree with this statement and why?
Yes this could be due to family commitments, leaving the bank early and not being able to
progress further to Management level.
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Yes because women tend to be held back by senior male leaders within companies
especially banking and men tend to be more ruthless in getting the senior level jobs they
want.
I agree that there is a lack of female senior managers in every organization, however with
banks when they are involved in the public eye through the media there is rarely a female
figure shown. This suggests something about the hierarchal system of their business.
I would say it is about equal where I work
Within Natwest, there have been women managers but they never lasted long as they
weren’t good managers, very bitchy etc. At top level they are mostly men.
Neither agree or disagree – I am sure there could be more females in higher authorities but
because of the nature of work there may be a higher ratio of men.
6. What do you think can be done to encourage more women into senior management roles?
Perhaps being offered management courses and tempted with higher salaries
Change the perception and idea that males dominate the world of banking and senior
management roles. Possibly through advertising to show the types of jobs and daily tasks a
woman could deal with in a position.
Offer the same rate of pay as males get. And Advertise roles to be gendered specific.
There are probably more women in senior roles than men in my organisation
Management training
Confidence building, dual roles – sharing the responsibility as one issue of this could be that
females prefer to take on a less full on role because of family/relationship responsibilities.