Massey Documents by Type

Permanent URI for this communityhttps://mro.massey.ac.nz/handle/10179/294

Browse

Subject: search.filters.subject.Women executives

Search Results

Now showing 1 - 8 of 8
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Essays on gender and investment decisions : a thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Finance at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2020) Sehrish, Saba
    The puzzle of whether gender differences exist in behavioral biases and investment preferences of highly skilled and experienced professionals remains unsolved. Subsequently, this thesis consists of three related essays on investment decisions by gender of professionals in the field of finance. The first essay shows that prospect theory value influences insider trading decisions, and the impact is stronger among female executives’ trades. Female insiders tend to carry more biased trades and suffer significantly higher resultant losses, as compared to their male counterparts. Female insiders who buy (sell) when their company's prospect theory value is above (below) other firms’ prospect theory values, lose 47 basis points over the next month. While the findings contradict the overconfidence hypothesis that predicts poor trading decisions by male insiders, the results are consistent with the male insiders’ superior information access hypothesis, suggesting that informational disadvantage serves as a possible channel of higher behavioral biases in female insiders’ trading. The second essay demonstrates that the gender of mutual fund managers affects the liquidity of a portfolio. Female managers prefer higher portfolio liquidity than their male counterparts. Funds managed by single female managers are 8-25% more liquid than single male managed funds. Contrary to the excessive trading hypothesis that expects a higher liquidity preference by overconfident male fund managers, the findings support the inclination of female fund managers for the price efficiency hypothesis. Funds experience increased liquidity when they transition to a female manager. The third essay documents that the collective self-construal of female fund managers explains their tendency to invest less actively as compared to their male counterparts. Funds with a higher proportion of female managers in the management team closely track the multifactor benchmark. For the funds managed by more female managers than males, the economic benefits of diversification are 1.86% lower than other funds. Consistent with the literature, female fund managers herd more, take less risk, and are less overconfident than males. These investment behaviors are likely to be the possible explanations of the less active investing strategy of female fund managers.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Rethinking sponsoring : evidencing and conceptualising sponsorship as a relational practice for women's career development : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, School of Management, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2019) Rao, Vasudha
    Sponsoring has been heralded as the means to redressing women’s underrepresentation in senior leadership positions, given that mentoring has not fixed this long standing problem. Sponsors are said to influence promotion decisions, give access to those in power, and provide other support for women’s career progression. However, despite the bold claims made for its efficacy, remarkably little is known about the experiences of those involved in sponsoring relationships, resulting in limited understanding of the sponsoring process, and its benefits, challenges and wider outcomes. This research adopted a qualitative research design with a phenomenological orientation to explore the experiences of sponsoring and provides insights into the nature of the sponsoring relationship through in-depth interviews with 16 people (15 women, 1 man) in New Zealand, from different professions, background and ethnicities and at different stages of their career. Findings reveal three key dynamics shaping the character of the sponsoring relationship. Firstly, rather than an instrumental focus on career advancement, the relationship is marked by perceptions of sponsors as benevolent and giving. Secondly, nurturing, caring and friendship are central features of the relationship, with different expectations held of male and female sponsors. Finally, sponsees’ ethnic and migrant identity also shaped their experience of sponsoring, indicating that the relationship is mediated by factors other than gender alone. These findings extend scholarly and practitioner knowledge about sponsoring and its positive influence upon women’s career advancement, with important implications for sponsorship research, policy and practice. They challenge the dominant understanding of sponsoring as an instrumental exchange and enable its re-conceptualisation as a relational practice of sponsorship that is oriented to fostering the sponsee’s development. They also indicate that sponsorship is experienced as a meaningful connection that extends beyond the workplace and offers broader benefits than presently recognised. From a policy and practice perspective, the findings indicate that attention to issues of gender and ethnic discrimination, and the obligations invoked in sponsees, arising from their perception of sponsor generosity, giving, nurturing and caring’, all warrant attention in organisations seeking to implement, encourage or support sponsorship programmes. Overall, the potential of sponsoring to support women’s advancement is both more personally meaningful and more complex than current research has identified.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Discrimination or diversity? A balanced score card review of perceptions of gender quotas : prepared in partial fulfilment of a Master of Business Studies, Massey University (Albany)
    (Massey University, 2019) Burrell, Erin Kathleen
    Creating an economy where gender equality is at the forefront could be claimed to be beneficial to most, if not all, citizens and countries. Recent mandates of gender reporting at the Director and Officer levels have created a dichotomous environment in New Zealand. Taking learnings from other countries experiences with quotas, with a particular focus on Norway, adds insight into what could happen if implementation were to occur. Using qualitative interviews across a diverse group of participants, this study investigates current perspectives and implications of gender quotas. Understanding the role of the board to govern and design organisational strategy, the Balanced Score Card was selected as a clear instrument for analysis and recommendations. This exploration showcases the complexity of equity strategy as a component of board construction and the realisation that gender alone will not deliver a diverse board of directors. Empowered by the BSC structure, this effort delivers a recommendation for driving organisational change through diversity programming and contributes to academic discourse through a business outcome focused approach to qualitative research. Findings display that social policy does have a place in the boardroom, but that efforts must be measured and documented consistently over time, a process that is lacking in many NZ firms. Further, outcomes from the study show that quotas are not preferred as a tool for gender equity with just 27.78% of participants supporting the concept. This study makes a three-fold contribution: first, it investigates a broader range of participants than does existing NZ work, second, it leverages the Balanced Score Card for analysis to support real-time application of findings by practitioners outside of the academic sphere, and third, it introduces gender diversity as an element of gender quotas.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Outsiders within : women in management in the public service in Aotearoa/New Zealand : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Management at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2005) Doyle, Joanne M
    This thesis explores the management practices of a small number of women in management positions within a large government department in New Zealand, and the factors influencing those practices. Using a feminist standpoint epistemology the study took as its starting point the day to day experiences of managers and their staff. Through analysis of these experiences the context of New Public Management and the reforms of the public sector in New Zealand that took place in the 1980's and 1990's were identified as important features in the management practices of the participants. The study found that the doctrines of New Public Management were embedded within the organisation from which participants were drawn. Within this context, they had an organising or mediating effect on the day to day management practices of the participants, what they valued, how they perceived management and the language they used to talk of their experiences. Overall the participants did not consider that gender relations created either supports or constraints to their management practices or their entry into management positions. They considered that gender-related constraints were a thing of the past. They did, however, note particular events that suggested that women managers continue to be judged in relation to deeply held gender stereotypes. The management practices that the participants valued and/or described as their own practice did not conform to the gendered dichotomies of management that have been prevalent in the literature on successful management and women in management in particular. The participants demonstrated a more androgynous approach to management that is adaptive and sensitive to the wider context.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    It's all about relationships : women managing women and the impact on their careers : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Management at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2017) Hurst, Jane Ann
    Women represent nearly half of New Zealand’s workforce, making it likely that a woman will, at some stage during her working life, have a woman manager. She may also manage women employees. However, despite this likelihood, very little is known about the nature of women’s hierarchical workplace relationships and even less about the impact these relationships have on women’s careers. This research used narrative inquiry, relational cultural theory and the Kaleidoscope Career Model (KCM) to explore the relational experiences of 15 New Zealand women and the impact of these hierarchical relationships on career decisions. It was undertaken in two phases. Phase One used a combination of creative methods and semi-structured interviews to explore the participants’ experiences. Phase Two brought the participants together in workshops to develop personal and organisational strategies aimed at strengthening workplace relationships. Phase One found that most of the participants had experienced a negative relationship with a women manager and/or employee. Many of those participants subsequently left the organisation they worked for as a direct or indirect result of that relationship. Conversely, nearly half of the participants spoke of a positive relationship and while these were beneficial, they were not linked to a subsequent career decision. These findings suggest that negative relationships affect a woman’s career decisions to a greater extent than positive relationships. The research also extends the KCM by adding the impact of women’s hierarchical relationships to the career parameters of balance and challenge. Phase Two delved further into these findings to determine that women have gender-based expectations of women managers, such as an expectation of a higher degree of emotional understanding and support from a woman manager than would be expected from a man. In addition, while the participants look to women managers for some form of career support, most were not striving for senior management positions. They were instead motivated by a desire to make a difference and live a balanced life, with the demands of senior organisational roles seen as being in conflict with their relationships and family responsibilities. This raises a dilemma from a gender equity perspective, with research suggesting that a critical mass of women at the senior leadership level reduces the gender pay gap and increases the promotional opportunities of women at all organisational levels. Phase Two identified a number of personal and organisational strategies to better support women’s hierarchical relationships, as one way of enhancing women’s careers. Taking a relational approach, an holistic gendered framework is proposed that situates relationships within the broader personal, organisational, societal and temporal context. Strategies are recommended to enhance personal and organisational relational awareness and acceptance, development of relational skills and support, as well as structural change to better align career paths to senior management with women’s career aspirations and realities. In doing so, this thesis aims to progress the discussion on the ways in which organisations and women can better support each other to promote workplace gender equity.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    An evaluation of in-service training : women in management 1978-1980 : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education at Massey University
    (Massey University, 1981) Steele, Jill
    This report is an evaluation of the National In-Service training courses for Women in Education Management, run by the Department of Education from 1978 to 1980. Five courses were held during this time, but the first course had a follow up with the same membership, so for evaluation purposes these first two courses are considered as one. The study used the Stake model for evaluation. This model provides a systematic framework for collecting data about a programme and further suggests how the various sections of data should be matched against the others. Interviews, discussions, a mailed questionnaire, attendance at a Course and observations were methods used to obtain this data. 1975 was International Womens' Year and during this year the Department of Education co-sponsored with the Committee on Women at Victoria University, a conference entitled, "Education and the Equality of the Sexes". Following this Conference interest and awareness of the anomalies and unequal distribution of women in positions of education administration became more widely recognised. An Interim Committee on Women and Education was set up. This body made representation for special courses for women in education management training. In 1979 this committee was recognised as a National body and became inaugurated as the National Committee on Women and Education (NACWE). One way to redress the imbalance of women in education management positions was thought to be to have special women - only management courses to train women in education management skills. Women needed to learn these skills in a supportive atmosphere and because of this, it was felt that an all-women course would be more useful and supportive than one where women had to 'compete' with the men as well as learn their new management skills. The courses had three specific objectives: (1) To train women in specific management skills (2) To study issues particular to women as managers (3) To prepare a group of women to become resource personnel in education management programmes in their own regions and districts. This study examines the rationale for the Women in Management courses, looks at the three course objectives and examines the outcomes of the courses. Discussion of these outcomes follows and recommendations for future development are given.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Men talk about executive women : a thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2006) Howard, Steven
    Since the 1970's women have steadily gained access to higher levels of corporate management. Formal mechanisms of discrimination on the basis of gender have long been consigned to the past, and organisations now promote themselves as family friendly and valuing work-life balance. However, in spite of women occupying the lower ranks of organisations in nearly the same numbers as men, women still hold only a minority of executive-level leadership roles. This thesis is based on a series of interviews with men in senior management positions who at the time, reported to women Chief Executive Officers and General Managers. The ways in which these men talked about gender as a factor in organisational life were examined for the discursive resources used to explain or account for the situation. Four key discursive resources were identified: 1) Darwinian Competition; 2) Gender Differences; 3) Gender War; and 4) Individual Choices. These resources were used in a variety of often conflicting ways to eliminate or marginalise gender issues and any concerns warranting action. This rendered the organisation, its institutions and practices safe from change.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Strong in their spirits : women managers in the social services : a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Social Work
    (Massey University, 1996) Hawken, Dianne Barbara
    And where the words of women are crying to be heard, we must each of us recognise our responsibility to seek those words out, to read them and share them and examine them in their pertinence to our lives (Lorde, 1980: 15). Social services world-wide is a predominantly female profession with mainly female clients, yet is primarily managed by men. Although internationally there is considerable literature on women in management the main focus has been on how women can adapt to fit in to the male world of management. In Aotearoa New Zealand there has been little research on women in social services management. This qualitative study examined the experiences and practice of eight pakeha women, mainly middle managers, in a number of social service agencies in Aotearoa New Zealand. The thesis sought, by listening to their voices, to illuminate how they experienced organisational life and how they managed. The women in management literature was analysed within a framework that combined management theory and feminist theory (Padgett, 1993), management in the social services was explored, and research studies on women in human service management were examined. In this study the women managers' experiences fell into two distinct areas: their struggles and their strengths. The women felt "out of kilter" with the organisational culture and the current managerial climate. This was partly explained by feminist theory as being the result of the genderedness of organisations within our patriarchal society. The recent organisational changes through the implementation of managerialism in the social services was another significant factor. Juxtaposed to their struggles, were the strengths of the women, their skills, qualities and practices. They were competent managers with distinctive styles of operation. Drawing from the literature and the findings, four key feminist management practice principles were identified that offered an inclusive, transformational, woman-centred and service-oriented way of managing.