Assignment 1: Research Assignment

ORGA 201 – Introduction to Management (CC01)         

Assignment 1:  Research Assignment – Literature Review

Value: 10% of Final Grade

 

 

Assignment Description

You are asked to complete the literature review section of a research report on a business management topic of your choice.  PLEASE NOTE: this is not a full research report – your goal is to work with existing literature, as you would in anticipation of writing a full report. Choose something you are interested in learning about.

The purpose of the Literature Review assignment is to get you to identify a research question that interests you and to engage in finding, reading and analyzing scholarly articles that might serve, in part, to answer that question.  You are asked to select a minimum 3 scholarly articles (keep current to past 3-5 years) and analyze the current literature on your selected management topic and research question. Your literature review  should include:

  • Executive Summary: 1 paragraph 100 words approximately
    • An executive summary states the purpose for the report/ the research question being explored, as well as the major finding of the literature review and the main recommendations. It is meant to give the reader an overview of what is in the (future) report to come. Normally citations are not included.
  • Literature Review: 700 words approximately
    • A literature review describes and synthesizes the main findings in the literature, highlighting important themes; what is common, and what is different between others who have written on the topic? It also identifies gaps or areas for future research.
  • Recommendations: 200 words approximately
    • Short, point form recommendations for next steps according to the literature you have analyzed. Based on the articles, what are the recommendations suggested for addressing the question or issue you are investigating.

 

Guidelines and FAQ

How many words?  1000 words (4 written pages double spaced). Put word count on cover page.

What style? APA Style.

What is the structure?  Double spaced, 12 font, one inch margins.

The paper should include a cover page with word count noted; an executive summary; the body of the review containing the discussion of sources (use paragraphs); the recommendations; and a reference page.

Roughly how many sources should be included? Minimum 3 scholarly journal articles.

Resources: Refer to http://libguides.macewan.ca/c.php?g=493702&p=

Short Example Research Report ***

Executive Summary

Why do women globally occupy fewer management positions than men? This report investigates some reasons for this and some potential solutions to change this. The literature reviewed found that there were common cultural and organizational barriers to women achieving management positions. Based on the literature review the number one recommendation for organizations to raise the number of female managers is to ensure that the process or path to becoming a manager, as well as the requirements of management positions, do not exclude employees from at some point, working part-time or from taking leaves of absence.

Literature Review

These three studies, examining women in management positions in different industries and countries all provided evidence that, world wide, women occupy fewer management positions than men relative to the number of women vs. men in the workforce. The number of women in post secondary education globally is increasing and so is the number of women in management positions (Haile, S., Emmanuel, T., & Dzathor, A. 2016, p. 37-38). Authors noted some differences in the amount of women in management depending on on geographic/demographic location and industry type. For example, Haile et al. (2016) found that women were even less likely to hold a management position in international companies, and Holst and Fredrich (2016) found there were fewer women in senior management in the financial sector in Germany vs other sectors. These differences are attributed to different industry or cultural biases and practice and not to availability of qualified female management candidates in these industries or a lack of women’s desire to hold these positions. For example, Cohen and Broschak (2013) chose to study women in management in advertising agencies in New York City between 1996-1998 because in this industry setting, women were employed in relatively high numbers, almost equal to men in these advertising agencies (p. 513). However, there were still significantly fewer women in management in the advertising agencies during this time.

There were some common social barriers identified by the authors, including, sexual biases, stereotypes and cultural beliefs (Haile et al., 2016, and Holst & Fredrich, 2013). As well as some common organizational structure barriers, including policy, pay inequality, inflexibility in work hours and accommodation of parental leave, and segregating women into management positions in less prestigious areas of organizations (Cohen & Broschak, 2013, Haile et al., 2016, and Holst & Fredrich, 2016).

Cohen and Broschak (2013) demonstrate that the demographics of existing management do have an effect on hiring new managers. Once women occupy more than twenty four percent of management positions in an organization, the number of new managerial hires that are women increases. Cohen and Broschak (2016) suggest that their findings are consistent with previous work demonstrating that women working in organizations with more female managers have greater bargaining power and are more successful negotiating the terms of their employment (p.533). Haile et al., (2016) provide evidence of women’s unique value and benefits to productivity and profitability to companies with higher equality in management (p. 44-45). This could be an area of future research for our organization to help inform hiring decisions.

Recommendations

  • Increase access to development opportunities such as education, training, mentoring and work experience for women within the company (Haile et al., 2016 p. 42-44, 46).
  • Promote women to valuable management positions in areas where there are traditionally not a lot of women (Cohen & Broschak, 2013, p. 534).
  • Examine institutional incentive structures (including pay) to ensure that they are not unequally available or applied to women, especially due to children (Holst & Friedrich, 2016, p. 458-459).

References

Cohen, L. E., & Broschak, J., P. 2013. Whose jobs are these? The impact of the proportion of female managers on the number of new management jobs filled by women versus men. Administrative Science Quarterly, 58(4), 509-541. doi: 10.1177/0001839213504403

Haile, S., Emmanuel, T., & Dzathor, A. 2016. Barriers and challenges confronting women for leadership and management positions: Review and analysis. International Journal of Business and Public Administration, 13(1), 36-51. Retreived from http://www.iabpad.com/journals/international-journal-of-business-and-public-administration-2/

Holst, E., & Fredrich, M., 2016. Women’s likelihood of holding a senior management position is considerably lower than men’s – especially in the financial sector. DIW Economic Bulletin, 37, 449-459. Retreived from

 

***NOTE:  this is 708 words including “Executive Summary” to end of references. You will have 1000 words NOT including references. Also note that the sample report is single spaced (2 pages) where yours will be double spaced (4 pages).