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“Hit-the-road-running” and Reflect: A Qualitative Study of Women Managers’ Informal Learning Strategies Using Feminist Principles
Available online at www.sciencedirect.com
ScienceDirect Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 211 (2015) 1081 – 1088
2nd Global Conference on Business and Social Science-2015, GCBSS-2015, 17-18 September 2015, Bali, Indonesia
“Hit-the-road-running” and reflect: A qualitative study of women managers’ informal learning strategies using feminist principles Tan Sui Honga*, Norhalimah bt Idrisb a,b
Department of Management, Faculty of Management, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310, Johor Bahru, Malaysia
Abstract The purpose of this paper is to report a qualitative study with fifteen Malaysian women managers, which explored the various ways women managers developed competencies at work via their lived experiences. Feminist epistemology was incorporated into the in-depth interview protocol with the aim of loosening the androcentric moorings of the empirical process in management research. The findings highlight that women managers valued informal learning using strategies such as ‘hit-the-road-running’ and being reflective. The paper highlights the need to understand women managers’ workplace learning so that their progression to senior management can best be supported. ©2015 2015The TheAuthors. Authors. Published Elsevier © Published by by Elsevier Ltd.Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license Peer-review under responsibility of the Organizing Committee of the 2nd GCBSS-2015. (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer-review under responsibility of the Organizing Committee of the 2nd GCBSS-2015 Keywords: Managerial Competencies; Informal Learning; Competence Acquisition; Qualitative; Feminist Epistemology; Women Managers; Malaysia.
1. Introduction The underlying importance of understanding how managers acquire managerial competencies hinges upon the fact that managers are considered one of the most prized assets within the organisations (Garavan et al., 2012). Amidst the fast changing business landscape, the pressing need to sustain organisational competitiveness warrants for a deeper understanding of the concept of competence and the process of competence acquisition from the perspective of managers. According to Mintzberg (2004), competent managers are neither born nor graduated from management
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +6 010 5121239; fax: +6 07 5610099. E-mail address: [email protected]
1877-0428 © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer-review under responsibility of the Organizing Committee of the 2nd GCBSS-2015 doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.11.144
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schools. Managers are conceptualised as social learners (Hill, 2004) and that their learning largely take place within work context via informal learning (Eraut, 2007; Cheetham and Chivers, 2005; Marsick and Watkins, 1997; Marsick et al., 2008; Chivers, 2011). The research specifically focus on women managers for the following reasons: firstly, the proven track records that women’s participation in senior management level has positive correlation with better firms’ financial performance (Catalyst 2012); secondly, the tendency of women managers to experience barriers in career progression to senior management positions (O’Neil et al., 2008; McGregor, 2010; Broadbridge and Simpson, 2011); and finally, women make up more than half the workforce in most countries (Catalyst 2012). Competence development of women managers has become a national agenda in Malaysia as the nation seeks to increase the women’s talent pool to improve diversity at top management level (The Edge, Malaysia, 2013). The main purpose of this study is to gain further understanding on how Malaysian women managers acquire competence. 2. Literature Review 2.1. Managerial Competencies The word “manager” often denotes rank of position one holds in an organisation but what makes one a manager is the management functions that he or she performs (Boyatzis, 1982). Managerial competencies, according to Boyatzis (1982), are individual characteristics that can be causally linked to superior performance of managers. Boyatzis (2009) expanded the notion of competence to emotional, social and cognitive intelligence competencies which he claimed can predict managerial effectiveness in many sectors of society and in various occupations and cultures. According to Emmerling and Boyatzis (2012), the emotional, social and cognitive intelligence competencies are learned capabilities, behaviourally observable, based on emotional intelligence and therefore, very versatile in their applicability across the board. The importance of context in managerial work underpinned the need to understand Malaysian context of management. Hofstede and McCrae (2004) showed that one’s cultural background shapes one’s personality. According to the behavioural approach to competency which is based also on the theory of personality, the personality of a manager is also part of his or her competency (Boyatzis, 1982; 2008). Hence, managerial competencies, leadership practices and competence development of managers from different countries, even those within Southeast Asia shall not be similar to one another because of the cultural differences (Hadi, 1999; Kennedy, 2002; Hosfede, 2007; Chong, 2008). 2.2. Competence Acquisition There are considerable debates on whether competencies can be acquired after all. Some even question whether managerial skills are teachable (Paglis, 2013). The more traditional view stipulated that competencies are innate abilities and that they are given (Klink et al., 2000). However, Boyatzis (2008) observed that in the studies of affective neuroscience and genetic expression, it had been proposed that one’s experiences have the capacity to overtake even genetic dispositions in determining the biological basis of behavior once in adulthood. This view no doubt lent support to competencies development via workplace learning activities (Eraut, 2007). 2.3. Managerial Learning Several studies have identified managers’ learning activities. In a survey conducted with 238 Malaysian managers, Hashim (2008) found that the managers acquired managerial competence mostly through on-the-job training, working as a part of team and self-education. Some researchers used the term naturalistic experience to explain for the nature of managerial learning which often take place via naturalistic events and lived experiences (Kempster and Parry, 2014). Dreyfus’s skill acquisition model which captures the upward progression of a practitioner has often been used to explain the stages in an individual’s competence development. According to Dreyfus and Dreyfus (1986), there are five stages in skill acquisition where one starts as a novice and finally becomes an expert. However, the clear dichotomy between each skill stage implies that there is a start and stop point being a novice, an advance beginner
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and right up to become the expert within fixed time frame. Thus, the model fails to consider the continuous and gradual nature of the learning process. In studying leader development, Ng et al. (2009) suggested the emphasis of study should be geared toward understanding the process and context of learning and not the outcomes. In a sense, there has been a dearth of attention given to exploring “the contextual, processual and temporal insights” (Kempster and Parry, 2014) of how managers acquire leadership and managerial competences. 2.4. Theories Surrounding Informal Learning Informal learning is unstructured, predominantly work-based (Choi and Jacobs, 2011; Reardon, 2010; Leslie et al., 1998; Marsick and Watkins, 1990) and contextual (Leslie et al., 1998). A study on workplace learning in Malaysia by Muhamad and Idris (2005) showed that informal learning process was influenced by the political-economic agenda of the nation aspiring to developed nation status by 2020. The nature of learning, strategies and processes involved in informal learning were networking, social learning, coaching, mentoring, performance planning, learning from mistakes, trial and error and self-directed learning (Cheetham and Chivers, 2005; Boud and Middleton, 2003; Leslie et al, 1998). 2.4.1. Social Learning Theory The social learning theory stemmed from the behavioural aspect of human nature which contends that an individual tends to model his or her behavior based on the behavior of others that produce the valued outcomes (Bandura, 1977). The learning process is facilitated by the ongoing process of socialization through naturalistic events where imitative learning through observing and engaging with significant others occur (Davis and Luthans, 1980). 2.4.2. Situational Learning Theory As in social learning theory, social interaction is a critical component of the learning process which in general involves knowledge acquisition as much as social participation. An analysis based on an empirical study on situated learning was conducted by Lave and Wenger (1991) in five settings: Yucatec midwives, Vai and Gola native tailors, US navy quartermasters, meat cutters and alcoholics from Alcoholic Anonymous. Their study showed that the beginners who were initially on the periphery of the community moved towards the center of the community of practitioners as their competences increased. 2.4.3. Experiential Learning Theory A phenomenological study by Terrel and Rosenbuch (2013) showed that global leaders learnt their first-hand global leadership through experience. Kolb’s (1984) model shows four basic styles of learning, namely diverging, assimilating, converging and accommodating. Firstly, the diverging learning style involves the manager relying on concrete experience (feeling) and reflective observation (reflecting) modes of learning. Secondly, learning through assimilating involves reflective observation and abstract conceptualization (thinking), which then leads to the development of conceptual abstracts to models or theories where active experimentation (acting) takes place. Finally, accommodating style of learning concerns manager’s hands-on experiences obtained through trial and error. 2.5. Malaysian Women Managers There has been a steady trend of increasing participation of women in the workplace in most developed and developing countries (Davidson and Burke, 2011). However, there is a growing concern among many nations with regards to women’s population in the talent pool being not reflected in their representation within upper levels of management (Grant Thornton, 2013). In Malaysia, a greater access to education has increased the participation of
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Malaysian women in the labour force over the years (Ahmad, 2009). Female labour force participation rate (LFPR) in Malaysia showed an increase of 1.6 per cent for the period of 2011-2012 from 47.9 to 49.5 per cent (Department of Statistics, Malaysia, 2012). However, within the same period, the percentage of women in the category of “Managers” dropped from 22.5% to 21.5%. In response to the alarming trend, Corporate Malaysia policy was put in place in 2011 to increase board representation of women in locally listed companies to 30 per cent by year 2016. It is important to note that Malaysia is among the few non-EU countries that undertake to introduce policies to promote women’s presence at the top level of decision-making (Abdullah et al., 2012). 2.5.1. Researching Women and Feminist Epistemological Assumptions Feminist research projects often involve studies into the lives and experiences of women by listening to and representing these intricate layers of social realities (Allen, 2011). The perspective adopts the view that women are systematically marginalised in the economy and social spheres (McGregor, 2010). Feminist mode of inquiry is chosen where both personal and political influences on important decisions concerning women are needed in order to effect transformation and social change. The qualitative approach via feminist epistemology has fast become an important mode of inquiry in studies involving women and it helps in the loosening of the “androcentric moorings” often associated with management research (Plummer and Young, 2009, p. 306). Feminist researchers acknowledged the difficulty in defining feminism owing to the diversity of the epistemological assumptions (Harding, 1991). However, one defining characteristic that makes a research ‘feminist’ is its specific focus on women’s experiences as a basis for research (Griffin, 1995). Cook and Fonow (1986) identified five epistemological principles as the following; acknowledgement of the pervasive influence of gender, the focus on consciousness-raising, rejection of the subject/object separation, examination of ethical concerns and emphasis on empowerment and transformation 3. Research Methodology In line with feminist epistemology and grounded theory methodology, semi structured in-depth interview method was conducted in order to ensure that the voices of the participants were heard. We performed a pilot study prior to conducting the major fieldwork. The fifteen women managers from three Malaysian work sector environments were considered as cases within a multiple-case studies design (Yin, 2009). Prior to the meetings, we researched the background of the participants to help us in facilitating the initial conversations or “ice-breaking” session. Assurance of confidentiality and condition of anonymity were discussed at the beginning of the interview followed by the signing of the participation consent form. During the interview, we asked the participants to describe their current responsibilities, what they understood by the word “competence” as well as how “competence” can be acquired and reinforced. Among the issues discussed were their most challenging and defining moments, actions taken to overcome challenging situations and the reasons or motivations for their actions. We employed the strategy proposed by Charmaz (2006, p. 29) by making “receptive ‘uh huhs’” or posed “clarifying questions” to keep the momentum of storytelling going. By doing so, we focused on the women managers’ experiences as the basis of this study (Griffin, 1995) and hence, fulfilled the defining characteristic that made this study “feminist”. After conducting fifteen in-depth interviews, two hundred and sixty-two pages of transcripts were generated. The analysis of data was conducted in two steps, firstly the within-case analysis and followed by crosscase analysis. We analysed each manager’s narrative text using grounded theory approach by performing open, axial and selective codings. 4. Results and Discussions Based on the interviews, women managers identified several informal learning strategies they used to acquire further competence at work in fulfilling the aspirations toward management of extraordinaire. According to the findings, women managers used a combination of methods to enhance managerial competence. This result is portion
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of the larger findings from the main study. Table 1 shows the summary on issues surrounding women managers’ informal learning strategies. Table 1. Broad theme and sub-categories. Broad Theme
Sub-categories
Informal learning strategies
Hit-the-road-running and learn-ityourself when embarking when embarking on new positions. Reflect and adapt from previous work and life experiences. Reflect on feedback about self and performance at work.
4.1. Hit-the-road-running Almost unanimously, women managers in this study mentioned self-learning experiences when they became managers. One very senior manager from the public sector used the term “hit the road running” to highlight the importance of being ever ready to perform any task when coming to new positions. According to Mrs. F: “You just hit the road running. There is no learning curve, you hit the road running. Especially if you are coming into a senior position, it is just that nobody has the time to teach you… you picked up where you left off, or you picked up as you go along and learned.” (Mrs. F, Secretary General, Public Sector). Another junior manager recounted a similar short hand over period from her predecessor. She said: “There were only four days for her [referring to her predecessor] to hand over her current job to me. So four days she was simply briefing me. Then, whatever else after that, I have to learn by myself.” (Mrs. B, Deputy Head of Section, GLC). To ‘hit the road running’ refers to getting started on the job immediately and self-learn along the way, especially when embarking on new positions. The findings revolved around self-learning, being independent and resourceful. Mrs. F summed it up by saying, “you picked up where you left off, or you picked up as you go along and learnt”. The finding fits the description of learning through work role transitions (Isopahkala-Bouret, 2008) which refers to the changes in psychological conditions of the job instead of physical movement, in particular involving people being promoted. 4.2. Reflect and adapt from previous work and life experiences Managerial learning was also associated with various types of personal experiences. Mrs. A, a lawyer by training, reflected on her earlier experience of managing difficult senior staff while working in the previous organisation. Her story: “Nobody could work with her [referring to a senior staff from previous organisation]. She does not have a Law Degree but she had been around so long that she knew the tricks … I could see
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that attitude. I managed to break that attitude ... That is how I learn to manage staff. This is what I brought to this organisation.” (Mrs. A, General Manager, Private Sector). Another manager talked about learning from her own previous experiences in handling complex situations, she stated: “I already have a background [referring to managing experience] from Sibu town because it is a town area and the people come from diverse background; and they are very demanding. I confided with the Deputy Resident Officer at that time of my worries. She said to me, “Don’t worry. Just work in Sibu. When you work outside of Sibu, then you know you can do anything because you will experience everything there.” I think what she said was true. So I think my experience in Sibu is very helpful to me.” (Mrs. E, Senior District Officer, Public Sector). Women managers used several techniques such as learning from personal experiences in handling difficult situations, dealing with bitter experiences and encountering personal betrayal by people whom they trusted. The findings endorsed Gherardi (2009) and Matsuo (2012) which emphasized the dominance of workplace learning over other methods of learning. 4.3. Reflect on feedback about self and performance at work Comments and feedbacks from others are regarded as valuable in providing room for learning. Mrs. A for example solicited feedbacks by conducting a survey among her staff and colleagues in order to understand better her relationship difficulties with staff. She recalled: “I remember I had so much difficulty with the staff. I actually told myself, “Okay, I am going to do a survey”. I actually asked very direct questions and they [referring to her staff] could remain anonymous. The responses that came back to me were honest! I realised I was kuku besilah [referring to her iron fist working style]. I realised the importance of having buysin.” (Mrs. A, General Manager, Private Sector). Another came to learn from her colleagues on how she had impressed her top management team. Her colleagues informed her of the positive comments and from the feedbacks, she had learnt about the leadership qualities that impressed the top management. She said: “As a young officer at the sports club I was appointed the Secretary of Welfare. I ran to the meeting, prepared! Little did I realised that I was the only one who was prepared during the meeting. That created an impression. Everybody told me that Tan Sri [referring to her boss by his honorific title] said, “You know of all the persons in the room you can say that only she [referring to Mrs. I] is prepared for the meeting. Then I realised, yes, what I did was right. ” (Mrs. I, Chief Executive Officer, Public Sector). In this study, feedbacks were either sought or volunteered. There were two main reasons why women managers relied on feedbacks from others namely, to improve their weakness and to learn from what they had done right. This
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finding paralleled London and Smither (2002) which highlighted the importance of feedback as guiding behavioural changes and improving performances of managers. 5. Conclusion Self-learning and reflecting on previous work experiences as well as feedbacks are the most prominent ways of acquiring managerial competencies at the workplace. It is proven that women managers learn best within work setting via lived experiences as managers. Therefore, it is suggested that women managers competence development would be enhanced by giving them challenging and strategic assignments considering their tenacities in hitting-the-roadrunning when they reach management positions. Acknowledgements We are grateful for the UTM Zamalah scholarship to Dr. SH Tan. This research has also been supported by the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia Research Management Centre under grant Vot No. Q.J130000.7129.04J28 References Abdullah, S. N., Ismail, K. K. and Nachum, L. (2012). Women on boards of Malaysian firms: Impact on market and accounting performance. Lilach, Women on Boards of Malaysian Firms: Impact on Market and Accounting Performance (September 10, 2012). Ahmad, A. (2008). Job, family and individual factors as predictors of work-family conflict. The Journal of Human Resource and Adult Learning, 4(1), 57-67. Allen, M. (2011). Violence and voice: Using a Feminist Constructivist Grounded Theory to Explore Women’s Resistance to Abuse, Qualitative Research. 11(1), 23-45. Bandura, A. (1977). Social Learning Theory. New York: General Learning Press. Boyatzis, R.E. (1982). The Competent Manager: A Model for Effective Performance. John Wiley & Sons, New York. Boyatzis, R.E. (2008). Competencies in the 21st Century. Journal of Management Development. 27(1), 5-12. Broadbridge, A. and Simpson, R. (2011). 25 years on: reflecting on the past and looking to the future in gender and management research. British Journal of Management. 22(3): 470-483. Catalyst (2012). Why Diversity Matters. Catalyst, USA. Charmaz, K. (2006). Constructing Grounded Theory: A Practical Guide Through Qualitative Analysis. London: Sage. Cheetham, G. and Chivers, G. (2005). Professions, Competence and Informal Learning, Edward Elgar, Cheltenham. Chivers, G. (2011). Supporting informal learning by traders in investment banks, Journal of European Industrial Training. 35(2), 154-175. Choi, W. and Jacobs, R.L. (2011). Influences of formal learning, personal learning orientation, and supportive learning environment on informal learning. Human Resource Development Quarterly. 22, 239-256. Chong, E. (2007). Managerial competencies and career advancement: A comparative study of managers in two countries. Journal of Business Research. 66(3),345-353 Cook, J.A. and Fonow, M.M. (1986). Knowledge and Women’s Interest: Issues of Epistemology and Methodology in Feminist Sociological Research, Sociological Inquiry. 56(4), 2-29. Davidson, M. J., & Burke, R. J. (Eds.). (2011). Women in Management Worldwide. Gower. Davis, T. R., and Luthans, F. (1980). A social learning approach to organizational behavior. Academy of Management Review, 5(2), 281-290. Department of Statistics, Malaysia. (2012). Labour Force Survey Report, Malaysia, 2012. Putrajaya: Department of Statistics, Malaysia. Dreyfus, H.L. and Dreyfus, S.E. (1986). Mind over machine: The power of human intuition and expertise in the era of the computer, Oxford: Basil Blackwell. Emmerling R.J. and Boyatzis, R.E. (2012). Emotional and social intelligence comeptencies: cross cultural implications. Cross Cultural Management. 19(1), 4-18. Eraut, M. (2007). Learning from Other People in the Workplace, Oxford Review of Education. 33(4), 403-422. Garavan T.N., Carbery, R. and Rock, A. (2012). Mapping talent development: definition, scope and architecture, European Journal of Training and Development, Vol. 36, No. 1, pp. 5-24 Gherardi, S. (2009). Organizational knowledge: The texture of workplace learning. John Wiley & Sons. Grant Thornton International Business Report (2011). Corporate social responsibility: power of perception, Grant Thornton IBR. Griffin, C. (1995). Feminism, social psychology and qualitative research, The Psychologist, pp. 119-21, March. Hadi (1999a). Managing in the Malaysian context. 51-72, “Malaysian managers – well aware of the country’s past, the culture, religion and values of the various races, besides acquiring the skills and knowledge to run modern organization”.
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ScienceDirect Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 211 (2015) 1081 – 1088
2nd Global Conference on Business and Social Science-2015, GCBSS-2015, 17-18 September 2015, Bali, Indonesia
“Hit-the-road-running” and reflect: A qualitative study of women managers’ informal learning strategies using feminist principles Tan Sui Honga*, Norhalimah bt Idrisb a,b
Department of Management, Faculty of Management, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310, Johor Bahru, Malaysia
Abstract The purpose of this paper is to report a qualitative study with fifteen Malaysian women managers, which explored the various ways women managers developed competencies at work via their lived experiences. Feminist epistemology was incorporated into the in-depth interview protocol with the aim of loosening the androcentric moorings of the empirical process in management research. The findings highlight that women managers valued informal learning using strategies such as ‘hit-the-road-running’ and being reflective. The paper highlights the need to understand women managers’ workplace learning so that their progression to senior management can best be supported. ©2015 2015The TheAuthors. Authors. Published Elsevier © Published by by Elsevier Ltd.Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license Peer-review under responsibility of the Organizing Committee of the 2nd GCBSS-2015. (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer-review under responsibility of the Organizing Committee of the 2nd GCBSS-2015 Keywords: Managerial Competencies; Informal Learning; Competence Acquisition; Qualitative; Feminist Epistemology; Women Managers; Malaysia.
1. Introduction The underlying importance of understanding how managers acquire managerial competencies hinges upon the fact that managers are considered one of the most prized assets within the organisations (Garavan et al., 2012). Amidst the fast changing business landscape, the pressing need to sustain organisational competitiveness warrants for a deeper understanding of the concept of competence and the process of competence acquisition from the perspective of managers. According to Mintzberg (2004), competent managers are neither born nor graduated from management
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +6 010 5121239; fax: +6 07 5610099. E-mail address: [email protected]
1877-0428 © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer-review under responsibility of the Organizing Committee of the 2nd GCBSS-2015 doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.11.144
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schools. Managers are conceptualised as social learners (Hill, 2004) and that their learning largely take place within work context via informal learning (Eraut, 2007; Cheetham and Chivers, 2005; Marsick and Watkins, 1997; Marsick et al., 2008; Chivers, 2011). The research specifically focus on women managers for the following reasons: firstly, the proven track records that women’s participation in senior management level has positive correlation with better firms’ financial performance (Catalyst 2012); secondly, the tendency of women managers to experience barriers in career progression to senior management positions (O’Neil et al., 2008; McGregor, 2010; Broadbridge and Simpson, 2011); and finally, women make up more than half the workforce in most countries (Catalyst 2012). Competence development of women managers has become a national agenda in Malaysia as the nation seeks to increase the women’s talent pool to improve diversity at top management level (The Edge, Malaysia, 2013). The main purpose of this study is to gain further understanding on how Malaysian women managers acquire competence. 2. Literature Review 2.1. Managerial Competencies The word “manager” often denotes rank of position one holds in an organisation but what makes one a manager is the management functions that he or she performs (Boyatzis, 1982). Managerial competencies, according to Boyatzis (1982), are individual characteristics that can be causally linked to superior performance of managers. Boyatzis (2009) expanded the notion of competence to emotional, social and cognitive intelligence competencies which he claimed can predict managerial effectiveness in many sectors of society and in various occupations and cultures. According to Emmerling and Boyatzis (2012), the emotional, social and cognitive intelligence competencies are learned capabilities, behaviourally observable, based on emotional intelligence and therefore, very versatile in their applicability across the board. The importance of context in managerial work underpinned the need to understand Malaysian context of management. Hofstede and McCrae (2004) showed that one’s cultural background shapes one’s personality. According to the behavioural approach to competency which is based also on the theory of personality, the personality of a manager is also part of his or her competency (Boyatzis, 1982; 2008). Hence, managerial competencies, leadership practices and competence development of managers from different countries, even those within Southeast Asia shall not be similar to one another because of the cultural differences (Hadi, 1999; Kennedy, 2002; Hosfede, 2007; Chong, 2008). 2.2. Competence Acquisition There are considerable debates on whether competencies can be acquired after all. Some even question whether managerial skills are teachable (Paglis, 2013). The more traditional view stipulated that competencies are innate abilities and that they are given (Klink et al., 2000). However, Boyatzis (2008) observed that in the studies of affective neuroscience and genetic expression, it had been proposed that one’s experiences have the capacity to overtake even genetic dispositions in determining the biological basis of behavior once in adulthood. This view no doubt lent support to competencies development via workplace learning activities (Eraut, 2007). 2.3. Managerial Learning Several studies have identified managers’ learning activities. In a survey conducted with 238 Malaysian managers, Hashim (2008) found that the managers acquired managerial competence mostly through on-the-job training, working as a part of team and self-education. Some researchers used the term naturalistic experience to explain for the nature of managerial learning which often take place via naturalistic events and lived experiences (Kempster and Parry, 2014). Dreyfus’s skill acquisition model which captures the upward progression of a practitioner has often been used to explain the stages in an individual’s competence development. According to Dreyfus and Dreyfus (1986), there are five stages in skill acquisition where one starts as a novice and finally becomes an expert. However, the clear dichotomy between each skill stage implies that there is a start and stop point being a novice, an advance beginner
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and right up to become the expert within fixed time frame. Thus, the model fails to consider the continuous and gradual nature of the learning process. In studying leader development, Ng et al. (2009) suggested the emphasis of study should be geared toward understanding the process and context of learning and not the outcomes. In a sense, there has been a dearth of attention given to exploring “the contextual, processual and temporal insights” (Kempster and Parry, 2014) of how managers acquire leadership and managerial competences. 2.4. Theories Surrounding Informal Learning Informal learning is unstructured, predominantly work-based (Choi and Jacobs, 2011; Reardon, 2010; Leslie et al., 1998; Marsick and Watkins, 1990) and contextual (Leslie et al., 1998). A study on workplace learning in Malaysia by Muhamad and Idris (2005) showed that informal learning process was influenced by the political-economic agenda of the nation aspiring to developed nation status by 2020. The nature of learning, strategies and processes involved in informal learning were networking, social learning, coaching, mentoring, performance planning, learning from mistakes, trial and error and self-directed learning (Cheetham and Chivers, 2005; Boud and Middleton, 2003; Leslie et al, 1998). 2.4.1. Social Learning Theory The social learning theory stemmed from the behavioural aspect of human nature which contends that an individual tends to model his or her behavior based on the behavior of others that produce the valued outcomes (Bandura, 1977). The learning process is facilitated by the ongoing process of socialization through naturalistic events where imitative learning through observing and engaging with significant others occur (Davis and Luthans, 1980). 2.4.2. Situational Learning Theory As in social learning theory, social interaction is a critical component of the learning process which in general involves knowledge acquisition as much as social participation. An analysis based on an empirical study on situated learning was conducted by Lave and Wenger (1991) in five settings: Yucatec midwives, Vai and Gola native tailors, US navy quartermasters, meat cutters and alcoholics from Alcoholic Anonymous. Their study showed that the beginners who were initially on the periphery of the community moved towards the center of the community of practitioners as their competences increased. 2.4.3. Experiential Learning Theory A phenomenological study by Terrel and Rosenbuch (2013) showed that global leaders learnt their first-hand global leadership through experience. Kolb’s (1984) model shows four basic styles of learning, namely diverging, assimilating, converging and accommodating. Firstly, the diverging learning style involves the manager relying on concrete experience (feeling) and reflective observation (reflecting) modes of learning. Secondly, learning through assimilating involves reflective observation and abstract conceptualization (thinking), which then leads to the development of conceptual abstracts to models or theories where active experimentation (acting) takes place. Finally, accommodating style of learning concerns manager’s hands-on experiences obtained through trial and error. 2.5. Malaysian Women Managers There has been a steady trend of increasing participation of women in the workplace in most developed and developing countries (Davidson and Burke, 2011). However, there is a growing concern among many nations with regards to women’s population in the talent pool being not reflected in their representation within upper levels of management (Grant Thornton, 2013). In Malaysia, a greater access to education has increased the participation of
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Malaysian women in the labour force over the years (Ahmad, 2009). Female labour force participation rate (LFPR) in Malaysia showed an increase of 1.6 per cent for the period of 2011-2012 from 47.9 to 49.5 per cent (Department of Statistics, Malaysia, 2012). However, within the same period, the percentage of women in the category of “Managers” dropped from 22.5% to 21.5%. In response to the alarming trend, Corporate Malaysia policy was put in place in 2011 to increase board representation of women in locally listed companies to 30 per cent by year 2016. It is important to note that Malaysia is among the few non-EU countries that undertake to introduce policies to promote women’s presence at the top level of decision-making (Abdullah et al., 2012). 2.5.1. Researching Women and Feminist Epistemological Assumptions Feminist research projects often involve studies into the lives and experiences of women by listening to and representing these intricate layers of social realities (Allen, 2011). The perspective adopts the view that women are systematically marginalised in the economy and social spheres (McGregor, 2010). Feminist mode of inquiry is chosen where both personal and political influences on important decisions concerning women are needed in order to effect transformation and social change. The qualitative approach via feminist epistemology has fast become an important mode of inquiry in studies involving women and it helps in the loosening of the “androcentric moorings” often associated with management research (Plummer and Young, 2009, p. 306). Feminist researchers acknowledged the difficulty in defining feminism owing to the diversity of the epistemological assumptions (Harding, 1991). However, one defining characteristic that makes a research ‘feminist’ is its specific focus on women’s experiences as a basis for research (Griffin, 1995). Cook and Fonow (1986) identified five epistemological principles as the following; acknowledgement of the pervasive influence of gender, the focus on consciousness-raising, rejection of the subject/object separation, examination of ethical concerns and emphasis on empowerment and transformation 3. Research Methodology In line with feminist epistemology and grounded theory methodology, semi structured in-depth interview method was conducted in order to ensure that the voices of the participants were heard. We performed a pilot study prior to conducting the major fieldwork. The fifteen women managers from three Malaysian work sector environments were considered as cases within a multiple-case studies design (Yin, 2009). Prior to the meetings, we researched the background of the participants to help us in facilitating the initial conversations or “ice-breaking” session. Assurance of confidentiality and condition of anonymity were discussed at the beginning of the interview followed by the signing of the participation consent form. During the interview, we asked the participants to describe their current responsibilities, what they understood by the word “competence” as well as how “competence” can be acquired and reinforced. Among the issues discussed were their most challenging and defining moments, actions taken to overcome challenging situations and the reasons or motivations for their actions. We employed the strategy proposed by Charmaz (2006, p. 29) by making “receptive ‘uh huhs’” or posed “clarifying questions” to keep the momentum of storytelling going. By doing so, we focused on the women managers’ experiences as the basis of this study (Griffin, 1995) and hence, fulfilled the defining characteristic that made this study “feminist”. After conducting fifteen in-depth interviews, two hundred and sixty-two pages of transcripts were generated. The analysis of data was conducted in two steps, firstly the within-case analysis and followed by crosscase analysis. We analysed each manager’s narrative text using grounded theory approach by performing open, axial and selective codings. 4. Results and Discussions Based on the interviews, women managers identified several informal learning strategies they used to acquire further competence at work in fulfilling the aspirations toward management of extraordinaire. According to the findings, women managers used a combination of methods to enhance managerial competence. This result is portion
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of the larger findings from the main study. Table 1 shows the summary on issues surrounding women managers’ informal learning strategies. Table 1. Broad theme and sub-categories. Broad Theme
Sub-categories
Informal learning strategies
Hit-the-road-running and learn-ityourself when embarking when embarking on new positions. Reflect and adapt from previous work and life experiences. Reflect on feedback about self and performance at work.
4.1. Hit-the-road-running Almost unanimously, women managers in this study mentioned self-learning experiences when they became managers. One very senior manager from the public sector used the term “hit the road running” to highlight the importance of being ever ready to perform any task when coming to new positions. According to Mrs. F: “You just hit the road running. There is no learning curve, you hit the road running. Especially if you are coming into a senior position, it is just that nobody has the time to teach you… you picked up where you left off, or you picked up as you go along and learned.” (Mrs. F, Secretary General, Public Sector). Another junior manager recounted a similar short hand over period from her predecessor. She said: “There were only four days for her [referring to her predecessor] to hand over her current job to me. So four days she was simply briefing me. Then, whatever else after that, I have to learn by myself.” (Mrs. B, Deputy Head of Section, GLC). To ‘hit the road running’ refers to getting started on the job immediately and self-learn along the way, especially when embarking on new positions. The findings revolved around self-learning, being independent and resourceful. Mrs. F summed it up by saying, “you picked up where you left off, or you picked up as you go along and learnt”. The finding fits the description of learning through work role transitions (Isopahkala-Bouret, 2008) which refers to the changes in psychological conditions of the job instead of physical movement, in particular involving people being promoted. 4.2. Reflect and adapt from previous work and life experiences Managerial learning was also associated with various types of personal experiences. Mrs. A, a lawyer by training, reflected on her earlier experience of managing difficult senior staff while working in the previous organisation. Her story: “Nobody could work with her [referring to a senior staff from previous organisation]. She does not have a Law Degree but she had been around so long that she knew the tricks … I could see
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that attitude. I managed to break that attitude ... That is how I learn to manage staff. This is what I brought to this organisation.” (Mrs. A, General Manager, Private Sector). Another manager talked about learning from her own previous experiences in handling complex situations, she stated: “I already have a background [referring to managing experience] from Sibu town because it is a town area and the people come from diverse background; and they are very demanding. I confided with the Deputy Resident Officer at that time of my worries. She said to me, “Don’t worry. Just work in Sibu. When you work outside of Sibu, then you know you can do anything because you will experience everything there.” I think what she said was true. So I think my experience in Sibu is very helpful to me.” (Mrs. E, Senior District Officer, Public Sector). Women managers used several techniques such as learning from personal experiences in handling difficult situations, dealing with bitter experiences and encountering personal betrayal by people whom they trusted. The findings endorsed Gherardi (2009) and Matsuo (2012) which emphasized the dominance of workplace learning over other methods of learning. 4.3. Reflect on feedback about self and performance at work Comments and feedbacks from others are regarded as valuable in providing room for learning. Mrs. A for example solicited feedbacks by conducting a survey among her staff and colleagues in order to understand better her relationship difficulties with staff. She recalled: “I remember I had so much difficulty with the staff. I actually told myself, “Okay, I am going to do a survey”. I actually asked very direct questions and they [referring to her staff] could remain anonymous. The responses that came back to me were honest! I realised I was kuku besilah [referring to her iron fist working style]. I realised the importance of having buysin.” (Mrs. A, General Manager, Private Sector). Another came to learn from her colleagues on how she had impressed her top management team. Her colleagues informed her of the positive comments and from the feedbacks, she had learnt about the leadership qualities that impressed the top management. She said: “As a young officer at the sports club I was appointed the Secretary of Welfare. I ran to the meeting, prepared! Little did I realised that I was the only one who was prepared during the meeting. That created an impression. Everybody told me that Tan Sri [referring to her boss by his honorific title] said, “You know of all the persons in the room you can say that only she [referring to Mrs. I] is prepared for the meeting. Then I realised, yes, what I did was right. ” (Mrs. I, Chief Executive Officer, Public Sector). In this study, feedbacks were either sought or volunteered. There were two main reasons why women managers relied on feedbacks from others namely, to improve their weakness and to learn from what they had done right. This
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finding paralleled London and Smither (2002) which highlighted the importance of feedback as guiding behavioural changes and improving performances of managers. 5. Conclusion Self-learning and reflecting on previous work experiences as well as feedbacks are the most prominent ways of acquiring managerial competencies at the workplace. It is proven that women managers learn best within work setting via lived experiences as managers. Therefore, it is suggested that women managers competence development would be enhanced by giving them challenging and strategic assignments considering their tenacities in hitting-the-roadrunning when they reach management positions. Acknowledgements We are grateful for the UTM Zamalah scholarship to Dr. SH Tan. This research has also been supported by the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia Research Management Centre under grant Vot No. Q.J130000.7129.04J28 References Abdullah, S. N., Ismail, K. K. and Nachum, L. (2012). Women on boards of Malaysian firms: Impact on market and accounting performance. Lilach, Women on Boards of Malaysian Firms: Impact on Market and Accounting Performance (September 10, 2012). Ahmad, A. (2008). Job, family and individual factors as predictors of work-family conflict. The Journal of Human Resource and Adult Learning, 4(1), 57-67. Allen, M. (2011). Violence and voice: Using a Feminist Constructivist Grounded Theory to Explore Women’s Resistance to Abuse, Qualitative Research. 11(1), 23-45. Bandura, A. (1977). Social Learning Theory. New York: General Learning Press. Boyatzis, R.E. (1982). The Competent Manager: A Model for Effective Performance. John Wiley & Sons, New York. Boyatzis, R.E. (2008). Competencies in the 21st Century. Journal of Management Development. 27(1), 5-12. Broadbridge, A. and Simpson, R. (2011). 25 years on: reflecting on the past and looking to the future in gender and management research. British Journal of Management. 22(3): 470-483. Catalyst (2012). Why Diversity Matters. Catalyst, USA. Charmaz, K. (2006). Constructing Grounded Theory: A Practical Guide Through Qualitative Analysis. London: Sage. Cheetham, G. and Chivers, G. (2005). Professions, Competence and Informal Learning, Edward Elgar, Cheltenham. Chivers, G. (2011). Supporting informal learning by traders in investment banks, Journal of European Industrial Training. 35(2), 154-175. Choi, W. and Jacobs, R.L. (2011). Influences of formal learning, personal learning orientation, and supportive learning environment on informal learning. Human Resource Development Quarterly. 22, 239-256. Chong, E. (2007). Managerial competencies and career advancement: A comparative study of managers in two countries. Journal of Business Research. 66(3),345-353 Cook, J.A. and Fonow, M.M. (1986). Knowledge and Women’s Interest: Issues of Epistemology and Methodology in Feminist Sociological Research, Sociological Inquiry. 56(4), 2-29. Davidson, M. J., & Burke, R. J. (Eds.). (2011). Women in Management Worldwide. Gower. Davis, T. R., and Luthans, F. (1980). A social learning approach to organizational behavior. Academy of Management Review, 5(2), 281-290. Department of Statistics, Malaysia. (2012). Labour Force Survey Report, Malaysia, 2012. Putrajaya: Department of Statistics, Malaysia. Dreyfus, H.L. and Dreyfus, S.E. (1986). Mind over machine: The power of human intuition and expertise in the era of the computer, Oxford: Basil Blackwell. Emmerling R.J. and Boyatzis, R.E. (2012). Emotional and social intelligence comeptencies: cross cultural implications. Cross Cultural Management. 19(1), 4-18. Eraut, M. (2007). Learning from Other People in the Workplace, Oxford Review of Education. 33(4), 403-422. Garavan T.N., Carbery, R. and Rock, A. (2012). Mapping talent development: definition, scope and architecture, European Journal of Training and Development, Vol. 36, No. 1, pp. 5-24 Gherardi, S. (2009). Organizational knowledge: The texture of workplace learning. John Wiley & Sons. Grant Thornton International Business Report (2011). Corporate social responsibility: power of perception, Grant Thornton IBR. Griffin, C. (1995). Feminism, social psychology and qualitative research, The Psychologist, pp. 119-21, March. Hadi (1999a). Managing in the Malaysian context. 51-72, “Malaysian managers – well aware of the country’s past, the culture, religion and values of the various races, besides acquiring the skills and knowledge to run modern organization”.
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