How Women and Men Traditionally Build Different Types of Business Networks
Every person wants to succeed in his/her workplace. They want to feel secure and develop their own business networks in which they can rely on. Men and women have own ways of achieving their versions of success. However, the two genders develop their traditional networks differently and each of the networks has its advantages and disadvantages.
Unlike men, women tend to maintain their stardom even after moving from one employer to the next (Groysberg, 2008). Switching firm does not affect their work in any way and they perform just as well as the others who did not shift. Men’s performances have been found to drop by approximately 0.93% compared with females whose performances have been found to reduce by an estimate of 0.07%.
The female species work and building their future by developing extended relationships with their clients and previous companies. Besides, women have been found to be good at building external networks. On the other hand, males invest more on building networks within the firms. Men work more in ensuring that they are in a reliable relationship with the firms they have associated with and ensure long-term investments in terms of resources and unique capabilities (Groysberg, 2008). Conversely, women find it easier to build outward relationships in which they identify with clients and any other business associate that would enable them to succeed. Such an endeavor put females in an advantageous position to compete in the male dominant firms. Men are weak in building relationships and more often than not spent their time with fellow men.
Women take their time when grading their prospective employer. Women tend to look at many factors. Women have been found to be evaluating their options and analyzing a great number of factors before arriving at the final decision. Besides, women have been found to be valuing their work surrounding (Groysberg, 2008). In fact, women always associate themselves with a firm that will enable them to build a successful future. Moreover, females find it easier to work where they have role models.
The Benefits and Downsides of Each Model
The female business framework is important, since it is engineered to enable women to succeed. The ability to building external relationships helps women to overcome their vulnerability in the labor markets (Groysberg, 2008). In the circumstances that layoffs occur even in female managed companies, more women are normally laid off compared with men. Under such circumstances, the ability to build external relationships helps them improve their reputations compared with the male colleagues.
On the other hand, focusing on external relationship makes it difficult to manage transitions (Denning, 2007). For example, in the circumstances that the individual is promoted to a managerial position, it is always difficult to take up the new roles. In addition, relying on females in managerial position wholly is disadvantageous to the firm since women have been found to be driven by emotions compared with men.
However, men tend to concentrate more on compensation. In addition, it is easier for men to have mentors as compared to their female counterparts. Conversely, females find it difficult to manage these relationships (Groysberg, 2008). Most of the successful men had mentors throughout their lives. Men also believe that being mentored enables them to deal with work or family-related issues (Black, 2008).
Therefore, maintaining both men and women in a firm will ensure constant supply of workers (Denning, 2007). Women should be allowed to advance in their careers and also feel welcomed even in a male dominant firm. Moving from one firm to another may not be the answer to building a business network, but one should move with their team.
References
Black, C. (2008). Basic black: the essential guide for getting ahead at work (and in life). New York, NY: Three Rivers Press.
Denning, S. (2007). The secrete language of leadership: How leaders inspire action through narrative. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and sons, Inc.
Groysberg, B. (2008). How star women build portable skills, 4(5), 74-82.