Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Are Senior Women Management Consultants Team Players?

  • Chapter
Women’s Voices in Management

  • 140 Accesses

Abstract

Ongoing technological developments and increased global competition impose demands on managers to be adaptable, flexible, multiskilled, and ready to create new working systems out of old, in often difficult political and technological environments (Morgan, 1990; Wickham, 1999; Clark and Salaman 1996; Abrahamson 1996; Murray, 2014; Thamhain, 2013; Sargut et al., 2013). The management consulting industry has responded to these changes by offering “portfolio”-type services to organizations, thus beginning to play a key role in supporting a range of in-house noncore and developmental activities (Schein 1995, 1987, 2010; Keeble et al., 1992; Jones-Evans and Kirby, 1993; Powell, 1994, 1997; Mallon and Cohen, 2001; Clark and Finchham, 2002). It succeeds by being fast and flexible in responding to their clients’ needs, and since the early 1990s, grew by over 15 per cent per annum (Stumpf and Tymon, 2000). To boost its ranks, the industry began to recruit senior managers from the traditional economy industries, which in turn opened doors for women to enter management positions in both industries (Walby, 1997).

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
eBook
USD 16.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • E. Abrahamson (1996) “Management Fashion,” Academy of Management Review, 21(1), 254–285.

    Google Scholar 

  • J. Acker (2006) “Inequality Regimes: Gender, Class, and Society in Organizations, Gender and Society, 20(4), 441–464.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • R. B. Adams and D. Ferreira (2009) “Women in the Boardroom and Their Impact on Governance and Performance,” Journal of Financial Economics, 94, 291–309.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • R. B. Adams and P. Funk (2012) “Beyond the Glass Ceiling: Does Gender Matter?,” Management Science, 58, 219–235.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • I. Adamson (1997) “Management Consultants Intervention Styles and the Small Organisation,” Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, 4(2), 55–65.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • I. Adamson (2000) “Management Consultant Meets a Potential Client for the First Time: The Pre-entry Phase of Consultancy in SMEs and the Issue of Qualitative Research Methodology,” International Journal of Qualitative Market Research, 3(1), 17–27.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • M. Alvesson and A. W. Johansson (2002) “Professionalism and Politics in Management Consultancy Work.” In: Critical Consulting (eds) T. Clark and R. Finchham. Oxford, UK: Blackwell, 228–246.

    Google Scholar 

  • M. Amberg, W. Prinz, B. Sandrina-Arndt and R. L. Thomas (2009) “Project Management Office (PMO) als strategischer Katalysator für erfolgreiche Unternehmen,” Projekt Management Aktuell, 20(5), 34–40.

    Google Scholar 

  • D. R. Ames and F. J. Flynn (2007) “What Breaks a Leader: The Curvilinear Relation between Assertiveness and Leadership,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 92, 307–324.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • J. Antonakis, S. Bendahan, P. Jacquart and R. Lalive (2010) “On Making Causal Claims: A Review and Recommendations,” The Leadership Quarterly, 21, 1086–1120.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • E. K. Aranda, L. Aranda and K. Conlon (1998) Teams: Structure, Process, Culture and Politics. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • C. Argyris (1970) Intervention Theory and Method. Mass.: Addison-Wesley.

    Google Scholar 

  • A. Beauregard (2007) “Family Influences on the Career Life Cycle.” In: Career Choice in Management and Entrepreneurship: A Research Companion (eds) M. Ozbilgin and A. Malach-Pines, pp. 23–50. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • R. R. Blake and J. S. Mouton (1976) Consultation. USA: Addison-Wesley Publ.

    Google Scholar 

  • T. Clark and G. Salaman (1996) “The Use of Metaphor in the Client-Consultant Relationship: A Study of Management Consultants,” Working Paper Series, The Open Business School Research, The Open University.

    Google Scholar 

  • A. H. Eagly, L. L. Carli (2007) Through the Labyrinth: The Truth about How Women Become Leaders. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business School Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Equality Act 2010. http//www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2015/15/contents, accessed 20 January 2015.

  • L. A. Farrell (1997) “So You Want to Be a Consultant,” Records Management Quarterly, 31(1), 21–26.

    Google Scholar 

  • E. Feess (2013) Gabler Wirtschaftslexikon/Komplexitaet (18). Wiesbaden: Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden GmbH.

    Google Scholar 

  • B. Flyvbjerg (2014) “What You Should Know about Megaprojects and Why: An Overview,” Project Management Journal, 45(2), 6–19.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • E. French (2001) “Approaches to Equity Management and their Relationship to Women in Management,” British Journal of Management, 12, 267–285.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • C. Goldin (2006) “The Quiet Revolution That Transformed Women’s Employment, Education and Family, American Economic Review, 96(2), 1–29.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • C. Hakim (1996) Key Issues in Women’s Work: Female Heterogeneity and the Polarisation of Women’s Employment. London: Athlone.

    Google Scholar 

  • J. Hammond (2014) “Equality Battles Past Present and Future,” The Guardian, 14 November, http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/nov/21.

  • C. B. Handy (1987) Understanding Organisation. 3rd ed. London: Penguin.

    Google Scholar 

  • K. B. Hass (2009) Managing Complex Projects: A New Model. Vienna: Management Concepts.

    Google Scholar 

  • K. B. Hass and L. Lindbergh (2010) “The Bottom Line on Project Complexity: Applying a New Complexity Model. Presented at the PMI Global Congress,” Washington, DC: Project Management Institute.

    Google Scholar 

  • P. A. Hessling (2005) “Conceptualizing and Evaluating Career success, Journal of Organizational Behaviour, 26, 113–136.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • M. L. Huffman and L. Torres (2002) “It’s Not Only Who You Know That Matters: Gender, Personal Contacts and Job Lead Quality,” Gender and Society, 16(6), 793–814.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • R. M. Kanter (1977) Men and Women of the Corporation. New York: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • D. Koch (2008) Neue Ansätze und Entwicklungen im Projektmanagement [New approaches and developments in project management]. Hamburg: Diplomica Verlag.

    Google Scholar 

  • A. Kohn and U. Lindemann (2010) “Approach towards a More Flexible Handling of Domains in Complex Systems,” presented at the 12th International Dependency and Structure Modeling Conference, DSM’10, Cambridge, UK: DSM-conference.

    Google Scholar 

  • S. Liff and K. Ward (2001) “Distorted Views through the Glass Ceiling: The Construction of Women’s Understandings of Promotion and Senior Management,” Gender, Work and Organisation, 8(1), 19–36.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • M. Mallon and L. Cohen (2001) “Time for a Change? Women’s Account of the Move from Organisational Careers to Self-Employment,” British Journal of Management, 12, 217–230.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • A. Murray (2014) Women’s Work,” Fortune, 170(5), 10.

    Google Scholar 

  • C. A. O’Reilly and B. G. M. Main (2012) Women in the Boardroom: Symbols or Substance? Research Paper No. 2098, Stanford Graduate School of Business. Retrieved from http://gsbapps.stanford.edu/researchpapers/library/RP2098.pdf.

    Google Scholar 

  • K. Phillips and P. Show (1989) Consultancy Approach for Trainers. UK: University Associate Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • G. N. Powell (1997) Women and Men in Management, 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • A. Rao and D. Kelleher (2003) “Institutions, Organizations and Gender Equality in an Era of Globalization,” Gender and Development, 11(1), 143–149.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • C. L. Ridgeway (2011) Framed by Gender: How Gender Inequality Persists in the Modern World. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • G. Sargut, and R. McGrath (2011) “Mit Komplexität leben lernen,” Harvard Business Manager, 33(11), 24–34.

    Google Scholar 

  • E. Schein (1995) Organizational Culture and Leadership. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • E. H. Schein (2010) Organizational Culture and Leadership. 4th ed. San Francisco: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • S. A. Stumpf and W. G. Tymon (2000) “Consultant or Entrepreneur? Demystifying the War for Talent’,” Career Development International, 6(1), 48–55.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • S. Swanson (2012) “Keeping Chaos out of Complexity,” PM Network, 26(8), 55.

    Google Scholar 

  • S. Terjesen (2005) “Senior Women Managers’ Transition to Entrepreneurship: Leveraging Embedded Career Capital,” Career Development International, 10(3), 246–259.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • H. J. Thamhain (2013) “Changing Dynamics of Team Leadership in Global Project Environments,” American Journal of Industrial and Business Management, 3(2), 146–156.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • P. Toynbee (2015) “Inside the National Gallery, a Portrait of Modern Inequality,” The Guardian, 20 January.

    Google Scholar 

  • C. Tresselt (2014) Optimal Handling of Complexity in Project Management — A Case Study of Certified Project Managers in Germany. Unpublished DBA dissertation, Gloucestershire University, Cheltenham, UK.

    Google Scholar 

  • L. B. Trimble (2012) “New Ways of Working, Same Old Gender Inequality,” The Clayman Institute for Gender Research, October 11. http://geneder.standard.edu/news/2012.

    Google Scholar 

  • A. Vandermay (2014) “An Economic Indicator That Floats,” October 6, Fortune, 170(5), 17–18.

    Google Scholar 

  • C. B. M. Van Riel and C. J. Fombrun (2007) Essentials of Corporate Communications. US: Routledge.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • S. Vinicombe and V. Sturges (1995) “European Women in Management.” In: The Essence of Women in Management (eds) S. Vinnicombe and N. L. Colvill. London: Prentice Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • S. Walby (1997) Gender Transformations. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • J. White (1992) A Few Good Women: Breaking the Barriers to Top Management. London: Prentice-Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • P. A. Wickham (1999) Management Consulting. London: Financial Times Pitman Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • T. Williams, O. J. Klakegg, D. Walker, B. Andersen, O. M. Magnussen (2012) “Identifying and Acting on Early Warning Signs in Complex Projects,” Project Management Journal, 43(2), 37–53.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Authors
  1. Ivana Adamson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Max Stern Yezreel Valley College, Israel

    Helena Desivilya Syna

  2. Spiru Haret University Bucharest, Romania

    Carmen-Eugenia Costea

Copyright information

© 2015 Ivana Adamson

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Adamson, I. (2015). Are Senior Women Management Consultants Team Players?. In: Syna, H.D., Costea, CE. (eds) Women’s Voices in Management. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137432155_8

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation