Source: http://mensnewsdaily.com/glennsacks/200 ... -than-men/
By Robert Franklin, Esq. | Jul 31, 2009
So now we know. Women are better corporate managers than are men.
How do we know? Carol Smith told us so, and she told us in the pages of the New York Times Business section here, so who can argue (The New York Times, 7/25/09)?
Who is Carol Smith? She's senior vice president of the media conglomerate the Elle Group. Why does Carol Smith hold such misandric views? Well, her experience tells her that women make better managers than do men, and that's that. Does it occur to her that her sexist worldview might possibly color her observations? If it does, she doesn't let on about it. Does it occur to her that her experience might be too limited to draw meaningful conclusions from? Maybe; she admits she's "generalizing," but that doesn't keep her from doing it.
Does it occur to her that people actually study management styles and their effectiveness, so that she doesn't have to rely on her own narrow set of experiences distorted by her sexism? Not apparently, and that's strange for a senior manager for a major corporation. I mean, what if a junior manager completed a project and his/her conclusion was based on nothing but some vague notions derived in a wholly unscientific way from pretty much random occurrences?
Imagine it. Smith: "Mr. Jones, I want you to tell me what the market is for product X at price Y in area Z. Report back to me in two months." Two months later. Smith: "Well, Mr. Jones what's your report?" Jones: "Sorry boss, it's no go. Only one person in ten thousand in area Z would buy X at that price." Smith: "How do you know?" Jones: "Oh, I chatted up some of my buddies and overheard a woman talking on her cell phone."
Wouldn't she either fire Jones or send him back to the drawing board? Yes, she probably would because that type of work product is shoddy at best. And the same holds true for her thinking, if that's what she's doing.
Fortunately, most of the comments on the article call Smith on her sexism and general silliness. To tell the truth, so does the Times. The article's headline "No Doubts: Women are Better Managers," fairly reeks of sarcasm. Smith has "no doubts," but anyone who thinks at all effectively about the matter has plenty.
Interestingly, it wasn't long ago that male managers were criticized for their domineering, "my way or the highway" mangement style. That was always at least part mythology. Successful managers learn over many years what works best for them. For some that means a military-style, "I give orders, you carry them out" way of managing. Others are more consesus oriented. But, part of male-bashing has always been to ignore facts, so male managers were caricatured as all "Chainsaw Al" Dunlaps.
So it's odd that one of the things Smith criticizes male managers for is the exact opposite. She claims they're always talking football or telling about their sons' soccer games. Most people would realize that what those guys are doing is trying to put people at their ease, softening an otherwise all-business approach. Not Smith. To her it's just more proof of male inferiority.
Some day, I swear, the media will start to realize what so many readers of the Times interview already do - that this sort of sexist nonsense is just worthless. There are differences between the sexes, and they make for interesting study and reading. Smith's type of off-the-cuff misandry says a lot about her, but nothing about anything else. It's a waste of perfectly good trees.
Thanks to Phil for the heads-up.
