This article examines the persisting obstacles American women face in the workforce, for example, gender bias and gender stereotyping. These microaggressive behaviors create obstacles for women in the workplace environment as with the glass ceiling and the broken rung. A historical timeline of impactful events affecting women's rights and milestones is provided. Moreover, the glass ceiling and broken rung are compared. In addition, the microaggressive behaviors of gender bias and gender stereotyping are examined. Lastly, remedies to alleviate microaggressive behaviors and negative obstacles for American women in the workplace have been provided. Examples of these remedies include companies creating gender-diverse organizational cultures, being committed to hiring and promoting women for managerial leadership positions, challenging existing corporate identities, implementing positive discrimination practices, and being held to diversity transparency.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between the perceptions employees have regarding how they are treated in the workplace environment by their current or most recent supervisor, and how this predicted their feelings of power within themselves. The perceptions were measured utilizing the Managerial Leadership Perceptions Questionnaire (MLPQ) created by Parmer (2017). Employee power was measured utilizing the Power Instrument developed by Hinkin and Schriesheim (1989) which stemmed from French and Raven’s (1959) five original bases of power theory to include referent, expert, legitimate, reward, and coercive. Design/methodology/approach The authors collected a sample of 199 participants gathered from Amazon’s Mechanical Turk digital labor pool. Participants completed a survey which measured their managerial perceptions, bases of power, and demographic characteristics. Statistical analysis was used, including a factor analysis, to explore the relationship between managerial perceptions, bases of power, and demographic characteristics. Findings This study demonstrated that there were no significant associations between the demographic associations and personal power. There were significant associations between the demographic associations and position power, managerial perceptions and personal power, managerial perceptions and position power, and managerial leadership style and power. Research limitations/implications Five bases of power were examined in this study to include referent, expert (i.e. personal power), legitimate, reward, and coercive (i.e. position power). There is a sixth power now, information power, as noted by Northouse (2016) that needs to be additionally examined. Self-confidence and empowerment feelings were not technically measured quantifiably in this study but were expected feelings based on what mindsets power can produce within a person. Researching these additional feelings of self-confidence and empowerment and how this relates to follower power is needed moving forward in this research area. Finally, ethnic differences need to be measured moving forward. Practical implications The practical implications of this study show that employees do embody perceptions and attitudes regarding their current or most recent supervisor based on how they are being treated. This, in turn, can affect their own personal feelings of power within themselves and within the overall organization at large. Careers can be affected, both good and bad, organizational cultures can be impacted by both good and bad, workplace assumptions and norms, as well as, workplace relationships can be affected, both good and bad. Social implications The social implications of this study indicated that employees’ perceptions and attitudes regarding their immediate supervisor can create positive or negative feelings toward the supervisor which can, in turn, affect the organization’s culture and workplace environment, both good and bad. Working at an organization is within a social environment that needs to be managed and cultivated appropriately for all parties involved. Originality/value The majority of the prior research examines leader–follower relationships. No prior research has utilized this particular perception and attitudinal model, the MLPQ developed by Parmer (2017), and the five bases of power model developed by Hinkin and Schriesheim (1989) together in one study. This study explored employee managerial perceptions and their feelings of power within the follower–leader dyadic relationship, as opposed to the leader–follower dyadic relationship which has been more commonly reported within the literature.

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Purpose To examine the relationships between Boyatzis et al.’s (2000) philosophical value orientations and Rahim’s (1983 & 1995) conflict management styles through an exploratory research study. The philosophical value orientations are identified as pragmatic, intellectual and human. The conflict management styles are represented as integrating, obliging, dominating, avoiding and compromising. Design/methodology/approach The author collected a sample of 161 participants gathered from Amazon’s mechanical turk digital labor pool. Participants completed a survey measuring their philosophical value orientations, conflict management styles and provided information on demographic characteristics. Statistical analysis was used to explore the relationship between philosophical value orientations, conflict management style scores and demographic characteristics. Findings The study demonstrated there were significant associations between the philosophical value orientations and the conflict management styles. Significant associations regarding the philosophical value orientations and conflict management styles were also found across the demographic groups. Research limitations/implications Three philosophical value orientations were examined in this study to include pragmatic, intellectual and human; however, there are a multitude of personal and workplace values that could be further studied. Practical implications The practical implications of this study show that employees do bring into the company or organization a set of beliefs and value structures that can influence how they respond and relate to their immediate supervisor in challenging or conflicting situations. Social implications The social implications of this study indicate employees’ behavior and reactions to their immediate supervisor are directly manipulated by the value-based system they have developed prior to joining the organization. Originality/value No prior research has examined the relationship between Boyatzis et al.’s (2000) philosophical value orientations of pragmatic, intellectual and human and Rahim’s (1983 & 1995) conflict management styles of integrating, obliging, dominating, avoiding and compromising. This study explores how philosophical value orientations are related to the five conflict management styles manifested within the organizational leader-follower dyadic relationship.

The world is a global marketplace, however much inquiry has been created regarding American-based companies relocating departmental operations offshore to foreign territories. Keating (2012) indicated that popular areas for companies to reposition operations include customer service, information technology, and sales services. The main reason for moving offshore is to cut costs and to maximize on cheaper labor pools in the host country. There are cultural and language barriers that complicate matters, as well as, the media, as reported by Dobbs (2004) in the United States (U.S.) brings supposition by broadcasting the jobs lost by U.S. employees, as well as, home country power diminishing by stronger global players rising and thriving, such as, Brazil, The Philippines, and Mexico. This study quantifiably examined the relationship between participants’ demographic profiles and attitudes regarding business outsourcing techniques and strategies utilizing the Chi-Square and Fisher’s Exact tests, to gain a greater understanding of what these American-based beliefs truly are, in relation to, the sample confined within this study. Areas of concern examined attitudes towards managers, as well as, the U.S. government, regarding engaging in business outsourcing endeavors, enforcing policies to keep jobs in America, operating with a global mindset, helping people in both the home and host countries, competence factors associated with the capabilities to head outsourcing efforts based upon gender, and the training needed to successfully move operations offshore, for example. Significant differences were found in all of the demographic variables of ethnicity, gender, number of children (e.g. family size), age, education level, marital status, and annual household income.