Successful women of the Americas: the same or different?

Abstract

Purpose -The intent of this cross-national research is to study the personal and cultural characteristics of successful professional women. High-achieving women may share certain personal characteristics, beliefs, and experiences, regardless of the countries in which they live. However, every individual is socialized within a particular national culture, and may be expected to share certain values and expectations with other members of that culture. Design/methodology/approach -Over 1,100 professionally ''successful women'' (including highlevel managers, entrepreneurs, academics, government personnel, and professionals) and 531 undergraduate business students in nine countries -

Patterns of Self-Efficacy Within NAFTA: United States, Canada, and Mexico

“…However, our research demonstrates this does not necessarily mean similar (certainly not equivalent) self-efficacy patterns based on national level comparisons for Canada and the United States. The findings might also indicate that while national culture may be relevant, individual nuances are likely more significant; something that supports other work on patterns of self-efficacy in the Americas (Duffy et al, 2006). This observation is particularly important for organizations seeking to hire the most self-efficacious employees from international pools of candidates.…”

“…Our research also suggests that as female employees gain work and management experience, their levels of self-efficacy will be positively impacted. It is suggested that such personal developments will directly impact career satisfaction and career success (Duffy et al, 2006;Punnett et al, 2007).…”

“…Individuals with high self-efficacy also have greater propensity for delayed gratification, demonstrate higher commitment, and are more diligent and effective in developing problem-solving and coping strategies (Bandura, 1997;Locke and Latham, 1990). Self-efficacy is highly correlated with work-related performance (Stajkovic and Luthans, 1998), success (Duffy et al, 2006), and satisfaction (Punnett et al, 2007). Self-efficacy is also related to cultural intelligence (Earley and Ang, 2003) and the development of cultural intelligence capacities (MacNab, Brislin, and Worthley, 2010), something that is viewed as critical for international management success.…”

“…Previous studies have shown that the average level of self-efficacy varies by country (Schwarzer, 1994), and that within a country, varies by gender and work experience (MacNab and Worthley, 2008) which also tends to influence levels of self-efficacy. Understanding patterns of self-efficacy is important for organizations in developing employee management capacity (Duffy et al, 2006) and workplace satisfaction (Punnett et al, 2007) and can be an important consideration in training (MacNab, 2009) and other management practices (MacNab and Worthley, 2008).…”

A comparative analysis of the attitudes toward women managers in China, Chile, and the USA

“…Owing to sound economic and trade policies, higher rates of literacy, and changing attitudes toward women in management, women in South American countries (e.g. Chile) seem to have somewhat overcome institutional and social barriers to achieve a higher level of career success (Duffy et al, 2006;Punnett et al, 2007). In China, which has the lowest GDP as compared to the USA and Chile, women are not found frequently in managerial roles (Frank, 2001), and women are seen as having little or no place being in the male-dominated working world (Liu et al, 2001).…”