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    Business Prespectives

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    Simons
    having more female directors may sensitize boards to CSR initiatives, and provide perspectives that can be helpful in addressing issues of CSR” (Bear et al 2010)

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    Business Prespectives

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    Simons
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    having more female directors may sensitize boards to CSR initiatives, and provide perspectives that can be helpful in addressing issues of CSR” (Bear et al 2010)

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    Business prespectives

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    having more female directors may sensitize boards to CSR initiatives, and provide perspectives that can be helpful in addressing issues of CSR” (Bear et al 2010)

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    18 views3 pages

    Business Prespectives

    Uploaded by

    Simons
    having more female directors may sensitize boards to CSR initiatives, and provide perspectives that can be helpful in addressing issues of CSR” (Bear et al 2010)

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 3

    “having more female directors may sensitize boards to CSR initiatives, and provide perspectives

    that can be helpful in addressing issues of CSR” (Bear et al 2010)

    Managing a company and its reputation has always been a real challenge. As explained by Fombrun
    and Shanley (1990), corporate reputation attributes to ‘‘publics’ cumulative judgment of firms over
    time.’’Thus, reputation enhances a company’s performance and surely enables its employees to feel
    job satisfaction and better engagement.However, building and creating a team is a hard task, and
    one that should not be neglected and overlooked easily. The true key to success is diversity because
    it generates better performance and results (Bear et al., 2010). This essay will clarify whether there is
    in fact an association between gender diversity and a company’s overall performance.
    Nowadays Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) plays a fundamental role in the modern corporate
    boardroom. A CSR strategy is to monitor the overall service for the shareholders and stakeholders,
    and take into account any environmental and social targets. This is clearly indicated by Carroll's
    pyramid of corporate social responsibility (1991).It illustrates the four components of CSR -
    economic, legal, ethical and philanthropic responsibilities. Knowing which of these responsibilities
    are required and expected can help in understanding the concept of CSR. Furthermore, the reference
    to the employees should be equally because it may be unethical to exclude women from boards
    based solely on their gender (Campbell & Minguez-Vera, 2008). All applicants should be judged by
    their qualifications without taking into consideration their gender because the objective is to judge
    by achievements. In accordance with Davies (2011) ’’this is not just a gender numbers game. ‘’
    The board of directors has to consist of the most qualified and forward-thinking applicants because
    that is essential for the firms’ performance. In agreement with Coffey & Wang (1998), the board of
    directors contributes to the bottom line and guarantees that the organisation encounters and
    reaches its objectives, as well as meets its stakeholders’ needs .Based on OECD, (2008) there are
    more women than men that have higher education. Therefore, employers can benefit from women`s
    knowledge and experience. Female representation in the boardroom may advance the problem
    solving and the understanding of the business environment. The diverse background of a given board
    reduces the risk of ‘groupthink’ due to its many different points of view and broader perspectives
    (ACCA, 2015).Improvement through firm’s strategic decision-making and firms’ performance can be
    observed with the unique qualities and resources provided by women as explained by Ferreira
    (2010). The author also believes that alternative viewpoints are the perfect scenario to overcome
    ‘groupthink’ and build new habit of creative thinking. Moreover, she goes on to explain how this may
    lead to alternative innovations and solutions which can further enhance the success of a company.
    Conversely, as specified by Eagly et al. (1995), there is no significant change above the overall
    effectiveness. Pelled (1996) also argues that gender diversity into the workplace can cause various
    conflicts. Problems can emerge due to differences amongst co-workers and their rejection to accept
    each other, resulting in lack of collaboration (Ferreira, 2010).
    Last but not least, a study conducted by Kruger (2009) indicates that female representation in
    boards can lead to a larger engagement towards stakeholders and the social community. Women
    tend to respond to others’ needs more than male entrepreneurs do. Advanced social responsibility
    and females on boards of directors are related as per Siciliano (1996).More effective management
    may be expected because of the remarkable professional awareness (Hillman and Dalziel, 2003).
    Achievements of philanthropic nature are identified with gender diversity as well. For instance,
    Soares et al. (2011) perceived that there is a relationship between charitable activities and female
    representation- this may have progressive influence on CSR initiatives. Business reputations can only
    benefit form fulfilling the requests of the general public.
    In conclusion, this essay clarifies that when CSR activities are recognized as a driving factor in the
    corporate world, a company may benefit in numerous outcomes. Board’s composition can be a
    leading factor in the increase of a firm’s performance. Professional diversity among board directors
    may provide additional perspectives which can be essential in addressing vital issues of CSR.More
    prominent assorted variety among diversity board attributes has been supported as “a means of
    improving organisational performance by providing boards with new insights and perspectives”
    (Siciliano, 1996).Further writing demonstrates that female executives convey particular qualities that
    benefit CSR initiatives.Taken together these studies suggest that female representation in top level
    positions can develop solid team dynamics, create a prosperous company and expand the unfulfilled
    potential.

    Reference:

    Bear, S.; Rahman, N.; Post, C. (2010) The Impact of Board Diversity and Gender Composition on
    Corporate Social Responsibility and Firm Reputation. Journal of Business Ethics, 97, pp. 207-222

    Campbell, K. & Minguez-Vera, A. (2008) Gender Diversity in the Boardroom and Firm Financial
    Performance. Journal of Business Ethics, 83, pp. 435-451.

    Carroll, A. (1991) The Pyramid of Corporate Social Responsibility: Toward the Moral Management of
    Organizational Stakeholders. Business Horizons, 34, pp. 39-48. 221

    Coffey, B.; Wang, J. (1998) Board Diversity and Managerial Control as Predictors of Corporate Social
    Performance. Journal of Business Ethics, 17, pp. 1595-1603.

    Davies L. 2011 Women on boards [online]. Available from:


    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/31480/11-745-
    women-on-boards.pdf [Accessed 26 October 2017]

    Eagly, A. H., S. J. Karau and M. G. Makhijani, 1995, ‘‘Gender and the effectiveness of leaders: A meta-
    analysis’’. Psychological Bulletin, 117: 125–145.

    Ferreira, D. (2010) Board Diversity, in: Baker, H. & Anderson, R. (eds.) Corporate Governance.
    Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, pp. 225-242.

    Fombrun, C. and M. Shanley: 1990, ‘What’s in a Name? Reputation Building and Corporate Strategy’,
    Academy of Management Journal 33, 233–258.

    Hillman, A.J., & Dalziel, T. 2003. Boards of directors and firm performance: Integrating agency and
    resource dependence perspectives. Academy of Management Review, 28: 383-396

    Kruger, P. (2009). Corporate social responsibility and the board of directors. Working Paper (Job

    Market Paper), Toulouse School of Economics, France, 31 May 2010

    Leung, E., 2015 DIVERSIFYING THE BOARD – A STEP TOWARDS BETTER GOVERNANCE [online]. ACCA
    .Available from: http://www.accaglobal.com/uk/en/student/exam-support-resources/professional-
    exams-study-resources/p1/technical-articles/diversifying-the-board--a-step-towards-better-
    governance.html [Accessed 26 October 2017].

    OECD (2008) Gender and Sustainable Development - Maximising the Economic, Social and
    Environmental Role of Women. OECD. Available at: http://www.oecd.org/social/ 40881538.pdf
    Pelled, L. H. (1996). Demographic diversity, conflict, work group outcomes: An intervening process
    theory. Organization Science, 7, 615–631.

    Siciliano J.I. (1996), "The Relationship of Board Member Diversity to Organizational Performance",
    Journal of Business Ethics, 15, 1313-1320.

    Soares, R.; Marquis, C.; Lee, M. (2011) Gender and Corporate Social Responsibility: It’s a Matter of
    Sustainability. New York: Catalyst.

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