Purpose -The aims of this study are threefold: to examine the relationship between gender role stereotypes and requisite managerial characteristics, to test Lord and Maher's recognition-based processes to determine whether familiarity with women in leadership positions decreases the "think manager-think male" stereotype and to examine the nature of the attributes used to describe men, women and managers. Design/methodology/approach -Schein's Descriptive Index was used in this study. A total of 1,236 surveys were included in the study. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC, r 1 ) were computed to determine the relationship between the different moderators and requisite managerial characteristics. Factorial analysis and agglomerative hierarchal cluster analysis were used to identify the traits attributed to men, women and managers. Findings -Male respondents continue to gender type the managerial role in favour of men. Both males and managers continue to be viewed as agentic in nature while women are viewed in more androgynous terms by both male and female respondents.Practical implications -This study expands our understanding of how males and females view women, men and managers. Based on the results of this study, the authors would argue that women are better equipped to adopt an androgynous leadership style and to practise transformational leadership. Originality/value -This study looks beyond ICC scores and looks at how each of the traits is linked to men, women and managers. The findings are discussed in terms of how organisations need to look beyond the misfit between women and requisite managerial characteristics and focus on what females can contribute at board level and to management in general.

PurposeBranding in small companies is an emergent aspect of the literature which to date has been explored from the perspective of customers but not SME management. Increasing understanding of management perceptions of branding is essential, given the impact of the entrepreneurial personality on SME branding, the need to create sustainable value, the emphasis of differentiation, and nurturing the generation of growth. This paper seeks to enhance the understanding of brands in service small and medium enterprises (SMEs) from a management perspective.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative case study method was undertaken with five SMEs in Ireland over a period of 18 months to understand the context specific implementation of branding from the perspective of the owner/manager. The research approach utilized in‐depth interviews, historical data, and observation with diverse service SMEs to facilitate the theory building necessary for this study.FindingsThe findings demonstrate that from a management perspective, branding in service SMEs is dominated by four variables; characteristics of the SME, the role of customer importance, the role of management and staff and brand equity. Additionally, the case SMEs noted the impact on their branding of budgetary constraints, procrastination, the desire for success and the influence of the owner/manager on change.Originality/valueWhile the importance of branding is well supported, service SME branding is an emergent area of the literature. This study explores management perspectives of branding in service SMEs culminating in a model of SME service branding.

The aim of this study was to identify bundles of flexible working arrangements (FWAs) from data provided by 1,064 organizations in seven EU countries, and to relate bundle membership to demographic variables and human resource (HR) and organizational performance outcomes. Using Ward's hierarchical clustering algorithm we identified four distinct bundles of FWAs based on the uptake of twelve individual FWAs across the sample of organizations. Bundle 1 represents organizations engaging in a high level of annual hours contracts; bundle 2 represents more traditional work practices; bundle 3 represents organizations mainly offering shift‐work and bundle 4 represents organizations with a high uptake of flexi‐time. The demographic profile of organizations recorded across each of the four bundles was significantly different. Finally, significant associations were found between the bundle membership and employee turnover (p < 0.001), absenteeism (p < 0.001) and productivity (p < 0.015). The implications of these results are discussed and directions for future research are proposed.

Males gender typed the managerial role in favour of men. With an increase in numbers of men joining the profession and increased representation of males at the Clinical Nurse Manager (CMN) level there is a possibility that the profession will become two tiered. Health care organisations should pay careful consideration to career development and implement career structures which ensure equal access to managerial roles for both genders.

No abstract