Deductions to understand
Browne ( 2000 ) argues that though organisations have three type of resources ; fiscal, physical and human capital, yet merely in recent old ages that human resources have been given attending as a nucleus competitory advantage. However harmonizing to Bogan ( 1994 ) , human resource ( HR ) should be given more acknowledgment as they could be more valuable than other competitory advantages such as engineerings and production as there ‘s high barrier to imitation. Both statements by Bogan and Browne clearly illustrate the importance of human resource in an organisation which links us to the demand or importance of understanding the construct of glass ceiling.
Operating in the epoch where globalisation is at its extremum, it is important for organisation to understand the construct of glass ceiling and human resource ( HR ) professionals are one of those that need to hold sufficient cognition on the construct of the glass ceiling. This is due to the nature of their responsibilities outcomes which may straight or indirectly impact the organisation ‘s growing potency, repute, diverse accomplishment sets and client trueness ( The Glass Ceiling: Domestic and International Perspectives, 2004 ) .
Understanding the glass ceiling is of import to retain the endowments in the organisation where human resource from different minorities ‘ group are now more nomadic to job-hop for calling promotion and adult females are no longer populating under the unstable publicity. Unlike adult females in the yesteryear where their instruction has ever been via media, adult females today are extremely educated and more literate. Take the United States ( U.S. ) for illustration, The US Department of Education, NCES ( 2003 ) has provided a statistics demoing that in 2001-02, 57.4 % of all unmarried man ‘s grades, 57.1 % of all maestro ‘s grades, 43 % of “first professional” grades, and 47.1 % of doctor’s degrees in all Fieldss are earned by adult females.
Therefore, unlike two decennaries ago where adult females would easy be retain through equivocal or unstable publicity alternatively they are now more likely taking opportunities by interrupting intro entrepreneurship on their ain. Grasping the glass ceiling construct can be altered into an organisation ‘s competitory advantage. CIGNA, a planetary wellness service company, has invested $ 2 million yearly into preparing and retaining female leaders. The consequence of increased female senior directors and lower female directors turnover has been claimed by CEO Edward Hanway as “the best manner to run strategically and to derive a competitory border in a tough marketplace” ( The glass ceiling, 2006 ) .
Consequences of Failure to Understand Glass Ceiling
Though the construct or thought of glass ceiling has been around for old ages, yet the deductions to understand the issue has non been taken into consideration in most organisations. Failure to understand the glass ceiling would finally take to a few important unfavourable results which are cost associated. The most common issue which is unknown to most organisations is the high turnover cost. Catalyst ‘s proprietary research within organisations and professional houses prove that houses are sing turnover of adult females disproportionate to that of work forces. This turnover cost would easy make 150 % of the one-year wage of a director or professional and 75 % of the one-year wage of a lower-level employee harmonizing to the survey done by Families and Work Institute ( 1993 ) .
The high cost incurred by organisations for the turnover is normally the cost they have invested such as recruiting and preparation employees and the cost of retraining and enrolling the new replacings. But the cost does non stop here, alternatively the concealed cost possibly more overpowering such as the impact on the morality and productiveness of the going employee ‘s work unit, loss of rational capital and the hazard of going employee fall ining the rivals ‘ house, and the possibilities of discontinuity in clients that the employee attended to ( Levin & A ; Mattis, 2006 ) .
The following issue that would originate as a effect of non understanding the glass ceiling would be legal actions taken against the organisation by the employee. This normally happens in developed states and some development states where there are proper jurisprudence and fundamental law to protect favoritism against adult females and minorities in the labour market such as barriers to career promotion. Though the glass ceiling issue is indistinguishable nevertheless different state has different Torahs and different authorities organic structures for their workplace to control the issue.
For illustration in U.S. , the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ( EEOC ) oversees and investigates ailments linked to discrimination such as race, colour or gender and registering suits on behalf of the alleged victim ( s ) against the employers and act as an adjudicatory for claims of favoritism brought against federal bureaus ( The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 2004 ) .
The EEOC ends of stoping the glass ceiling can be seen when large names such as Morgan Stanley, a planetary fiscal services house was charge with a case for sex favoritism for the sum of $ 54 million in the 2004 ( EEOC Press Release, 2004 ) and AT & A ; T, a telecommunications giant in U.S. was slapped with a mulct of $ 411,339 after they racially discriminated against a worker in 2008 ( Burns, 2008 ) . The cases happen is due to the organisation ‘s failure to ease suited environment for minorities every bit good as gender such as appropriate and just hiring patterns, preparation and development, and promotional chances ( The Glass Ceiling: Domestic and International Perspectives, 2004 ) .
Get the better ofing the Glass Ceiling
Hour directors or professionals should hold a proactive function to place the being of the glass-ceiling phenomenon runing within their organisation and should supply declaration to impede the issue from lingering. The first measure is for HR directors to understand the organisation ‘s civilization, values and norms. When adult females leave, organisations frequently assumes that they chose household precedences over calling nevertheless in confidential interviews, many adult females has reported that they had left in order to seek brighter calling promotion and flexibleness instead than entirely on household duties ( Levin & A ; Mattis, 2006 ) .
Therefore HR directors must foremost reexamine their HR policies and patterns to find their equity and suitableness to interrupt the glass ceiling. Matters such as wage differences, engaging patterns, history publicities to senior places, affirmatory action programs are all really good linked to the ability of a house to retain their best endowments ( The Glass Ceiling: Domestic and International Perspectives, 2004 ) .
Then they must besides analyze the organisation ‘s informal civilization such as elusive behaviours, traditions and norms that may hold been working against adult females. Many ambitious and proactive females felt that older work forces find them intimidating in some ways which sometimes lead to work forces ‘s penchant to advance and work aboard with other work forces. For illustration, in Westpac, female staff felt that they are portrayed as “dominatrix, wicked enchantress, power maniac” or merely “a Rottweiler with lipstick” ( The glass ceiling, 2006 ) . If this civilization continues, so adult females will still be oppressed and they will fight in the environment which might drawback their public presentation.
Next the HR professionals need to educate and back up the adult females in calling development. There are a few ways which the HR professionals can follow to guarantee the success in this recommendation. They could stress the importance of adult females geting line direction, create and implement leading plans for adult females, promote mentoring via informal and formal plans and besides recognition of successful senior-women as function theoretical accounts ( The Glass Ceiling: Domestic and International Perspectives, 2004 ) . Cigna for illustration propose emerging leader development plans for their female directors whereby the chosen employees are immerse in seminars and preparation for a grace period of three old ages.
Westpac, a fiscal Australian company gave birth to preparation and development plans, merit-based choice procedures, sequence planning that focuses on adult females with possible, and other tantamount enterprises. As a consequence, both companies female director turnover are greatly reduced and more adult females are being promoted to senior directors and their attempts earned them a series of awards ( The glass ceiling, 2006 ) . With proper preparation and development scheme, the organisation will be able to retain and better their human resource capital which can help in the organisational end.
