Ai)UtWt. L Ui DUjAl~tik 3 Lkf^ltdii1k Graduate School of Business Administration University of Michigan January, 1971 _::.: BUREAU OF BUSINESS RESEARCH WORKING PAPER NO. 19 SUPPORT FOR WOMEN'S LIB: MANAGEMENT PERFORMANCE by Claude R..Martin, Jr. Assistant Professorof Marketing University of Michigan Copyright (3 1971 The University of Michigan Printed in the United States of America All rights reserved

JAN 20 1971 BACKGROUND OF THIS PAPER This paper is based on experimental research sponsored by Research Group B, of the Bureau of Business Research, Graduate School of Business Administration, the University of Michigan. This group of department stores from seven midwestern states provides financial and logistical support to basic research into consumer behavior. This paper is one in a series of reports on this behavioral research. ~ 05~ L _ 2~ ~~~~~~~, I; -,.3. r1.qon I,'. i. U

The women's liberation movement — "women's lib" —has been protesting that American business engages in widespread job discrimination on the basis of sex. The heart of the protest has been the claim that women can perform most jobs just as effectively as their male counterparts. Ironically, the accumulating of firm evidence to support this claim has been somewhat thwarted by the very fact that women have not "infiltrated" management positions in sufficient numbers to allow a substantive comparison with males in the same job. However, there is one management area that has been sexually integrated for several years —the professional buyers for retail stores —and this area is a good basis for a comparison of performance. Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present the results of a comparison between male and female buyers for twenty department stores located in seven midwestern states. These professional buyers determine the retailer's product mix and can thus be described as being in a management position. The hypothesis tested is consistent with the claims of women's lib: that there are no differences on the basis of sex in the performance of a job, but there are differences in factors directly controllable by the organization. The Study The buyers that were studied come from Research Group B, a -1 -

group of eight retailers who operate the twenty stores in seven states and who actively support research into buyer behavior by the Bureau of Business Research of the University of Michigan. In all, 137 professional buyers were interviewed during 1970, including 60 males and 77 females. Information was obtained about their socioeconomic status, their self-evaluation of performance and capabilities, and their actual departmental performance. The management of each store was responsible for identifying their buyers. Each buyer was then given a questionnaire to complete and return directly to the University of Michigan. The respondents were assured that the study was confidential and that it was controlled solely by the Bureau of Business Research. All the differences and similarities cited were statistically tested 1/ and a. 05 level of significance was utilized.Performance Similarities Perception of self-confidence Previous research shows that differences in the self-confidence of the professional buyers was significant in comparing the sales 2/ success and failure of two department stores.- In this study each 1/ Samuel Richmond, Statistical Analysis (New York: Ronald Press, 1964), pp. 184-214, 290-303. 2/ Claude R. Martin, "The Contribution of the Professional Buyer to the Success or Failure of a Store," Working Paper No. 9, Bureau of Business Research, Graduate School of Business Administration, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich., Oct., 1970.

buyer was asked to evaluate his confidence in his general abilities and in his specific functions as a buyer. The objective was to compare the self-confidence between male and female buyers, not to measure the level of self-confidence and relate that to other factors, as Cox 3/ and Bauer- have done. However, the questions eliciting data on self-confidence were similar to those used by Cox and Bauer, and we have categorized the responses similarly as general and specific selfconfidence. There are no significant differences between male and female buyers' perception of specific or general self-confidence in either their judgment of new trends in merchandise or in new resources to supply them (Table 1). Additional reinforcement for this similarity comes from the answers to questions concerning the buyers' self-evaluation of the certainty with which their decisions satisfied both their customers and themselves. This self-evaluation covered decisions regarding both style and resources and, again, there were no significant differences between the sexes (Table 2). Aggressiveness and pursuit of resources Top management for the stores involved in the study indicate that one function of the buyer's job is to uncover and evaluate new merchandise resources. Thus each buyer was asked to report the number of new 3/ Donald F. Cox and Raymond A. Bauer, "Self-Confidence and Persuasibility in Women, " Public Opinion Quarterly, Fall, 1964.

TABLE 1 Buyers' Perceived Self-Confidence'T (In Percentage of Buyers) Kind of Self-Confidence Male Female General self-confidence Q. How do you feel about your abilities in general? Very confident 40 27 Usually confident 57 66 Sometimes confident 03 06 Almost never confident.. Spe cific self- confidence Q. How confident are you, as a professional buyer, in selecting a new buying resource? Very confident 39 37 Usually confident 58 55 Sometimes confident 03 07 Almost never confident... 01 Q. How confident are you, as a professional buyer, in your ability to select new trends? Very confident 28 26 Usually confident 63 58 Sometimes confident 07 16 Almost never confident 02. * Chi-Square tests show no significant differences in these distributions. (. 05 level) Source: Samuel Richmond, Statistical Analysis (New York: Ronald Press, 1964), pp. 290-303.

TABLE 2 Certainty Concerning Merchandise and Resource Decisions* (In Percentage of Buyers) --— - - -— — i — i Degree of Certainty Male Female Q. How certain are you that a style you have not tried will satisfy your customers as well as a style you now have in inventory? Very certain Usually certain Sometimes certain Almost never certain 10 62 22 07 08 71 20 01 Q. How certain are you that a style you have not tried will satisfy you as well as a style you now have in inventory? Very certain Usually certain Sometimes certain Almost never certain Q. How certain are you that a resource you have not bought from before will satisfy as well as a resource from whom you now buy? 27 48 20 05 24 58 13 05 Very certain Usually certain Sometimes certain Almost never certain 17 12 65 66 07 17 12 05: Chi-Square tests show no significant differences in these distributions at the. 05 level. Source: Same as for Table 1.

resources that he or she had called upon during the last preseason market trip. Table 3 gives only a summary of this resource pursuit; the actual distributions, which used thirty different possible resource contacts, were not significantly different between male and female buyers. Another function of the buyer is to obtain additional factors from his resources. Each buyer was asked whether he or she normally asked for dating, advertising money, markdown money,or return privileges from buying resources. The buyer's answer was verified by his or her actual performance record in obtaining these "extras. " Again, there were no significant differences in aggressiveness between the male and female buyers (Table 4). Inventory investment in new trends Each buyer was asked to report the percentage of inventory invested in "new-trend" merchandise. The following is the description of new trend merchandise given to each buyer: Each buying season there are new trends available on the market. During recent seasons these have included the midi and maxi in ready-to-wear; colored shirts and coordinated neckwear in men's furnishings; and the softening of the "squared-look" in shoes. These new trends have existed in all categories —for example, in such diverse areas as children's wear, furniture, and cosmetics. The male and female buyers studied reported no significant differences in the amount of new-trend merchandise investment they had made during the immediately preceding buying season (Table 5).

:: ~.1 TABLE 3 Pursuit of New Resources —Last Preseason Market Trip',: (In Percentage of Buyers) Number of New Resources Contacted Male Female Less than 10 45 57 10 to 19 22 22. More than 20 33 21 ': When the total distributions containing 30 variables or possible resource contacts were tested by using Chi-Square there were no significant differences between male and female buyers at the. 05 level. Source: Same as for Table 1.

TABLE 4 Buyer's Aggressiveness with Resources*' (In Percentage of Buyers) Buyer's Actions Male Female Asked for and obtained dating 58 54 Asked for and obtained advertising money 83 86 Asked for and obtained markdown money 24 32 Asked for and obtained return privileges 63 78 * Chi-Square tests show no significant distributions at the. 05 level. Source: Same as for Table 1. differences in these

TABLE 5 Investment in New-Trend Merchandise* (In Percentage.of Buyers) Percentage of Inventory Invested in New-Trend Merchandise Less than 10 per cent 10 to 20 per cent 21 to 50 per cent Over 50 per cent Male Female 19 36 33 12 12 41 34 13;' Chi-Square tests show no significant differences in these distributions at the. 05 level. Source: Same as for Table 1.

; i: I:ii: /!,? Leaders versus followers Next the buyers were asked to choose among the following five alternative courses which they felt their stores should take in following the trends: 1. They should be first in town. 2. They should be first in the area. 3. They should follow after the high-fashion stores in the major metropolitan areas. 4. They should not follow until the offices recommend it. 5. They should not follow until shown by regular resources. The buyers choosing I or 2 show initiative —a leadership —in new trends, while those choosing 3, 4, and 5 rely on others. They are followers. Previous analysis of the buyers for two stores linked this leader/follower 4/ characteristic to sales success or failure. — In that study, 70 per cent of the buyers for the successful store were labelled as leaders, while only 24 per cent of the failing store's buyers could be so classified. In this broader examination of buyers for twenty stores, there are striking similarities in the leadership tendencies between male and females —71 per cent of the male and 73 per cent of the female buyers show this tendency toward leadership in new-trend merchandise selection. Differences There are significant differences between the male and female 4/ Martin, "The Contribution of the Professional Buyer," pp. 12-13.

buyers along four dimensions, two of which are demographic characteristics and two of which are the result of organizational policies. In In all four cases the differences are significant at the more rigid.01 level.Demographic characteristics: education and marital status There is a tendency toward more formal education on the part of the male buyers and this is reflected in the relatively high percentage who are college graduates (Table 6). A larger percentage (92 per cent) of the male buyers are married compared to their female counterparts (57 per cent). Some 33 per cent of the females are either divorced or widowed compared to 3 per cent of the males in these "previously married" categories. Organizational policies: income and management discretion Another of the major differences between the male and female buyers is in the amount of money they are paid for performing their jobs (Table 7). The aggregate results for the twenty stores show a significant difference in the overall income received by buyers of different sexes, and that difference operates in favor of the male buyers. In other words, the male professional buyers are better compensated than are the female buyers. 5/ Richmond, Statistical Analysis, pp. 290-303. i i: I ;

TABLE 6 Education of Buyers* (In Percentage of Buyers) Male Female Completed grade school —no high school education 2 4 Attended high school —did not graduate 2 9 Graduated from high school —no further education 22 48 Graduated from high school —attended business school 8 19 Graduated from high school —attended college, but did not graduate 40 18 Graduated from college 27 1 Chi-Square tests show significant differences in these distributions at the. 01 level. Source: Same as for Table 1.

TABLE 7 Buyer's Income Levels (In Percentage of Buyers) -- -I --- -- -- -- ' ---- --- Male Female Q. What is your income from this department store? Under $5, 000 $5, 000 to $8, 000 $9, 000 to $12, 000 $13, 000 to $16,_000 $17, 000 to $20, 000 Over $20, 000 24 36 25 7 8 25 55 18 3 * Chi-Square tests show significant differences in these distributions at the. 01 level. Source: Same as for Table 1.

The final area of difference between the sexes is clearly a result of the control of top management. Decision-making discretion is more often granted to the male buyers than to the female buyers in the crucial decision regarding the adding and dropping of merchandise resources (Table 8). Summary and Conclusions This study of the professional buyers for twenty midwestern department stores offers some justification for the women's lib claim that members of the fairer sex can perform as well as their male counterparts in at least one management position. The data show no significant differences between males and females in either their self-evaluation of performance and capabilities or in their actual managerial performance. The major differences are in the demographic characteristics of marital status and education and in factors resulting from organizational policy —income and decision-making discretion. While the latter two factors directly support the general condemnation of business practices by the women's lib movement, the difference in education between the sexes may justify the income differential. Certainly the chauvinistic male would find little security if better edcated women were hired. Dt Mt Du lr s rn~r ~.i i 1! |

1: I: ": 'i: I, TABLE 8 Buyer's Decision-Making Discretion"' (In Percentage of Buyers) I ' - --- - - -- Male Female Need management approval to add resources? Yes No 34 66 64 36 Need management approval to drop resources? Yes No 37 63 59 41 differences in ': Chi-Square tests show significant distributions at the. 01 level. these Source: Same as for Table 1.

OTHER WORKING PAPERS Working Paper Number "Reflections on Evolving Competitive Aspects in Major Industries, " by Sidney C. Sufrin 2 "A Scoring System to Aid in Evaluating a Large Number of Proposed Public Works Projects by a Federal Agency, by M. Lynn Spruill 3 "The Delphi Method: A Systems Approach to the Utilization of Experts in Technological and Environmental Forecasting," by John D. Ludlow 4 "What Consumers of Fashion Want to Know, by Claude R. Martin, Jr. — Out of print. To be published in a forthcoming issue of the Journal of Retailing. 5 "Performance Issues of the Automobile Industry," by Sidney C. Sufrin, H. Paul Root, Roger L. Wright, and Fred R. Kaen 6 "Management Experience with Applications of Multidimensional Scaling Methods," by James R. Taylor 7 '"Profitability and Industry Concentration, by Daryl Winn 8 "Why Differences in Buying Time? A Multivariate Approach," by Joseph W. Newman and Richard Staelin —Out of print. To be published in a forthcoming issue of the Journal of Marketing Research. 9 "The Contribution of the Professional Buyer to the Success or Failure of a Store," by Claude R. Martin 10 "An Empirical Comparison of Similarity and Preference Judgments in a Unidimensional Context," by James R. Taylor

~j i-:::t:~ /j: Working Paper Number 11 "A Marketing Rationale for the Distribution of Automobiles," by H. 0. Helmers "Global Capital Markets," by Merwin H. Waterman 12 13 "The Theory of Double Jeopardy and Its Contribution to Understanding Consumer Behavior, " by Claude R. Martin 14 15 16 17 18 "A Study of the Sources and Uses of Information in the Development of Minority Enterprise —A Proposal for Research on Entrepreneurship," by Patricia L. Braden and Dr. H. Paul Root "Program Auditing," by Andrew M. McCosh "Time Series Forecasting Procedures for an Economic Simulation Model," by Kenneth 0. Cogger "Models for Cash Flow Estimation in Capital Budgeting," by James Y. Godfrey and W. Allen Spivey "Optimization in Complex Management Systems," by W. Allen Spivey