Spring 2013 - Simmons College

Transcription

MANAGEMENT
Lessons in principled leadership from the Simmons School of Management
Spring 2013
Magazine
Management Magazine l Spring 2013
The rise of the
new breadwinners
A Latina
leans in
Underdog
(brands) to the
rescue
From Manila to
Manhattan:
The immigrant
entrepreneur
1
The (R)evolution of ConsumerBrand Relationships
May 15 – 17, 2013 Simmons School of Management
This conference, co-chaired by Susan Fournier, the founder of the
brand relationships discipline, and colleagues Mike Breazeale and
Jill Avery, showcases rigorous and theoretically and/or practically
useful papers that advance knowledge of the art and science of
consumers’ relationships with their brands. The conference is intended for those with an interest in consumers’ brand relationships, with equal relevance for young and established academic
researchers, Ph.D. students, and marketing practitioners charged
with building strong relationships with brands. The recent success
of our very own Consumer-Brand Relationships: Theory and Practice
(2012)—a volume of 19 projects and case studies drawn from conference contributors—attests to the multi-disciplinary relevance
and significance of the brand relationship applications shared in
this event. Continuing in this tradition and building on conference
submissions, additional edited books are planned.
This year’s conference theme—The (R)evolution of ConsumerBrand Relationships—acknowledges that both academics and
practitioners increasingly recognize the role that brand relationships play not only in product selection, satisfaction, and reten-
For more information, visit
tion, but also in the very fabric of society. As the field advances,
brand relationship theory is rightfully applied to situations as diverse as politics, public policy, social issues such as obesity and
financial overextension, global culture studies, celebrity and entertainment, neuropsychology, business-to-business, and even
the recruitment tactics of terrorist organizations. As appreciation
of the importance and scope of relationships continues to evolve,
so must our understanding of the nature and process of brand relationships—the good, the bad, and the ugly. To this end, we encourage completed papers as well as developed works-in-progress
reflecting a range of theoretical perspectives and methodological
approaches to understanding, creating, nurturing, managing, and
leveraging brand relationships, particularly as related to this year’s
conference theme.
Questions about submissions or the conference program:
[email protected]
Administrative questions (e.g., hotel registration, payment):
[email protected]
consumer-brand-relationships.com
Dean’s Note
Management Magazine
VOLUME 2 \ NUMBER 1 \ SPRING 2013
Simmons School of Management
COMMUNICATIONS MANAGEMENT PROGRAM
DIRECTOR & EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Richard L. Cravatts
EDITORIAL STAFF
Annette Battistone
Charmayne Cooke
Jess Faulk
Liz Meyer
Gillian Miller
Jiebin Peng
Swarneem Rai
Alix Roy
AuJané Stewart
Shana Sullivan
Xiomara Vides
FACULTY EDITOR
Janice O’Leary
FACULTY DESIGN DIRECTOR
Jane N. Hayward
Administration
DEAN
Cathy E. Minehan
ASSOCIATE DEANS
Deborah Marlino, Mary Dutkiewicz
300 The Fenway
Boston, MA 02115
(617) 521-2412
Cathy E. Minehan
29th Gold Circle Awards winner
Columbia Scholastic Press Association
Dean, School of Management
Simmons College
MANAGEMENT MAGAZINE is published semiannually by students in the Communications
Management Program in the School of
Management at Simmons College. No portion
of this publication may be reproduced in
any form without prior permission from the
publisher. All rights reserved.
W
elcome to the third edition of
Management Magazine, a publication produced entirely by
students in our Communications Management master’s program at the Simmons
School of Management.
In this issue we learn of the increasing
role of women as the main breadwinner
in their family, the results of a study conducted by the SOM’s Center for Gender in
Organizations which found that 40 percent
of American women are currently either
the primary breadwinner in their homes or earn as much as their partners.
While that seems like good news for women in the workplace, our piece on
gender bias suggests that women still confront obstacles in their careers, as they
do in compensation, where experts points to lingering disparity in salaries between men and women
Contributing to the conversation is the current debate sparked by author and
Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg on whether women need to “lean in” to their
careers in order to achieve success on par with their male counterparts.
How women do “lean in,” how they increasingly take on significant leadership roles and executive responsibility, is a theme of our other stories, as well.
Our piece on immigrant entrepreneurs, for example, focuses on the success of
fashion designer Josie Natori, as she built a luxury brand. Other pieces on leadership suggest ways to lead with dignity, essential elements for effective leadership, women gaining seats on corporate boards, and how a young woman MBA
assumed a corporate manager’s role in a Muslim country.
The lessons learned from these stories are, of course, some of the same ones
that animate teaching in School of Management classrooms, and which form
the basis of some of our degree programs, including the new health care MBA,
which, as described by director Cathy Robbins, addresses the critical need to
prepare skilled managers in a burgeoning and increasingly complex sector of
our economy.
1
Contents
Features
10
They try harder
14
The new
breadwinners
Why underdog brands win in
recessions
by Jill Avery, Neeru Paharia, and Anat
Keinan
How women are increasingly bringing
home the bacon
by Mary Shapiro, Stacy Blake-Beard,
Suzanne Carter, Regina O’Neill,
Cynthia Ingols, Alicia Margoles
Bartolozzi, and Mary E. Ogle
2
24
10
18
21
A sweeter pill
24
From Manila to
Manhattan
Managing health care with a dose of business
by Shana Sullivan
Blocked from the
top
Gender bias is still holding women back
by Špela Trefalt, Deborah Merrill-Sands,
Deborah Kolb, Fiona Wilson, and
Suzanne Carter
Entrepreneurship across borders
by Liz Meyer
5
21
6
Departments
30 31
28
Principled Leadership
Ten essential elements for adding an
important dimension to leadership
by Donna Hicks
Briefcase
Good news and bad news for women
entering the work force
by Gary Gaumer
Going Global
Reflections on the changing environment for
women managers in a Muslim country
by Swarneem Rai
Off the Cuff
Sheryl Sandberg’s “Lean in” message is not
enough for women, especially professional
Latinas
by Angélica Pérez-Litwin
Trajectories
Serving the community by serving on boards
by Diana Kelly
Bookshelf
What we’re reading now
the Glass
32 Breaking
Ceiling
Work hard but don’t stay tied to your desk
by Sandra Fenwick
6
8
5
18
3
Contributors
Jill Avery is an Assistant Professor of
Marketing at the Simmons School of
Management, where she has been on
the faculty since 2007. Avery’s research
focuses on brand management and
customer relationship management
issues. Her branding insights have been
frequently cited in the business press
including Advertising Age, The Economist, The New York Times, The Financial
Times, and Business Week.
Gary Gaumer is a health economist
and teaches Economics and Business
Performance Measurement at the
Simmons School of Management. As a
consultant, he designs, develops, and
implements health financing and information systems reforms in health care.
He has done research on international
health, alternative medicine, telemedicine, and healthcare labor markets.
Donna Hicks, PhD, author of Dignity: Its
Essential Role in Resolving Conflict, is an
Associate at the Weatherhead Center
for International Affairs at Harvard University. In addition to teaching conflict
resolution, Hicks has spent nearly two
decades in the field of international
conflict resolution facilitating dialogue
between communities in. She also
applies her dignity model to everyday
business and relational situations.
4
Teresa Nelson holds the Elizabeth J.
McCandless Professor of Entrepreneurship Chair at Simmons College, where
she is also the director of the School
of Management’s Entrepreneurship
Program. Her teaching, research, and
consulting focus on issues of entrepreneurship and global business. Nelson
has founded two businesses and works
as an affiliate consultant with two others.
Catherine Robbins is a Professor of
Practice in the Simmons School of
Management with experience leading
hospital and health care systems as a
senior health care financial executive
and communicating about the broader
health care financial trends from the
perspective of an investment banker.
She is the Program Director of the Simmons Health Care MBA in the School of
Management and also teaches health
care finance and strategy.
For more than 25 years, Mary Shapiro,
Professor of Practice, has served as Organization Behavior faculty at the Simmons School of Management, teaching
undergraduates, MBA students, and
executives. She specializes in three
areas: team building and leadership, influential communication across diverse
stakeholders, and strategic career management. Shapiro has consulted with
Fortune 500 companies, private institutions, and non-profits to create strategic
plans, launch teams, and intervene with
teams in crises.
In 2008 Špela Trefalt joined the faculty
of the Simmons School of Management, where she teaches in the MBA
and Executive Education programs. She
has worked as a human resources management consultant and in the media
in Slovenia. Trefalt’s research focuses
on managing demands of work and life
outside of work for improving individuals’ well-being by combining their own
agency and organizational change.
Going Global
Letter from Jakarta
REFLECTIONS ON THE CHANGING ENVIRONMENT
FOR WOMEN MANAGERS IN A MUSLIM COUNTRY
by Swarneem Rai
L
One of the most notable female leaders in Indonesia
of late has been the former Finance Minister Sri Mulyani who holds a doctorate degree from University of
Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She was the force behind the strong economic growth in Indonesia during the global financial crisis. Nastasia hopes these examples are harbingers for Indonesia’s future and that
more female leaders like Mulyani who are educated,
motivated reform makers in their fields will be rising
to prominence.
As a Christian, Nastasia belongs to the minority
group in Indonesia but she still has insight into the
role families play in promoting the success of women.
She thinks that family plays a big role when it comes
to women working outside their homes in Indonesia
and other non-Western countries. Most women are
supportive of their daughters being financially stable
before getting married, but there are still some who
advise their daughters to marry young so that they
have the energy to take care of their families. As more
of the older generation become open-minded about
such issues, women have better chances to pursue successful careers in business. As an Indonesian, Nastasia
believes that Muslim women in Indonesia are getting
better opportunities because of their own merits and
are changing the working environment despite cultural boundaries. Although some cultural traditions may
have relaxed, others, like praying in the workplace, are
acceptable and continuing. Women in a Muslim country can take on leadership roles with adjustments, and
in Indonesia, they are already doing so. n
Kinski Nastasia graduated
from Simmons in 2009
with a Bachelor’s degree
in Finance and Computer
Science. She moved
back to her hometown
Jakarta, Indonesia after
graduation to take
position as Equity Analyst
for a fund management
firm before moving to
PWC’s Advisory arm in
August of 2012, where
she is currently working.
eadership roles are less gender specific in the
new millennium, especially in the Western world.
Surprisingly, this trend is also catching on quickly
in the East. It’s even more note-worthy in a Muslim
society where women are usually not in the business
limelight. Witnessing this change is Kinski Nastasia,
who is making her way in the corporate world in Indonesia, where Islam is the predominant religion.
Nastasia works as a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), Indonesia in their Advisory arm. As part
of the “Big Four,” PwC provides business advisory services to private and public institutions. For its first 40
years, the company never had a female partner (equivalent to CEO), but now, 8 out of 30 partners are female.
However, even in a Islamic country, none of them are
Muslim. One of the biggest challenges for Muslim
women in business is their strict adherence to cultural
values. They are expected to marry and take care of the
family while the husband works to provide. Nastasia
recalls an incident with a former colleague where the
colleague was required to wear a hijab, since she normally did not, when she went to visit a government
office. She was not offered handshakes, which was in
accordance to Islamic rules. Some cultural restrictions
have relaxed in Indonesia, however, since the global
financial crisis when the country experienced strong
economic growth. Because of the higher cost of living,
Nastasia has seen women being expected to contribute
financially to support their families.
Indonesia is seen to be more welcoming when it
comes to accepting women in the workplace, according
to Kinski, than other predominantly Muslim nations.
5
Off the Cuff
Leaning by example
SHERYL SANDBERG’S “LEAN IN” MESSAGE NOT ENOUGH FOR WOMEN,
ESPECIALLY PROFESSIONAL LATINAS
by Angélica Pérez-Litwin
A
Angélica Pérez-Litwin is
the founder and CEO of
ELLA Leadership Institute, a
mission driven organization
that trains and mentors
women through innovative
professional development
programs, events, and access to a network of exceptional women. Pérez-Litwin
has devoted over 20 years
of her career as a clinical
psychologist, mentor, and
social media influencer to
the empowerment, wellbeing, and success of
women and, in particular,
Latinas of all ages.
6
t the age of 31, armed with a Ph.D. in Clinical
Psychology, I joined a research center at a wellrespected university hospital in New York City.
The center was desperately looking for a Latina Ph.D.
to resurrect and direct a research clinic focusing on
ethnic minority populations. As a confident woman
who knew the value I brought to the center, I successfully negotiated my starting salary and presented
a wish list for professional growth. My assertiveness
carried throughout the six years I was there.
I did what Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook’s COO, encourages women to do in her book, Lean In: Women,
Work and the Will to Lead. In a self-proclaimed feminist movement to address current gender disparities
in leadership, Sandberg aims to galvanize women with
a call to action to lean in and step up in the workplace.
I did step up. I leaned in at staff team meetings, sat at
the table, and contributed to the dialogue. I explored
and pursued research opportunities. I asked for mentorship. I scheduled meetings with key players, and
asked for their support and guidance in moving my
research career forward.
But leaning in has its limitations for women in the
workplace, and especially for Latinas.
When Latinas lean in at work, they are often examined through a lens blurred with ethnic prejudices,
and socially prescribed roles and expectations. God
forbid she has a Spanish accent.
More than once, a lost patient or hospital staff wandering down the hall came to my office door to ask
for direction. “Are you the secretary?” they would ask.
“No, I’m Dr. Perez, how can I help you?” I’d reply. My
title was often met by a subtle expression of surprise.
My bachelor’s degree from Columbia University
and Ph.D. has raised questions about the role that
affirmative action must have played in my academic
achievements. In her memoir, Justice Sonia Sotomayor describes a moment when her academic merits
were credited to affirmative action, despite graduating
summa cum laude from Princeton University. This
perpetual attribution of Latinas’ achievements to tokenism is real in the workplace and underestimates
what accomplished Latinas bring to the table.
An assertive Latina at work risks being seen as “difficult” or “opinionated.” A confident voice level makes
her “confrontational” or “loud.” We are expected to be
nice and supportive, and less so leaders. These social
perceptions and ethnic biases form an important part
of the organizational barriers that women, and especially ethnic/racial women, face in the workplace.
This, of course, is in addition to the organizational culture and policies that are blatantly gender biased when
it comes to promoting women leadership.
I sincerely applaud Sandberg for taking on this mission and initiating this important conversation. I appreciate her reminder to lean in, but I want to remind
Sandberg that most women do lean in at work. Any
vacillation she has observed among her female colleagues has more to do with leaning in and getting hit
by a glass wall (i.e., organizational barriers), than by
their lack of motivation to step up. How long can we
lean in and bang ourselves on a glass wall?
How Companies Can Lean In and
Promote Women Leadership
The following recommendations are adapted
from Linda Babcock and Sara Laschever,
coauthors of Women Don’t Ask: Negotiation
and the Gender Divide.
A version of this article was published on the Huffington
Post.
1. Since men are more likely than women
to negotiate or ask for opportunities and
rewards, companies need to pay attention to
who initiates negotiations and adjust their
decision-making accordingly. Handing out
assignments and opportunities should be
based more on who is most likely to get the
job done best, than who is assertive enough
to ask. A more democratic way to make
opportunities available should be in place.
2. Women need mentoring. Assigning women
to a trusted superior for advice, guidance,
and hidden opportunities in the workplace
cultivates leadership potential and levels the
field. This is especially important for professional Latinas, who often are the first generation in their families to enter and navigate
professional and corporate spaces.
3. Raising organizational awareness among
all employees on gender and cultural
differences in responses and behaviors is
valuable. Increased awareness will help
reduce differential bias that can deter
progress for specific employee groups.
4. Overall, companies need to become more
hospitable for women by expanding career
opportunities beyond those that tend to
favor men (e.g., the old boys club networking
after hours; frequent traveling), and directly
offer women solid career opportunities (e.g.,
invitation to carry out large-scale projects,
or participation in a think tank group with
influential key players).
Many of us do sit at the table, raise our hands, voice
our opinions, and ask for a salary raise. But women
who negotiate face a high penalty, according to a
2005 study by Harvard researchers, which explains
why women are less likely than men to negotiate their
starting salaries. When women negotiate, both men
and women are less likely to want to work with or hire
them. The social expectation is for women to be accommodating and not overly-demanding. For Latinas, these social expectations are even more inflated.
Unless companies and organizations begin to implement major structural and policy changes designed
to promote leadership among women, the idea that we
can control our fate in the workplace will remain an
illusion.
The solution to this issue is not complicated. Sandberg’s Lean In Circles are part of the solution in helping women navigate their careers in the workplace.
But Sandberg’s message needs to be more robust and
comprehensive. Companies need to do their part.
Sheryl Sandberg is well positioned to revolutionize
the experience of women in the workplace, but her
call to action will need to include her fellow top executives and CEOs at Fortune 500 companies to lean
in and do their part. In the meantime, I plan to create
a Lean In Circle for Latinas, to share our stories, learn
together, and support one another. Intertwined within
these conversations will be the acknowledgement that
companies have some work to do, too. n
7
Trajectories
Mission driven
SERVING THE COMMUNITY BY SERVING ON BOARDS
by Diana Kelly
W
Diana Kelly is a Simmons
alumna and vice president,
partner, and board member
at Maloney Properties
where she oversees a
varied portfolio of both
conventional and assisted
rental housing. Kelly is
a member of the New
England Black Property
Manager’s Forum, the
president of the Southwest
Boston CDC, a trustee of the
Wilton Brook Condominium
Association, and a director
of HEARTH, Inc.
8
hen I graduated from Simmons in 1973,
I did not have board service on my list of
goals and aspirations but since that time I
have had the pleasure of serving on a number of nonprofit and other boards of directors. My goals did include working to reach a high level of professionalism
in my chosen field of affordable housing and seeking
out opportunities to broaden my knowledge of the
field, whenever possible. Pursuing those goals led me
to board service.
A few years after leaving school, I moved to the
South End of Boston where I met a group of women
who had helped to found a shelter for battered women,
Casa Myrna Vazquez (CMV). I had been working in
affordable housing since graduation and was asked to
join the CMV board because of my housing experience. The need to find permanent, affordable housing
was one of many challenges faced by the women in the
shelter, and the organization was looking for someone who could help their volunteers and guests better
understand the occupancy and income requirements
of subsidized housing communities so their guests
would be more successful in getting apartments.
Serving on the CMV board increased my personal
knowledge of the circumstances faced by housing applicants and I was able to work with staff and guests
of the shelter to better organize how housing applications were prepared and presented. This led to more
women finding successful housing placements and the
organization building a network of housing advocates
who worked with the women in the shelter and established a network of property managers in housing
complexes in the area.
My work at CMV made me want to learn more
about how housing is developed from the ground up
and in 1983 I had the opportunity to join the board
of the Women’s Institute for Housing and Economic
Development (WIHED), a non-profit that develops affordable housing and economic development programs
throughout the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. At
WIHED I served on a committee that reviewed development proposals and investigated prospects for future
development opportunities. This was an invaluable experience that has benefited me throughout my career.
At United South End Settlements (USES) I had the
opportunity to serve on a very large board that focused
on social service programming for youth, elders, and
families in the South End of Boston. My experience
there increased my body of knowledge of how service
programs can impact the lives of community residents.
Since 1982 I have been employed at Maloney Properties, Inc., a for-profit manager of mixed income
housing throughout Massachusetts, Vermont, Rhode
Island, and New Hampshire. One of our clients asked
me to consider joining the board of Greater Roxbury
Development Corporation (GRDC), a non-profit that
had developed several subsidized housing developments in Roxbury. While serving on the GRDC board,
I learned some valuable lessons about how to correct
situations that were not working as they should.
During all of my board service, I had come to
appreciate the importance of governance. Nonprofit organizations are an invaluable resource for
the individuals and families they serve and board
members have a fiduciary and legal responsibility to
understand how the organization is operating and
to direct those operations to benefit its constituency
and the larger community. At GRDC I learned how to
respond when an organization was not performing as
it should and not living up to its mission.
After moving to the Hyde Park neighborhood
of Boston in 2002, I ran into an old friend from my
South End days who asked me to join the board of a
new organization, the Southwest Boston Community
Development Corporation (SWBCDC). SWBCDC
is committed to serving the communities of Hyde
Park and Roslindale by promoting economic development, youth development, preserving affordable
housing, and foreclosure prevention. At SWBCDC, I
worked with a group of artists interested in establishing Hyde Park as a known location for innovative, creative work. Together we secured funding for the artists
from the Massachusetts Cultural Council and established what has become a well-known Arts Fair held
in July of each year. We established The Green
Team, an award-winning program that
hires Hyde Park youth that has promoted anti-littering, created walking
trails, restored a playground,
and cleaned-up our urban
wilds. With the help of the City of Boston, we acquired
a foreclosed three-family building, renovated it, and
identified a working family who purchased it and who
now has a beautiful home and two tenants renting the
other units in the building.
Today I am pleased to serve as the President of
SWBCDC as we continue our work on improving commuter rail access to Hyde Park through our work on
the nationally-recognized Fairmount Collaborative.
If you are interested in serving your community and
in having the opportunity to learn and do things that
you normally might not have the opportunity to do,
consider board service.
Being a member of a board means that you serve
as an advisor to the Executive Director, reviewing
the operations of the organization and evaluating the
impact of the work of the organization. Fiduciary responsibilities include reviewing financial reports and
approving the annual budget and financial statement
or audit. To do these tasks well means that you need to
be faithful about attending meetings to hear and vote
on material business decisions and assure that the organization is meeting its legal and fiduciary responsibilities.
I highly recommend board service. It has
been invaluable to me
and it can be the same
for you. n
When choosing
a board
• Consider the mission of the organization. Is it one
that you support?
• Before making your decision, ask for and review
the by-laws of the organization.
• Once on the board you have the opportunity to
serve in leadership positions that you otherwise
may not have. You can identify and recruit new
board members. You represent the organization
in the larger community.
• Examine requirements of board membership.
How much time is required? When does the
board meet? How often does the board meet?
Are you expected to serve on a committee? Are
you expected to make a financial contribution to
the organization? How long are you expected to
serve on the board? Are you expected to serve on
a committee before you can join the board?
9
They try harder
WHY UNDERDOG BRANDS WIN IN RECESSIONS
by Jill Avery, Neeru Paharia, and Anat Keinan
Simmons School of
Management Assistant
Professor Jill Avery
co-authored this research
with Neeru Paharia,
research director at
the Edmond J. Safra
Foundation Center at
Harvard University, and
Anat Keinan, an assistant
professor of marketing at
Harvard Business School.
S
ince the start of the global recession, underdog stories have captured the hearts and minds
of consumers around the world. Underdogs have been winning at the box office,
on book store shelves, and in the political polls. Underdog characters have
been the champions in Oscar-winning movies like Moneyball and in
blockbuster books like The Hunger
Games, leading to billions of dollars
in sales. In the 2012 U.S. presidential election, both candidates, Barack
Obama and Mitt Romney, positioned
themselves as underdogs to gain the
support of voters. Underdog teams such as
first to famously attempt an underdog brand strategy
with the “We’re number 2, we try harder” campaign
known to be one of the most successful advertising efforts in history. The recession of the
early 1990s also generated some popular
underdog brands. Clothing brand Volcom is currently traded on NASDAQ,
but the website still emphasizes the
brand’s 1991 recession origin and
its anti-establishment philosophy.
Similarly, beverage brand Nantucket
Nectars was purchased by Cadbury
Schweppes in 2002, but still highlights
its humble beginnings using precious
packaging space to declare “We started
We started Nantucket Nectars with only a blender and a dream.
10
the #15 seed Florida Gulf Coast University garnered
tremendous fan support as they beat #2 seed Georgetown and San Diego State to make it into the Sweet 16
of the 2013 NCAA basketball tournament.
Brands, too, can profit from this underdog positioning. Firms can successfully both inspire, and increase
their appeal to consumers by strategically using underdog branding. Several companies have been successful
in these efforts. In 1964 Avis Rental Car was one of the
Nantucket Nectars with only a blender and a dream.”
These underdog-oriented campaigns have not fallen
upon deaf ears. Consumers’ favorite 2008 Superbowl
advertisement was a Budweiser commercial with
strong references to Rocky, a classic underdog, while,
in 2013, they applauded Audi’s underdog character
who knocks out the prom king to steal a kiss from the
prom queen.
As the obstacles in our lives become greater and our access to resources
becomes more difficult, underdog stories inspire us to look past our
dark circumstances.
Why we root for Rocky
Underdog stories about overcoming great odds
through passion and determination are particularly
resonant during difficult times as they inspire
us and give us hope when the outlook we
face is bleak. They promise that success
is still possible, a much-needed message in challenging social, political,
and economic times. In the midst of
the worst recession since the Great
Depression, the economic challenges facing the world today have
intensified due to the financial crisis of
2008, the collapse of the housing market, widespread job losses, rising health
care costs, and crushing amounts of consumer
ing consumers to persevere during this cultural moment in history.
Underdog stories are more appealing during difficult times because we tend to feel like underdogs ourselves. Results of a consumer
survey show that people today perceive themselves to be bigger underdogs compared to their peers,
regardless of their demographic
profile. Our studies also find that
underdog stories can increase consumers’ self-efficacy and motivate
them to pursue their goals and not
give up. As the obstacles in our lives
become greater and our access to resources becomes more difficult, underdog
Almost everyone believes Apple was started in a garage . . . Actually the
operation began in a bedroom . . . When the bedroom became too crowded,
the operation did indeed move to the garage.
stories inspire us to look past our dark circumstances.
These stories give us hope to overcome our own struggles because we identify with the failures and struggles
of the underdog and we share their determination to
succeed. When the underdog succeeds, we feel like we
can succeed to meet the challenges in our own lives.
debt. During recessionary time periods such as this,
people feel increasingly disadvantaged, making them
even more likely to identify with the struggles of underdogs. To reflect this reality, store shelves today are
filled with stories of humble beginnings and noble
struggles against overpowering adversaries, inspir-
11
The ingredients of a blue-ribbon underdog
Our research shows that building an underdog brand
biography can have favorable outcomes for companies. We identify a significant “underdog effect” which can drive incremental sales
for branded products and can sustain
them as they grow. Across a series of
five studies with more than 2,000
consumers we tested responses to
underdog brand stories in a variety of contexts, measuring purchase intention and real choice.
To begin, we define the necessary components of an effective underdog brand biography as
having two essential features: First,
the underdog’s external environment
is largely negative: Underdogs start from a
when they get too big. Consumers have a complicated
relationship with brand size and market success. On
the one hand, many large, powerful, and dominant
brands such as Disney, Coca-Cola, Starbucks,
Toyota, and Nike enjoy widespread success and consumer loyalty. In an economic sense, size can be construed
as a signal of a superior product.
However, as brands grow and
become more successful, they
are often marked with the negative stigma that comes with being large and powerful. Work on
schadenfreude, or taking pleasure
in the misfortunes of others, shows
that people enjoy seeing strong
achievers fail. This may translate into
the enjoyment of seeing large corporations
We are in the rental car business playing second fiddle to a giant.
We’re number 2. We try harder.
12
disadvantaged position and encounter obstacles along
the way, making it a more difficult struggle for them
than for others. Secondly, the underdog’s internal
characteristics are largely positive: Underdogs show
perseverance in the face of adversity and are resilient
even when they fail, staying passionately focused on
their end goal. Both external disadvantage and internal passion are essential elements of a successful underdog biography.
We used these two components of this narrative
to explore consumer attitudes towards a company
that either had an underdog brand biography or a top
dog brand biography. We found that consumers, particularly those who perceive themselves as struggling
to win against the odds in their own lives, identified
strongly with underdog brands leading to increased
purchase intentions. Consumers root for underdogs
because of underdog aspects in their own lives. When
they feel more like underdogs themselves, they will be
more likely to support underdog-branded products.
Avoiding the “curse” of success
Underdog biographies may also be strategically applied to help companies avoid the “curse” of success
or brands fail. In our research we found that underdog
biographies can be strategically applied to help companies avoid the “blemish” of success. In one study
consumers were asked to indicate their liking and purchase interest of three large companies, one with an
underdog brand story, one with a top dog brand story,
and one with no brand story. Consumers significantly
preferred large companies positioned as emerging
from underdog roots than companies that had a top
dog biography or no brand story.
Boot strap believers
Though underdog stories are appealing, they may be
more compelling in cultures where underdog narratives are widespread. We hypothesized that Americans
would be more receptive to underdog narratives than
people from other cultures because of the unique role
of underdogs in the history of the United States. The
American Dream, an ideal that many Americans hold
close, is a myth built on the stories of underdogs who
came to the United States with virtually nothing and
pulled themselves up by their boot straps to achieve
success and gain material comforts. We explored the
underdog effect from a cross-cultural perspective by
having Americans and Singaporeans evaluate underdog brands. We found that people from both cultures
preferred underdog brands to top dog brands, but the
effect was stronger for Americans. Based on the prevalence of underdog narratives in sports, culture, history, and religion in European countries, we expect that
the underdog effects outlined above would
similarly work.
Companies can strategically use
underdog brand biographies to
strengthen the connection
between consumers and a brand and avoid the curse of
success, especially in difficult times. Consumers—particularly American—identify with underdog brands
and are inspired by them to overcome the struggles in
their own lives. Underdog brand biographies can be
easily deployed and strategically applied to companies
as they struggle, or when they become vulnerable to any negative attributions associated with large firm size or market
power as they grow ever more
successful. n
The name When Pigs Fly means: “I doubt it’s possible,”
and that’s why it was the perfect name for my bakery.
Building a better underdog brand
Capitalize on a variety of channels. Underdog brand stories can be
communicated via a variety of channels such as packaging, advertising,
public relations, corporate websites, and other marketing communication
vehicles.
Highlight essential components externally and internally. Underdog
biographies need to emphasize external disadvantage; having more
obstacles in your way and fewer resources to overcome them; and internal
passion and determination: the resilience, perseverance, and passion to
pursue a dream even when obstacles are in your way.
Consider cultural context and economic factors. Companies should pay
close attention to cultural context and economic factors while constructing these appeals to more closely resonate with the prevailing sentiment
of the populace.
Build from a brand biography. Underdog narratives are more compelling
if they are built from a brand biography, a narrative authored to highlight
historical events that have shaped a brand over time. For example, an
archetypal underdog brand biography is that of the founder who starts
her company in a garage with few resources, but tons of passion.
13
The new
breadwinners
HOW WOMEN ARE INCREASINGLY BRINGING HOME THE BACON
by Mary Shapiro, Stacy Blake-Beard, Suzanne Carter, Regina O’Neill,
Cynthia Ingols, Alicia Margoles Bartolozzi, and Mary E. Ogle
W
14
ho is “bringing home the bacon” in your
household? Chances are, if you are like 40
percent of American women today, you are
now either the sole breadwinner in your home,
or are contributing
as much or more to
the family’s earnings
than your spouse/
partner. Over the
last two decades, fueled by the recent “mancession” where men disproportionately lost employment, women
have taken up the breadwinner role.
In 1999, 19 percent of wives out-earned
their husbands. By 2009, 29 percent
did so. Increasingly families are depending on the wife’s paycheck for
more than “extras,” such as vacations and dinners out. In 2008
women in dual-earner couples
contributed 45 percent of the
family income.
This movement of primarily
white, middle class, managerial
women into the breadwinner
role has captured the imagination of the popular press. On
one hand, stay-at-home dads
have been derisively called “trophy husbands” and
“arm candy,” and on the other hand, they have been
praised as “the perfect husband.” Women are castigated for emasculating men
and abandoning their role
as mothers, or called
“Alpha Females” in
recognition of their
increased power at
work and at home.
Something significant is changing in
our culture, evidenced
by all the name-calling of both
men and women found on the
unconventional side of breadwinning or homemaking. The question
is: why is it so disconcerting to find
husbands taking care of the children and wives bringing home
the paycheck? Perhaps the
answer is: because we are in
a process of redefining femininity, masculinity, and the
roles women and men fill in
society today.
It has traditionally been
assumed that men will be
providers and women will
be caretakers, and that men
tributed
50 percent or
less. Over 90
percent of the respondents reflected on a current relationship, 98 percent were in heterosexual relationships, and in that relationship 59 percent were PFCs.
Given the turmoil that accompanies any change, it is
not surprising that our research uncovered many contradictions and tensions, described below, our sample
of women are facing.
Proud, but secret
Tension: The women in our sample were strong financial contributors. Our female PFCs earned, on average, 88 percent of the household’s income; even our
female non-PFCs contributed 44 percent on average.
When asked to select among eight possible emotional
reactions to their breadwinner role, the top two emotions PFCs selected were “proud” and “satisfied.” Yet
most kept their role private. Close family or friends
are most likely to know who carries what role; coworkers and employers are least likely to know. When
asked why they keep their role private, both PFCs and
non-PFCs most strongly agreed that “it is not anyone’s business to know.” Women PFCs also keep their
own breadwinning status private out of a desire to not
embarrass their non-PFC partner. Additionally, roles
were kept “hidden” even as they were determined.
are supposed to be naturally aggressive, ambitious,
competitive, and forceful, while women are supposed
to be naturally affectionate, tender, soft-spoken, and
sensitive to others. Society inundates us with messages
about what women and men are supposed to act like,
what roles they can fill, and even what types of jobs
they can hold, e.g., “masculine” jobs such as construction and “feminine” jobs such as teachers. After growing up watching TV shows, where only 1 percent of
male characters do housework compared to 28 percent of female characters doing so, it is no surprise
that by not following society’s expectations, caretaking men may find their masculinity questioned, while
breadwinning women find their femininity and ability
to be good mothers questioned.
To better understand today’s shifting realities, we collaborated with Hewlett-Packard to explore the impact
breadwinning/caretaking roles have had on women’s
lives and careers. Through an online survey available
both during and shortly after the April 2012 Simmons
Leadership Conference, we asked women to “reflect
on a committed relationship,” which could be from the
present or the past, involving either cohabitation or
marriage, with either an opposite-sex or same-sex partner. Respondents then answered questions about that
relationship while reflecting on their role as a financial
provider, identifying as either Primary Financial Contributor (PFC) where they contributed 51 percent or
more of the household’s total income, or Non-Primary
Financial Contributor (Non-PFC), where they con-
15
The question is: Why is it so disconcerting to find husbands taking care of
the children and wives bringing home the paycheck?
16
Both PFCs and non-PFCs most strongly agreed that
their respective roles evolved over time “without an
explicit discussion,” and second most strongly agreed
that their “roles were created in response to a particular circumstance (i.e., layoff, illness, etc.) without explicit discussion.”
Solution: We urge female breadwinners to challenge themselves to no longer be silent about their
role, both in negotiating the role with their partners
and negotiating support with their employers. Naming and consequently claiming their role enables them
to seek out the support from their family, friends, and
employers. Clearly it is risky to claim this unconven-
did either all or significantly more than their partner,
and another 51 percent said they contributed slightly
more or equal to their partner. When asked about
childcare, 26 percent of PFCs claimed they did either
all or significantly more than their partner, and another 49 percent said they contributed slightly more
or equal to their partner. In this way our PFCs straddle two roles: their “conventional” home/child care
role while taking on their “unconventional” breadwinner role.
Solution: Women need to thoughtfully redefine the
breadwinner role into a more sustainable work model
than the historical one that men have followed for
tional role, but by doing so, women give permission to
others to do likewise.
years. Some women may want to (or have to) step into
a 60+ hours-a-week job. But given that so many female
breadwinners still hold responsibility for home/child
care, might not now be a good time to ask if there is
a middle role, rather than a work-only or family-only
dichotomous choice in roles? During this transition,
we might want to consider a partnership where spouses/partners can share work and caretaking.
Working 9 to 5, and 5 to 10
Tension: While 59 percent of our women claim the
role of breadwinner, they still continue to contribute
significantly to childcare and homecare. When asked
about homecare, 28.7 percent of PFCs claimed they
On the rise, but not the top
Tension: Whether our respondents were their
households’ breadwinners or not, neither group is
slowing down their careers: all strongly denied turning down promotions, taking a demotion, keeping a
low profile to minimize advancement possibilities,
or actively avoiding promotions. In fact, both PFCs
and non-PFCs believed their contributor role had a
positive impact on their other roles as a parent, partner, and community citizen. PFCs claimed being the
breadwinner actually had a positive impact on their
careers and on their confidence in making a contribution as a “worker.”
in our sample, after an average of 20 years in the workforce, only 17 percent of the respondents achieved VP
or higher positions in their organizations.
Solution: A critical player in seeking more sustainable, egalitarian, and satisfying roles for male and female breadwinners is the employing organization. As
the battle for top talent continues to amplify, organizations need to provide family-friendly policies that
will support both male and female breadwinners. Our
sample responded positively to all possible flexible
work arrangements when asked, “how can employers
support you in managing multiple roles?” In descending order, our breadwinners want the option to work at
On one hand, stay-at-home dads
have been derisively called “trophy
husbands” and “arm candy,” and
on the other hand, they have been
praised as “the perfect husband.”
home, sabbaticals after blocks of employment, longer
maternity leaves, and technology to minimize commute and travel time. As breadwinner roles become
normative for women as well as men, family-friendly
policies will benefit all employees and organizations
alike, creating a world without trophy husbands, alpha
females, and arm candy. n
While both our PFCs and non-PFCs denied engaging in actions that purposefully slowed their careers
down, the numbers of women at the top of American
organizations contradict their ambition. In the U.S.,
women constitute nearly half of the workforce, yet
they hold just 3.2 percent of CEO positions and 16
percent of board seats in Fortune 500 companies. Even
17
A sweeter pill
MANAGING HEALTH CARE WITH A LARGER DOSE OF BUSINESS
by Shana Sullivan
A
s health care continues to be a lodestone for the nation and a growing multibillion-dollar sector of the economy, the business of health care deserves
greater attention in both the national conversation and in the higher learning one. In Boston, four out of the top five employers are hospital systems. The state
of Massachusetts led the way for the nation by providing almost-universal health
insurance coverage through the Health Reform Act passed in 2006, but now the region faces huge challenges with the affordability of these services, which mirrors the
skyrocketing health care costs across the nation. As health care providers and payers
grapple with these challenges, they are looking for new approaches to develop leaders who can succeed in this environment. Enter the MBA as a growing preference for
preparing health care leaders to take the place of health care administration master’s
degrees. We spoke with Catherine Robbins, who directs a new Health Care MBA at
Simmons School of Management and is a former vice president at Partners HealthCare system about the need for health care leadership.
18
Q
A
How has health care management education evolved?
As hospitals and health care providers became more
complex during the 1950s and 1960s, universities and
colleges developed specialized master’s degrees to educate health care leaders and managers. These specialized master’s degrees reflected the belief that health
care is different from most industries. Because of
deeply held societal values about health care, government-set rules for providing services and for offering
insurance dominate business practices in the industry.
Many of the provider and payer organizations were
organized as non-profit corporations, with a different,
but complex set of governance and financial objectives. Most of the specialized degrees to educate health
care provider, payer, and government leaders came out
of a public health
perspective. Graduates of these programs held titles such
as master’s in public
health or master’s in health
administration. These master’s
degrees were not generally based in
MBA programs. Of course, historically, many
hospitals were led by physicians, who often learned
management on the job.
Q
A
What are the skills that are needed in health care
right now?
Q
A
What are the differences between business degrees
and health care degrees?
Virtually every mid-level and higher management position, including clinical supervision, requires a master’s degree with some administrative or management
content. From 2003 to 2010, the number of master’s
degrees in health care administration grew by nearly 10 percent and the number of MBAs grew by 5.7
percent annually. The master’s degree of choice for
individuals seeking a career in the broad health sector of the economy in areas such as pharmaceuticals,
medical devices, financial services, and consulting is
the MBA, sometimes with a few courses on the unique
aspects of the health care industry. About 10 percent
of all Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of
Business accredited MBA programs offer a health services or hospital administration sub-discipline. On
National and state-level health reform will place a premium on well-prepared managers. Cost management
skills are vital for health care providers, payers, and
government going forward. Overall superior leadership skills and a fully integrated understanding of the
financial, strategic, organizational, and policy challenges that affect today’s health care environment are
the most important skills needed to successfully run
a health care organization. Developing fundamental
business skills and leadership competencies in areas
of accounting, analytics, quantitative analysis, marketing, and negotiation/communications are some of
the qualities needed by leaders in health care. Leadership, analysis, and decision-making competencies are
traditionally part of an MBA education. However, to
succeed in health care, leaders also need deep and spe-
cific understanding of
health care
performancebased accountability, social responsibility, and health
industry knowledge. There are
more than 5,000 registered hospitals in
the United States. So this means there are thousands
of health care leadership positions across the United
States.
19
Rx
National and state-level
health reform will place a
premium on well-prepared
managers.
a local and national level,
health care provider, payer,
and government employers
are now also looking for the
big-picture business skills of
an MBA. But most of them
do not want to give up the strong health care emphasis of the health-focused master’s training provided by
an MHA or MPH. A general MBA, even with three
or four health care courses offered in some programs,
just doesn’t give students the health care specific background they need. Aspiring health care managers have
been forced to choose between master’s degrees that
provide the depth of health care exposure they need
to manage the complexity of their organizations and
the analytic and leadership skills from a more general
MBA program. Until now.
Q
A
How does the new Simmons Health Care MBA fit into
this?
20
Many students working in the region’s health care providers or payers want to continue to work while getting a master’s degree and, for many, the MBA is the
preferred degree. There are local options for a health
care concentration available to these students at other
universities, but none of these MBA programs has the
deep health care emphasis that provider, payer, and
government leaders say they also want for their aspir-
ing leaders. We have designed the
Simmons Health Care MBA to fill
that gap. Ours is the only MBA
program designed for working
women and men that has such
robust coverage of health care issues. Our program is specifically designed to provide
the strategic vision and well-rounded competencies
required for leadership positions in providers such as
hospitals and ambulatory care, health insurance management, and government health services oversight.
Simmons already has strong graduate programs in
Health Studies and in Management, so it can capitalize
on the strengths of each program and build synergies
between them, and our faculty members have health
care leadership experience in both a practical and academic sense.
Q
A
How has the first semester been received?
The first semester in this program has been very well
received by our first class, which started in January
2013. Class members come from both clinical and
non-clinical backgrounds, and have an average of nine
years working for providers, payers, and other health
sector employers. The combination of a rigorous MBA
with a heavy emphasis on health care specific courses
is resonating well for these professionals, who can pursue
their master’s education while continuing to work. n
Blocked from the top
GENDER BIAS IS STILL HOLDING WOMEN BACK
by Špela Trefalt, Deborah Merrill-Sands,
Deborah Kolb, Fiona Wilson, and
Suzanne Carter
top earners grew from only 4 percent to 8 percent and
the percentage of women serving as board directors
increased from only 12 percent to 16 percent. Even in
non-profit organizations, women’s representation in
leadership has remained stalled at about 20 percent.
This persistent leadership gap is a significant cause
for concern not only for women with leadership aspirations, but also for organizations that need strong
and diverse leadership teams to compete successfully
in a rapidly changing and uncertain global economy.
Recent studies by the non-profit research organiza-
C
hange is ever so slow for women in business
leadership. The leadership gap between men
and women has proven to be stubbornly resilient despite organizations’ successes in dismantling
most forms of overt discrimination, achieving near
parity for women with men in middle management,
and investing in women’s initiatives and organizational
change efforts. In ten years, the percentage of women
who are corporate officers in Fortune 500 companies
inched up a mere two percentage points from 12 percent to 14 percent. The percentage of women among
21
In standardized leadership assessments women are
consistently rated higher than men on the majority of
leadership skills needed to run effective organizations.
22
tion Catalyst of Fortune 500 companies in the United
States and by McKinsey of major businesses in Europe showed a significant correlation between greater
representation of women in executive and board positions and stronger financial performance. Catalyst
found, for example, that companies with the highest
proportion of women corporate officers outperformed
those with the lowest proportion by 5 percent when
measured by return on equity.
In addition, women bring a wealth of leadership
talent to organizations. In standardized leadership
assessments women are consistently rated higher than
men on the majority of leadership skills needed to run
effective organizations, such as setting high standards,
driving for results, motivating staff, and building highperforming teams.
How do we unencumber women’s paths to leadership? How do we close the persistent leadership gender gap? How do we ensure that organizations are
leveraging the fullest contributions of their diverse
pool of leadership talent?
Research conducted by Simmons’ Center for Gender in Organizations and our affiliates suggests that
the gains achieved in gender equity are modest because most organizational change efforts target overt,
obvious aspects of gender bias and ignore the more
subtle gender dynamics deeply embedded in an organization’s culture and in work norms that shape women’s paths to leadership. These dynamics, often called
second generation gender bias, are deeply embedded
in the culture, norms, and work practices in organizations, playing out below the surface of formal systems
of hiring, promotion, and compensation.
Second generation gender dynamics
Second generation gender issues cover those work cultures and practices that appear neutral and natural on
their face, but can result in differential experiences for
and treatment of diverse groups of women and men.
Ely and Meyerson identify several different types of
second generation practices that create gender inequities in organizations:
Gendered Jobs. Gender typing of jobs occurs when
some occupations are seen as a good “fit” with feminine characteristics and others with masculine characteristics. These characteristics can be formally written into job descriptions and/or become the informal
criteria by which people are moved into jobs.
Gendered Work. Fletcher describes the invisible
work that women often do, but that does not get noticed or recognized.
Gender and Leadership. Gender can impact who
is seen to have leadership potential as well as assessment of performance in those roles.
Gender and the Ideal Worker. As women have
joined men in the workforce, the issues associated
with having both a challenging work life and a fulfilling family life have come to the fore.
Gender and Social Capital. Ties to powerful or
high-status others lend standing to an organizational
member and are associated with higher promotion
rates and better performance evaluations.
Networks and relationships
Networks and good working relationships serve as
important resources in organizations. They can be a
source of emotional support, feedback, political advice, information about opportunities, and protection.
Therefore, relationships can be particularly important
when dealing with second generation gender bias.
A study of financial services employees, for example, showed that women get less work-related help
from powerful bosses with whom they have ties than
do white men. The argument is made that this differential treatment may be a consequence of cultural
beliefs that rank women below white men and thus
Opening paths to the top
• Men and women managers responsible for developing leadership talent need to deepen their
understanding of second generation gender bias
and its differential impact on men’s and women’s
careers.
• Senior men need to be strategic partners in change.
They need to be actively engaged in the leadership
development of women and to take a leadership
role in helping their organizations appreciate the
performance benefits that derive from gender
diversity in leadership teams.
Our first critical finding
regarding success in
• Women bosses and mentors need to complement
dealing
with these issues
the socio-emotional advice and support that they
give mentees with active sponsorship and strategic
was that help received
advice.
from men was related to
• Women pursuing leadership need to be strategic in
perceptions of higher sucseeking out sponsors as well as mentors.
cess whereas help received
• Women pursuing leadership need to invest in learnfrom women was not reing more about second generation gender issues
lated to perceptions of
and how they shape women’s paths to leadership.
success. Further, we found
that while help from individuals in the professional
realm and from those within the organization was
positively related to perceptions of success, help from
personal circles and from mentors outside of the orMost respondents reported that they personally have
ganization actually detracted from perceived success.
experienced one or more types of second generation
Also, it was male bosses, not female bosses, whose
gender issues. The issue that most women experienced
help was most likely to be experienced as effective.
was “being asked to put work before all else” (89 perWe found that second generation gender bias is still
cent), followed by the issue of doing “invisible work”
experienced by women in their organizations.
(86 percent). Importantly, the majority of women in
The difference between perceived amount of help
our sample (59 percent) did not opt out of leadership
received and the perceived success in dealing with secopportunities due to feeling they did not fit their orgaond generation gender issues is particularly intriguing
nization’s model of effective leadership.
given that these are self reports from the women in
Women differed widely in the amount of help they
the sample.
reported receiving from their networks in dealing
We make sense of these results in three ways: it may
with second generation gender issues—for each issue
be that the kind of help women mostly seek out and
their responses spanned the entire range from 1 (no
receive is emotional support; even if women receive
help) to 5 (significant amount of help).
actionable advice, it has to be firmly grounded in the
Women also reported getting the most help from
context of the specific organization in order to be usetheir spouses/partners (the average was 4.44 out of
ful; success in dealing with most second generation
5). In addition, they reported getting more help from
gender issues was not related to help with those parwomen than from men across both their professional
ticular issues, but to help overall.
and personal networks, and getting more help from
Finally, the fact that more senior than junior women
mentors than from bosses or peers.
in our sample experienced second generation gender
Interestingly, a notable proportion of respondents,
bias, but did not report any more success in dealing
ranging from 5 percent to 25 percent depending on
with most of these issues, suggests that these senior
the issue, indicated that they had experienced a spewomen achieved organizational success not so much by
cific gender issue but had not attempted to address it.
overcoming gender issues but by adjusting to them. n
make investment in women seem less worthwhile.
Therefore, for women to
benefit from their networks (measured by early
promotions), they need
to borrow social capital—
they need to be connected
with powerful others who
increase their legitimacy
and counteract the view of
women as “risky.”
Experience of second generation gender dynamics
23
24
From Manila to Manhattan
ENTREPRENEURSHIP ACROSS BORDERS
by Liz Meyer
T
he “immigrant entrepreneur” has become a
major political issue now on Capitol Hill and
a driving force behind the American economy.
Forty percent of Fortune 500 founders are immigrants. Teresa Nelson, Simmons School of Management Professor and Elizabeth J. McCandless Chair in
Entrepreneurship, discussed the topic at the Simmons
Leadership Conference with Josie Natori, CEO of the
Natori Company, a women’s clothing and lifestyle
brand based in New York, to discuss Natori’s entrepreneurial journey.
pinnacle of her Wall Street career, Natori couldn’t tap
into what she saw as an essential element—a passion
for the work—and she sought more control over her
career and destiny. Years before, her grandmother, a
determined and strong-willed woman, emphasized
the importance of independence and had always told
her, “Don’t put yourself in a position where you have
to depend on anyone.”
Natori and her husband set out to heed that advice
to become business owners. They looked at a wide
range of options including franchises, service compa-
Mistakes are essential to being an entrepreneur . . .
They will lead you to new ideas or better ways of doing something.
- Josie Natori
nies, and retail outlets. A friend sent her two Filipino
embroidered shirts that Natori brought to Bloomingdale’s on a whim. The Bloomingdale’s buyer suggested
she make the shirt longer, converting it into an elegant
nightshirt. In 1977 from that tailoring adjustment, the
Natori Company was born. The brand found its niche
transforming mundane sleepwear into elegant lounge
wear. Natori products became available at high-end
department stores such as Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth
Avenue, and Nordstrom’s. Defined by its “East meets
West” sensibility, the lingerie, then ready-to-wear,
and now lifestyle brand, is noted for its color, silk, and
stand-out quality. What is important to note here, Nel-
The social signature of Natori’s native country, the
Philippines, includes strong matriarchal elements, and
women have historically been accepted as business
founders and owners there. As a child Natori observed
her grandmother become a successful businesswoman
owning everything from pharmacies to ice plants to
coconut plantations. Another model for entrepreneurship was her father, who created from scratch the largest engineering firm in the Philippines.
Natori came to the United States for college, which
led to a remarkable career on Wall Street with Merrill
Lynch where she became the first woman vice president of investment banking in the company. Yet at the
25
Entrepreneurs home in on opportunities that present themselves – finding
the gap between what customers need and what products and services can
be credited is the key to new business launch.
- Teresa Nelson
son said at the conference, is the way entrepreneurs
home in on opportunities that present themselves—
finding the gap between what customers need and
what products and services can be credited is the key
to any new business launch.
Most people do not realize that national economies are often
dependent on entrepreneurs and small business
owners. In parts of Asia,
including the Philippines, this is particularly true. Natori’s youth
in the Philippines had a
huge influence on her path,
even after she emigrated to the
United States, and this
continues today. Early
on she built her manufacturing facility in the Philippines though her company headquarters are in New
York City. She continues to rely on her multi-cultural
identity, as the Philippines has been her base to globalize her retail and wholesale business in Manila with
successful outreach now ongoing in Japan.
Natori highlighted the “monumental” amount of risk that
entrepreneurs assume and
that every decision or transaction is a gamble. She experienced many ups and
downs, extreme success and
loss, great variability and unpredictability. “On Wall Street,
your word was your bond. In retail,
an order could be signed in
blood, and it was still not
Josie Natori’s lessons
for entrepreneurs
Have a
distinct advantage.
evolve and never become complacent.
Seek out new challenges—and love them.
Listen to the experts in your field—they have invaluable opinions.
Understand your strengths—play to them, don’t mitigate them.
Spend money for the long term—not always just for the bottom line.
Embrace your background—this will provide a point of view that is
Always
26
different from the next person’s.
pay it forward.
Make friends—and be helpful to people who seek you out and…
Passport to success
For the past three years, Simmons
Professor Teresa Nelson, with colleague Jeff Gross, has been exploring
the immigrant entrepreneurship roots
of new business development in the
United States from both an economic
and social-community perspective.
Many know about the immigrant story
that built the modern U.S. throughout
the 1800s, but few know that 40 percent of current Fortune 500 companies, and 25 percent of all science and
technology firms now operating in the
U.S., were founded by immigrants.
Thirteen percent, or forty million, U.S.
residents are now foreign born—up
from fewer than 5 percent in 1970—
and these foreign-born residents are
starting businesses at twice the rate
of natives. Data shows that skilled
migrants beat college-educated
natives in starting companies and
commercializing technology and that
immigrant-owned businesses produced 16 percent of all U.S. business
income in 2010 (up from 11.5 percent
in 2000).
Beyond the numbers, immigrant entrepreneurs shape and build communities from the bottom up and the top
down. In an academic paper, awarded
a best paper prize for public policy at
the New York University Conference
on Social Entrepreneurship in 2012,
Nelson and Gross stated, “For immigrants across the economic spectrum,
starting a business is increasingly the
path to economic advancement. Im-
binding,” she says. “I had a major order cancelled in
my second season, and it was devastating, but a lesson
well learned. I had shiploads of damaged goods arrive
—inventory held for months due to political unrest in
my home country”—yet the company took the good
with the bad and persevered. Her father had taught
her what goes up must come down, but to never give
up. Perseverance was the backbone to her success.
In addition to perseverance, Natori’s relentless
entrepreneurial spirit always led her to want to create something new for her business. But one must be
willing to fail; mistakes are essential to being an entrepreneur, she says. However, they will lead you to new
ideas or better ways of doing something, she says, if
you keep your eyes and your heart open. For example
she wanted to build a Natori fragrance, so she ended up unknowingly trying to compete with cosmetic
empires, such as Estée Lauder and L’Oreal in the fragrance business, even though she had zero knowledge
of this niche industry. Natori took a big financial hit.
migrant community stakeholders are
working to keep up with and leverage this rapidly evolving social and
economic reality.
“And here’s where it gets really interesting: the public and private sectors
are active participants now working
out innovative approaches that target
this immigrant entrepreneurial spirit
and the particular challenges that may
be involved. States and cities around
the U.S. are shaping ‘New American’
programs to support community economic development and attract these
business innovators. Many see here
a powerful force for simultaneously
addressing immigrant integration,
socioeconomic mobility, and community economic benefit.”
She swallowed her pride and admitted she was wrong.
But with her perseverance, Natori didn’t give up, she
just changed her course. The humbling experience
made her realize her own limitations and that at times
entrepreneurs need to depend on others or seek advice, especially from the experts. After licensing with
a perfume industry insider, Natori’s dreams materialized and she launched her fragrance in 2009.
At age 66 retirement is not on Natori’s horizon and
her curiosity and passion continue to evolve and grow
stronger. A successful entrepreneur should always be
curious, she says. She is also starting to think of her
company as a legacy, involving her son Ken in the
business at the managerial level (he has been responsible for the build-out of the e-commerce site). Her
next evolution will include the launch of a full range
of accessories—from small leather goods, to jewelry,
to handbags—and come August, Natori hopes to have
opened her first store in New York City. n
On April 2, 2013, more than 3,000 women convened at the Seaport World Trade Center for the Simmons Leadership Conference. Simmons College has hosted this annual event for the past 33 years, which draws women from all over the world, from
more than 300 companies and organizations, representing every industry and all levels of business.
Women of Influence, this year’s theme, featured exceptional women who have shaped their own professional destinies, but
also inspired others to strive for greatness. The day opened with inspiring remarks from Sallie Krawcheck, one of the most
senior women on Wall Street for more than a decade. The day closed with Viola Davis, an acclaimed actress who recently
galvanized her acting career in the blockbuster movie The Help. In between, an equally impressive lineup of speakers shared
their personal and professional journeys to success.
Simmons Leadership Conference
27
Principled Leadership
Leading with dignity
TEN ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS FOR ADDING AN IMPORTANT
DIMENSION TO LEADERSHIP
by Donna Hicks
D
ignity is the state or quality of being worthy
of honor or respect. Everyone deserves to be
treated with dignity, and in the workplace it is
necessary for managers to maintain an environment
that gives employees a sense of safety and inclusion.
Acceptance of Identity Think of people as being neither inferior nor superior to you.
Interact without prejudice or bias, accepting the
ways in which race, religion, ethnicity, gender,
class, sexual orientation, age, and disability may
be at the core of the other people’s identities.
We may differ in status and access to power, but we are
all equal in dignity, no matter who we are.
Inclusion
Make others feel that they belong,
whatever the relationship—whether they are in
your family, community, organization, or nation.
28
When people feel marginalized in the workplace,
all sorts of divisions occur that can undermine
productivity. Everyone wants to be a part of decisionmaking that directly affects his or her lives. To maintain
a positive environment of belonging, err on the side of
inclusion.
Safety
Put people at ease at two levels: physically, so they feel safe from bodily harm, and psychologically, so they feel safe from being humiliated.
With dignity violations or abuses of others’ dignity
in the workplace, people often don’t feel safe to speak
up. There is no acknowledgement that they have been
wronged and they feel humiliated and helpless. Instead of understanding that they have been mistreated,
people often feel ashamed, as if there were something
wrong with them.
Acknowledgement
Give people your
full attention by listening, hearing, validating, and
responding to their concerns, feelings, and experiences.
People need acknowledgment for the dignity violations they suffer. If you are treated badly, it is important that someone says to you, “What happened to you
was wrong. No one should have to go through that.”
As leaders in the workplace, it is crucial that we understand this fundamental human need.
Recognition Validate others for their talents, hard work, thoughtfulness, and help. Be
generous with praise, and show appreciation and
gratitude to others for their contributions and
ideas.
In one of the corporations that I have worked, an employee told me that she didn’t want to say anything
about the dignity violations she was experiencing from
her boss, because it would be “career suicide.” Recognition of the need to be seen, heard, and validated is
what all human beings yearn for. When recognition is
not given, underground networks develop, where the
perpetrator of the violations is gossiped about. The energy behind a dignity violation has to go somewhere,
and the underground gossip network is rife with examples of being treated badly. It is an all-too-human
impulse to want to get back at the person who harmed
you—the desire to get even is very tempting.
Fairness
Treat people justly, with equality,
and in an evenhanded way according to agreedon laws and rules. People feel that you have honored their dignity when you treat them without
discrimination or injustice.
It benefits any manager to create a culture inside the
workplace where their employees feel they are treated
in a fair and evenhanded way. All too often, employees
just tolerate the injustices in their work environment,
because they fear reprisal if they speak up. Everyone
yearns to be treated fairly no matter who they are.
Making sure your policies are fair is the first step toward a positive work culture.
Benefit of the Doubt
Treat people as
trustworthy. Start with the premise that others
have good motives and are acting with integrity.
Understanding
Believe that what others
think matters. Give them the chance to explain
and express their points of view. Actively listen in
order to understand them.
It is all too common to rush to judgment about others, especially when we don’t agree with them. Resist
Independence
Encourage people to act on their own behalf so
that they feel in control of their lives and experience a sense of hope and possibility.
How tempting is it to micromanage your subordinates? It is something we have to fight if we want to
see our employees take ownership of their tasks and
flourish in the workplace.
Accountability Take responsibility for
your actions. If you have violated the dignity of
another person, apologize. Make a commitment
to change your hurtful behaviors.
When people feel like they have had their dignity violated, they deserve to have the person who harmed
them apologize for their wrongdoing. As leaders, it
is important that we model this behavior. It is often
the case that when people in positions of power take
responsibility for their actions, their followers are
moved and quickly forgive them. It is when leaders
ignore or cover up their transgressions that deep resentment and disrespect develops. When we see our
leaders admit they have done wrong, we are filled with
admiration. It models a behavior that helps our employees see that they, too, could be capable of taking
the high road.
One thing to recognize about learning how to honor
the dignity of others is that it doesn’t cost anything—it
is not necessary to call in an expensive consulting firm
to identify the source of the problem. All it takes are
leaders who are aware of the importance of dignity,
and act, themselves, in a dignified way. n
Assume your employees have good intentions and that
they mean well, no matter what. Research has demonstrated that the attitude you bring to an interaction
with someone can strongly affect the way the person
feels. If you assume people are trustworthy, they are
likely to act like it.
the impulse to be right,
and seek a deeper understanding of the feelings
and experiences behind a
person’s point of view.
29
Briefcase
Closing the gap?
GOOD NEWS AND BAD NEWS FOR WOMEN
ENTERING THE WORK FORCE
Changes in the number of women in selected professions since 1960
Information
State & federal government
Other services
Manufacturing
Financial services
Millions 70
60
50
Leisure & hospitality
40
Professional & business services
30
Local government
20
Trade, transportation, & utilities
10
Education & health services
1964
1966
1968
1970
1972
1974
1976
1978
1980
1982
1984
1986
1988
1990
1992
1994
1996
1998
2000
2002
2004
2006
2008
2010
0
Median income for male and female workers
from 1955 to 2005 in constant dollars
$35,000
30
$30,000
$25,000
In 50 years, the gender salary
differential shrank from
40% to about 20%
Men
$20,000
$15,000
$10,000
Women
$5,000
$0
1955
1965
1975
1985
1995
2005
Median income for male and female workers
Data contributed by Gary Gaumer
Bookshelf
The Libra Solution
Lean In
Shedding Excess and Redefining
Success at Work and at Home
Women, Work, and the
Will to Lead
By Lisa D’Annolfo-Levey
By Sheryl Sandberg
A
F
acebook COO Sheryl Sandberg’s book Lean In:
Women, Work, and the Will to Lead examines
the lack of women in leadership positions in the
United States, and encourages women to seek challenges, take risks, and make their voices heard. In a
roundtable discussion on WBUR’s Radio Boston, Simmons School of Management Dean Cathy Minehan
joined Bentley University’s Betsy Myers and Harvard
Law School Professor Nancy Gertner to discuss the
book and its message. Minehan, former president and
CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, offered
the following comments:
“I think ‘leaning in’ and taking responsibility for the position that you
want next is good advice. There’s a
culture associated with every association, and you need to be sensitive to
what that culture is and understand
it. Nobody’s going to come find you,
you have to find them. You need to be
a little brave, you need to be willing to
determine what’s a silly risk and what
isn’t. But I think it’s still good advice to
try to see what the next step is and to
take it.
“We need a more productive workforce in this country, and that means making use of every good brain we
have around. When Sandberg writes about getting big
companies to lean in, she’s talking about them making changes in the workplace that enable women to
get ahead—conquering that subtle discrimination that
goes on, those biases that are there that sometimes
people don’t even recognize.” — Alix Roy
naïs Nin once stated “I...
choose a man who compels
my strength, who makes
enormous demands on me, who
does not doubt my courage or my
toughness, who does not believe
me naïve or innocent, who has the
courage to treat me like a woman.”
Her statement could be the voice
of any woman in the 21st century
but it is a reflective statement that
could be the voice of anyone, man
or woman; it is about a partnership.
In her book The Libra Solution, Simmons graduate,
Fortune 500 company consultant, wife, and mother of
two Lisa D’Annolfo Levey, writes about finding balance with your partner, equality in your marriage and
at work, and the complexities inherent in combining
professional work and engaged parenting. It discusses
gender bias and the struggles women face at work to
get ahead. Levey provides a breakdown of the things
that women and men both do that are self-defeating
and counter-productive and explains how using the
Libra work-life-parenting model can help change all
of that. There is a better way, Levey says, since “one
plus one equals more than two,” and “families that
follow the Libra approach and the companies that
employ them see benefits in three key areas: choice,
flexibility, and fulfillment.” The Libra approach offers
working families a solution; it shows men and women
a way of parenting, working, and living that allows
them to enjoy their lives. It provides a model approach
so families no longer have to feel overwhelmed by the
too-fast pace they have been stuck with. — Annette
Battistone
31
Breaking the Glass Ceiling
Breaching the ranks
WORK HARD BUT DON’T STAY TIED TO YOUR DESK
by Sandra Fenwick
A
Sandra L. Fenwick serves
as president and chief
operating officer of Boston
Children’s Hospital. Her
responsibilities range from
operations of the hospital,
to management of patient
care programs and capital
budgets, to community
missions. She holds a
Bachelor’s degree from
Simmons College and
an MPH from the
University of Texas School
of Public Health.
32
s women seeking to advance in our careers,
we’re often told that if you want to reach the
highest ranks of leadership, you have to work
harder than your colleagues—that’s how you gain recognition and move up. When I reflect on my career,
both at Beth Israel and now at Boston Children’s hospitals, I realize that no one, and certainly not women,
can succeed without working hard; it’s the minimum
requirement for success.
It’s common to think of hard work as keeping your
head down and your nose to the grindstone. I thought
this way for a long time, and I think this is a prevalent
attitude among women executives in particular. However, there are limits to this; no leader can succeed who
follows that formula alone.
My advice is to get out from behind your desk. Meet
people from other organizations and industries. Far
from detracting from the task at hand, I learned a great
deal from seeing the world from other perspectives.
Leaders from other companies and even industries are
facing many of the same challenges you’re confronting—whether it’s stronger competition, the pressure
to develop new products or services or reduce costs. I
gained valuable insights from how they are approaching and solving complex problems.
If you don’t get out, it can be like operating in an
echo chamber. It’s essential to recognize changes and
trends that are taking place beyond our own walls.
These developments will eventually make an impact
for you and may inspire you.
As an example, the focus in health care these days is
about costs. But I started hearing about how rising health
insurance premiums were affecting other businesses
years ago through my service on the board of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. It was clear that rising health care costs were unsustainable and for Boston
Children’s to continue to meet its broad mission it needed to adjust and be part of the health care cost solution.
The hospital had to change how it was delivering
care to become more efficient and remain competitive,
while not sacrificing its renowned high quality care. I
was able to use information gathered outside the hospital to engage our Board, clinical leadership, physicians, and other staff about what it would take, to get
their buy-in and to get them to start thinking differently. As a result, we have cut hundreds of millions of
dollars in costs and there are more than 200 grassroots
projects going on throughout the hospital to reduce
utilization of care while improving quality.
Beyond helping you to work smarter, colleagues
from other industries, service on boards, and networking can open new doors and opportunities and
become the basis for your intelligence gathering and
support network. Early on in my career, I started socializing with a small number of women executives in
health care. Over the years, we have learned a great
deal from each other and helped each other navigate
and problem solve in our respective organizations. We
have supported each other when confronted with difficult challenges and choices.
No one can go it alone. Build a strong network early
on—it will help you gather information, glean new
insights, and charter a new course for you and your
organization. Connections made outside the office will
be invaluable to you throughout your career, and will
help propel you even higher in your chosen field. n
DESIGN: SAMANTHA MURRAY
The homework you do in this
class may end up on TV.
Each year, through the National Student Advertising Competition, a corporate sponsor provides
the opportunity to create a major marketing campaign for one of its products.
Students research the product and its competition, identify potential problems, and develop
an integrated communications campaign for the client. Each student team then “pitches” its
campaign to a panel of judges, competing against other student teams. Here’s a chance to:
Analyze your audience
Develop creative & media strategies and plans
Produce TV commercials, radio spots, print ads, & social media tactics
Gain ‘real world’ experience, build a portfolio, add experience to your resume
MGMT-232-01 Integrated Marketing Communications – Fall 2013
To apply for a role on the student team, contact: Dr. Richard L. Cravatts
Simmons School of Management
617 521-2412 [email protected]
•
•
•
•
33
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Boston, MA 02115
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Spring 2013 - Simmons College

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