Jack Welch, ex-CEO of GE, online MBA namesake {this Economist article is funny}, and policy critic is no stranger to controversy. Here’s “Neutron” Jack warning of Obama running up deficits::
I have no problem with criticizing policy, but when it drifts from rhetoric towards potshots, my patience wears thin remarkably fast, regardless of the ideology. Welch offered the curious advice of a “fake plan” after revisions of the deficit came out and Obama already responded to the news. In my book, Welch isn’t offering analysis, but just stirring the pot and trying to seem relevant in the eye of the public.
Fast forward to June 28, when Welch offered up more controversy at a human resource management conference and was quoted in a Wall Street Journal article. Now, after his comments have gotten into the press, Welch is getting into a bit of hot water for statements he made on there not being such a thing as a work-life balance. Welch said those taking time off for family won’t be there “in the clutch” and could be passed over for promotions.
“We’d love to have more women moving up faster…But they’ve got to make the tough choices and know the consequences of each one.”
According to Welch, there is a consolation. While you might not get to the top for trying the career-family balancing act, you can still have a nice career, nevertheless. Some praised Welch for his bluntness, while others lambasted him for being “out of touch.”
One comment on the article accused the WSJ of attempting to increase pageviews with inflammatory articles and another accused Welch of trying to peddle his book. The Twittersphere was abuzz with Welch’s statements, as of 7:12 EDT, with plenty of retweets of the article and quite a few naysayers. Welch himself, who has a Twitter account, is in the hospital with a serious spinal infection, so don’t expect anything from him on the matter any time soon. One Tweet called him a grumpy old man, as did a blog at The Conglomerate {via Salon}. Grumpy or not, is he right?
While his words might seem to apply to both men an women equally, the fact of the matter is that there are key perceptual gendered differences in organizations when it comes to family, bringing up a double-standard. Scott Coltrane’s paper, “Elite Careers and Family Commitment: It’s (Still) about Gender,” makes this point clear::
- “Family men” are viewed as having mature leadership qualities
- Women getting married or having children can derail their previous “fast track” status, as that choice renders her as less-qualified
Welch is advocating what some in sociology call a “separate spheres” ideology, regarding gender, allowing the double-standard on the meaning of “family” to persist. The fact of the matter is that even if you talk about “family” with respect to both men and women, the meanings aren’t the same. Research on CEO succession are consistent with the tenets of economic sociology, i.e., if one desires to be heir to the CEO throne, social relations within the organization and with the corporate board matter {e.g., See Cannella & Shen}. So, if you’re up for a CEO spot, it matters how others perceive you, whether you like the double standard or not. Welch is promoting a mythology of the CEO as an individual totally committed to the organization. Along with his other statements, CEOs and managers all should have a draconian stance and total obeisance to the almighty shareholder value, or perceptions thereof {including cooking the books?}.
It’s a bottom-line world, right? Companies face a reality and Jack is simply reflecting it. Maybe not. BusinessWeek taped a Q&A session with the CEOs of Sony {Howard Stringer} and Best Buy {Brad Anderson}, two companies with very different attitudes towards the “balance” issue::
“What became apparent in subsequent discussions from both CEOs was that personal time was pretty hard to come by. Stringer talked about the differences in the Japanese and U.S. career cultures. The Japanese work much longer hours including one weekend day, and the idea of a great deal of leisure time, or time spent in their homes with their families, is still not part of their culture. He also noted that many employees, manager level really, were still mostly male (something he hoped to help change).
This was in stark contrast to the recent changes at Best Buy and their new flexible hours program being implemented at all levels of the company. Mr. Anderson gave the example of two women (working mothers) promoted to manager who were now able to job share, since neither due to child care commitments could work the hours required.”
Organizations are social systems and are often in states of flux. Welch is advocating a received-view way of thinking, but on the basis of what logic? I would argue that we need to rethink the role of the CEO, away from organizational financial performance and towards meaning and leadership. A strong leader creates meaning, which guides actions throughout. It would be interesting to compare the meaning systems of Sony and Best Buy and how it affects corporate culture and decision-making. Maybe students in Welch’s online MBA programme can take that on.
Twitterversion:: Jack Welch stirring pot w/comments on work-life balance. Oldschool ideas reinforce faulty logic. #Fail http://url.ie/21sr #ThickCulture @Prof_K
Song:: Work Is A Four-Letter Word – The Smiths
Comments 2
Lisa Gates — July 14, 2009
What Jack's comments in the WSJ screamed to me is that balance is an issue of values...something I drone on and on about. Once a person wakes up to what they value, a highly personal process, they often seek ways to align their personal values with their work's values. Sometimes those values are apparent, stated and thriving. Other times they're completely absent.
At this point, we have a choice: Get a new job, or endeavor to create what we want from within the company. Sometimes that leads to fabulous culture shifts because one or a few people lead the charge for change in their company.
It is all about choice, but values first. The longer people stuff their values in their closets and suck up, the longer they agree to be miserable.
Jack's comments matter on a social/political level, but he's missing the point entirely. Woman don't want what he thinks they want. And we don't want a man telling us what we want, or what we should want. It's a new day, Jack. We're looking for humanity at work. Humanity everywhere. Wake up.
Kenneth M. Kambara — July 14, 2009
Alexandra Lebenthal wrote a guest column in the WSJ countering Welch's statements. This resonated with me::
Welch said he lamented the fact that women face tough choices, but opted not to offer up any solutions. One would think he'd be up for the challenge, but he shrugged his shoulders as if to say there's nothing that can be done about this.