During our analysis of this research report of the “Catalyst for Women in Financial Services” undertook the following tasks. At first, we analysed the potential sources of conflict between Smith Barney and Catalyst, we then considered the ethical implications of the study and what factors should be considered in a follow-up report.
There are a variety of conflicts that may arise between Catalyst and Smith Barney. Smith Barney did not wish for this study to be conducted they only did so as part of a court-mandated settlement. Because of this conflict about the cost of the study may rise. Smith Barney will wish to keep the cost to a minimum however Catalyst are not motivated to do so as Smith Barney are legally obliged to pay for the study to be conducted. They must pay for it regardless of the cost. This has the potential to be a major source of conflict between the researcher and the research user. Another source of conflict may be the findings of the study. Smith Barney may dispute any findings which reflect negatively on them. This has the potential to be another source of conflict between the researcher and the research user.
Many ethical considerations that need to be contemplated within this study. It is important that the research is undertaken in an ethical manner to protect both the participants of the study and the integrity of the research obtained. The goal of ethics is to “ensure that no one is harmed or suffers adverse consequences from research activities.” One of the first measures when carrying out research is to ensure that the researcher has received consent from all parties participating in the research. This should be voluntary and documentable. If the data in the study may harm the participant or if the researchers can only offer limited protection to the participants, then a signed form detailing this should be given to participants. This is important in this study as the jobs of the participants may be at risk because of the research. The participants of this study expressed their opinions on how they are treated in the workplace. Confidentiality is crucial when carrying out research. This means that the participants in the study are entitled to have their own personal information treated with confidentiality. Integrity and the reliability of the data are also imperative to Catalyst when carrying out this study. Catalyst is responsible for the reliability of their research. To ensure this they must adhere to the National laws and regulations in relation to carrying out research and that the research provided is not fabricated, falsified or plagiarised. It is crucial that the integrity of the data is a priority. Catalyst should try and attain objectivity in relation to their research and ensure that the data provided is unbiased.
For Catalyst to ask various questions they had to create operational definitions to ensure the criteria such as fairness are measured appropriately. Catalyst utilised nine focus groups to gain insight into the truth of the financial industry without any outside influence. Catalyst explains their use of the focus groups was to assist in “measurement questions and clarify numerous concepts and constructs”. Catalyst implemented and applied their responses and determined various operational definitions of different concepts that could be measured. Catalyst constructed the operational definition of ‘job satisfaction ‘by evaluating and “measuring current position satisfaction, satisfaction with the employer, work schedule control, etc”. Fairness can be complex between different parties and Catalyst sought to generate the operational definition by using the assignment of clients, opportunities for promotion, pay for performance and rewards for performance.
Assuming the findings presented in this report are everything covered in the study, I would recommend that Smith Barney, in a follow-up study, include statistics showing how the company facilitates women progressing through their company. I would advise the company to release a similar survey to the same sample group and compare its new findings to the results from the previous survey. This new survey should include questions that focus on the improvements the company promised to make and therefore the results should reflect on how the company is making it easier for women who wish to advance their carriers in the financial services. For example, topics such as equal opportunities, maternity leave, promotions, etc. should all be covered with the hope of an improvement from the previous set of results. I would also recommend a question that asks the participants if they feel the company has made a conscious effort to improve working conditions and opportunities for women. It would be vital for the company’s reputation that the results show positive improvements as it would show that the company is serious in wanting to help women advance in the financial services.
The data in figure one clearly shows the difference between female and male opinions on the topic of barriers to advancement within the firm. The project uncovered that the men in the firm were always less aware of the barriers to advancement. In one topic men were five times less likely to feel they had a lack of opportunities to take on challenging assignments. The statistics show with clarity that the firm Catalyst has a serious problem of female employees in the firm feeling discriminated against. The data display in figure two asses the female discrimination within the firm based on four elements showing that a higher percentage of female employees feel that there is unfairness in the way promotions are given, projects are assigned and that their wages are not reflective of their quality of work. The significance of these percentages shows that men are more comfortable in the workplace and are treated with more fairness than women are, making Catalyst a discriminative workplace.
I would recommend an increase in female leadership roles to match the number of male leadership roles and a program with training opportunities led by female role models to be introduced to the firm. Acts of discriminatory behaviour should be taken seriously and given a punishment, it’s imperative that employers lead by good example. The pay of employees should be based on their work ethic and not differ due to gender. After a few months Catalyst should have an independent audit within the firm on its discrimination of female employees to review their progress.
During this project we analysed the different sources of conflict between Catalyst and Smith Barney, we also considered the ethical behaviour that Catalyst needed to adhere to, how the researchers created operational definitions for the constructs, we also considered the factors that should be included in a follow up report and we evaluated the data displays contained within this report.