DOCUMENT RESUME ED 291 032 CG 020 564 AUTHOR Korabik, Karen; Ayman, Roya TITLE Androgyny and Leadership Style: Toward a Conceptual Synthesis. PUB DATE 31 Aug 87 NOTE 28p.; Paper presented at the Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association (95th, New York, NY, August 28-September 1, 1987). PUB TYPE Reports - Research/Technical (143) -- Speeches /Conference Papers (150) EDRS PRICE MF01/PCO2 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Administrators; *Androgyny; Foreign Countries; *Leadership Qualities; Leadership Styles; *Managerial Occupations; *Personality Traits; *Sex Differences; *Sex Role; Sexual Identity IDENTIFIERS Canada ABSTRACT Although the idea of androgynous leadership has been discussed frequently in the management literature, little empirical evidence has been accumulated to support a conceptual integration. Results of preliminary research support the hypothesis that sex-role orientation is a better predictor of leadership behavior than is biological sex. This study was conducted to replicate the results of previous research using actual managers as subjects, to extend the proposed conceptual model by incorporating other variables relevant to managerial leadership which also pertain to the dimensions of instrumentality and expressiveness, and to examine the relationship between sex-role orientation and self-perceptions of managerial effectiveness. Male (N=121) and female (N=126) middle to upper level managers completed the Bem Sex Role Inventory; the Job Description Index; a job stress scale; and adaptations of the Ohio State Leadership Behavior Description Questionnaire, the Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Resolution Scale, and the Profile of Organizational Influence Strategies. Subjects rated their leadership effectiveness, how good a manager they were, and how well their subordinates performed. The results strongly support the contention that biological sex is not an important factor in determining managerial style. They provide empirical evidence for a conceptual synthesis of androgyny, leadership, and conflict resoluti,m theories. (NB) *********************************************************************** * Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made * * from the original document. * *********************************************************w*************