December 4th, 2010 § § permalink
Today, we pride ourselves for building a society on the principles of equality. Gender equality, indeed, has made significant progress. It has been 200 years since Mary Wollstonecraft published Vindication on the Rights of Women; it has been 50 years since the Women’s Liberation Movement.
As a female student in a business school, I must admit I am dismayed by the relative absence of women in senior management. Exceptions like Carly Fiorina, who became the first female chief executive of Hewlett-Packard in 1999, encounter many challenges. Organizational Behavior theories help to explain some of the problems she encountered. The information technology industry is heavily male dominated, so a high score on Hofstede’s culture dimensions is expected.
Many members of the board of directors questioned her decisions. This may have been a Halo effect from her unfeminine self-assured personality. This became especially evident when she decides to acquire archival Compaq computers for $20 million in 2001.
Fiorina made headlines again this year when she entered the Senate race as a Republican candidate. The organizational culture of the U.S. government is considered to be more masculist than IT, so she has a tough journey ahead.
December 2nd, 2010 § § permalink
In Gotham city, the Bruce Wayne assumes his alter ego Batman to fight crime. Beeman is not a millionaire playboy, nor does he have a fancy ride like the Batmobile. Like Batman, he improves our society not with superpowers, but with human ingenuity and determination. While the name Axel “Beeman” Krause, may not inspire fear in the hearts of criminals, I am confident it will soon be known by anyone concerned about our ecosystem.
Mr. Krause has the less than glamorous task of teaching Biology at my highschool, New Westminster Secondary School. The beekeeping program he introduced began as a teaching aide, but has since grown into a movement.
Mr. Krause has the makings of a social entrepreneur. The fully functional beehives produce honey and beeswax, which are sold for profits. However, the merchandise is merely a means to promote a social mission. With the recent collapse of many bee colonies around the world, he recognized the opportunity to create a social enterprise. Honey bees are under threat from various mites and diseases as the use of pesticides and herbicides weaken their immunity. Beeman may not fight crime, but he is improving our world one colony at a time.