motivational analysis of organizations

item scale that has substantial internal consistency and reliability. The WAMS can be
used both as a “teaching” instrument and as a scientifically validated measure.
DESCRIPTION OF THE WAMS
The WAMS contains twenty-one items presented in a Likert-type format. There are
seven response alternatives for each item, ranging from “strongly disagree” to “strongly
agree.” Eleven items are worded to describe women as managers favorably and ten
items are worded to describe women as managers unfavorably. The favorably worded
items depict the idea that men and women managers are equal, and the unfavorably
worded items depict the idea that women are inferior to men. It was decided from the
outset to exclude items that portrayed women as being superior to men because of the
assumption that equality would be the most appropriate favorable response.
The ten unfavorably worded items are reverse scored because disagreement with an
unfavorable item would indicate a favorable response. Once these ten items are reverse
scored, the respondent’s total score is simply the sum of the responses. The total scale
score can range from 21 to 147, with high scores indicating favorable attitudes toward
women as managers. A scoring key is provided, along with normative data from 308
male employees and 114 female employees.
PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS OF HIGH- AND LOW-SCORING
WAMS RESPONDENTS
The WAMS has been studied in a variety of settings, and a summary of the results of
these studies is presented here. These results should be interpreted with caution,
however, because of the limited nature of research on the WAMS.
Sex of Respondent
Females as a group tend to have more favorable attitudes toward women as managers
than do males as a group. This is true both when respondents are college students and
when they are employees.
Students Versus Employees
College students of both sexes tend to have more favorable attitudes toward women as
managers than do employees of both sexes.
Women’s Rights
College students and employees of both sexes who endorse the idea of women’s rights
also tend to have favorable attitudes toward women as managers.
The Pfeiffer Library Volume 19, 2nd Edition. Copyright © 1998 Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer ❚❘ 189