TUTOR: Well,you've both been looking at different styles of managing individuals in companies and the workplace.How's the research going,Philip?

PHILIP: Well,I've been looking at why individualism,I mean individual differences,are such an important area of management studies.When you think about any organization,be it a family business or a multinational company,they are all fundamentally a group of people working together.But it's what these individuals contribute to their places of work that makes you realize how important they are.Of course they bring different ideas,but it's also their attitudes and their experiences of learning.Diversity is important in these areas too.

TUTOR: So why do people behave so differently from one another at work?

PHILIP: There are lots of reasons but research has shown a lot of it comes down to personality.And the other factor is gender.It's a well known fact that men and women do lots of things in different ways,and the workplace is no different.

TUTOR: Did you look at the effects of this variation on companies?

PHILIP: Yes,I did.On the positive side,exposure to such diversity helps encourage creativity which is generally an asset to a company.But unfortunately individual differences are also the root of conflict between staff and they can lead to difficulties for management,which can sometimes be serious.