The Challenge of Managing Different Generations in the Workplace - Coursework Example

DISCUSS THE CHALLENGE OF MANAGING DIFFERENT GENERATIONS IN THE WORKPLACE AND EVALUATE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR THE 21ST CENTURY ORGANISATION Name Institution Professor Course Date Introduction The contemporary workforce is diverse, not only with regard to culture, work styles, race, ethnicity and gender, but with respect to age. With these shifts in workforce demographics, modern workplace comprises of four generations which include Veterans, Baby Boomers, Generation X and Digital Natives. Generational diversity brings an assortment of perspectives and experiences to the workplace. However, working with and managing members of diverse generations create workplace challenges given the diverse generations’ expectations, approaches and needs. Certain mindsets are common to every generation and unique from those held by people from other generations. These disparities subsist because the motivations and values of each generation are shaped through distinctive historical occurrences, innovations and settings of the time period. Given that each generation hold its own distinctive qualities and workplace traits, managers face the challenge of capitalising on their strengths while lowering the impact of their weaknesses in the workplace. To overcome the generational challenges, managers must comprehend how to tackle the individual needs of each generation and capture organisational commitment. This paper highlights the challenge of managing different generations in the workplace and evaluates the implications for the 21st century firms. The paper highlights different qualities, attitudes and values of each generation and their behaviours, values and attitudes towards work. The paper also underlines the challenges faced by employers in managing these generations and underline recommendations on how to best manage multiple generations in the workplace. Defining Generational Cohorts In the past, most workplaces operated in a way that orders provided by supervisors were basically followed without questioning (Schullery 2013:253). However, the modern generations do not respond well to this style of management and firms have to evolve and change. In this regard, it is imperative to bear in mind that every generation view the world via a distinct lens that surfaces because of the occurrences that took place in the world as people grew and changed from childhood to adulthood. Every generation’s set of behaviours, motivators and attitudes apply to a big portion of the populace that descends into each generational segment. While people in diverse generations are different, they share certain behaviours, values and thoughts given their shared events. According to Schullery (2013:253), the four generations currently in the workplace include the traditionalists or the silent generation (1925- 1945), baby boomers (1946-1964), generation X (1965-1981) and the Millennials, Digital Natives or Generation Y (1982-1999). A generation is described as having been born within a specific period of time and people in one generation share the life experiences of their developing years. These experiences include world events, technology, natural disasters, pop culture and economic conditions. The forces forming and influencing different generational cohorts are powerful during early adolescence and childhood. According to Parry and Tyson (2013: 19), a generation is broadly described as a particular group that shares age, birth years, significant life events at crucial developmental states and location. With Western economies, most attention centres on the four generations. Traditionalists/Veterans/ Silent Generation The veterans are the oldest generation in the workplace even if most of them are now retired. Hahn (2011: 120) asserts that the most senior nurses are members of the veteran generation. This populace of older nurses is dwindling as most of them are retiring. Members of this generation grew up in times of economic and political vagueness with life experiences that include the World War II and the Great Depression. Veterans expect to be rewarded for their hard work and their expectations match up to the instrumentality theory of motivation. With respect to instrumentality theory, which is the conviction that one thing will trigger another, employees are motivated if penalties and rewards are directly tied to their performance ( Armstrong 2007: 124). Given that the members of this generation were influenced by the Second World War II and the great depression, they have been described as being disciplined and conservative. Veterans hold a sense of obligation and they like formality and a top down command chain (Hahn 2011: 120). They need respect and prefer to make decisions depending on their past work. The veterans are loyal workers, highly committed, loath risk and are strongly devoted to collaboration and teamwork. Although they may be incompetent, they are stable, loyal, hardworking and detail-oriented. The Baby Boomers Baby boomers are loyal employees and they hold a powerful sense of duty (Hahn 2011: 120). This populace grew up during economic prosperity after the Second World War. The baby boomer generation present the largest cohort in the nursing workforce. They are workaholics and experienced nuclear relations as their societal custom. Baby boomers were influenced by Vietnam War, Apollo II moon landing and the Civil Rights Movement (Hahn 2011: 120). In modern workplaces, baby boomers are managing or are being managed by individuals young enough to be their children. They are team oriented, empowered and form the natural transformation agents in a vibrant work environment. Baby boomers equate work with fulfilment and self-worth (Papp 2012:1). Baby boomers view overtime as a moral responsibility and are good mentors. They believe sacrifice and hard work are the price towards success. They like group decision-making, teamwork and collaboration. Baby boomers are confident and more procedure-oriented than result-oriented. They are technically inept and anticipate authority. This generation cares about income earning, status, title and power (Papp 2012:1) Generation X Members of generation X are sceptical and they are referred to as latch key kids. According to Hahn (2011:120), generation X members are independent, techno-savvy and self-directed. It is a self-sufficient generation that learnt to become malleable to transformation while compelled to grow up quickly as they mothers moved into workplace. They are defined through events such as AIDS epidemic, Nixon Watergate scandal, MTV, the home computer to mention but a few. Quality of life is paramount to Gen Xers and they prefer action as opposed to promises and talks. Gen Xers need individual recognition and positive feedback. Members of this generation strives on challenge, want to lead and be led, they are balanced, resourceful, self-reliant, embrace self-governance and prefer working alone instead of teamwork to (Hahn 2011:120). Gen Xers prefer a balance between life and work, and they are not very loyal to their employers. This generation hold power, technical skills and value skill development and constant learning. They question authority and are not intimated by those in power (Kapoor and Solomon 2011: 309). They like to get feedback and money is not their key motivator but lack of money makes them lose their morale. They prefer interesting work. Generation Y/Millenials/ Digital Natives Instant communication and technology is a part of this generational cohort. Generation Y is a worldwide generation that accepts multiculturalism. People in this generation are sociable, optimistic and value change. They are influenced by events such as Gulf War, bombing of the Oklahoma City and the worldwide wars on terror after the 9/11 terrorist attack (Hahn 2011:121). They are also moulded through computers; technological advances and parental excesses. The Millenials are resilient, approach work with a positive attitude and embrace teamwork with a strong conviction in authority. This generation values teamwork and collective action and seek flexibility, independence and like multi-tasking. Millenials value training and are demanding. Digital Natives expect quick rewards, exploit technology and have a tendency of challenging the decisions made by their managers (Mathias & Jackson 2012: 113). The Challenge of Managing Different Generations in Workplace Managers are considerably struggling with generational disparities in their workplaces. Problems arise from diverse communication styles, mindsets, loyalty towards employers, attitudes towards authority and respect, training needs and styles, expectations, values and behaviours of employees born in different periods ( Rowe 2010:3). The frictions are augmented by the work blueprints and novel technology that integrate employees from diverse generations. Each generation hold distinctive needs and wants thereby requiring managers to adapt a practical style of leadership. The leader must understand how to motivate people from different generations and the key is to comprehend the cultural work attitudes and ethics inherent in every generation (Griffin 2011:22). Every generation brings to workplace distinct qualities, strengths and requirements such communication style, the design of physical working setting and desired benefits. These disparities can be assets to the management or workplace but can as well instigate conflict, miscommunication and misunderstanding if not carefully managed. Managers also face the challenge of providing diverse and novel incentives to keep employees interested and motivated in their work (Griffin 2011:22). According to Kapoor and Solomon (2011: 309), generational disparities affects technology needs, communication styles, workplace expectations, desired leadership styles, benefits and compensation needs and the effectiveness of recognition and reward systems. In essence, generational disparities affect each aspect of the workplace. Kapoor and Solomon (2011: 313) assert that every generation hold distinct attitude towards work, depending on their distinctive qualities. These perceptions create challenges for managers who must try to appeal to and promote four diverse perspectives to work. Veterans tend to hold faith in institutions and seldom questions authority. They are respectful of the rules governing their workplaces. Baby boomers tend to be competitive and goal-oriented and hunt for for promotion through working for long hours (Hahn 2011:120). Generations X is not interested in working overtime and they consider employment as a contract. Generation Y looks for creative and stimulating activities in their work and holds the capacity to chip in to decisions in the workplace (Rowe 2010:3). The diverse and conflicting attitudes and characteristics cause intra-generational disagreement in organisations. According to Kapoor and Solomon (2011: 315), most workplaces are not designed to assimilate the fixed ideas and needs of successive generations of employees. Generational conflicts in the workplace lower profitability and morale, augment turnover rates, and present challenges in hiring. The lack of understanding for every generation, and what impacted their value systems cause culture mystification besides negatively impacting a workplace’s collaborative effort. Organisations need to understand that each generation is impacted by political, social and economic events of its time. While communication amid all employees can eradicate stigmas that may subsist following labelling of generations, communication can be a factor of conflict amid generations. While veterans and baby boomers prefer face-to-face communication or direct calls, Millenials and Gen Xers prefer text messaging and email (Rowe 2010:3). These disparities in communication style can instigate conflict in the workplace and make teamwork more complex. Veterans have faith in command chain concept while baby boomers believe in a consensus-founded approach that entails performance review. Baby boomers view younger employees as ‘slackers’ who hold no work ethics (Kapoor & Solomon 2011: 309). They feel that younger managers do not have adequate experience to manage, depend very much on technology and they do not respect the life occurrences of baby boomers. Baby boomers often disagree with younger generations regarding working hours and believed that Millenials and Gen Xers lack devotion to their workplace and work ethics given their refusal to agree to a culture of overwork (Kapoor & Solomon 2011: 310). Gen Xers, on the other hand, view baby boomers as being fearful to change and outdated. Recommendations and Implications for the 21st Century Organisations Different generations hold diverse values and attitudes an aspect that makes the job of managers challenging. A greater probability exists that people will find themselves under the leadership or leading people who are demographical different from them. Effective managers must establish a workplace culture that enables employees from diverse generations to succeed. Lussier and Achua (2012: 376) assert that organisations should assess diversity management competency as a portion of leadership development programs. Diversity competence training will allow leaders to comprehend how different leadership styles interact with the cultural values orientations of the followers to impact followers’ behavioural, cognitive and affective outcomes. The management teams should also be diversified. Given that conflict occurs due to errors of discernment and ascription instead of valid disparities, effective communication must be maintained for multiple generational workplaces. Managers must accommodate employees’ disparities through learning about their distinct needs, establishing workplace choices and lowering bureaucracy (Lussier and Achua 2012: 376). Other imperatives entail respecting initiative and competence through nurturing retention through training, interactive computer-based training and coaching prospects. The 21st century workplaces have to create recognition programs, accommodate the personal needs of employees and motivate them. The needs or content theory provides that unsatisfied need creates disequilibrium and tension (Armstrong 2007:124). In this view, the 21st century workplaces must give their workforce a voice, adjust communication, customise incentives where the management should ascertain the correct motivation for each generation, personalise performance, recruit creatively and encourage mentoring. Employers should utilise the two factor theory to ensure that employees are motivated and satisfied through recognition, achieve, growth and responsibility (Armstrong 2007:124). Conclusion There are implausible pressures on the contemporary workplace. Scores of management teams acknowledge that their younger workforce certainly hold diverse aspirations, working styles, ideas compared to older employees. It can be challenging for an organisation to manage a workforce that differs in age. The contemporary workplace is swiftly changing and it is accompanied by amazing prospects and dramatic challenges. The management of diversity is an important organisational prospect and a challenge for the 21st century firms. The younger employees entering the workplace are quite different from older workers. Generation X and Generation Y tend to be less committed to long-term career opportunities and less willing to adapt to a corporate attitude that stresses uniformity and conformity. These generations seek for work in smaller firms that allow for individuality and flexibility. As a result, managers are considerably faced with the challenge of establishing a work environment that is attractive for today’s diverse employees. However, understanding the disparities amid the generations can help firms understand their workforce besides ensuring that the workforce remains productive. Managers should develop adequate flexibility into their firms to accommodate an ever-changing set of preferences and lifestyles, Reference List Armstrong, Michael (2007) A handbook of employee reward management and practice. USA: Kogan Page Publishers. Griffin, Ricky (2011) Fundamentals of management. UK: Cengage Learning. Hahn, J.A (2011) Managing multiple generations: Scenarios from the workplace. Nursing Forum.46 (3):119-127. Kapoor, C & Solomon, N (2011) Understanding and managing generational differences in the workplace. Worldwide Hospitality and Toursim.3 (4):308-318. Lussier, Robert & Achua, Christopher (2012) Leadership: Theory, application, & skill development. UK: Cengage Learning. Mathias, Robert and Jackson, John (2010) Human resource management. UK: Cengage Learning. Papp, Eric (2012) Leadership by choice: Increasing influence and effectiveness through self-management. UK: John Wiley & Sons Parry, Emma & Tyson, Shaun (2013) Managing people in a contemporary context. UK: Routledge. Rowe, Kim (2010) Managing across generations. USA: American Society for Training and Development. Schullery, N.M (2013) Workplace engagement and generational differences in values. Business Communication Quarterly. 76 (2):252-265. Read More