What Are the Main Challenges for Organizations - Literature review Example

Generation Y. Name of the Student: Name of the Instructor: Name of the course: Code of the course: Submission date: What are the main challenges for organizations in terms of managing Gen Y? What human resource strategies and practices do you recommend organizations implement to deal with these challenges? Introduction In a generic sense, a generation can be defined as a group which is identifiable and shares years of birth and considerable events in life at integral stages of development (Kupperschmidt, 2000, p. 66). It is an apparent fact that the generational composition of the workforce in the contemporary world has seen rapid changes in the recent past. These changes have mostly been linked with the stormy entering of a new wave of generation into the workforce – Generation Y (Gen Y). This particular generation has been perceived as bringing with it a set if distinct values, behaviors and assumptions to the workplace (Saxena & Jain, 2012, p. 114). Depending on the manner in which an organization manages the entry of this particular generation, this can prove to be integral in determining whether their entry is an impediment or a competitive advantage to the organization. Against this background, this paper will focus on the main challenges which are bound to be confronted by an organization in terms of managing Gen Y. In addition, it will recommend some human resource strategies and practices which can be implemented by organizations to deal with these challenges. Main challenges in managing Generation Y It is imperative to note that Gen Y is often perceived to refer to the individuals in the workforce who were born approximately between 1980 and 2000. This generation is perceived to be confident, goal-oriented and independent (Meier et. al., 2010, p. 69). There are evidently some challenges which are associated with managing Generation Y at the organizational level. Some of these challenges are explored in the subsequent section. Challenges which are associated with managing Generation Y Provision of personal support According to Schofield and Honore (2010, p. 31), the members of Generation Y often demand for personal support in their gradual process of growth and development. This is in terms of coaching and mentoring processes which can be attributed to their inexperience in diverse organizational procedures and risk assessment among other aspects. Thus, the need for the provision of personal support to the employees from Generation Y can prove to be a major challenge to an organization based on the resources necessity as well as the time required to conduct these coaching and mentorship programmes. Need for attention Hannay and Fretwell (2010, p. 5) determined that the individuals from Generation Y have been deemed as being high maintenance and emotionally needy group based on their need for attention. This is founded on the fact that members of Generation Y require to be recognized for their input and contribution in the organization, failure of which can result in lack of engagement by members of this group. In this case, engagement can be perceived as the willingness and ability of the employees to contribute to the success of the organization (Rai, 2010, p. 637). In this case, an organization is confronted by the challenge of according the demanded attention to each individual from this generation. Inclusion of Generation Y in decision making It is imperative to note that most of the Generation Y members are in the early entry stages in their careers. Nonetheless, D’Netto (2010, p. 2) determined that members of Generation Y often need to feel that they are making a difference in the organization and part of the decision-making process. In this case, the organization is faced with the challenge of including most of the Gen. Y members, who are mostly in the junior hierarchy in the organizational structure into the decision making process, mostly in sensitive organizational matters. Thus, this creates a major challenge to an organization who have to balance between including the Gen. Y in decision making process and maintaining the integrity of this process. Job loyalty According to Kearns et. al. (2007, p. 5), members of Gen. Y are often characterized by repeated job changes which puts their loyalty to their workplace into doubt. This fact is supported by Saxena and Jain (2012, p. 117) who determined that Gen. Y is credited for having low loyalty and thus job hopping is a primary characteristic among members of this workforce. This provides a major challenge to an organization which seeks to retain its best employees aimed at gaining competitive advantage in relation to the human resource aspect. Motivation gap Motivation of the workforce is a core aspect which determines the performance of the organization. Nonetheless, the motivation of employees from the Gen Y are bound to be adversely affected when things in the organization tend to go contrary to their expectations and they are bound to express their dissatisfaction through seeking for alternative opportunities. This culminated to Meier et. al. (2010, p. 69) to determine that Gen. Y presents a major challenge to the managers in the organization who must motivate this next generation of workers aimed at making their strengths beneficial to the company. Recommendations There are several human resource strategies and practices which can be implemented by organizations aimed at dealing with the preceding challenges. Some of these strategies are explored in the subsequent section. Public recognition Based on the need for attention and appreciation among members of Gen. Y, robust public recognition of this workforce can be a central human resource practice to reassure these employees that their input is appreciated. This fact is supported by The Human society of the United States (2009, p. 5) who determined that in most cases, public recognition for a job well done often has more effectiveness than a pay rise. In this case, organizations ought to institute public recognition forums between departments or between employees competition founded on performance measures which are agreed upon. This recognition ought not to be in monetary terms but merely a ‘bragging’ right to these employees. Increased motivation Managers in any given organization ought to continuously motivate the employees from this generation. This is based on the fact that limited motivation among this employees will not only affect their loyalty to their workplace but also impact on their overall turnover. In this regard, the organizations ought to institute advanced programmes to give incentives to the employees which is integral in increasing their motivation as well as minimizing their turnover rates. The above fact is supported by the Department for Work and Pensions (2010, p. 25) which determined that the payment of incentives to the employees has been cited as being vital in lessening the responsibility of the line managers to encourage good attendance among the employees and motivating them as well as being a robust tool in effectively dealing with poor attendance or absence in the workforce. Training of the Gen. Y employees One of the challenges posed by the members of this generation to the organization has been found to be related to their demand for personal support in their gradual process of growth and development. Training programmes come in handy in ensuring that these employees are not only impacted with relevant knowledge and skills, for instance, in diverse organizational procedures and risk assessment among other aspects but also in mentoring their development process. Many scholars, for instance, Sloman (2003) and Salas and Cannon-Bowers (2001) have acknowledged the fact that there has been a long held perception that the investment of various organizations in training and development is beneficial to both the organization as well as to the workforce. In this regard, organizations ought to increasingly invest in training and development targeting members of Gen. Y which is integral not only in overcoming the challenge of the need for personal support but also in elevating the knowledge and skills capital in the long-term existence of the organization. Significant inclusion of Gen. Y in decision making The feeling among employees from Gen. Y about being ignored and non-consulted in the decision making process has also been cited as being a major cause of non-commitment and frustration. In the efforts to making members of this generation to feel like they are making a difference in the organization and part of the decision-making process, organizations ought to consider permitting significant participation of this generation in the decision making and problem solving processes. This can be through members of Gen. Y being asked to appoint several representatives, both male and female to participate in the decision making process. In this way, all the Gen. Y employees in the workforce are bound to feel that their issues are adequately represented in the decision making process, and that their input in the decisions affecting the organization is being appreciated. Conclusion The preceding analysis has defined which age-group is generally defined as Generation Y. In addition, it has highlighted some of the main challenges which are bound to be confronted by an organization in terms of managing Gen Y. These include need for attention, provision of personal support, motivation gap, job loyalty and inclusion of Generation Y in decision making. Lastly, recommendations of significant inclusion of Gen. Y in decision making, public recognition, increased motivation as well as training of the Gen. Y employees have been forwarded as being integral in dealing with the identified challenges. References Department for Work and Pensions, 2010, Managing attendance and employee turnover, ACAS Publications, London. D’Netto, B., 2010, ‘Generation Y: Human Resource Management Implications’, retrieved 27th March 2013, < http://www.wbiconpro.com/452-Brian.pdf>. Hannay, M. & Fretwell, C. 2010, ‘The higher education workplace: meeting the needs of multiple generations’, Research in Higher Education Journal, Vol. 1, pp. 1-12. Kearns, J., et. al. 2007, ‘Understanding Generation Y In The Workplace: What Does It Take To Hire And Retain The Talent Of The New Generation?’, retrieved 27th March 2013, < http://apicsprov.org/downloads/General_Publications/gen_y___attracting__retaining.pdf>. Kupperschmidt, BR., 2000, ‘Multigeneration employees: strategies for effective management’, The Health Care Manager, Vol. 19, pp. 65-76. Meier, J. et. al., 2010, ‘Generation Y in the Workforce: Managerial Challenges’, The Journal of Human Resource and Adult Learning, Vol. 6, No. 1, pp. 68-78. Rai, S., 2010, ‘Engagement, Social Media and Gen Y: Connecting the dots’, Asian Journal of Management Research, Vol. 2, No. 1, pp. 637-650. Saxena, P. & Jain, R. 2012. ‘Managing Career Aspirations of Generation Y at Work Place’, International Journal of Advanced Research in Computer Science and Software Engineering, Vol. 2, No. 7, pp. 114-118. Schofield, CP., & Honore, S., 2010, ‘Generation Y and learning’, The Ashridge Journal, Vol. 1, pp. 26-32. Salas, E. & Cannon-Bowers, JA., 2001, ‘The Science of Training: A Decade of Progress’, Annual Review of Psychology, Vol. 52, pp. 471-499. Sloman, M., 2003, Training in the age of the learner, Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, London, U.K. The Human society of the United States , 2009, ‘Managing Generation Y: Techniques and Recommendations for Managing the Generation Gap’, retrieved 27th March 2013, < http://sds.uncc.edu/sites/sds.uncc.edu/files/media/White_Paper_Gen_Y.pdf>. Read More