Dissertation Proposal on Managing Diversity of Workforce

Every generation is influenced by its period 's economic, political and social events. From the Great Depression to the civil rights and women 's movements to the advent of television and advanced computer technologies. Thus generational background/situation may also affect the way they work. The key is to be able to effectively address and take advantage of the differences in values and expectations of each generation in the workplace. The current work place consists of four different generations; The Baby Boomers (1946-1964) who are slowly retiring and existing the workforce, The Generation X (1965-1976), The Generation Y or millennia (1977-1997), and the Generation Z who are about to or are just entering the work force. Although these different generations tend to want similar things in a workplace their environment/background has shaped their character, values, and expectations (Hahn 2011).

Makrovich (2013) in a study of stereotypes work in both generations are depending on the nature of the generation. Furthermore, the generation X should appreciate and be ready to adapt to the way work ethic generation Y. The difference between the two generations will maintain loyalty to the leadership of senior generation trends. Enticement, pleasure seeking, self direction and task-oriented are the dominant trait on generation X working stereotype. This is where they are more on task-oriented, independent and also more on self-reliant in their working ethics in the workplace. Generation X at workplace was this generation are easier to adapt and also have high expectation in the workplace. Generation X by virtue can developed living skills

Seniors born entre January 1, 1933 and December 31, 1945 are described as Post-War Cohort and have a current Population of 55 million, but their population is declining. According to extension.missouri.edu, they are retirees in majority and formed the largest voting population. Seniors or veterans also called Silent Generation inherited the consequences of the Great Depression of 1929 and World War II. They feel gratified by the effort or work, they are struggling to work and usually stay for long in the same company. They are obedient and respectful to authority, they are cautious and have a sense of duty but modern technologies such as information, communication and social networks are not obvious to them and may even be refractory. They earned less than today, but in their time, the quality of work was an art. Seniors born entre January 1, 1933 and December 31, 1945 value security, comfort, and familiar, known activities and environments. Like the baby boomers, the silent generation is committed in marriage even though some divorced. This cohort is a target composed mainly of women and men widowers who live alone for half of them, especially women. This cohort had significant opportunities in education as a post-war economic boom struck America.

The current generations in the workplace today are Traditionalists, Baby Boomers, Generation X, Millennials, and Generation Z. Each generation brings their own values and mindsets to the mix. Although genetics play a part in a person’s characteristics, the generation in which someone is born into also plays an integral part in shaping their mind, values, goals, and work ethics. People from the same generation share similar experiences, and this can influence how they think politically and socially.

Upon reflecting on the three main generations that comprise the workplace today, a few differences emerge. “Baby Boomers” grew up in a time when movements were prominent, the Vietnam War occurred, key figures were assassinated, the Watergate Scandal occurred, and television was introduced (Twenge et al., 2010; Schullery, 2013). Overall, “Baby Boomers” seem to exhibit a distrust of authority, value hard work, and want to enjoy their achievements (Robbins & Judge, 2015; Twenge et al., 2010). As such, they are results driven and give their utmost effort (Robbins & Judge, 2015). “Generation X” grew up in a time of computers, divorce, two career parents, MTV, and economic uncertainty (Twenge et al., 2010; Robbins & Judge, 2015). For the most part, they seem to exhibit the workplace behaviors of independence and a lack of commitment to employers (Twenge et al., 2010). They value a balance between work and life and place more focus on extrinsic rewards such as monetary compensation (Twenge et al., 2010). “Millennials” grew up in prosperous times with technology dominating the era and over-protective parents (Robbins & Judge, 2015; Schullery, 2013). Generally, they seem to place a greater value on employee benefits, leisure time, teamwork, and open communication (Society of Human Resource Management, 2004; Twenge, 2010; Myers & Sadaghiani, 2010). In addition, they have also been given the labels of “self-centered” and “entitled” (Myers & Sadaghiani, 2010).

It is important to keep in mind that each generation sees the world through a unique lens that forms as a result of the events that were taking place in the world as these individuals grew up. Brenner focuses on the different events that have shaped their values and their perception of work. For example, the Veterans went through World War II and grew up with a strict regimen. As such, quality, respect and authority are important to them. Baby Boomers embraced the value of having to sacrifice to get ahead. All that sacrifice makes them very loyal. Generation X workers were the latchkey children who watched their Boomer parents forge a new workplace. They were also the first generation to grow up with technology. As such, this generation cares more about productivity and less about the number of hours spent on the job. Millennials are a generation entrenched in technology and therefore urn for instant gratification. They bore easily. Because they best understand how to maximize technology, they value a balance between work and

Diversity acknowledge that people are differ in many ways, such as age, gender, social status, disability, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity and culture (Kossek, Lobel & Brown, 2005). Nowadays, diversity has increasingly become the most valuable aspect of HRM areas. Develop countries such as Australia and New Zealand hold multicultural workforce as one of the most important dimension of diversity, where there are a large number of international migrants with different cultural backgrounds (Shen, Chanda, D’Netto & Monga, 2009). Studies from McLeod, Lobel and Cox (1996) and Wilson & Iles (1999) point out that a diverse workforce has a better-quality solution to brainstorming task, display more cooperative behaviour, and can raise organizational efficiency, effectiveness and profitability. Hence, utilization of diversity allows organization to increase the organization cooperative behaviour and competitive advantage (Cassell 1996). However, in groups where people from different cultural and ethnic background are working together, differences may occur in management styles, attitude towards hierarchy, approaches to group work, and ways of expressing

The four generations presented in this paper are: The Veterans, The Baby Boomers, Generation X, and the Millennias. The Veterans, also known as seniors or traditionalist, were born between 1925 and 1945 (Andrews & Boyle 2016). These individuals lived through the world wars, overcame economic hardship, and have chosen to continue to work past the common retirement age. This group of individuals believe they work out of

Likewise, the current generations in the workforce have different values. Research surveys done by Gibson et al. (2009) and Crumpacker and Crumpacker (2007) have found that the generations have diverse values. It was found that Baby Boomers value health, family, honesty, responsibility and company loyalty more than anything else. Researchers also found the Baby boomer workers value authority, hard work and achievement. Additionally, Baby Boomers value when someone communicates with them one-on-one rather than using technology (Crumpacker & Crumpacker, 2007; Gison et al., 2009). In contrast, Generation X workers tend to value family security, health, honesty and responsibility the most. In addition it was found that they value a comfotable life

There are many challenges facing managers and leaders in current workforce. The variety of cultures, races and generations in today’s environment is making work harder. “Managing will also get even more difficult because of globalization, multi-generational workforce, dependency on technology, unethical behaviors and practices.” (Kaifi,2013,pg.217). In this paper I will talk about the three generations that we have had over the past sixty years – the Baby Boomer Generation, Generation X and the current Generation Y, known as Millennials. This rich mix of generations in the workforce can be attributed primarily to labor shortages experienced in many industries and the rising average age of retirement.

They have experienced scarcity, and are very devoted to their work, as they take nothing for granted. Baby Boomers on the other hand, have very different factors that drive their work ethic. Baby Boomers view their work as an “ exciting adventure” (Haywood). Baby Boomers grew up in a generation that was way more rebellious that previous one’s. They are not used to being as responsible or devoted as their parents were, and view work as more of a thrill than a tedious task.

Some of the most sought after skills and values impacted both Baby Boomers and Millennials as not one specific demographic possessed all. According to University of Kent, the UK’s European University, ( https://www.kent.ac.uk/careers/sk/top-ten-skills.htm) some of the top skills employers require which can also be construed as values, since one cannot be accomplished without the other, are as follows.

Each generation has certain characteristics and values with which the members of it can identify. Members of Generation X highly value their job and family time; so they try to find a balance between these two aspects of their lives. Generation X are hardworking people, but they are

The world’s labor force primarily consists of three major generations: the “Baby Boomers,” “Generation X,” and “Generation Y.” The “Baby Boomers” were born during and after the 2nd World War (1940 to 1960). This generation has a legacy of expertise, “old-fashioned” autocratic management, and healthy productivity. “Boomers” are known to work hard, remain loyal to their employers, and receive promotions on the basis of hard work and high skill. Technology was rather limited (Hewitt and Ukpere, 2012).

In the present diversified work force in terms of age ,gender,culture ,work style, the employee demographics consist of the four generations which are Traditionalists, Baby Boomers, Generation X and Millenials