Generational Diversity Paper

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).

Since Howe and Strauss (2007) defined the traits of the Millennials, a number of authors have continued to explore and categorise this generation’s values and traits more than any other; “optimistic spirits, assertive or confident, consummate multitaskers, positive, sociable, cooperative, team oriented with an affinity for innovation and technology”(Pardue 2008, p74). Millennials experience and practice life at an augmented speed, communicating on a multiplicity of electronic devices; “they are an idealistic generation awaiting leadership and motivation; they are primed to do well” and achieve highly (Holt 2012, p81). Despite these characteristics which read as an inventory of an ideal employee, with the merging of multi-generations in a workplace, there comes a disparity in attitudes and approaches; the generational or life-stage divide. Each generation offers rich and valuable outlooks, however to bridge the gap it is important to know what motivates the other.

The generational span is exceedingly larger today than in the prior history of our nation. The multiple generations consist of the veterans 1922-1945, the baby boomers 1946-1964, the generation X 1965-1981, and, the generation Y 1982-1999, in addition, upcoming millennial generation born 2000-2016 (Murray, 2013). There frequently are misconceptions and misunderstandings based on the differing perspectives of each generation. Moreover, as an effective leader, one must comprehend and acknowledge the characteristics of each generation and utilize these individualities to mentor and motivate the staff they are leading (Hendricks & Cope, 2012). In addition to considering the impact of the generational

America has about five generations that function in our society today, and they are Traditionalists, Baby Boomers, Generation X, Generation Y, and the Millennial. It is interesting the way that an age gap influences the thinking of millions of people in different generations. Different times and situations require that different strategies be put in place for the following generation. Solutions that worked for one generation may be less useful for the next, so sometimes, because of the age gap, these solutions cause disagreements. These various ideologies all have one goal, and that is to be successful. We will discuss the path of the Baby Boomers and Generation X in the workplace environment.

This is the first time in American history where four generations are in the workplace at the same time. While it is a good problem to have, this situation creates some issues because of generation gaps and stereotypes. As stated by Diana Rigg, “Maybe at this stage in my career, it’s from that younger generation that I have the most to learn.” If the older generations and the younger generations took this open approach, the workplace would be a more inclusive place because all employees would be open to learning from each other. By understanding the generational differences, employees can break through the stereotypes created by misunderstandings to become highly functioning organizations. In looking at the similarities and differences among the four generations working today, it has been discovered that these are the same items that bridge the gap to a better understanding. Diverse, cross-generational teams are both beneficial and necessary for organizations to create highly effective and creative teams. In addition, this type of inclusion has the ability to empower employees, and the company will reap the benefits in happier clients and increased profits.

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.

As our generation ages, our knowledge of the our parents issues during their adolescent years. If you ask many young adults now they will say that our issues are very different and that we have nothing in common because times have changed. There are such things as drugs, parties, sex, dating, parenthood, and privledges that we all have faced through the years and that will not change. Although the circumstances may be different, the problems teenagers face today are not very different from those faced by their parents.

People from different generations are, simply put, different. This is true in all aspects of life including the social, religious, and familial components. However, where this truth can become quite apparent is in the workplace. I interviewed four of my family members to determine how much these generational differences would hold true despite being a part of the same family, and therefore likely to be similar. What I learned is that each person has some characteristics that align with their generation, and some that do not. Yet, this happens in varying degrees for different people. Still understanding how a person wants to be managed will help a manager manage them more effectively. Since generations play a big role in how a person works and

Being assigned to various roles from subordinate to assigned leadership positions, I have noticed that the work environment and project teams are not constructed in a manner to capitalize on the strengths of the current generation that are entering the workplace. This is not only true for USAREC, but also most mainstream organizations. I have witnessed symptoms and the results from not understanding how to benefit from creating the environment to capitalize on generational traits dealing with the millennial.

In Kathryn Tyler’s article “The Tethered Generation,” in Society of Human Resources Magazine, she asserts that people born between 1978 and 1999, also known as the Millennial Generation, would bring challenges to the workplace, attributing early access to technology and a “perpetual connection to parents” as causes. The article’s central tenet is that through technology, this generation’s “tethered” relationship with peers and parents has shaped communication, decision making, and need for connectivity. Tyler identifies the following Millennial traits as challenges to organizations: “unrealistic expectations with respect to goal-setting and planning;” “only adequate professionalism and work ethic, creativity and innovation, and critical thinking and problem solving;” and lack of autonomy and “sense of self-reliance.” The article ends by recommending that human resource management prepare for the Millennial’s “high maintenance” and their parent’s “helicoptering” with policies and training programs (Tyler, 2007).

As successive generations enter the workforce business leaders and managers continually face one challenge, “how do we motivate the next generation of employees?” The transition from Baby Boomer to Generation X, was considered a minor shift for businesses since they’re classified as the “me” and “individualist” generations. The Boomers and Generation X respected both authority and the traditional hierarchal structure, compared to the Generation Y more commonly known as Millennials are considered individuals who respect yet challenge authority and the traditional hierarchal structures. Within this article we’ll review “Gen X Is From Mars, Gen Y Is From Venus: A Primer On How To Motivates A Millennial” by Rob Asghar and “7 Surprising Ways To Motivate Millennial Workers” by Jenna Goudreau, two articles published by Forbes Magazine. After reviewing what Forbes’ Professional writers have to say about Millennials, we’ll hear what Millennial’s have to say about Forbes. While Generation X Lives to work, Generation Y works to live is the driving theme behind Rob Asghar’s article, he uses four mains point to explain what this means. He covers how Millennial’s concept of authority vastly differs from previous generations since Millennials were raised in an environment where their opinions mattered. Asghar discusses how the shift away from Generation X’s individualistic characteristic to Millennials global sense of community affects their motivation. In the second half of his article

More than ten thousand Baby Boomers retire every single day (Gurwitt, 2013). Combine that with the fact that there are currently four generations are in the workforce and managers of today have their work cut out for them. These leaders must ensure the knowledge from the retiring baby boomers is transferred to the remaining workforce, while simultaneously managing the retention of the disloyal, self-centered Millennials. Many leaders in this situation are finding it difficult to create and develop an organizational culture that supports this and conflict is manifesting in many organizations (Carpenter & DeCharon, 2014).

Generational differences and characteristics are multifaceted, and increasingly diverse leadership groups exist within today’s organizations. Tailoring the leadership approach and messaging to various generations improves effectiveness. Terry Wiedmer (2015) explores the strengths, differences and values of generations X, Y, Z and today's Traditionalists and Boomers. Comprehension of how the existing culture at UPS connects to the new breed of Millennial’s becomes an undemanding realization to new frontrunners. Using a narrowed focus by synthesizing generational complexions, leadership facilitators will experience superior success. UPS Leadership University is imperative to recognize the audience and convey a targeted generational specific

Each and every generation from the 1500s, to the 1900s has its greatness and downfalls. But the unfortunate part about generations is that they downfalls outweigh the positive accomplishments and greatness about the generations, like mine for example. The two biggest problems that my generation has to face is one, child and adult obesity, and secondly over use of cellular devices. Obesity is the state of being heavily over-weight also known as being fat. In the past 30 years the childhood obesity rate has doubled. The percentage of children aged 6–11 years in the United States who were obese increased from 7% in 1980 to nearly 18% in 2012. Similarly, the percentage of adolescents aged 12–19 years who were obese increased from 5% to nearly 21% over the same period. These statstics disgust me everytime i talk about these

Managing a 21st century labor force is becoming more complex as the marketplace becomes increasingly global. It is vital that organizations understand the challenges and benefits of effectively managing a diverse workforce in order to maintain a competitive advantage. While diversity in the workplace can take many forms (race, gender, religion, etc.) this paper specifically examines generational diversity. This is the first time in history where there are four generations employed in the workforce. As such, it is imperative that managers “recognize what motivates each generation to develop effective communication tools to minimize conflict, progressive HR and work-life