The description given for my generation, the Millennials (Generation Y) is mainly accurate. We are the group who were born between the years 1980-1994, (ages 19-33), and considered young workers. According to the case study, Generation Y is known for changing employers and professions. I agree with this statement, and from my experience we are the ones who are trying to find a career that best fits us. Employees who are in the Generation Y category are more likely to change employers if they do not feel connected and appreciated by their employers. According to a researcher, Stephanie Kodatt from Northern State University, Generation Y employees are more likely to be loyal to their employers if employers are willing to guide them in developing skills (Kodatt, 2009). Generation Y-ers are also trying to find themselves and develop new skills as they gain experience in the corporate world. The case study fails to include that we are the generation (Generation Y) who are more likely to take advantage of technology. For instance, in the case study Raja, age 27, who is part of Generation Y, was the only team member who bought her laptop to look up information for the project team. For Generation Y, technology improves our lifestyle as far as information and communication. I believe that Generation Y is the least understood generation.
Do you believe the descriptions given of the remaining three generations are accurate? Please state the evidence that supports your answer.
Regarding the Traditionalist, I agree that this generation values loyalty more than any other generation (born before 1945). The persons from this generation are veterans, and they displayed loyalty for the United States. They fought in WWII, the Cold War,...
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...s. Any members of the two groups who cannot attend the face-to-face members would be able to communicate via email and or Google chat. Regarding Generation X and Generation Y, we would communicate by attending virtual meetings twice a week, via email, and we would use Google Docs to share and edit files and spreadsheets. I would remind my team members in person and via email about our meetings and make them aware of any changes for our project.
Works Cited
Kodatt, S. (2009). I Understand "You": Leadership Preferences Within the. 1-6.
Rizzo, R. (2009). Creating Synergy in a Four-Generation Workplace. Society for Human Resource Management., 1-34.
Thornton, P. (2009, March 1). The Silent Generation (aka Veterans) - Most Misunderstood and Underestimated Generation of All Time.
Toussaint, J. (2013, November 29). Sociology Professor. (C. Parker, Interviewer)
According to History.com, baby boomers resisted the “consumerist suburban ethos” and began to fight for social, economic, and political justice for minority groups. An example of this was when “student activists took over college campuses, organized massive demonstrations against the war in Vietnam and occupied parks and other public places” (History.com Staff, 2010). Going back to the topic of Vietnam, President Clinton spoke to the Veterans at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial during his first year as presidency. At the time, it was a controversial move since Clinton did not attend Vietnam, but rather he went to Georgetown University on a scholarship. However, this will be described more later on in detail.
That next generation is me and my peers. However, we must ask ourselves what can we do to serve our country. We must learn from our veterans selfless acts of service to lead and serve others. We must spread the word of the great sacrifices our veterans have made. We must also realize the importance of voting and encourage other younger members to vote and express their opinions. We must be the voice of democracy that reminds our friends and speaks to the world that our nation stands tall only due to the men and women who lived a life of sacrifice to our greatest nation.
Steinhorn, Leonard. The Greater Generation-- in Defense of the Baby Boom Legacy. New York, N.Y.: St. Martin's Press, 2006. Print.
Common characteristics of “The Greatest Generation” that Brokaw mentioned were a sense of personal responsibility and a commitment to honesty. Among them, personal responsibility was the defining characteristic of the WWII generation. It is like endeavoring to get what a person wants or has to do, preserving what the person gets, and overcoming hardships if there’s any in the process. I think current generation has less personal responsibility than the WWII generation. People tend to depend on their parents, other family members, or guardians, and easily give up; increasing suicide rate is an extreme example for giving up a life.
Microgeneration’s are already rising and horrifying the group right before them, an example needs to be set to show them that it is possible to work through the generational differences (Stein). People have power in numbers and currently the separation between age and features of generations are preventing them from being one workforce, working together to achieve a common goal—the wellbeing of an entire society. All groups can make an effort to close the gap by being more accepting and open minded to change. As Millennials run into setbacks in their advanced methods, previous generations can help and explain the foundational way of operation. While previous generations fall behind in technological advancements, Millennials can share their expertise on technology. Every generation has its flaws and together the holes can be filled, simply with a little optimism and collaborative work. The key to closing this gap is education – knowledge of the past and present. Programs such like Pollak’s initiative to work with companies and help train directors how to manage and market to the Millennial generation of young adults will contribute to a better understanding on how to handle workplace confrontations (qtd. in Dowdy). Lastly, Millennials too have some contributions they can make to close the gap. As understanding as they are, they
To be considered a millennial, an individual has to be born within the years 1982-1999. I’m considered a millennial myself (1997). With the advancement of technology, Generation Y has the upper hand automatically on any prior generation. Generation Y also has an advantage because of the way they insist on getting what they want. Instead of Generation Y adapting to the work environment, the workplace will have to change in order to retain young talent. The workplace will have to adapt because according to Matchar, the American workforce will be 75 percent Generation Y workers by
baby boomers, the mature/silent, and the GI generation. The GI generation is the strong model of
When discussing each generational cohort, it is important to note that each generation lives through a “shared set of social and historical events that help form their attitudes, values, and beliefs” and Veterans, in particular, experienced several hardships (Fore, 2013). Veterans exhibit the “highest degree of respect for authority, they are loyal, and patriotic, and living through the Great Depression made them more fiscally conservative” (Fore, 2013). Many of these workers reached adulthood during or immediately following the Great Depression and two world wars. Because of growing up during such historically-significant events, “Veterans’ socialization was based on values built on structure, defined roles and responsibility, patriotism,
With the rapid pace of life and the constant changes in technology during their lifetime, they tend to get bored easily. Gen Y’ers believe in multi-tasking, efficiency, and productivity. They do not necessarily believe in the typical 9-5 job. Moreover, they tend to be very unorthodox as it relates to work. This is mainly due to their belief in technology and its ability to make getting the job done faster. Overall, Gen Y’ers effectively leverages the advantages of technology better than any of the previous generations. According to Crampton & Hodge (2007), “Generation Y, born between 1980 and 1999, is the most educated, well-traveled, and technologically sophisticated generation that we have ever had” (p.18). This group of workers tend to be very social and places a high regard on work and life balance. Additionally, they are diverse and very confident in their abilities. Gen Y’ers tend to challenge authority and the status quo. They don’t mind bending rules if they perceived a rule as not beneficial to the task or assignment. This group of workers value quality and believes that quality can be achieved without working long hours at the office. They tend to be highly successful and have a clear understanding of what they want. Furthermore, they seek like-minded individuals who share a similar vision of
They are the technology generation. This group of workers prefer constant daily feedback versus an annual employee performance reviews. Millennials are highly socialized, loyal, socially responsilble, and reqiure work- life balance. To Millennials, technology is a given that 's thoroughly intergrated into everyday life.Their ease with it allows them to move fast and efficiently, whether they 're searching the Internet, taking photographs, sending text messages, watching YouTube all on their cell phones. (Keeter, S. & Taylor P. 2011) They love to engage with others are participate, hopeful, and determined. When communicating with others they primarily use email and voicemail; enjoys feedback. Much like then traditionals Gen Y employees tend to value security and stability. The digital age is here to stay. Millennials know the value and advantages their technology can bring and has raised their confidence and independence. (Lyon, G. 2015) Gen-Yers love teamwork but prefer to have a team leader. They are said to be pragmatic and multitasking generation, less concerned about political and environmental issues than any other generation before (Nishimura, F.
The theory that I most identified with this semester was more of a topic in our book, rather than a theory. As I mentioned in my discussion post this week, learning about the generational differences has become extremely helpful to me in my personal and professional lives. More so in my professional life because I work in an office that has people from all different generations. Let me share a story with you that really made me realize how big of an impact this topic had on me.
The first of the four generations are the veterans. Individuals in this group were born between the years 1925 and 1945. They have lived through world wars and economic difficulties. They often remain in the workforce due to financial need
The 1960's saw the emergence of the first of the baby boomer generation as late teenagers and young adults able to make their own lifestyle and value judgements. This generation had grown up in relative safety and generous circumstances with abundant work and many opportunities. The Vietnam War was not considered favourably by the younger generation who resisted conscription and protested about the reasons for the war. Many young people however went to the war and did their duty for their country but received little support from their own generation for this duty.
As generations come and go, they each gain a variety of individual values, attitudes, and goals that separates them apart from other generations. Each of our generations has played a role to get to where we are today. The older generations have played a big role in shaping my generation by offering more help to us. Because of all the help that the older generation offers my generation seems to have developed a different attitude about life and themselves. Along with open mindedness is easily seen among my generation. These numerous aspects all make up my generation and how we live today.
In today’s workforce, it is very common to have coworkers in multiple generations. The four generations that are currently in the workforce are the Traditionals, Baby Boomers, Generation X and Generation Y. Currently, the Baby Boomers and Generation Y make up the majority of employees in the workforce. There is great diversity between the generations in terms of what motivates them to perform well at work, attitudes about work, causes of conflict in the workplace, and communication in the workplace. Another aspect of the generations that has great diversity is the way in which they learn in the workplace. Because of this, employers have to provide training and development opportunities that cater to each generation. Baby Boomers typically prefer traditional classroom training, while Generation Y prefers online, self-paced training.