Generational Affects in Business Ethics We are experiencing in our work force a changing of the guard, currently there are three generational groups that make up our workforce: The Baby Boomers, Generation X, and the Millennials, who for the past few years have begun to work together. However, what we are discovering is that because of the time frame of their births and the life altering affects during those times, it has influenced the values and objectives of each of these groups, ultimately affecting their ethics and values, in the work place. We will continue to discover the differences in each of these generations, their outlooks, and the steps that business leaders are taking to evolve their training programs and procedures to accommodate these changes and maintain or increase the ethical standards of their companies. Many business leaders are striving to ensure that a generational divide does not lead to miscommunication, hindered performance, and most importantly, put their company at risk. To delve further into the various attributes of each of these generations you have to understand the history of what has caused the evolution of these generations. We begin with the Baby Boomers, or sometimes referred to as the, “Me Generation”. The birth years of this generation span from 1946 to 1964 or more specifically, after the Second World War. These children were raised in an era of economic prosperity by their parents who survived the Great Depression. They witnessed on the radio and TV the assassinations of Robert F. Kennedy, President John F. Kennedy, and Martin Luther King Jr. They were front in center for the Civil Rights Movement and were greatly affected by the Vietnam War. Which for the first time in U... ... middle of paper ... ... to retire we are experiencing for the first time a vast difference in the attitude, outlook and skill set of workers in the United States. What this is causing is for leaders of companies to be vastly more dialed in and aware of these ethical changes, while preparing and educating younger workers to assure that their business model, products and services they offer, as well as the ethics of these companies, continue to improve. References George, R. T. (2005, Feb 19). A History of Business Ethics. Retrieved from http://www.scu.edu: http://www.scu.edu/ethics/practicing/focusareas/business/conference/presentations/business-ethics-history.html Supplemental Research Brief 2009 National Business Business Survey. (2009). Retrieved from http://ethics.org/files/u5/Gen-Diff.pdf: http://ethics.org/files/u5/Gen-Diff.pdf
These three generations: Baby Boomers, Gen X and Gen Y all bring their own share of values, beliefs, thoughts and opinions, perspective and experiences to the workplace. The dynamics of the workplace is directly affected by the differences among these three generations. Today’s current managers need to understand how to efficiently manage and lead a multigenerational workforce in order to increase productivity and meet organization goals and objectives. Recently, there has been changes in the general management. From 2008 to 2013, there was some serious shift in Gen X and Gen Y moving into managerial roles. According to Matthew Golden from Biz Journals, the most prominent change was 87% of Gen Y moved into more managerial roles compared to
With every generation comes a lifestyle with unique ideas, values and language. Accounting Today recognizes the importance of generations and their effects on the business field in its articles “Bridging the Gaps” by Jennifer Wilson and “The Way We Learn Now,” by Jennifer Wilson and Krista Remer. This memo summarizes these articles, analyzes the formation of each generation, and identifies advantages of a multigenerational workplace.
The Baby Boomer generation consists of those born between 1946 and 1964. Like the Veterans before them, Baby Boomers also shared significant, “life-defining social changes such as the civil rights movement,
Not many people fully know the implications of the Millennials entering the workforce, but as more research has been gathered it helps company executives and hiring managers make sense of the changing nature of the workplace. This new generation entering the workforce is known as “Generation Y” for their curiosity and questioning of multiple aspects of their lives. As noted in an article, “By 2025, they will become 75 per cent of the global work force and more are stepping into management positions every day” (Schawbel 1). The millennials will make up a vast majority of the workforce and their entrance combined with the population already in the workplace, who are working longer to support themselves financially after
The Baby Boomer Generation (Born between 1946 and 1964) was born into the post-World War II economic prosperity and opportunity (Weston, 2006). Baby Boomers were members in smaller families and were doted on by parents, schools, and society as a whole (Weston, 2006). For the most part, they grew up in two-parent households where the father earned the family income and the mother was the home caretaker (Weston, 2006). News became more visual and dramatic as world-changing events such as men landing on the moon and the shooting of a president were seen on television (Weston,
With the current change in demographics throughout the workforce, organizations are feeling the effects of a larger percentage of baby boomers retiring and a large percentage of millennial new entrants. The words used to describe millennial employees, “spoiled, trophy kids, ambitious”, seem to be as everlasting as the constructive and negative perspectives attached to them. Many can debate on the entitlement of these employees within an organization, how these employees can be groomed and managed to better fit the organization, the positive and negative attributes they bring into the workplace, and how the preceding can benefit or derail the effectiveness of an organization. Nonetheless, a harder debate, comes about in denying that organizations must adjust to and integrate these employees into the workforce.
Every person belongs to a generation: you associate yourselves with a particular set of people usually based on age such as “Baby Boomers” from 1946 to 1964, “Generation X” from 1965 to 1979, and “Millennials” from 1980 to 2000, (Smola, 364). Parents’ generations differ from their children, and sometimes within their significant other. My parents, separated by two years, are both considered “Baby Boomers”, and my sister and I, also separated by two years are both considered “Millennials”. “Generation X” separates our generations, and as you can assume there are many differences between the two: “Baby Boomers” experienced the immense development of the economy and education (Kupperschmidt, 4).
The main themes addressed in this article are the generational changes within the workforce, the advancements in the economy that are affecting the workplaces and the changes in the work ethic of employees.
Seawell, Buie 2010, ‘The Content and Practice of Business Ethics’, Good Business, pp. 2-18, viewed 22 October 2013, .
Workers are often pitted against each other in the work place as a form of competition. One division that is commonly seen is gender and race, but there is also a divide concerning age that isn’t discussed as frequently. Baby Boomers are those who was born between 1946-1964, when WWII soldiers came back home, settled down and started the “Baby Boom”. While Millennials are those born around 1981-2000, and have a similar population size as Baby Boomers. In the workplace, Millennials are categorized as being bad workers due to how they were raised in sheltered lifestyles and require a different environment than the previous generation, but that is not accurate. Even though the two generations view work different, sometimes to the point of conflict,
The current state of the workforce is that millennials are now entering the workplace in record numbers. This creates a dilemma because the Baby Boomers are not necessarily retiring at the given time. The baby Boomers is not concerned with retirement at age 65. In fact, age 85 is the new 65. The result is that 60-year-olds are working alongside 20-yearolds and because the difference in their formative experiences, this have led to generational misconceptions and have help to create tension and hostility within the workforce.
Holt, S., Marques, J., & Way, D. (2012). Bracing for the Millennial Workforce: Looking for Ways to Inspire Generation Y. Journal Of Leadership, Accountability & Ethics, 9(6), 81-93.
At this time we are experiencing four very different generations in the workforce (Harrison, 2007) and research around managing a multigenerational workforce is relatively recent. Each of these generations conveys distinctive characteristics and similarities in their mode of work. “For example, preferences for training and development methods will likely vary across the generations, as younger employees grew up using fast-paced technology and older employees are accustomed to face-to-face learning settings” (Mencl & Lester, 2014, p. 269). Notably, the Baby Boomer generation comprises 41% of the current workforce (Harrison, 2007) and will be retiring soon. In spite of older workers staying longer in the workforce (Harrison, 2007), the younger generations, X and Y are needing to be prepared to take on greater degrees of responsibility. The older generations with their expertise and knowledge are key factors in the success of the younger generations in any organization. While specific generational characteristics will change into the future as new generations evolve, the need to affirm the value of working with multigenerational groups is fundamental to developing successful organizational culture. Parallel to tailoring education and training to the individual, members of the multigenerational workforce
I will list some general characteristics of people who belong to each of these generations. However, be careful not to stereotype and make certain assumptions about an individual because of their age. Many members of the younger generations moved far away from home in hopes of getting rid of their parents, only to find that they'll be working with them. To younger w...
The Baby Boomer generation is referred to as the “me” generation wanted their children to be spoiled with every possible option. Like helicopters, they hovered in the background, ready to sweep down, solve crises and offer new destinations. (Setooodeh) The Millenial generation is referred to as the “me, me, me” generation and grew up making the rules because their parents were not authoritative. Their lives are dictated by their smart gadgets and they are living at home longer.