Employment and Upper Management free essay sample

Answer the following questions, regarding the article: â€Å"Generational Diversity in the Workplace† 1. What are the generational issues Julia faces with each employee? What cultural, historic, or societal issues may influence these generational issues? Ethel is 70 years old and she has been at Everything’s Here Inc. for 20 years. She had worked in the fabric and crafts department for 18 years until it was closed due to its low revenues and she was transferred from department to department until she ended up in the electronics department. Ethel has limited know-how on how to use electronic appliances much less on how to tackle software programs used for increasing efficiency in the workplace such as inventory control program. Ethel does not seem to be ambitious and enthusiastic about her job as her ultimate goal for taking the new job is to receive health benefits under Medicare for her husband and herself. It is not possible to reach her via email and she also shuts her phone off not to be interrupted while watching TV in the evenings. Hence; Julia, the Department Manager, cannot reach her in case she is needed. Ethel should be considered as a Veteran regarding her generational status. Veterans are born approximately in between 1922-1943. They have core values as dedication to work and respect for authority. (Zemke, Raines amp; Filipczak, 2000). As Campbell suggests in her article â€Å"Generational Diversity: Tensions and Opportunities† veterans/traditionalists are people who save everything. Their motto is â€Å"Waste not, want not†, because they were born and grew up during the time of the Great Depression and World War-II. They look at their careers as a fortunate opportunity. (Campbell, Profiles in Diversity Journal, Nov-Dec 2011). Their childhoods were spent in the hard times. These tough time taught the Veterans to â€Å"believe in logic not magic and to be disciplined† (Zemke et al. 2000). Regarding these theories, we can consider Ethel as an ambitious person who is willing to get what she â€Å"deserved† after working almost 20 years. She is a dedicated soul as she does not quit working even though she has reached her 70s. In the Electronics Department, we also have Rick who is 51 and he is a sales associate. He is born in between 1946-1964 and hence he can be considered as a Baby Boomer regarding his generation. He used to work for an appliance store where he sold kitchen and laundry appliances. Rick is able to tackle the basics of how to use technology as surfing the net, checking emails and using a smart phone. However Rick stays short of responding to technical questions coming from customers. Therefore he prefers to stay in his comfort zone, the TV department, where he does his best. And when he receives a technical question he either needs to look it up online or finds Julia or Larry whom he defines as his young knowledgeable colleagues. Boomers were influenced by social events such as victories over polio and tuberculosis, Martin Luther King, easily accessible birth control, Vietnam War, founding of the National Organization for Women, establishment of the Peace Corps and as such. (Holtzman, Kruger amp; Srock, in Harvey amp; Allard, Understanding and Managing Diversity, 5th Ed. ). Boomers were raised and educated during a period of strength and stability in America’s economy. Boomers tend to be motivated by the mindset that the possibilities and opportunities are limitless. Boomers are motivated with success and they strive for strong work ethic and great determination. â€Å"They were raised by parents who had made the world better for them and who encouraged them that they too could make the world a better place. † (Bartley, Ladd amp; Morris, 2007). Regarding Rick’s generation’s social events and the trends how they were brought up, Rick can be seen as a man who could take the best out of any situation. As Rick was given the job he tried to stay in his comfort zone and tried to reveal his strengths more and avoided what he could not do. Julia’s third full-time employee is Larry who is 20 and has been working at Everything’s Here Inc. for two years, started the job right after graduating from high school. He applied the job on her parents’ complaint that he spent so much time playing video games and they wanted him out of the house. He does not seem to have a genuine motivation for the job he is doing. Even though he is responsible helping out all the customers who has questions he only prefers to help out the younger customers who he believes are more â€Å"techno-savvy†. He spends most of his hours at work checking out new video games and text messaging to his friends. He has a low level of patience toward people who has a different mindset than him. This prohibits him helping out the customers who are looking for assistance. Larry shows characteristics of Millennial Generation. He is born between 1980 and 2000. Millennials were born in to a generation where they did not feel the difficulty to learn new technological developments as they are prone and akin to learning these types of developments since they are toddlers. Millenials want to make decisions on their own and control when and how they will get their work done. They see the ability to control their work done. (Southard amp; Lewis 2004). 2. How do these generational issues affect Julia’s management of the department? The three full-time employees, Larry, Rick and Ethel in the Electronics Department are coming from different generations which results in different behavioral settings and hence challenges the Department Manager, Julia to cope with the generational spectrum. Since the three employees have different tendencies, routines and capabilities it is difficult for Julia to set a standardized plan for the all three of them. She needs to consider her employees are coming from diverse generations and their needs need to be taken care of accordingly in order to keep them motivated and also to get the best efficiency from them. We see in the article that Larry, and Ethel have different preferences on means of communication. They have specific requirements from their manager if she wants to contact them. Larry is strict about getting contacted via text messaging and he is available any time during the day. Ethel on the other hand favors being left alone after she returns home from work and shuts her phone off in order not to be interrupted while watching her TV series. Rick, when he faces a question he is not able to respond, just rings up Julia or Larry. In case he cannot reach them he looks it up on the internet which makes him spend so much time and this turns back as a negative feedback for Julia’s Department. 3. What can Julia do to improve customer service within the department? The quote below perfectly puts forth how challenging it is to manage employees coming from different generational cohorts. Leaders need to know the territory for which they are responsible and demonstrate their investment in the future. They need to trust their employees, listen well, and encourage and inspire them. Top-down leadership that does not consider the input of all employees is not going to be effective in retaining younger workers. Leaders should find ways to balance tradition and innova tion. † (Patterson, 2007) Patterson further discusses that people from different generations will have needs apart in order to achieve their professional goals. He argues that discussing the full range of human diversity and promoting ways in which diverse approaches strengthen an organization should be priorities. † (Patterson, 2007) It is also important to provide the opportunities for employees to improve their skills by giving certain trainings. In doing so, the employer could guarantee qualified and standardized attitude toward customers which reduces negative feedback. Since there are employees from 3 different generations in the Electronics Department, the Manager, Julia should consider their diverse needs and attitudes and motivations. For example she could offer a different inventory program that Ethel finds it easier to work with or also provide certain trainings for her to get acquainted with the new programs introduced. For Larry’s situation, Julia need to give incentives for him to get him more motivated and embrace his job. 4. What generalizations are made by upper management about the employees? In your opinion, are they right, or are they wrong? Be specific. In Ethel’s case, the upper management accepted her request to work for a few more years more even though the department she had worked for 18 years was closed due to low revenues. She made this request in order to receive health benefits under Medicare. Here the upper management ignored the fact that Ethel, even though well experienced in the Fabric and Crafts Department, was not qualified enough to work at the Electronics Department. The upper management at the Everything’s Here Inc. was not able to foresee the challenges both Ethel and the Electronics Department could face as her techno-illiteracy could be a problem when customers ask technology related questions. Furthermore, Ethel’s motivation is to receive the health care benefits until she retires. Therefore the upper management seems to have overlooked that she may not have the same level of enthusiasm for helping out customers who are looking for technology assistance. If we look at Rick’s case, we see that he took a job at Everything’s Here Inc. after the local appliance store that he worked for 20 years was closed. When he applied for a job at Everything’s Here Inc. , even though he did not have the required skills and experience in communication technologies, the upper management gave him a chance to give it a try. Mr. Lee commented that a person at Rick’s age could be capable of using technology. At that point Mr. Lee equalized using smart phones as being techno-savvy enough to respond each and every question coming from customers looking for assistance. The upper management underestimated the complex structure of customer support department that having basic telecommunications skills that we use in our daily lives might not be enough to assist customers and inform them on new technological developments. Our third full-time employee at Everything’s Here Inc. Electronics Department is Larry who is 20 and right after he graduated from high school he started working. Mr. Lee’s perception of Larry was that he was the ideal employee to work at the Electronics Department as he is young and he knows how to use computers. Once again the Manager, Mr. Lee, thinks just being young and being able to use computers and smart phones could be sufficient to work in the customer support area. However, Larry’s job requires more than being born in between 80s and 2000 and being an expert on text messaging. First of all, he needs to have the motivation for his job and accomplish the requirements. Larry seems to be immature for his job as he perceives text messaging with his friends is related to his job. This outcome should be of no surprise to the upper management as they thought of him the best fit for the job just looking at his age an ignoring whether he had the right education or experience, which is ironic that they hired employees at the age of 70s. 5. Have you faced similar or different exchanges in your retail shopping experience with employees of different generational cohorts? Give details to support your answer. I have taken interest in knitting recently and started exploring arts and crafts shops in my neighborhood. I often go and check out Hancock Fabrics once in a while and mostly I came across with senior women who are probably having been friends with the employees there. It is thoughtful and wise to have senior employees who could empathize with their peer customers. However even though the store is not crowded, the line at the cashier’s gets too long that you have to wait 15-20 minutes for just 3 customers in line. The other younger employees on the other side remain not doing anything because the senior customers favor and prefer asking questions to the employees who are closer to their age. I would also like to share my experience with REI. REI is a company selling outdoor clothing, footwear and gear for all seasons. They are well known for their employee satisfaction and benefits they provide. You can come across customer support employees from different generational cohorts and they are all enthusiastic and willing to help you out and want to make sure you leave the building with satisfaction. I believe REI owes this standardized successful attitude among its employees to its employee training programs. It is important for a company to receive the best feedback from its customers and it could achieve that by training their employees and initially satisfying its own employees per se. References: Bartley, S. J. , Ladd, P. G. , amp; Morris, M. (2007). Managing the Multigenerational Workplace: Answers for Managers and Trainers. CUPA-HR Journal, 58(1), 28-34. Campbell, E. A. (2011). Generational Diversity: Tensions and Opportunities. Profiles in Diversity Journal, 13(6), 66. Harvey, C. P. , Allard, M. J. (2012). Understanding and Managing Diversity. (5th Ed. ), Prentice Hall. Patterson, C. (2007). The Impact of Generational Diversity in the Workplace. Diversity Factor, 15(3), 17-22. Southard, G. , amp; Lewis, J. (2004). A Workplace That Recognizes Generational Diversity. PA Times, 27(11), 8-10. Zemke, R. , C. Raines and B. Filipczak. 2000. Generations at work: Managing the clash of veterans, boomers, xers and nexters in your workplace. New York: American Management Association.