Managing Generational Diversity

Germany is undergoing a dramatic demographic change that requires its organizations to make workforce talent of all ages a strategic priority. Practitioners in Germany focus largely on Generation Y employees, because this young employee cohort expresses new and different work-related values. However, diverse attitudes and behaviors of employees in different age groups can potentially lead to conflict and have an overall negative impact on organizational performance. Given US labor legislation and media pressure, managing workforce diversity has been on the agenda of U.S. organizations for many years. Consequently, it can be assumed that there are areas in which German organizations can learn best practices from the U.S. experience. Although data collected from Silicon Valley organizations suggest that taking specific action for managing the multi-generational workforce is currently not a pressing issue in the tech industry, setting up innovative workplaces is an action field in which Germany can learn from its U.S. counterparts.

Generational Diversity at Workplace

The article briefs upon the multiple ways TVS has been engaging its employees for generations. Employees share their experiences and take immense pride in becoming the brand ambassadors of this century-strong and value-filled organisation. From practising a culture of innovation to building an ecosystem that encourages the entrepreneurs, TVS has left its legacy by creating an inclusive and conducive work environment for its employees. The article details on how employees consider being part of the TVS family as a pride of association and further states the revolutionary measures initiated in terms of employee well-being and welfare.

Generational Diversity among Teachers in the Workplace: Implications for Teacher Relationships, Identity and Development

Objective: This contribution aims to introduce a conceptual framework on generational diversity of teachers in order to analyze and understand its influence on the processes and results of professional interaction in schools. Methodology: In this conceptual piece, first, the relevance of generational diversity among teachers in their workplace is examined and justified, emphasizing the increasing aging of teaching staff. Next, generational diversity is explored by analyzing the concept of generation and the attributes used to distinguishing generations (particularly, age). Furthermore, evidence is considered regarding the impact on the construction of teacher relationships, paying particular attention to the context of collaborative relationships between teachers belonging to different generations and its effects on teacher learning and identity. Findings: Conclusions are drawn as to the potentialities of intergenerational learning. Value added: Despite representing a clear challenge for the educational organizations, generational diversity and intergenerational collaboration among teachers and school leaders have been scarcely studied so far. Recommendations: Conclusions are drawn as to the potentialities of intergenerational learning and implications for professional induction and collegial professional development are presented as well.

Generational Diversity as a Powerful Workplace Tool in the South African Hospitality Industry

Globalization, advances in technology, climate change, and population growth are influencing the transformation agenda of the workplace. As with any industry, tourism and hospitality have a diverse blend of older generation workers with institutional memory and a younger, more technology-oriented generation. This research aimed to understand the effect of generational differences on employee relationships, performance, and engagement, with a specific focus on the challenges experienced and coping strategies employed by various generational groups. A qualitative approach was applied and entailed semi-structured interviews with 16 participants employed within the hospitality sector. The findings revealed that, while notable differences exist between generational groups in the workplace, they experience difficulties in the same way, and that some common ground could be found with respect to their demands and expectations. The research proposes that employers invest more in programs that seek to improve the performance and engagement of different generations while developing strategies and policies that seek to address employees’ concerns while augmenting their developmental and coping skills.

Perceived Leadership Behaviors among Multigenerational Managers

Managing four generations with different set of beliefs, values and attitudes is a critical challenge for an organization. Intergenerational conflict may emerge from diverse preferences and misinterpretation of words and actions. For instance, in the digital era tech-savvy millennials wanted to have flexible work schedules (Clendon & Walker, 2012) and less interaction with their managers (Schultz & Schwepker, 2012). Meanwhile, Baby Boomer managers preferred direct communication (Holian, 2015) because they wanted to have face-to-face discussion. Additionally, in many organizations Baby Boomer managers were still implementing command-and-control management (Faller & Gogek, 2019), while Gen Y and Gen Z workforce favored constructive feedbacks (Anderson & Buchko, 2016). For young workforce, specifically Gen Z, if their managers practice the traditional boss-subordinate relationship, they prefer to quit and move to another company. On the one hand generational diversity is an advantage, but on the other hand it can be disastrous if not handled well. Leaders are expected to minimize workplace miscommunication and conflict arising from multigenerational differences between staff and managers to attain organizational performance. To date, many leadership styles have been researched, however Leadership Behavior Description Questionnaire XII has been the most widely used to measure how a leader should behave to reduce conflict in the multigenerational work environment, criticize poor work of older-generation followers, and emphasize on high levels of performance (Littrell et al., 2018). The objectives of this study are to investigate the perceived leadership behaviors and the differences in perceived leadership behavior among multigenerational managers. Keywords: Gen Y, Indonesia, LBDQ-XII, Multigenerational Workforce, Perceived Leadership Behavior

Using the Planned Behavior Theory to Understand Backpackers 'Intentions to Take Low-cost Airlines

Managing four generations with different set of beliefs, values and attitudes is a critical challenge for an organization. Intergenerational conflict may emerge from diverse preferences and misinterpretation of words and actions. For instance, in the digital era tech-savvy millennials wanted to have flexible work schedules (Clendon & Walker, 2012) and less interaction with their managers (Schultz & Schwepker, 2012). Meanwhile, Baby Boomer managers preferred direct communication (Holian, 2015) because they wanted to have face-to-face discussion. Additionally, in many organizations Baby Boomer managers were still implementing command-and-control management (Faller & Gogek, 2019), while Gen Y and Gen Z workforce favored constructive feedbacks (Anderson & Buchko, 2016). For young workforce, specifically Gen Z, if their managers practice the traditional boss-subordinate relationship, they prefer to quit and move to another company. On the one hand generational diversity is an advantage, but on the other hand it can be disastrous if not handled well. Leaders are expected to minimize workplace miscommunication and conflict arising from multigenerational differences between staff and managers to attain organizational performance. To date, many leadership styles have been researched, however Leadership Behavior Description Questionnaire XII has been the most widely used to measure how a leader should behave to reduce conflict in the multigenerational work environment, criticize poor work of older-generation followers, and emphasize on high levels of performance (Littrell et al., 2018). The objectives of this study are to investigate the perceived leadership behaviors and the differences in perceived leadership behavior among multigenerational managers. Keywords: Planned behavior theory , Low-cost airlines, Self-help travel

The Diversity of Board of Directors Characteristics and Firm Value

The research contributes to provide insights on how characteristics of board of directors can affect firm value by analyzing board characteristics such as gender diversity, age and educational background to firm value of public firms in Indonesia. Generational diversity is being considered as an independent variable as it has never been assessed in Indonesia. Resource dependence theory and upper echelons theory are used in this research among other available concepts to explain the impact of board characteristics during the decision-making process and its access to resources. ROA is used in this research as the profitability approach indicator of firm value, while Tobin’s Q is used as the market approach indicator of firm value. Samples used in this research amounts to 1.151 samples from 411 companies. The results show that educational background and board age significantly affects firm value positively when measured by profitability approach indicator. While gender diversity and generational diversity both have no significant effect on firm value when measured by either profitability approach indicator or market approach indicator due to homogeneity. The results indicate that the appointment of directors with older age while possessing higher education can increase a company’s firm value which is measured by profitability indicators.

The relationship between individual innovativeness and belonging to different generations

This article, applying the cohort perspective, which views generations simply as collections of people born in a given period of time, analyses the relationship between individual innovativeness and belonging to different generations. The article provides the generation conception, gives a short overview of generational diversity, focuses on generational differences, discusses theoretical aspects of individual innovativeness and analyses individual innovativeness among the representatives of four generations: the Baby Boomers, the Generation X, the Generation Y and the Generation Z. Keywords: Generation, the Baby Boomers, the generation X, the generation Y, the generation Z, individual innovativeness.

Namib Mills Group: managing talent in a Namibian food production business

Learning outcomes The learning outcomes are as follows: to understand why talent management is a vital component of a company’s broader strategy for long-term operational excellence; to understand the impact of generation, life stage and career stage on an employee’s professional needs, goals and expectations of their firm; to understand how organisational culture contributes, in this case, to ineffective people management practices; and to develop a talent management strategy: new policies, processes or practices that will address the identified issues and create a sustainable pipeline of talent. Case overview/synopsis This case finds the successful agro-processing firm Namib Mills in a state of internal tension in April 2019. As Namibia’s premier supplier of staple food products, Namib Mills is performing well in a struggling economy. Then yet, CEO Ian Collard is concerned that his senior management team is not exhibiting the kind of leadership and strategic management needed to take the company into the future. As Ian examines the issue further – with the aid of a report from an external consultant – he begins to see that the weaknesses of his senior managers, who are prone to micromanaging and poor communication, are part of a bigger issue of talent management in the firm. The junior employees, who are energetic and ready to innovate, are growing restless as they wait for career growth and promotion opportunities. The rising leaders in middle management are also struggling to break through. Ian must confront how organisational culture and generational diversity within this family-owned business have created talent management barriers and develop a strategy for sustainably developing employees into the leaders of the future. Complexity academic level This case is designed for a master’s level management program and is well-suited for courses that deal with organisational behaviour, people management or human resources management. Specifically, the case is aimed at students interested in talent management, generational diversity and organisational culture. Subject code CSS 6: Human Resource Management.