organisational behaviour

7/17/2019 Organisational behaviour

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Abstract

This paper tries to bring out the overview of dierent generations. It also

brings the reasons for conict between dierent generational people. It

also shows how the people of dierent generations have a problem in

working together and how it eects the productivity of the organisation.

And nally it provides some measure that an organisation need to take to

increase the productivity and to reduce the conicts between people of

dierent generations

Introduction

All the organizations spend time and resources in achieving diversity,

many limit their diversity to gender and ethnicity. One of the disconcerting

diversity challenges are generational diversity — which goes overlookedand are not addressed.

For the rst time, many organisations are trying hard to balance the needs

of four generations in workforce. owever many organisations don!t deal

with these issues, rather they leave it to the employees. "here are many

generational con#icts that are seen every day on the team level. $ecause

of this the productivity of the organisation decreases, which is not good

for an organisation. According to a survey, more than %& ' of the

employees are facing problems due to intergenerational con#icts.

(anaging generational issue are di)cult but these are not impossibletargets. Organisations which know how to deal with generational con#icts

are able to keep their employees motivated.

Overview of Dierent Generations

"here are four types of generations which are mainly divided on the basis

the year they are born. "hey are "raditional, $aby $oomers, *enerational

+ and *eneration -.

*eneration Organisational

$ehaviour

orkplace

/trengths

orkplace struggles

"raditionals

0born before

-1234

5isciplined,

6oyal, 7atient

ard8working,

Focused

9ot combatable with

technology, :espect for

diversity$aby $oomers

0born between

-1238-1%&4

Ambitious,

;ompetitive,

Focused

5edicated,

<=perienced,

/ervice Oriented

Feels technology is

replacing humans,

/haring 7raise and

rewards, $alancing workand family



*eneration +

0born between

-1%38-1>&4

/eek more work

life balance

?ndependent,

;reative, ready

to accept

challenges

;areer development,

(ulti8 generational team

pro@ects, ;on#icts

resolution and o)ce

politics*eneration

0born after -1>&4

"eam oriented,

used to tackle

multiple tasks

Optimistic, Able

to (ulti task,

"eam Oriented,

5riven to learn

and grow

:espectful

communication, 9eed

supervision

Sources of Conicts

"he development of internet and the advancement of technology hasrevolutionized business, and the employees has become more casual.

(anagement structures also are less formal compared to older

generations. As of now, the "raditionals and $aby $oomers are moved into

the later stage of their career and *en + moves into prime working years

and *en is trying to make its mark.

As the two younger generations perpetuate pushing transmutations in the

workplace to t their predilections, e=pect these vicissitudes to manifest

themselves as generational con#ict, especially in these three main areas

Judging work on merit

"raditionals and $aby $oomers freBuently criticize the younger generation

for the lack of work ethic. Older generations have a strong work ethic and

is shown by being part of the organisation and they are present in the

o)ce for long hours. $aby $oomers consider factors such as team work,

collaboration and participating in meetings as proof of work ethic. $ut *en

+ and *en believe in hard work. "he *en + and *en want a work life

balance.

ounger generations may seem to be more independent to $aby $oomers

who want to indulge fully to the organisationC. owever the *en + and

*en !ers want them to be @udged on the basis of merit and not the basis

of how much time they spend in the o)ce. "he younger generations don!t

consider them as less committed to the organisation. "hey feel

themselves as independent.

Dierent communication styles

"here are diDerent styles preferred by diDerent generation people whilecommunicating. "here are a lot of diDerences in cultural attitudes, values



across all generations. ?f the employees can understand the diDerent

communication styles of diDerent generation employees then there won!t

be any con#icts between employees in the organisation.

ec!nology

"echnology is the one of the main reason for con#icts that which arise

between the employees of diDerent generations. "echnology has created a

larger gap between the employees of diDerent generations. "he gap

between *en + and $aby $oomers is small, but the gap between *en +

and *en is very large because of rapid growth of technology. E"he

technology gap will be even more for *en and the following generation

people, said Gamzow. "he technology is the main reason for the increase

of the gap between employees between of diDerent generations and this

will lead to the disconnection among the four generation employees.Organisations which want a diverse culture must increase awareness

among the employees of diDerent generations and should accept of

diDerent work styles. "he *en are very #e=ible to new technology and

are ready to use it, whereas the "raditional and $oomers are not ready to

adapt to new technology.

"ow Generational Dierences Aect eams

(anagers and all employees can be trained eDectively to deal with

generational diDerences though teambuilding activities. <Dective teams

can facilitate optimal solutions by harnessing multiple levels of

e=perience, skill and e=pertise. $ecause eDective teams demonstrate

successful behaviours in four competency areas — collaborating with

others, dealing with change, organization and accountability, and

productivity and decision making — teams must address these issues to

bridge any generation gaps.

H Collaborating wit! ot!ers# Ehen you look at communication in avirtual sense, it!s about speed and truncated messages and getting the

point across, said Gamzow. Older generations, with more limited social

networks, took more time to develop trust because they had to rely on

their sources. /ocial engagement was a much more personal e=perience.

E(any in older generations have not adapted to that change and don!t

understand the detached aspect of communicating in the way — whether

we are talking email, te=ting or social media — and still feeling that sense

of connectedness, Gamzow said. E$ecause younger generations have

grown up with that, they see it as a primary communication channel.;reating a more thorough understanding of diDerent collaboration styles



can help people stop and think before implying motive or making other

assumptions. E(ost people process through their own lter or lens — they

don!t have a concept of something they don!t know until they are taught

or see it, said Gamzow. E?t is the same thing as thinking the world is #at

until someone shows or proves that it isn!t.

H Dealing wit! c!ange# $irkman has found in its research that values

and behaviors are similar between generations, but priorities are diDerent.

7eople don!t respond well to change. <ven though they may look at

change and say they can adapt, most people are still resistant. hen

younger generations and older generations work together they see these

diDerences and they automatically attribute @udgments to them. E"eams

need to learn how to ad@ust and accept Buickly moving information and

potential distractions, said Gamzow. E7eople can adapt to a situation

easily if they learn to look at it from a position of reason and logic.

H Organi$ation and accountability# *enerations look at authority

diDerently. EOlder generations see teams and organizations operating in a

much more vertical environment with formal authority and accountability

linked directly to hierarchy, said Gamzow. Eounger generations see

things as more #at with competence and e=pertise dening the formal

authority structure. "his can be a recipe for con#ict. ?f a young

knowledge e=pert is outspoken to older, more tenured managers who feel

they should be listened to because they are higher in the chain, there will

be trouble. ?ncreasing awareness of generational diDerences on teams can

close the gap if both sides understand each other!s perspective.

(entoring and work pro@ects that balance virtual and in8person

participation can allow all generations to thrive in a team setting.

owever, older generations need to be more open. EAs people get older, it

is natural to become more set in your ways, said Gamzow. E$ut you can!t

be rigid in your thinking. ou have to be open to ideas. Older employees

want the chance to have their e=perience and knowledge utilized, and

engaging through a mentoring process can allow them to feel like an

e=pert.

H %roductivity and decision making# "eams need the ability to stand

behind a position, in#uence and persuade others, and drive e=ecution.

$ecause of diDerent generational attitudes on work and communication

preferences, this area can be a tricky one. E"eams need to balance the

needs and e=pectations of the younger generation and keep them

motivated at a personal level, while all, said Gamzow. E(embers of the

older generations have to see commitment and reframe what

commitment looks like in their minds. owever, as teams work throughthe other areas, this one becomes easier to address



"able C ;omparison of diDerent generation

"raditionals $aby

$oomers

*en + *en

ork /tyle esitant to

disagree and

don!t like

con#icts

/trong work

ethic,

<motionally

matured,

*ood

communicati

on skills

7refer to

work

independentl

y, :isk

takers, want

fun in

workplace,

seek work

life balance

(ultitaskers,

team

oriented

;ommunicati

on7references

Formal and

7rofessional%referred

styles

6etter,

personal

notes

%referred

styles#7hones and

personal

interaction

/traight

forward%referred

styles #

email

%referred

styles#emails,

messages,

blogs

;ultural

preferences

and values

;onservative

inn dress and

language.

$elieves in

respectable

work place.

7refers

personal

approach to

work,

struggle with

older and

younger

generations

9ot 6oyal to

organisation

;ommunity

oriented,

*lobally

connected,

?nformal

style

"echnology 9ot

;omfortable

"hey worry

that

technology is

replacing

human

"echno8

literate

ighly

comfortable

with

technology

&easures to resolve Generational dierences

"he good news for organizations is that common ground e=ists among

members of diDerent generations. <very generation has its introverts and

e=troverts or people who prefer to work on one task at a time rather than

multitasking. "hese diDerences e=ist on all teams regardless of generation

and can be successfully addressed through training. Other diDerences,

such as work and communication styles, are an outcome of changes in the

workforce that can be addressed in a variety of ways. Although each

organization faces uniBue workforce challenges, we recommend the

following steps to begin increasing teamwork among generations



H alk about generational dierences# ;onducting awareness sessions

can be a very great way to get people to work together across the

generations. "hese sessions can provide an opportunity to educate each

other about each generation!s own history, characteristics, milestone

events, culture, language and norms. :ather than directly talking to yourpeople, have representatives from each age8based generation put

together programming to educate people and facilitate dialogue.

H '()and your communication strategies At the team level, your

employees must keep in mind each generation!s preferred communication

style for workplace interaction. Although a *eneration employee might

believe it is appropriate to respond to a Buestion with an instant message,

a $aby $oomer employee might e=pect a face8to8face interaction. /imply

recognizing these communication diDerences can eliminate

misunderstandings. At the organization level, companies should considerthese generational communication diDerences for employee

communication. (ultiple channels for employee communication will

ensure that your messages reach all workers.

H Oer mentoring )rograms (entoring programs, along with training

programs on how to mentor, can ensure that critical skills sets and @ob

knowledge are transferred to employees, especially from one generation

to the other. "hese programs can work both ways. Older employees can

pass along knowledge gained from their years of e=perience to younger

workers. ounger workers can mentor older employees on technology and

computer skills. ;onsider various mentoring models—one8on8one

sessions, group programs, senior leadership discussion panels and a

Ispeed mentoring! program where employees sit across from company

e=perts to ask Buestions.

H Create work)lace c!oices and accommodate dierences# Allow

the workplace to shape itself around the work being done, the customers

being served and the people who work there. Although older generations

place value on time in the o)ce, younger generations believe thattechnology allows them more freedom to choose when and where to work.

"reat employees as you do your customers. here and when possible,

work to meet their working preferences, personal scheduling needs and

workJlife balance issues. Find opportunities to create dialogue when

con#icts occur and understand how generational diDerence can colour

perspectives.

H *es)ect com)etence and initiative "reat everyone, from the newest

recruit to the most seasoned employee, as if they have great things to

oDer and are motivated to do their best. <stablished, time8tested methods



may end up being the best approach, but employees of all generations

should remain open to innovation and change rather than defaulting to

Ethe ways things are done.

H +ocus on teambuilding# elp your team members build on each

generation!s strengths. "raditionals possess large amounts of institutional

knowledge. $aby $oomers are among your most knowledgeable

employees and helped build the organization you have today. *eneration

+ers are the risk8takers, and *eneration ers will build the future of your

organization, discovering new channels, technology and e)ciencies.

Finding ways for employees of diDerent generations to work together

successfully is essential — and possible.

Conclusion

"here aren!t any noticeable diDerences in distributions of personality traits

and interests across generations. <very generation has introverts and

e=troverts, those who prefer to work on one task at a time and those who

multi8task, those who like music and those who don!t, and so on. owever,

there is a common thread behaviour. Knfortunately, few teambuilding

programs get down to that level. (ost teambuilding programs only deal

with awareness, looking at systems and approach. "hey want to get

everyone together, have them understand how they are diDerent, what

their strengths are, how each contributes, then send them back to work. ?f

something!s not working, the focus is on changing the process.

:eferences

-. <ngaging multiple generations among your workforce by E5evon

/cheef and E5uane "hiefoldtC. (anaging the work force, : magazine.

organisational behaviour

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