Are Millennials Changing Corporate America’s Culture?

Are Millennials Changing Corporate America’s Culture?

While there is a growing body of literature addressing America’s contemporary multi-generational corporate culture, relatively little attention has been given to the changes driven by the youngest generation entering the U.S. workforce.  The importance on the subject relies on the fact that the imminent influx of a new generation in the U. S. workforce are affecting the way organizations are conducting their business, particularly attracting, hiring, on-boarding, and retaining their talent.  The most recent marketing researches conducted by the US Labor department (2016) confirm the intergenerational gap existing in the US as the leading caused of imminent conflicts in many corporations resulting in higher attrition numbers that consequently have impacted productivity as well as revenue (See Table 1).  Based on 2015 U.S. Census Bureau data, the declining fertility rates and decreasing international migration, the United States population has shown a significant decline in growth - compared to previous decades - as it continues to grow older (USCB, 2016).  Based on data from the American Association of Retired Persons [AARP], 2010, over twenty-five percent of the baby boomers - born between 1946 and 1964 – have delayed retirement based on lack of financial resources. The alarming statistics published by the Society of Human Resources Management (SHRM, 2015) revealed an increase in the millennial population, individuals born between 1980 and 2001.  Consequently, the U.S. workforce is experiencing a disparity in the generational mix of talent.  According to the interview that Michael Pepe, chief of the human resources division for VIRTUA a non-for-profit health system gave for the SHRM Magazine, in 2013, Millennials accounted for twenty-eight percent of their workforce and experienced attrition rates of forty percent just during the first semester of the fiscal year.  Many researchers attribute the underpinning of the battlefield resulting among the multigenerational workforce to millennial behavioral assumptions.  Although the society of human resources management confirms the issue is being addressed, the increasing generational gap continues to impact turnover levels. This research seeks to intents to explore the different views exposed in the existing literature shared by organizational and human resources scholars on how Millennials can potentially impact America’s corporate culture.  According to the market research results published by the Department of Labor, (2016) the intergenerational gap existing in the United States might be blamed for the imminent conflicts impacting corporate America’s overall organizational culture.  The United States Census Bureau (USCB) exposes the declining fertility rates and decreasing international migration as main factors for the significant decline in growth of the population, compared to previous decades (USCB, 2014). Meanwhile, the Society of Human Resources Management (SHRM) alarming statistics revealed an increase in the Millennials population (individuals born between 1980 and 2001).  Consequently, SHRM recognizes the corporate culture in the United States might be experiencing a drastic shift affecting the way corporate leaders view their organizational culture (SHRM, 2015).            

Taking into consideration that different paradigms intrinsically contain diverse ontological and epistemological views, reality can be perceived differently.  Therefore, the paradigms will not only underpin the research approach we will assume for this research, but it would also determine the methodology and methods we will adopt.  For example, a positivist methodology is directed at explaining relationships and this research seeks to establish the relationship between the onboarding processes, the integration of Millennials in a multi-generational workforce and the high attrition levels among this group.  On the other hand, “positivists attempt to identify causes which influence outcomes” (Creswell, 2009, p. 7).   Our research will focus on Corporate America’s reality currently being affected by the increasing generational gap impacting productivity and generating an alarming increase in attrition levels, particularly among Millennials, also know as generation X.

Crotty (1998) defined Ontology as “the study of being” (1998, p. 10).  From this point of view, establishing an ontological research position at the initial phase of the process is critical to drive the researcher to select the research design. While the researchers take a position in reference to the perception they have on how things are and how they work they will be in a position to build a central question of whether social entities need to be perceived as objective or subjective.  For example, in this particular research, we are taking a realistic and objective approach that will drive the research to the data we will find from recent statistics published by the US Labor department, the Society of Human Resources Management as well as particular studies conducted by marketing groups for benchmarking purposes within any specific industries.  With a realistic approach we are aware that one truth exists in reference to how the generational gap is affecting Millennials and the short tenure affecting many corporations.  We can further discover through objective measurements how the generational gap has contributed towards attrition levels and thru the analysis process utilize the information obtained to correct this issue thru the implementation of a new on-boarding process.

References:

2014 National Population Projections. (n.d.). Retrieved September 24, 2016, from http://www.census.gov/population/projections/data/national/2014.html

American Association of Retired Persons, (2010).  Research & Strategic Analysis - Approaching 65: A survey of Baby Boomers turning 65 years old. Retrieved from http://assets.aarp.org/rgcenter/ general/approaching-65.pdf

Carnevale, A., Hanson, A., & Gulish, A., (2013).  Georgetown University Press – Failure to Launch:  Structural Shift and the New Lost Generation.  Retrieved from https://georgetown.app.box.com/s/8tchnjo0wq9meamwwn5f

Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2007). Research methods in education (6th Edition). London: Routledge.

Creswell, J. W. (2014). Educational research: Planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

Crotty, M. (1998). The foundations of social research: Meaning and perspective in the research process. London ; Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage Publications.

Smith, M. (2016).  Society of Human Resources Management: Reducing New Employee Turnover Among Emerging Adults.  Retrieved from https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/employee-relations/pages/reducing-new-employee-turnover-among-emerging-adults.aspx

WRITING A LITERATURE REVIEW DRAFT

Preparing to write the literature review is a complex process that includes reading and analyzing the research data found in numerous databases.  Along the process, notes and summary tables continue to add information to what would hopefully become a literature review.  Galvan, (2014) recommends we should consider our purpose and voice before beginning to write (p. 73).  The first step towards finding our voice could be a simple question, what is our purpose in writing this literature review.  Perhaps for some of us is a simple assignment but for many others it could even mean getting their research published in a well-respected journal.  But whichever our goal is, it is important to have into consideration the audience we intent to write this review for to ensure we meet  their expectations.

Upon identifying the reason for writing our literature review as well as the audience we are delivering the final product to it is important to decide the voice -or writing style- we will be using to deliver our review.  In this particular case, I will use a formal traditional voice as this literature review will be written within an academic context.  A very important point we need to have into consideration is that as writers, we need to focus on the reader’s attention rather than on our own to avoid distracting them from the actual content of the literature review.

            Reevaluating the research data collected is essential in order to determine the direction of the literature review, particularly by establishing a relationship between the scholastic articles and notes we were able to obtain.  For this purpose, we can prepare a topic outline that will help us to present our argument or thesis.   Galvan, (2014) suggests we should develop a traceable narrative that demonstrates that the line of argumentation is worthwhile and justified (p. 74). 

            For this literature review I created an outlined that allowed me to put my thesis on a roadmap format.  The central idea or start point of the roadmap was my argument: “Is Generation Y – “Millennial” – changing corporate America’s culture?”.  I followed my introduction with a review of the relevant areas of the research literature obtained, followed by the methodological issues relevant in the research process.  I finalized the outline with a summary, implications and discussion of suggestions for future research and conclusions in reference to the introduction addressed at the beginning of the outline.

            Comparing my first draft with the topic outline prepared I realize that although they are similar they don’t match 100%.  My original draft lacks definition and it was missing important points such as a more formal introduction of who is the population group – Generation Y – we are analyzing, and the different areas this group is impacting corporate America’s culture.  The variation did affect the path of the literature review as I was able to narrow down the specific areas affected and that are changing the corporate culture and I focused my research on those specific points. The outline also made me realize the implications of the review.  For example, I found that it lacks well-developed theoretical models of attitudes and decision-making.  On the other hand, I was able to realize that the current survey data is limited in scope and it might need a more sophisticated research and data-analysis techniques.

            One of the most important values I found in the outline is the fact that it allowed me to identify the different topics of research based on the areas Millennials affect the corporate culture.  In order to be able to transition from one topic to the other Galvan, (2014)  suggests using strategic transitional phrases. For instance, the author recommends using transitions to “provide readers with textual clues that mark the progression of a discussion, such as when you begin paragraphs with First, Second, and Third to mark the development of three related points” (p. 97).  Another way to signalize the transition is with the use of subheadings.  For example, while adressing “Millennial” talent recruitment practices it is imperative to talk about methods of recruitment as well as the compensation packages or benefits, both important factors to attract and retain Millenials.  Using subheadings and placing them strategically to transition from one recruitment technique to the other and allow my literature review to advance from one argument to the next allowing the readers to follow my research and thesis in discussion.

            Overall, the outline and the roadmap I was able to develop have been key factors in the direction the literature review has taken.  On the other hand, Galvan’s recommendations to writing a coherent essay will allow my audience to transition throughout the topics and  research data I am presenting  in my literature review.

REFERENCE

Galvan, J. L. (2014). Writing literature reviews: A guide for students of the social and behavioral sciences (6th ed.). Glendale, CA: Pyrczak.

Original Reports of Empirical Research

Empirical Research reports are primary sources of information that provide detailed information on the methodology used by the authors as well as an in-depth description of their findings (Galvan, 2014).  In a simple way, we can say that empirical research is the why, whom, how and when of research.  According to Galvan, (2014) the empirical research refers to systematic observation as the authors decide the subject of observation as well as the methods to be used on certain specific characteristics of the study.  Although empirical research might be the foundation of any science, we must use caution when interpreting their results since “empirical research is inherently flawed” (Galvan, 2014, p.1).  Furthermore, the author explains there are three major issues that arise in most empirical studies:  sampling, measurement and problem identification (P. 1-2).

In order to better understand these issues we will review an original empirical research study written by Jean M. Twenge, (2010):  “A Review of the Empirical Evidence on Generational Differences in Work Attitudes” published by the Journal of Business Psychology.   The purpose of the study, according to the author, was to review the evidence for generational differences in work values from time-lag and cross-sectional studies.  The results, will give  managers and others a clearer picture of how to recruit, retain, and motivate the members of today’s multigenerational workplace.

Despite the considerable amount of data obtained, Twenge shares his concern about the report sampling to be a major potential issue.  He further explains that one of the biggest challenges in research on generational differences is the lack of a workable time machine. Twenge, (2010) adds that “most studies on generational differences in work values are cross-sectional, with data on workers of different ages collected at one point in time” (p. 202).  Therefore, the results presented by the study might be unrepresentative of the population  originally targeted for the study.  For example, the volunteer programs implemented by many corporations are based on the idea that Millennials are more altruistic and have a greater desire than GenX and the Boomers did to help others and do work that is worthwhile to society. However, the truth of this assumption has not been verified by, for example, examining generational differences in altruistic work values (p.211).  Without including these particular groups in the sampling, results could be bias or simply flawed.

Twenge, (2010) identifies a second issue with the study as he finds there are obvious measurement problems.   The author recommends time-lag studies, which examine people of the same age at different points in time, to be the most reliable design for determining generational differences.  Excluding any of the variables required to obtain reliable results would simply alter the overall results of the study.  Another important factor to have into consideration , is the response rate from the surveys.  Twenge, (2010) referenced from Smola and Sutton (2002) comparing responses of a 1999 sample of workers in the U.S. to those of a 1974 sample on some of the same questions. The author confirms that the 1999 sample had only an 8% response rate, which may have biased the results. Twenge added that “only comparisons on individual items were possible, as the scale total means from the 1974 data were not available; nor were the standard deviations for individual items” (p.202).  As researchers, we should be aware of potential measurement issues.  According to Galvan (2014) “a reviewer needs to consider the possibility of measurement error” (p.2).

            The researcher did an excellent job examining the generational differences in work attitudes along with work ethic, work Centrality, and Leisure, Intrinsic and Extrinsic Work Values, Job Satisfaction and Intention to Leave.  It was evident that the data collected from several studies found by the author was strategically analyzed by Twenge and upon summarizing the most important findings he  proposed solutions for recruitment, talent retention, and employee motivation for members of today’s multigenerational workplace.  For example, Twenge, (2010) concluded that most studies consistently find that GenX, especially GenMe, displayed weaker work ethics with a tendency to value leisure, and seek more freedom and work-life balance than Boomers.   A vary interesting finding revealed that GenMe are not higher in altruistic work values than previous generations. Therefore, programs offering time off work for volunteering or recruiting programs emphasizing helping others while working may be effective for today’s young workers, but no more so than they are or were for workers of other generations.  The most impacting data shared was on job satisfaction.  The author explained that job-hopping and commitment to the organization surprisingly showed GenMe to be more satisfied with their jobs than any other generation:  “ There may be a discrepancy between initial intentions and behaviors; when presented with other opportunities, GenX and GenMe seem to be eager to embrace them” (Twenge, 2010, p. 206).  As a general recommendation, the author explained that GenMe seems to like their jobs and look forward to a long tenure.  However, this attitude may shift if  better opportunities arise.

            Overalls, we might say that besides the expected flaws form the data collection process and the sampling issues potentially producing bias results in certain areas studied, the research made some important contributions.  For example, no previous review has summarized all of the available studies examining generational differences in work values allowing us to have a more rounded picture of the actual generational differences in work attitudes, how they affect tenure and the potential measurements management can take based on the author’s findings and recommendations.

REFERENCES

Galvan, J. L. (2014). Writing literature reviews: A guide for students of the social and behavioral sciences (6th ed.). Glendale, CA: Pyrczak.

Smola, K. W., & Sutton, C. D. (2002). Generational differences: Revisiting generational work values for the new millennium.  Journal of Organizational Behavior, 23, 363–382.

Twenge, J.M. (2010).  A Review of the Empirical Evidence on Generational Differences in Work Attitudes.  Journal of Business Psychology, 201-210.  doi:10.1007/s10869-010-9165-6