Generation Y and leadership - Assignment Example

The challenges are also due to the fact that the earlier generation, the ‘x’ers are also in the office floor making it a management conundrum. The challenge of managing this mutigenerational workforce would be considered quaint when one considers the natural progression this situation leads to be an era where millennials will be called to lead other millennials. Aliases for this generation are not in short supply. They could also be referred to as the “entitlement kids” for the strong sense of expectation they posses.

“…If there is one overriding perception of the millennial generation, it's that these young people have great -- and sometimes outlandish – expectations” (Aslop, 2008). What would leadership look when “entitlement kids” lead “entitlement kids”? Would it be a positive development or similar to the new tribal warfare we see in the world, outside the corporate curtain wall? One of the best ways to understand the millennials is to contrast them with the prior generation ‘x’. Those born in the 1960’s and 1970’s up to 1982 are referred to as the generation ‘x’.

They are refereed to as a generation that “… has always signified a group of young people, seemingly without identity, who face an uncertain, ill-defined (and perhaps hostile) future.”(Ulrich, 2003). . Sociologists will point to this as a definitive belief in leadership principles by believing in being led. The underlying reasons for this according to Hershatter derived from groundbreaking research done in ‘The History of America's Future 1584 to 2069’ (Strauss et al. 1992) is that “A lot of the things that people perceived as problematic outcomes as the result of how Gen ‘X’ers were raised – latch key kids, lots of autonomy, lots of freedom, not a lot of attention to their care and well being – was completely reversed with the Millennials”.

They were raised with positive reinforcement. Confident in them selves it was insufficient for them to know what had to be done? Brought up with Pokemon, Star Wars and The Lord of The Rings film trilogy they needed to know why it had to be done? Cell phones, Mp3’s, and game portals were their toys making them addicted to technology. Fostered by social media and keypad savvy they have managed to be more connected with their parents than generations before them as they were in control of that connectivity.

Trust has been inbred them. Gaining knowledge is less of a priority than knowing the sources of knowledge. They have had to learn to trust sources of knowledge. Millennials have turned the perception that generation-to-generation youth culture self degrades. They are changing corporate culture by their liking for immediate feedback, the hunger for positive reinforcement, and the sensitivity to relationships. The above-mentioned factors will cause corporate structures to be flatter to facilitate the required speed of communication and generation ‘Y’ has the