How Companies Can Bridge Employee Generation Gap - Research Proposal Example

In Present Globalized Economy How Can Companies Bridge the Employee Generation Gap? Subject Title Against this background, the subject of the research would be “In present globalised economy how can companies bridge the employee generation gap?” “The phrase generation gap implies a deep chasm, which opens up between parents and children” (Falk & Falk 2005). In our societies and our families, we have seen that our parents and grandparents exert a great influence on the subsequent generations in the matters relating to the culture, life style and religion but the question arises is where is that gap, and what can be done to fill this gap? But before going to these questions’ the research will explore in the context of today’s world the meaning of Generation Gap. What constitutes a generation, and what is that specific thing or things that link the people together and make the people into one family? Context The main question asked will be the impact that generation gap has on the productivity at the workplace, and the impact it has on the interactions between the workers. In this context, the research will look at some of the methods that have so far been adopted to bridge the issues created by generation gap at the workplace, besides finding further solutions to the problem. The context is important given the fact that it is now well accepted that the only way to solve issues of growth is to ensure effective communication between employees. This needs not be marred by issues of generation gap. Background: Generation Gap Literature Review Prevalence of generation gap is often a heated topic in context to the domestic affairs and among families all over the world. We often hear our elders complaining the type of dress we are wearing our life style and several choices that defy previous societal conventions. However, the change is a norm of this world. It has occurred when our parents were also young and before that when grandparents were young too. They all have to face same questions from their parents. The sum of these differences along with several causes is what known as the Generation Gap. Generation gap refers to anytime there is a vast difference in cultural standards and values between a younger generation and their elders. This gap develops when younger and older people do not understand each other because of their different experiences, behaviors, values, habits and opinions. Although such gaps have existed throughout history, the term generation gap gained widespread acceptance in the 1960s as a way to describe the cultural differences between the baby boomers and their parents (Froehlich and Froehlich, 2006).   According to the “generational” school of thought the idea defining a generation and thereby creating differences from one to the other is the values that are created and imprinted for the duration of an entire life. These are historical events which take place as people mature from children and enter adulthood, and are defined by the norms in society, the present technological nuances and the growth structures and belief systems that define a given societal structure at that given point in time. An example would be a generation that grew up during the Great Depression. This generation is supposed to be particularly thrifty given the fact that its members grew up in times that were particularly testing in the financial sense, complete with an absence of job security et al. The idea, therefore, is that given the influence from events that have a shared significance, every generation develops an exclusive set of defining characteristics that guide member orientations and actions. Experts studying generational topics tend to mostly place people by birth date, into one of four generational categories, each with an assigned peer personality, as shown in one well-known typology (Strauss & Howe, 1991): 1. Silent (1925 to 1942): Adaptive 2. Baby Boomer (1943-1960): Idealist 3. Generation X (1961-1981): Reactive 4. Generation Y or Millennials (1982-Present): Civic However an alternate body of research tends not to support the basic premise of generation gap keeping in mind the ideal that the sociology of assumptions is not always supported by a body of empirical research. For example, two Duke University sociologists hypothesized that that the assumptions behind the premise are not always supported (Hughes & O'Rand, 2005). In an extensive study if the possible polarization of social attitudes among Americans in the 1970s and the 1990s, the sociologists DiMaggio at al., found no major difference between the attitudes of the young and their parental generations with respect to such issues as gender roles, racial integration, crime and poverty. Polarization among all Americans occurs only with respect to abortion. Yet that issue is divisive not on the basis of age but on the basis of religious beliefs, moreover DiMaggio et al., found that the celebrated generation of the 1960s with their revolutionary attitudes on all social issues did not influence their children or the subsequent generations to be liberal in the sense of the sixties. Instead the researchers found a declining age polarization. Yet other kinds of research do not just accept wholeheartedly the concept of a generation gap but also tends to talk about using this gap to fulfill marketing objectives. A study by Harradine and Ross (2007), for example demonstrated that children are brand conscious at an earlier age compared to what their parents believe.  The study found that children have a growing ability to receive information about brands and are able to use this knowledge to inform the growing influence that they exert in the buying process, besides being indicative of the fact that parents were concerned over the influence that branding can have. There are other research evidences to prove the existence of gap between generations as well. In 1975 the sociologists Jacobsen, Berry and Olsen made an empirical test of the generation gap leading to the conclusion that older and younger generations are neither entirely in agreements nor entirely in disagreement on a number of issues that the researchers presented. College students are likely to disagree with their parents concerning sex and a number of social issues. Such disagreements increase with age and advancement in college. As college socialization continues, the number of disagreements with parents also increases, this is particularly true of families whose parents are working class, and whose children are college students. More recently management professor Kimberly Wade Benzoni published four studies dealing with the generation gap issues and found that the behavior of a previous generation influences the behavior of a subsequent generation towards future generations. Her most important finding is that the majority of her respondents acted on behalf of future generations even though they knew they would never benefit from them. This finding contradicts the cynics and pessimists who view all younger folk with disdain. These findings also contradict the game theory which holds that there must always be a zero sum outcome to every exchange. One of the best methods, argues research, to deal with the issue of generation gap at the workplace is to ensure that the process of hiring itself is the first form of induction. The idea should be to ensure that from the very beginning the company is able to build a more in depth information based employee relationship. This tends to help aid the development of the new comer’s understanding of how the organization functions thereby increasing the veteran’s investment in the new recruits (Liu, 2004).The second most important idea is to ensure that more and more veterans work alongside the new comers, thereby increasing interaction and eliminating chances of the buildup of prejudices. This also helps, says research, the organization in gaining the best of both worlds. The youngsters get the full benefit of the veteran knowledge and experience and the veteran gets rejuvenated in the energy of the youngster. Moreover, expert mentoring by the more experienced staff tends to support more effectively the newcomers in their work (Ingersoll & Kralik, 2004). It has in fact recently been found by Smith and Ingersoll (2004) in a study that teachers who experienced both one-to-one mentoring and a comprehensive induction program had a higher retention rate than new teachers who only had mentors. In the context of the fact that there is an obvious correlation between the inter-generational thought process along with the fact that there is a growing intermingling of varying generations at the workplace, the following research will make an attempt to answer the kind of problems generation gap can create at the workplace, while figuring out a method by which this gap could be bridged, ensuring that a difference in opinions based on age play a constructive role in the management of the workplace. Aim In today’s globalized world, it has become very difficult for the youngsters to sustain themselves if they remain confined in their conventional ways or the ways held by our parents. But within this paradigm, youngsters should also follow culture and religion, and race of their nation, state and family creating very complex situation. They often find themselves engulfed in the two boundary lines-the one boundary formed by their family and the other boundary formed by the society. The aim of the research proposal would be to find out what constitutes these boundary lines and how our youngsters cross these boundaries to move in their life with the coordination between the two. And what actually happens when old and young face each other practically in similar situation in terms of their jobs. What are the differences that abrupt as a result of this interaction and how can organisations help cement those differences and bridge the gaps.. Several studies have been conducted, several stories been written and many aspects of it have been created and shown in the media, and reflected in films but my study would be different as it would read through the psychological factors that go behind the ordinary middle class people and with the high class people related to this generation gap. Research Hypothesis The following research will seek to prove these hypotheses. First, problems exist at the workplace related to age or generation gap. Establishing the generation gap related problems that are a bone of contention at the workplace. How do old and young employees perceive each other’s roles in terms of their jobs. What is the underlying psychology of both. What are the social classes that are most affected by the generation gap issue. What is the role of the context/technology in increasing/decreasing the chasm caused by generation gap What are the methods which can be used for effectively negating the problems associated with generation gap at the workplace? What is the role of the government/government agencies in solving the problems Research Methodology Approach: The research would be mostly positivist in its approach and would thereby focus on the formation of information a process which would have its emphasis on the model of natural science (Finch, 1986). This researcher would therefore focus the crux of the research on being objective rather than coming up with subjective conclusions based on innate perceptions. The idea would therefore be to follow a process of data collection the social world and then builds up an explanation of social life by arranging such facts in a chain of causality. This would therefore mean that the research would be try to come up with results that are outside the purview of human bias and achieve results that are objective yet pragmatic. It is for this purpose that the research methodology would be a mix of the quantitative and the qualitative method of data collection and analysis. Methodology In the research process, my area of study would include employees from all walks of life and in all sorts of companies; especially typical cases where young and old work together. I will also rope in families from different cultures since real roots of the concept generation gap have originated from the waves of the cultural changes that took place due to the Industrial revolution that changed almost the whole world and brought them under the same umbrella. The main concern would be how these changes built up the cause of the generation gap within the framework of their respective religions and how can the gloablised world transform the notion. Both the quantitative and qualitative study would be undertaken. In the quantity study, there would be findings to what extent percentage of families has to go through the dilemma of generation gap and to what extent? Series of in-depth interviews would be taken whereby several attitudinal questions would be asked from the older generation as well as younger generation reflecting their tolerance level towards each other’s ideologies. When the data is collected basic analysis would be carried on after twentieth of the interviewed participant. Main aspects of qualitative data analysis are threefold: first to capture the richness and complexity of life experiences for both the older people and for younger generation. It would also include the researcher’s experiences; and thirdly it would also include three stages of data reduction, data organization and data interpretation. (Alston & Bowles 2003: 204) This will be done because conclusion would be formed on the bases of interpretation, nature of understanding and personal narration of individuals. (D'Cruz & Jones 2004: 160-161) Quantitative approach In the quantitative methodological scheme of things, the focus is on building and testing theories, as has been mentioned by Coolican H who states that “Research focuses on describing, explaining and predicting the research issues”. Quantitative method is usually adopted when the philosophy of research is positivism (Reznitskaya A, Anderson RC, Kuo L, 2007). On the other hand qualitative method looks at the understanding and comprehension of the data that is gathered and complied. This is usually adopted under the philosophy of social constructivism. The paper will look at employing both the above mentioned methodologies of quantitative as well as qualitative research to ensure that the final result of the paper is all encompassing and complete. Qualitative Approach The qualitative method although usually perceived as being subjective need not always be so. Qualitative data in this case would be based on the zero order, the multiple, partial and the interaction association coefficients will be calculated for the qualitative data. This will be achieved by using cross-classification technique proposed by Denzin and Lincoln (2000), in which the dependent variable (and in this case it is generation gap) is cross-classified with the independent variables so that the ultimate partitioning of the variation in the dependent variable is achieved just as it would be for a regression analysis in a quantitative data. This method is appropriate since the data to be collected is multivariate and hence can be presented in cross-classification. The zero order, the multiple, partial and the interaction association coefficients will be calculated for the qualitative data. Thus the application here is the cross-classification technique proposed by Denzin and Lincoln (2000), in which the dependent variable is cross-classified with the independent variables so that the ultimate partitioning of the variation in the dependent variable is achieved just as it would be for a regression analysis in a quantitative data. Method of data collection Thus, there shall be collection of data carried out through the questionnaire which will be prepared, and then theory will be built on. Then on the basis of this information a detailed analytical study will be conducted on the services provided by the research and analysis of the data collected. This will help ensure that an overall developed research is conducted that takes into account all the various variables and components of the process. The data that was collected includes information from journal and newspapers. It also includes information that was gathered by conducting a survey, where a questionnaire was prepared. The questionnaire is a list of questions that are prepared by the students to help him or her in the facilitation of his or her research (Gagnon, Jr, G.W. & Collay, M 1999). How the data will be collected? Collecting data will be one of the hardest tasks of the research. As a result we have to reach everywhere possible to gather information. Information will be gathered from too many different places so as to collect primary and secondary information to be used for the research. When it comes to deciding on which method to deal with the primary or secondary data collection, a standard question or a set of them can be put to respondents to collect data. The positive thing about secondary data is that we have neither the time nor the financial benefit in gathering them. The negative side is we don’t have control over how the instrument is designed, how the information is collected, how reliable were they documented. Another major negativity of using primary and secondary data is the flaws the first hand researcher is more capable of spotting any errors or mistakes he may have done but once it is transmitted to another researcher like us then it is almost impossible to notice any errors.   Time Scale I might take 6-10 weeks to gather all the required information for my research and then I will start to do my analysis to see how it match my preview hypothesis and questions. Conclusions and recommendations That will be at the end of my research which it is not clear for the time being. Resources Different books, internet sites and meeting with some professional people whom they could explain some points to me and answer my questions and off course I will refer to each quotation or any info to the resources at the end of my research.  Ethical consideration Certain ethical issues would also be considered while interviewing like protecting the privacy and professional decorum of respondents, consent would be taken from them before asking them questions, their anonymity and confidentiality of the participants would be taken care of and security would be maintained. The main problem would be in analyzing and interpreting the data of such a nature. Conclusion This research would forge a new ground in the area of research and investigation on how companies can help bridge the employee generation gap. The research would show the transition of the old employee-employer system and how gloablisation has paved way for an entirely different scenario where old and the young work together in organisations without any inhibitions or psychological barriers, which they might have undergone earlier while facing each other in their practical lives. References: Alston, M & Bowles, W. 2003. Research for social workers: An introduction to methods. London: Routledge. Bickman, L. & Rog, D.J. (1997) Handbook of Applied Social Research Methods: Handbook of (c) Applied Social Research Methods. London: SAGE Publications D'Cruz, H. & Jones, M. (2004). Social work research: Ethical and political contexts. London: SAGE Publications. Davis, K. 2005. The sociology of parent-youth conflict, in Kingsley Davis: A Biography and Selections from His Writings. Ed. David M. Heer. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers. 173-186. DiMaggio, Paul, John Evans, and Bethany Bryson. 1996. 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