Leadership of Generation X and Generation Y in the European Service Industry - Dissertation Example

Based on these responses, one group may in some ways be more effective than the other, but regardless of efficacy, each group has its own skill and qualities which make each group more efficient in some ways than the other. Aims: This study shall establish the differences between the leadership of generation X and Y within the European Service Industry. Specifically it shall determine: differences in leadership qualities between Generation X and Y how these differences impact on the European Service Industry whether or not one leadership style is more effective than the other in terms of securing specific and efficient goals for the industry and the organization involved areas of improvement for either group which can help improve their leadership skills.

Discussion At present, there is a new generation of workers which have entered the workforce. These new workers have new expectations and there are also new expectations being anticipated for these new workers. Based on the report by Yu and Miller (2005), Generation X workers will decline to 7% within the 1998 to 2008 period, and the younger Generation X workers would also fall to 1% within this same time period. On the other hand, Gen Y workers in the 16 to 24 year age range is expected to increase by 15% (Cole, et.al., 2002).

In terms of actual numbers, these percentages represent about 44 million Gen Xers and 80 million Gen Yers (Sujansky, 2004). Moreover, even as Gen Y members are already included in the workforce, they have not gotten to a critical number as yet. Consequently, managers are expected to manage the generational gaps which seem to exist for employees and also manage the specific needs of the Gen Yers (Smola and Sutton 2002). Under these conditions would conflicts between these two groups be more manageable, decreasing possible misunderstandings among employees from different generations (Smola and Sutton 2002).

The entry of Gen Y into the workforce with their unique work qualities have caused major shifts and changes in the workplace, with employers wanting to know everything there is to know about this group (Raines, 2002). The purpose of this paper is to establish such qualities and to compare these with the Gen Xers. Generational groups include individuals who have similar historical and social experiences (Kupperschmidt, 2000). These experiences consolidate this group, often allowing for shared values and most of them related to experiencing and seeing in the world in similar ways (Patterson, 2007).

Even as each individual worker is very much unique, each generation usually establishes a common personality which impacts on how members are managing their lives and activities, their feelings towards managers and corporations, their work participation, and the means by which they seek to manage such ends and desires (Kupperschmidt, 2000). Although it is not appropriate to have generalizations about individuals within each generation, it is often inevitable to observe that those who belong to the same era are influenced in similar ways; and these influences often make them predisposed to similar expectations (Patterson, 2007).

Even as there seems to be an agreement in terms of how a generation is defined based on birth years, there are also issues in the exact years by