The Impact of Multigenerational Workplace On New Graduates Career Development - Research Paper Example

The impact of Multigenerational workplace on new graduates’ career development. The impact of Multigenerational workplace on new graduates’ career growth Background There doesn’t exist single agreed universal definition of a ‘generation.’ Opinions differ between authors and countries. However, the literature describes a generation similarly. For instance, Johnson and Johnson (2010) term generation as a group of persons born and staying contemporaneously who have common experiences and knowledge that impact their thoughts, attitudes, beliefs, values and behaviors. McCrindle and Wolfinger (2009) described a generation as a group of individuals, who were born in the similar era, influenced and shaped by the same times that affect them at their places of work likewise. They normally go through the same events, developments and trends of that particular time. New graduates find themselves in this individual’s historical as well as cultural events, which an individual will experience during his/her formative years, no doubt will have an effect on individuals values, personality and world views. A lot has been written concerning the presence of various distinct generations in the workforce and the manner in which their view, as well as values, impact the way work in various environment gets done (Salopek, 2006). In recent times, the impact of Multigenerational workplace on new graduates’ career growth has increasingly become a topic of interest in many organizations across the country. Why? Undoubtedly, such a concerns are not happening for the first time in history thus need to be addressed. Historically, individuals from diverse generations have worked together. In agrarian societies, for instance, children and parents both worked to enhance production that was needed for sustenance. Similarly, toward the last tail of the middle ages, development of guilds was in place to ensure that knowledge was transferred from one generation to the other. Also, countless manufacturing sites set during the initial years of industrialization structured their establishments in a similar spirit. More specifically, these days there are coexisting extra generations than in the past at the workplace and these affects new graduates in their new environment. Thus, generational clashes have become more common than ever before. Managing people with diverse personal, professional and educational backgrounds is more problematic. Every generation has diverse values, attitudes working styles and expectations. Thus, it is crucial managers in contemporary to pay more attention to generational diversity. As an outcome, they could get a functional, more interactive work group with a more supportive environment as well as a flat organizational structure. (McCrindle and Wolfinger 2009). Arsenault and Patrick (2008) examined the value variances of the generational cohorts by using the Rokeach Value Survey (RVS) which was a short survey concerning political party preference and gender, as well as a third instrument. Many of the available literature focused on the understanding of this multigenerational workplace values as well as working methods of the various different generations, which are present in the our workforce. It is worth noting that large pool of the research fail to examine the specific impact of new graduates in such a dynamic work force. The fact that as new generations join the workforce, there exist a period of adaptation that is needed on both ends cannot be underestimated. New graduates forms an important part of modern day workforce. Work environment has become dynamic and competitive and the impact of this group becomes a very important aspect in eventual workforce productivity. This study seeks to examine impact of Multigenerational workplace on new graduates’ career growth. The moment a new graduates steps into the workforce, there is evidently need to take the needed steps to make that individual feel comfortable, nevertheless there is also need to guarantee that new hire follows all the rules as well as regulations put in place. Aims, Objective, and Hypothesis Thus, the aim of the research is to examine the impact of the multigenerational workplace on new graduates’ career growth. To do this, the study will consider the environments that the new graduates work and how these challenges they go through to accomplish their goals in the dynamic multigenerational work station. It is hypothesized that the challenges in these environments will be detrimental to understanding the impact of the multigenerational workplace on new graduates’ career growth. This study would thus help the leaders ensure a multigenerational workplace becomes more productive, harmonious and efficient. The study in the past has avoided the specifics about the new graduates. The biggest challenges that have originated from out of the contemporary work environment, as well as how to deal with such issues head-on. Methodology Design This will be a design of independent measures with the independent variable of new graduates experience and challenges: 1) Those who found it easy adjusting at work stations 2) Those who found it difficult adjusting at multigenerational work stations. The dependent variable and chronologically ordering the meaning of those experiences. Participants The narrative research method was used for this qualitative study, which followed a biographical technique. This method starts with the experiences as expressed in lived as well as told stories of new graduates in the multigenerational. The procedures for this research method consist of focusing on studying a small group of new graduates, gathering data through the collection of their stories, reporting new graduates’ experiences, as well as chronologically ordering the importance of such experiences (Creswell, 2007). Sample size The intended sample size will be N = 60. The sample size becomes an important feature of this study. The goal of this N = 60 is to make inferences concerning a population from a sample. The sample size employed in a study is determined based on the data collection expense, as well as the need for sufficient statistical power to ensure objectives are attainable. Measures /Apparatus Videotapes, recorders, stopwatches Procedure The participant’s stories who are majorly new graduates in multigenerational workplaces were collected by face-to-face interviews, done in public, but rather quiet, environments. The emphasis of the qualitative interviews was to collect personal stories from the new graduates participants so as to contribute to the purpose of this paper, which is to gain an understanding of the generational differences among today’s workers as well as share their perspectives regarding values, relationships, communication and motivation in this. A semi-structured interview will be developed. The interview guide will likewise be developed to include fairly precise topics but still gave the interviewee with a lot of leeways in the manner to reply. The semi-structured interview will be a great approach to setting the tone for a discussion. This will be important in understanding the impact of the multigenerational workplace on new graduates’ career growth flexible as well as allow the interviewee the go off on tangents or openness to “ramble,” which may to rich, detailed answers to the interview questions. Finally, Questions of the pre-formed interview will provide an effective tool that will guide the conversations, will focus on gathering data for the research topic. Analytical Strategy Mann-Whitney U test will be the alternative test in the study to the independent sample t-test. Such is a non-parametric test that is employed to compare means of two population from the same population like the one in the study. Timeline The duration of the study is over a six-week period beginning January 2016. Given the sample size, interview sessions will be run over a timeline of four weeks, with the consequent analysis as well as writing up of the research occurring within the next two weeks. Ethical Considerations The considerations set in this study have been stipulated specifically by the known Psychological Societies globally on the research mandates concerning standards of general respect; of informed consent, of privacy and as well as the use of deception of self-determination; confidentiality; of general responsibility; of debriefing research participants and protection. Consent The new graduates sampled from various workplaces will be invited to participate in the study and will be required to sign a consent form before the subsequent interviews session. Deception No form of deception will be involved before and after the participants’ involvement. The nature of the research becomes critical to all participants thus each one of them will be explained to. Confidentiality The confidentiality of information provided by participants as well as the anonymity of participants will be respected. During the interviews, participants will be provided with unique individual identifier code under which all their data will be stored after collection. Protection Protecting the safety of participants who take part in the study is a high priority for this study. Withdrawing from the Research Each participants is entitled to prior information of their rights to withdraw from the study. This ethically will be through notification and their individual data will not be considered as part of the analysis for it will be removed or deleted from the rest Debriefing Debriefing will be a critical part of this psychological study since it involves human participants. Participants in the study will be offered both a verbal as well as a written debriefing, which will reiterate various aspects dealt with that are of a concern for instance, all information from the study related to what the objectives of the research and what the findings will indicate. Also, participants will be made comfortable and free to ask any further questions with regards the study. References Arsenault, P.M. & Patrick, M.L. (2008). Are the shoes appropriate to wear?: A study of cohort values. Journal of Targeting, Measurement and Analysis for Marketing, Vol. 16, No. 2, 99-107. Creswell, J. (2007). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc. Johnson, M. Johnson, L. (2010). Generations, Inc. : From boomers to Linksters – Managing the Friction Between Generations at Work. New York: AMACOM. McCrindle, M. Wolfinger, E. (2009). ABC of XYZ: understanding the global generations. Sydney: UNSW Press. Palese, A., Pantali, G., & Saiani, L. (2006). The management of a multigenerational nursing team with differing qualifications: A qualitative study. The Health Care Manager, 25(2), 173-193. Salopek, J.J. (2006). Leadership for a New Age. Training + Development, Jun. 2006, Vol. 60, No. 6; Research Library Core. Top of Form Bottom of Form Read More