...Two weeks after graduating high school, I arrived at Shocco Springs Baptist Conference Center to begin my first “real job” and experience the most pivotal summer of my life. While most of my friends frolicked on beaches enjoying their last summer before college, my ten hour workdays as a “Summer Staffer” consisted of scrubbing floors, cleaning toilets, preparing meals, cleaning dishes, hauling trash, and busing tables. While these duties yielded an education in how to survive a gritty physical environment, the most vital education I received was in how to survive a gritty social environment. My boss was fired for stealing, a direct co-worker was arrested for murder, and another co-worker stalked me. Various fellow staff members allowed these unexpected circumstances to distract them from their daily responsibilities, but I understood that Shocco guests still demanded our services. Rather than retreat from a back-breaking job amidst criminals, I daily maintained a laser-like focus on getting my job done despite feeling intimidated. Overcoming the intimidation brought forth two lessons that changed my life forever: life will always throw you curve balls and you must adapt to them, and secondly, there is no substitute for hard work. These lessons prepared me for the real world and greatly motivated me to obtain a higher education. Upon graduating from the University of Alabama, I had a unique professional and personal opportunity to move to San Diego. Professionally, I became...
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...started I was one of the kids in the office. I was part of a small group primarily made up of baby boomers and a few of us generation X’ers. Over the years, the work place has grown and changed. Most offices, including my own, now have three generations. We are watching the boomers prepare for their exit while the millenniums are making their presence known. Generation X, sits right in the middle. So where is the problem you ask? The problem is the drastic difference in views, ethics and even loyally. The baby boomers are a generation of employees who worked hard and worked hard for one company. The Baby Boomers were focused on the organizations they lead, profit & loss, revenue growth, filling open positions, developing employees, and improving work cultures among myriad other issues related to running a business (Hain, 2013, para. 4). When I think of the boomers, I think of suits and ties. Long hours extending into the weekends. I think of meetings over a glass bourbon and a cigar. Woman taking notes and answering the phone. Okay, maybe I beginning to scene from Mad Men. I digress, the boomers have a sense of loyalty and dedication unmatched with any other generation. Generation X, may not carry the same level of loyally, but they are another group of loyal workers. They are educated and ready to take on the world. Well, at least maybe the offices the boomers will soon vacate. We are a generation who has been learning the rope and absorbing all the information...
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...this paper we will discuss the entitlement mentality of various demographic groups along with the other generations we have labeled, and how the idea of Pluralism plays a part in the Entitlement way of thinking as well. Along with how this mentality is perceived, why and how it’s been acquired by our new generation and how other generations played a part in this new mind set and the potential effect and how or what we can do to remedy the situation. Introduction I would like to explain my background as I feel this will lay the groundwork for this paper and portray my personal beliefs as to why the various generations have played a part in my life and others lives as well. I myself was born in 1964 in Chicago the last year of the “Baby Boomer Generation” (1946-1965) one year before “Generation X’ (1965-1981) and from parents of the “Silent Generation” (1928-1945) and I now have children from the “Millennial” (1982-2009) or “Generation Y” (Pew, 2010). I am the oldest of 6 children my father is the son of Sicilian immigrants, and my mother is one of twelve children from a Irish Catholic family who for a while lived in Irish poverty before as my grandfather would say, that he got lucky and made it. My father (Frank) started working at around the age of 8 in his father’s (Tony) and grandfather (Frank) fruit store/stand, and he learned a very...
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...II. Background III. Needs Assessment IV. Recommended Training Strategy and Design V. Cost Benefit Analysis VI. Training Evaluation Plan VII. References I. Background In finding myself supervising those in the aging population I find myself asking this question what is the impact that the older working population us having on the new HR industry? In my prior job and at my current job I have always supervised someone from the baby boomer generation and they have always proven to be a valuable asset to the agency. They show undeniable dedication and gratitude with everything they do. When I took my first job out of college I worked as a Project Director for the Community Action Agency in Athens, GA. I remember being excited to start my first job and how wonderful it was to officially be on my own. Well, my first day at work I noticed I was the youngest person there (24) everyone else was in their late 30s to early 60s. The next day upon doing my daily routine I noticed an elderly woman about 65, her name was Ms. Edna she was a volunteer who came to work with our agency via the Council on Aging (it was a grant program, I forget the name of the program but it put seniors citizens back to work at minimum wage) after meeting her I remember listen to people complain about how she could do nothing right, but at the same time I never noticed anyone trying to correct(train) her or for that fact show her how to do anything right. But at the point I...
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...States, while the stock market collapse wiped out many savings. In some cases, individuals reaching the age of retirement cannot even afford to retire. This environment has provided DBS with an opportunity – facilitating the relocation of Baby Boomers reaching the age of retirement to Panama where due to the lower cost of living and free medical services most US citizen can still retire in style at a fraction of the US cost. DBS will target Baby Boomers and use both traditional and innovative approaches (TV advertisement, newspapers, seminars, and Internet technologies such as Facebook and Google (PPC)) to create an awareness and demand for the product. During the first year DBS will undertake a considerable amount of market analysis and testing before launching the services in order to accurately identify the unique characteristics of its target consumers. After the first year of operations, DBS will reach its break-even point and soon after generate initial profits of 60,000.00; these are projected to increase exponentially and continue to grow in as it captures the potential market. 2.0 Situation Analysis: Just as the Baby Boomer generation changed American culture in the post World War 2 era, the first wave of Baby Boomers reaching retirement age is changing how and where Americans spend their post-retirement years. It’s a common misperception that when Americans reach retirement age, they move to warmer, more senior-friendly environments: a 2005...
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...1 United States Coast Guard Auxiliary Study Can the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary survive in the 21st Century? How changing generational attitudes will affect an all-volunteer organization August 2006 1 This page intentionally left blank INDEX 1. Introduction 1 2. Analysis 3 A. The canary in the mine 4 B. Understanding generational attitudes 4 C. Four generations 5 D. Exploring the next generation of retirees: The Baby Boomers 6 E. Gen-X: It’s about lifestyle 8 F. Call them Gen-Y or Millennials, they deserve our attention 10 G. The new volunteers: What to expect 12 ` H. My time is not your time 14 I. Generational differences shaping leadership 15 J. American volunteer rate steady 17 3. Conclusions 19 A. Past expectations 20 B. Present construct 20 C. Spontaneous volunteer: Something new 21 D. High touch 21 E. Exploring contemporary trends in volunteering 23 1. Volunteer burnout 23 2. The human touch 24 3. Professionalizing the volunteer corps 25 4. New forms of volunteerism 25 5. Diversity 26 6. Technology 26 F. Communications challenge 27 4. Summary 29 6. Appendix 31 1 Membership numbers How many members the Auxiliary needs to meet their mission obligations and how many members it needs to meet its financial requirements would be two different answers. Getting a specific answer from the leadership is difficult because of the way the two spiral around each other like a double helix strand of DNA. They are – for now – inseparable...
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...Effective Management of the Aging Workforce OL-500 Southern New Hampshire University September 10th, 2014 Introduction The baby boomer generation, those born between 1946-1960, brought forth sweeping changes in society. Not only did the population increase exponentially they also brought forth changes in the social and economic scene. From free thinking to war protests and a drop off from attending conventional religious services the boomers were the first social rebels that challenged the way we live and work. Many of this generation where the first of their family to attend college or some sort of secondary education from high school. The boomers also broke away from traditional workplace conformity and began to chart their own path to success. (Bruce, 2009). This meant longer working hours, less traditional work weeks, and the tendency to become “workaholics”. By doing so many of the boomer generation are now in upper level management of most companies and businesses As the Baby Boomers draw close to retirement age new challenges will arise in the work place. Who will take their place? Is the next generation of workers ready for the challenge? Do they have the same ideals and principles of the outgoing workers? Management is tasked with making this transition as smooth as possible while dealing with an ever growing diverse work force. Technology will play a key role in the sweeping changes facing a workplace as well as older workers trying to learn...
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...World Wide Web: traditionalists, baby boomers, generation Xers and Millennials at work. The article written by Lynn Lancaster and David Stillman: “From World War I to the World Wide Web: traditionalists, baby boomers, generation Xers and millennials at work” is an excerpt from a book written by Lancaster and Stillman entitled , “When Generations Collide: Who They Are. Why They Clash. How to Solve the Generational Puzzle at Work.” This article discusses four separate distinct generations that make up the modern day workforce. The Traditionalists or individuals born between 1900 and 1945 make up approximately seventy-five million people. The largest population ever born in this country, the Baby Boomers, born between 1946-1964, total approximately eighty million. The smallest numbered group of approximately forty-six million, the Generation Xers, were born between 1965-1980, and the Millennials, born between 1981-1999, make up of approximately seventy-six million. Lancaster and Stillman, (2003). Sandra Gibson in her article, “E N H A N C I N G: Intergenerational Communication in the Classroom: Recommendations for Successful Teacher-Student Relationships”, discusses how the generations differ. Traditionalists, many of which have made up the labor pool for thirty years or more are often described as loyal, ethical, and hardworking, placing high value on formality, respect for authority and security of past successes. Gibson (2009). Baby Boomer are known to crave recognition...
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...eMarketing Mid-Term 1. After reading the article I have changed my thinking on how I would reach out to the baby boomer generation. I used to think it was wrong to use social media to market towards baby boomers and generation x and I was wrong. I am pretty amazed on how many people from this generation are using sites like Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter, and Myspace. I will definitely keep social networking at the top of my list as a way to market towards these generations. More specifically I will primarily use Facebook as the main source of marketing because more than 1/3 of baby boomers and half of Generation X has a Facebook page. Mavens are most likely to be Generation Jones and working full/part time and these individuals could have huge impact on the target market. These are the type of people who are always expanding their social network and are recommending products and services more than 10 times a year. This could be a domino affect by mavens in your target market continuing to speak about your product through their social network. In a matter of time you could expand your business from being very well know just being using social networks like Facebook. Targeting towards Generations Jones and workers. 2. As an eMarketer choosing digital marketing vs. traditional marketing to means revolutionizing ways companies reach their consumers and target audience. Here in New York City we see that with basic billboards going digital displaying different images and content...
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...the people of the company set goals and track the progress of projects which would measure both business results and the achievement of employees working toward Hershey’s four core values (Noe, et.al., 2011, p. 56). This redesigned performance management system would allow employees to show their performance based on goals that are set on specific projects instead of just every day mundane work. It would increase motivation amongst employees as they would now have specific goals attached to a project that has a clear objective and their progress and work efforts on these projects would have a focus on direct business efforts that would help them feel like they are a part of the team. This performance management would allow both the baby boomers and the millennial worker to showcase their skill sets and have a direct effect on the business. Employees will have a chance to really shine and have their performance graded on substantive work that really counts toward the success of the company. This system would challenge its employees to be the best where it really counts. If you were a Hershey’s employee, analyze how you would interpret the values that Hershey embraces in relation to your role. If I were a Hershey employee, I would embrace the Hershey values every day in the duties I perform. I would embrace each of the four values by making sure that I perform my duties in accordance with their values to help the company meet its intended goals of winning with an aligned...
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...Contemporary Issue in Business: * Demographic problem – Baby boomers are aging, and there are fewer younger people in Canada. Therefore, the demographic drag would probably increase in the coming years. As the boomer generation ages, labor force participation rates will decline and hours worked will fall. Aging will put pressure on the labour market. As workers retire and there are fewer people to replace them, there will be upward pressure on wages and adjustments on the composition and the nature of the labour force. For firms, attracting talent, while retaining relevant expertise and institutional knowledge, will be more challenging * Financial systemic risk: Until today we continue to see the enormous costs to the global economy of the financial crisis that started five years ago. Canada is not averse to this risk, since it gets transmitted across financial institution and markets. Although, this risk cannot be really controlled, managers do have the tendency to take on excessive risks during economic upswings, which leads to firms becoming overly risk averse during economic downturn. * More recently, Statistics Canada issued a report (March 9, 2010) arguing that by 2031, 25-28% of the Canadian population could be foreign born. These statistical forecasts are telling us that immigration is a major force shaping Canada’s urban areas. * Indeed, Canada’s track record in successfully integrating immigrants is slipping. On average, immigrants arrive in this country...
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...External and Internal Environmental Analysis Name STR-581 Date Instructor External and Internal Environmental Analysis “VIZIO, Inc. was founded in 2002 by William Wang with the idea that everyone deserves to own the latest technology”, VIZIO started out providing consulting services for Gateway computers with three employees, today there are over 160 employees, do to outsourcing a majority of the work. VIZIO is “still hard at work taking entertainment freedom by storm”, through adding computers, tablets, and Apps (VIZIO, 2012 para.1). There are various external issues that can persuade VIZIO to make the high-quality decisions in order to select a course of action, which will have an effect on the company’s internal structure. The external environment factors are influenced by one another they are: remote, industry, and operating environment. In a competition situation, these unified features summarize the core of the prospects and threats that VIZIO confronts. In order to track marketing prospects, VIZIO inc. should in addition be conscious of its own internal assets, qualifications, and skills. A method commonly applied by administrators or supervisors is the SWOT analysis denotes the internal Strengths and Weaknesses of an individual business and the environmental opportunities and threats a business confronts. This advance assists managers to consider VIZIO’s internal capabilities, while making use of the findings to enhance the strategic alternatives...
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...dynamic and challenging workplace that affords employees the opportunity to develop their skills and talents. With its diverse work groups, Hershey must think of ways to effectively manage its unique workforce. For instance, with more individuals from the baby boomer era still in the working, facing diversity is unavoidable. As a result, managing diversity in the workplace has been and continues to be the topic of many companies to include the Hershey’s Company. Hershey recognizes the importance of effective communication. Employees are aware of the core values of the company. According to Hollenbeck, Gehart, & Wright (2011), employees should share values, be clear about how their work contributes to the organization’s mission, collaborate effectively, and be selected, equipped, and rewarded for meeting company objectives. The core values of Hershey led to the implementation of a trainer/mentor system. This system is carried out by pairing a baby boomers with a millennials. This wise design gives both trainer and mentee the opportunity to learn from each other. In addition the trainer who has longevity with the company has the legacy that he/she willing to pass on to the baby boomer. In other words, the baby boomers are...
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...Demographic Paper Your name Course # Date Instructor Name The aging population and the Baby Boomers are becoming a dominant demographic in the United States. The Baby Boomer generation is the biggest generation in American history. There are approximately 75 million people in America. The average life span and the age of retirement has increased, the need for medications for a longer period , and chronic illnesses are examples of how the aging population and the Baby Boomer generation will contribute to changes in the health care field. “Future and current demographics play an important role in determining the supply and demand of health care workers” (HRS, p. 3). Projected demographics that will affect health care include the increased life span of the aging population, and geographic location of the population. The rise in the population percentage of the elderly over the next decade will cause a n increase in the demand for more health care workers, and medications. Concerns that the demands for health care professionals will not be met because of the financial stress placed on Medicaid, Medicare, private insurance companies, and the patients out of pocket expenses. Many physicians are in the same demographic as the aging population. These physicians may retire around the same time. The healthcare for the elderly population will increase will less physicians to care for them. Positive changes to the health...
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...Running head: CASE STUDY – HARPO Case Study – Harpo December 1, 2010 Case Background & Overview Xerox and other companies are getting worried that they will lose valuable knowledge with the retirement of the older workers of the baby boomer generation (Colquitt, J. A., Lepine, J. A., & Wesson, M. J., pg.283). What are the possible solutions to retain the information and keep the company successful? Case Study Are communities of practice, which tend to be technology-based, likely to bridge the generation gap and allow knowledge sharing between the generations of employees at Xerox (Colquitt, J. A., Lepine, J. A., & Wesson, M. J., pg.283)? Bridging the generation gap in business seems to be a difficult task. For a company to remain competitive and be successful, it must learn how to close the communication gap between generations. Communities of Practice (CoP) are groups that form to share what they know and to learn from one another regarding some aspects of their work (Nickols, 2003). The success of a particular Communities of Practice depend upon the issue, process, or practice area around which it is organized and upon which it is focused. In general, however, the mission or outcomes encompass: * stimulating interaction * fostering learning * creating new knowledge * identifying and sharing best practices Many young and energetic workers at Xerox are ready to take the reins from their older counterparts. Through technology and good communication...
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