Articles
Whole
Foods Includes Whole Self
Capitalizing on Human Resources Encourages Growth at Whole
Foods Market
Making
Waves With Employee Recognition
Rewards and Recognition Practices at Sea World
Honeywell's
High Flying Division Shows Company The Way To Participation
Union-Management Relations Help Airplane Part Manufacturer
Excel
Columns
Freedom's
Just Another Word
by Peter Block
Highs
and Lows Of Participation
by Cathy Kramer
Features
Brief
Cases
Business News Briefs
Views
for a Change
Pageturners
Book Review |
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Brief Cases
Business Briefs
Talking about my generation
The generation gap between Baby Boomers and Generation
X encompasses more than conflicting musical tastes and clothing styles.
In the workplace, Boomer managers report high amounts of frustration with
Gen-Xers' approach to work, but continual oversight and lack of confidence
has Gen-Xers discouraged with management. "Intergenerational workplace
conflict can be reduced if Boomer managers become aware of, and then, manage
the generation gap," states a study conducted by MTI, Inc. in McLean,
Virginia.
Strategies to ease the conflict between Boomers and Gen-Xers include:
o Teach, yet listen: Gen-Xers, wanting to succeed, are disappointed with
the educational system that did not adequately prepare them for the work
world.
o Enhance your credibility and trustworthiness: Although eager to learn
from a credible source of knowledge and expertise, Gen-Xers are highly suspicious.
Working to stay employed
Remaining employable is now an issue most employees
deal with, according to a survey by the London based Towers Perrin. The
study found that 94 percent of employees continually learn new job skills
in order to increase their overall value to their organization. Surprisingly,
this added pressure and responsibility was shown to increase satisfaction
and motivation. One reason for the positive effect of the extra work is
that employees "will have the opportunity to demonstrate their capabilities
and be rewarded for their contributions," says Steve Bookbinder, leader
of the Towers Perrin research.
It takes everybody to get ahead
How can you form a competitive edge? A recent survey
by Watson Wyatt Worldwide, of 9,144 workers from all job levels and industries
found that the key to a competitive edge is involving the workforce in the
entire business. Information sharing and system-wide participation were
linked to increased completion of goals and objectives. Establishing trust
(only 35 percent of respondents held a 'favorable' level of trust towards
management) along with improving communication channels were named as two
tools for boosting the effectiveness of a workforce. |
