Generational Differences in the Workplace Essay Example for Free

Generational Differences in the Workplace Essay PURPOSE This article attempts to describe the different age groups composing each of the categories of generations in the current U.S. workforce and their distinguishing characteristics. The piece also seeks to analyze how each group’s differing traits may impact an organization. The main purpose of the paper is to teach management how recognizing these differing views may help them to better motivate and satisfy the members of each group. QUESTIONS So who are these different generational groups? The author has broken today’s workforce down into three identifiable groups by birth year. These groups are Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Generation Y. They will be described in more detail in the following paragraphs. The first, and oldest group, are the Baby Boomers. This category includes those born between the years of 1946 to 1964. The Baby Boomers are the largest group and many of them can be found throughout the managerial ranks. They are reputed to be self-absorbed and have a feeling of entitlement. This group is said to value success, teamwork, inclusion, and rule-challenging. They are open to change and loyal to their employer. Generation X is comprised of those born between 1965 and 1979. This group is concerned with career options and a balance of work and home life. They seek fulfilling work but are cynical of corporations and government. This cynicism leads themnto being less loyal than their predecessors (the Baby Boomers). Generation Xers are computer literate and demand fulfilling work while still craving a fun work environment. The third group is Generation Y. This includes those born from 1980 to present (per reports made in 2005 and 2006). According to the author this group is optimistic but realistic, globally aware, and inclusive. They are very technologically inclined and diverse in their attitude. They yearn for a work/family balance and independence though they need feedback from their employer. They are also curious and results oriented. This generation can become disenchanted with presented with entry level jobs for they seek challenges. INFORMATION The author used a number of other studies to reach his conclusions. The Rokeach Value Survey (RVS) seems to have been the main instrument in gathering information. This study allows participants to rank the measures they find most valuable. INFERENCES/CONCLUSIONS In the â€Å"Implications for Managers† section of the paper, the author makes suggestions for how a manager should treat each class. He has used the research to draw his conclusions. His suggestions seem based on the traits and behaviors each group tends to exhibit. For the Baby Boomers he states that they can be motivated with money, overtime, praise, and position. He enforces the idea that this generation is loyal. For Generation X he suggests making work fun and meaningful. He also thinks lending an understanding ear to this group could be helpful. Generation Y needs exciting and relevant work, says the author. Make sure they have opportunity for career advancement. Also a manger should be mindful of their need for feedback. CONCEPTS The main idea of this article is that the difference in values and beliefs of each generation can have an impact on the job. Understanding these differences and how to make the most of them is key to satisfying and motivating each group. The paper seeks to explain these differences, why they tend to occur, and how to use those differences to the employer’s advantage. ASSUMPTIONS One main drawback to the ideas set forth in this article is assuming everyone in each generation holds the same values and beliefs. In this vain, managers may be able to cater to a large majority of employees but can miss satisfying the wants and needs of certain individuals. Although the research may encapsulate certain behaviors and traits of most of the people, there will be variables that it does not take into account. IMPLICATIONS/CONSEQUENCES The author’s conclusions may serve managers well. His conclusions based on the research and following suggestions seem to be based in logic and geared toward getting the most out of and retaining employees. It probably does help to understand how best to motivate others if you understand why they feel the way they do. Although generation and age may not be the only mitigating factor in an employee’s attitude, it seems to be a good starting point. POINTS OF VIEW As stated previously, age (date of birth) can not account solely for a person’s values and beliefs. As in anything else, there are always variables that can skew data. Some variables that are not reflected in the data are financial status, marital status, locale, and a wide variety of other things. However, if it is possible to meet the needs of many while only having to concentrate on a few â€Å"one-offs† then these recommendations can only serve to ease a manager’s position. PERSONAL NOTE I am probably one of the â€Å"one-offs† but I’ve always marched to the beat of a different drummer. I have, however, been witness to many of these stereotypes. I have worked plenty of jobs where the generational differences were quite apparent. Sometimes the â€Å"old-timers† actually relish that name and take pride in it. The difference in attitudes and values can be glaring. I defintiely think it is good that there is information out there to help managers understand these differences and help to deal with them. BIBLIOGRAPHY Generational Differences In The Workplace: Personal Values, Behaviors, And Popular Beliefs. The Clute Institute, 2009. Web. 20 Oct. 2012. .

Masculine Discrepancies on the Frontier: James Fenimore Coopers Ideal

Masculine Discrepancies on the Frontier: James Fenimore Cooper's Ideal American Man Within the genre of the frontier novel, great consideration is given to early American ideals of masculinity. According to Aiping Zhang, in his article "The Negotiation of Manhood: James Fenimore Cooper's Ideology of Manhood in The Last of the Mohicans," James Fenimore Cooper was exceedingly interested in developing a new American definition of the ideal man. Zhang writes that "masculinity was always one of the primary issues in [Cooper's] life and his writings as well . . . the selection . . . of (the) male figures in The Last of the Mohicans must have a lot to do with his personal search for the ideal image of American man'' (2). With the realization that his writings could promote a new definition of the ideal American man, Cooper presented the male characters in The Last of the Mohicans as either well-suited or ill-fitted for frontier life, which Cooper metaphorically substitutes for early America. Thus, if a male character is able to survive and adapt to the frontier life, Cooper implies that this is the new ideal for the American male. Zhang suggests that Cooper does not provide a single definition for this new ideal of American manliness; however, I find that Cooper does put forth a clear aversion towards the sentimental male, whom he paints as incapable of surviving the frontier. He presents David Gamut, the master of psalmody, as a sentimental male who behaves spontaneously and inappropriately on the frontier. At times, when all the other characters--including the women--are behaving with vigilance, Cooper describes Gamut's behavior as rather absent-minded, such that Gamut sings during battle while the other characters flee. Throug... ...entimental male in The Last of the Mohicans, and it is clear that his inappropriate presence on the frontier is Cooper's way of negating sentimentality as part of the new ideal of American manliness. Works Cited Brady, Corey. Virginia Cope, Michael Millner, Ana Mitric, Kent Puckett Danny Siegel, Eds. A Dictionary of Sensibility. 20 Nov. 200l. <http://www.engl.viginia.edu/%7Eenec981/dictionary/contributors.htm> Cooper, James Fenimore. The Last of the Mohicans. New York: Bantam, 1989. Zhang, Aiping. "The Negotiation of Manhood: James Fenimore Cooper's Ideology of Manhood in The Last of the Mohicans." Papers from the 1999 Cooper Seminar (No. 12) James Fenimore Cooper. His Country and His Art, The State University of New York College at Oneonta, Hugh C. MacDougall, Ed. 21 Nov. 2001 <http://www.Oneonta.edu/external/cooper/articles/1999suny-zhang.html>

Text Analysis of the Epic of Gilgamesh

Jill Seymour HST 197 Dr. Smith September 17, 2012 Text Analysis of The Epic of Gilgamesh The question I thought about while reading this text was what the role is for women, and how their actions and descriptions reveal Mesopotamian attitudes concerning gender. The female gender was not highly looked upon during these times. The only time you see a respected female figure is when the mother of a son is being talked about. Any other time females are being talked about, they are portrayed with vulgar characteristics and seen as simply being there to serve the man.I will go through both ways the women are being portrayed, and relate them back to how they reveal Mesopotamian culture. The main woman character in this story is Ishtar. Ishtar is the goddess of love, fertility, and war; the Queen of Heaven. Normally when you think of the word goddess, a majestic and noble type of being comes to mind. Ishtar is portrayed as the complete opposite in The Epic of Gilgamesh. The first time she co mes into play she uses the characteristics of a prostitute to lure in the man that she wants, which at the time is Enkidu. Ishtar is told â€Å"make your breasts bare, have no shame.Let him see you naked, let him possess your body† (Sandars, 3). It then goes on to say that â€Å"she was not ashamed to take him, she made herself naked and welcomed his eagerness† (Sandars, 4). Before she is told to lay with Enkidu, the story explains that this is not the first man she has done this to. Ishtar is being used for this, because she is known to have her way with the men and they don’t know how to tell her no because of her beauty. The way Ishtar is seen relates back to Mesopotamian culture in showing that women were not very important in society.They were mainly there to serve the man and to reproduce. They were looked at in two ways; the daughter of her father, or the wife of her husband. At an early age girls were trained to do the roles of a good wife and mother. It was not frowned upon in their culture for women to be at the mercy of the men. Women were able to own property and have jobs outside of the home, but that decreased when more distinct social classes arose in the second millennium. â€Å"Husbands gained authority in the household and benefited from the marriage and divorce laws† (Bulliet, 18).Even the law was against women and helped out the male gender in almost every situation. The next time she comes into play, we are seeing similar characteristics of her trying to lure in the man she wants when she is trying to get Gilgamesh to marry her. â€Å"Come to me Gilgamesh,† she says, â€Å"make me your bridegroom; grant me seed of your body† (Sandars, 25). She tells him she will give him anything he can possibly imagine if he would only marry her. When Gilgamesh refuses the offer we see a different side of Ishtar.She starts being portrayed as evil and self-centered. Ishtar goes to her father in tears saying to kill Gilgamesh for refusing her proposal or she will let all of hell break free, literally. Even marriage in the Mesopotamian culture benefitted the man more than the woman. â€Å"A man normally took just one wife, but he could obtain a second if the first gave him no children† (Bulliet, 18). The woman was to be a servant, of sorts, to the husband, and was expected to give him children. Later they became a way to keep wealth in the family by arranged marriages. Kings and rich men had several wives. Marriage alliances arranged between families made women instruments for preserving and enhancing family wealth† (Bulliet, 18). Even here they are referred to as â€Å"instruments†, and not given the respect of a human being. If the woman didn’t bare children, she was easily replaceable. If the woman came from a wealthy family, or her family wanted to become wealthy, they would arrange a marriage for her to gain or keep wealth in the family. On the other hand, women weren’t always looked at in this manner.Gilgamesh respected his mother very much so, and would go to her for advice. His mother, Ninsun, is said to be a minor goddess, but she is noted in a couple different places for her wisdom. â€Å"Now Gilgamesh got up to tell his dream to his mother, Ninsun, one of the wise gods† (Sandars, 5). In Mesopotamian culture, even the women gods were respected by the people. They thought them all to be wise and would seek their guidance in certain situations. Their religious beliefs brought this respect, and in some ways fear, to honor the gods so they would be gracious in return. Religious beliefs instilled fear of the gods, who could alter the landscape, and desire to appease them† (Belliet, 19). The Mesopotamians believed that the gods were human like in form, but that if they were to be unhappy by something the people did, they could alter anything in their lives, and in some cases even kill them. Overall, women were not looked at then the same ways they are looked at today. The cultural norm for women was to serve the men with their bodies and in their actions. If they did not give the man the children he wanted, she could be replaced.At an early age they were being trained to have the skills of a good wife and mother. It was not frowned upon for a man to have more than one wife. This did not happen often until around the second mullinium, but was quite oftenly seen with the kings and rich men. The another way the women were used in this society was to keep or gain wealth for her family. The families would arrange the marriages for her daughter, and she would have to make sure to keep her husband happy so she was not replaced. The gods and goddesses were feared and respected on the other hand.They were able to manipulate what would happen in the people’s lives, so they made sure to keep them happy; even the women were kept happy in this sense. Mesopotamian culture wasn’t too far off from how some things are looked at in today’s society, but women were not very important in their society. They were only there for few reasons, and if they didn’t meet those expectations they were replaceable. Today we would say that is unjust and against our rights, but that is a privilege we now have in our country that those women were not able to achieve. Aren’t we glad to live in today’s society where men and women have equal rights?

Corruption of Power in Animal Farm Essay - 1172 Words

The statement, â€Å"Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely†, simply means that the more power one has – the more control one has over people – then the more corrupt it is possible for that person to become. This statement is certainly correct if the person with the power has certain proclivities towards corruption. There are many examples in the book, â€Å"Animal Farm†, by George Orwell, of power corrupting those in charge because they had these tendencies. In the story, the most powerful animals are the two pigs, Napoleon and, to a lesser degree, Snowball. During the course of the story these pigs used their power to get more power, and in the process their inclinations towards corruption triumphed. When Old Major, the boar who came†¦show more content†¦Napoleon went further down the road of corruption at the beginning when he and his right-hand pig, Squealer, secretly drank all the milk after the cows’ udders had been reliev ed. Napoleon used force to gain control of Animal Farm, and used fear to keep it. When he and Snowball both led the other animals, they had many disagreements. Napoleon saw that Snowball was better at communicating with the animals, so he used the dogs which he had secretly trained to drive Snowball away – permanently. Napoleon used these dogs to keep all the animals ‘in line’ and quash any thought of rebellion with fear. Napoleon was so eager to keep his power that he used scapegoats for anything that went wrong on the farm. When the windmill that all the animals had been building collapsed, Napoleon did not want faith in him to be lost and replaced with rebellious thoughts. Napoleon relieved himself of any blame for the bad construction plans of the windmill by naming Snowball, who unbeknownst to the other animals had been killed, as the person responsible for its collapse. He told them that Snowball was a traitor and that anyone found to be in league with him would be punished. Napoleon made excellent use of his second-in-command Squealer’s abilities at speaking eloquently and convincingly to make propaganda. Squealer would make the other animals think that they were better offShow MoreRelated Theme of Power Corruption in Animal Farm, by George Orwell Essay1787 Words   |  8 PagesPower can have the persuasive action in undoing the moral ethics of one’s character. This can be seen throughout history, such as World War II and proven by the actions of Napoleon in the allegory, Animal Farm, by George Orwell. As Lord Acton said â€Å"Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.† In history what was viewed as a villain or wrong doer is never the same as the perception. A leader does not begin wanting to do wrong, they start with the best intentions, but power is aRead MoreCorruption Of Power Essay1142 Words   |  5 Pagescorrupted by power. Power makes one feel as if that person was a God, which is a sign of the corrup tion in that individual. 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