Generation X Two Of The Core Values example essay topic

Team Dynamics and Conflict Resolution The idea that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts is becoming more than simply an adage for many in the workforce. Team based-work has begun to permeate business organizations like never before, and according to the University of Phoenix (2004) teamwork is "Among the more noteworthy and promising approaches for achieving the dual goals of higher productivity and increased worker satisfaction... ". (p. 2) Even as more and more companies shift their organizations to fit a team-based structure, Cole, Schaninger and Harris (2002) note that the management research field lacks extensive background material on the subject. In an effort to address this deficiency, they present the Workplace Social Exchange Network (WSEN). The WSEN attempts to understand not only the social exchanges between the individual, their supervisor, and their work organization, but to also include exchanges between the individual and his or her work team that enhance positive employee decisions. With the WSEN as a framework for understanding team dynamics, predicting a variety of factors that can affect the effectiveness of the team becomes possible.

Still, some additional influences from an individual's background can also affect team dynamics. Lack of communication, different work ethics, and interpersonal conflicts are just a few examples. More importantly, broader groups of individuals categorized by race, sex, and even age can have profoundly different views on which social exchanges are most important. Does the WSEN model account for these background influences?

By comparing workers from two different generations using the WSEN model, the answers may be forthcoming. The decision to focus on differences between the generations that currently make up the workforce is twofold. First, generational influences tend to cross the lines of race and gender. Every generation has characteristics they share in common that supersede other differences in background.

Additionally, the University of Phoenix (2003) reports that workers today are likely to find a team setting much more rewarding than workers in the past. Part of this change in worker ideals can be directly attributed to two particular generations: the baby boomers and generation X. The baby boomers are typically described as those born between the years of 1943 through 1951. The period during which they were raised instilled a very different set of values in this group of people. Two things that are responsible for this difference in attitude include the expansion of higher education opportunities available after World War II and an increased "permissiveness by parents who had survived the Depression and World War II who were also reading Dr. Benjamin Spock". (Raelin 2001, p. 22). In addition, two major life events affecting those raised during this generation were the Civil Rights movement and the Vietnam War.

The 60's reinforced existing humanistic values because of the moral and political guilt the baby boomers felt for those who were less fortunate. (Raelin 2001, p. 22) Because of these influences, Raelin (2001) suggests that members of the baby boomer generation have four specific cultural values: a defiance of authority, a desire to participate in decision-making processes, adherence to a service ethic, and a sense of anti-careerism. The values exhibited by this generation were very different from anything the workforce had experienced before. Now in their twenties and early thirties Generation X is the second generation of highlighted in this study.

Also know as the baby-busters due to the dramatic drop in births from about 1965 through 1985, generation X is also a generation with a substantially different mind set. Technically, everyone born between 1965 and 1985 is a baby buster. Being a baby-buster; however, is more an attitude than age. On the surface, busters can seem positive, even bubbly. Many were known as latch key children, who came from school each day to an empty house and fended for themselves. One effect is that many lacked role models necessary for success in life.

Many baby-busters have poor basic skills and a short attention span, having been raised by a surrogate parent - the television. (Futurist 1992, p. 53) For baby-busters, family is more frequently defined as those who will love them, rather than using the traditional definition of kinship. In many cases, friends are more family than are parents or siblings. The search for intimacy is a driving force in their lives. As a result, many baby-busters are searching for the family they never had. Baby-busters do not believe in absolute truth.

To them, everything is relative, and everything could be true. As baby-busters enter the workforce they are giving managers of today, many which are baby-boomers, fits. Today's managers have a hard time with generation X, believing that there is difficulty in getting these young workers to listen, or to do an honest day's work. In the manager's mind baby-busters would rather be having fun. The baby-buster generation has a set of eight core values described in The Futurist (1992). They are self-oriented and want to know how this will help me before taking action or making a decision.

They are cynical and do not feel the idealism of the baby-boomer generation. Some even call the baby-buster generation the "why bother?" generation. They are materialists and concerned with money, power and status. They are extending their adolescence by living with their parents, taking longer to finish college, and putting off careers for as long as possible. They want quality time as they feel they have been rushed through life and were deprived of time to be a child.

They want to have fun, which many believe to be this generation's top priority. They are slow to commit and not as loyal to companies and employers as the previous generation. They do not bow to authority and will not respect a manager without knowing why they are being asked to do a particular task. Reviewing the eight core values of "generation X" versus the four cultural values of the "baby boomers", both groups defy authority due to different influences in their generation. In addition, returning to Raelin's description of the baby boomers, we find that this generation is "concerned about insuring that work be dignified, personal, and challenging. The 60's encouraged a recurrent interest in intrinsic values and higher-order needs, such as greater involvement, resp onsibility, and a sense of achievement". (p. 23) This is in direct opposition to studies done about generation X, which is often described as self-oriented and cynical.

(Futurist 1992, p. 52) Thus we find the first of what could be seen as potential conflicts between the two generations. It is clear that a team environment is well suited for both groups as the team setting is traditionally less hierarchical, addressing the distaste that both groups feel toward authority. In addition, the added layer of exchange between the individual and the team can afford a different type of exchange than can fulfill the differing needs of each group. It is much more difficult to address these differing needs when the only exchanges are between the individual and their manager. Such leader member exchanges (LMX) tend to be more standardized, with the rewards being the same regardless of the individual.

As presented by Cole, Harris, and Schaninger (2002), part of the purpose of the WSEN is to " 'bridge the gap' between micro foci (e. g., employee needs) and macro foci (e. g., organizational structure and culture) to explore how they might influence the overall nature of the exchange network and particularly the salience of certain exchanges for employees". (pp. 143). As the importance of each type of exchange was highlighted in their study, so must these different exchanges be prioritized during the discussion of how differing generations view the relative importance of each value. Cole et. al, (2002) presents four broad categories of exchange currencies: contribution, loyalty, affect, and professional respect. These categories were introduced in the study of leader-member exchange (LMX) but it is likely that these same exchanges are equally applicable to team-member exchange (LMX). In brief, contribution refers to whether others are perceived as being invested in the stated or unstated goals.

Loyalty refers to public displays of support. Affect is simply positive feelings between individuals, and professional respect refers to the perception of others being competent at their respective duties or positions. When examining these social exchange currencies in relation to each generation, both generations hold contribution to be of great importance. For generation X this contribution is most likely to be effective if it is of personal benefit to the worker such as measurable monetary rewards for their efforts. This is due to the self-oriented nature of workers from generation X. A worker who is considered a baby boomer is likely to value contribution of a less material nature, such as increased involvement in the processes necessary to complete a project or in measurable results that are of benefit to society at large.

This is due to the baby boomers desire for greater involvement and their greater sense of social responsibility According to Raelin's description (1987) of the four cultural values particular to the 60's, the baby boomers have a desire to participate in decision making. This hints that loyalty holds significant value in the eyes of this generation. A desire to understand decision-making processes behind the tasks that they are asked to do is also mentioned among the core values of generation X. In this sense the two generations share a similar set of desires, although their reasons for doing so are vastly different. While neither generation traditionally exhibits a strong sense of loyalty to an organization, it is clear that this is something that can be earned by making workers fully engaged in the organization for which they work.

Professional respect is another social exchange currency that both generations are likely to seek in a team environment. For the baby boomers this can be attributed to their strong service ethic. According to Raelin (1992) "the 60's youth... saw an opportunity to renew the service ethic that had historically served as the 'moral pivot' of professionalism. The public had gradually witnessed a detachment of professionals who had, according to '60's rhetoric, relinquished their commitment to service". (p. 25) Workers from this generation are likely to seek hold their team members and leaders in their organizations to this high standard of service as well. For generation X, the need for professional respect is again for very different reasons. While typically not adhering to a set of values that might be seen as exemplifying the virtues of professional respect, it has been stated in the Futurist that generation X is likely to question authority.

Their dislike for authority is likely less pronounced in an environment where their teammates and leaders display a sense of competency. One of the vaguest categories mentioned by Cole et. al, (2002) is the social exchange currency of affect. This atmosphere of positive feelings can be very important during team interactions for members of any generation, but is perhaps one of the most important social exchanges to examine when talking about generation X. Two of the core values that describe generation X are a desire for quantity time and a desire to have fun. For those of generation X, spending time getting to know their team can be something that will engender affect, and also cause them to reciprocate in kind. But this time spent with their teammates must be perceived as fun to have any real effect.

Perhaps the team might spend its initial stages doing team-building activities that are both effective uses of time and fun for the whole team. What does this analysis reveal about the Workplace Social Exchange Network? Clearly the model is applicable in different situations. However, it is folly to assume that all social exchange currencies are equal in the mind of the individual.

Viewing the WSEN through the mindset of particular groups, such as African Americans, women, or even different generations as has been demonstrated; it is apparent that different groups place emphasis on different parts of social exchange. It is the team's ability to accommodate differing sets of values simultaneously that makes team-based work so rewarding for workers from different backgrounds. But perhaps the greatest lesson to be learned is that even when examining the WSEN for different groups, individuals themselves can greatly differ. The framework of the WSEN is an important tool for understanding different ways to make a team more cohesive, but its true merit lies in its adaptability for each individual rather than attempting to force an individual to adapt to it.