Some people believe that the way leaders communicate depends on their age or gen

Question

Some people believe that the way leaders communicate depends on their age or generation. Based on your reading of the article, Generation Matters, answer these questions:

1). Do you believe the way leaders communicate depends on their age or generation? Explain why you agree or disagree with this statement.

2). How does your viewpoint align with what you read in the Generation Matters article?

3). What impact do you think technology and the information age have had on how we communicate?

Please label each question by the number indicated above.

Managing Employee Assets G eneration matters Surprisingly (to me), many of the people I spoke with indicated there are real generational differences between the skills, values, work ethics, and needs of workers born in different eras. While using stereotypes and generalizations can be very dangerous, some of the following may help you deal with each generation in your workforce. Ignoring the trends represented by generations of workers who grew up in differing environments can be a mistake. The time periods and attributes are just approximate guides, but some generalizations can be informative. TRADITIONALISTS Born about 1927 to 1945 These workers were influenced by the Great Depression and directly impacted by World War II. Essentially all of them are out of the workforce by now. They are typically your current employee's parents, grandparents, or older, but they may have left a lasting imprint on many of the older firms and some of their typical characteristics are worth knowing. They value hard work and thrift, are loyal employees and many have worked for a single firm over their entire career. They are team players and prefer face-to-face communications. For Traditionalists, telephones were the high tech of their formative years. They may be slow to adapt to, or are uncomfortable with, technology. Tweeting, SMS, IM and blogs will mean little or nothing to them. Characteristics/interests: Discipline, conformity, respect for authority Communication: Face-to-face, written memos Fiscal Philosophy: Save, avoid credit, pay cash 5E JPCL March 2015 / BABY BOOMERS Born about 1946 to 1964 These workers grew up in an America that was booming; infrastructure in the form of new freeways, near universal electrification, telephone service, television and the space program. These workers remember the protests against the Vietnam War and Nixon’s resignation. At this stage in their career, they probably expect you to be confident in their abilities, with a hands-off approach. Listening to their concerns and comments seriously, and a bit of a bonus or personal "thank you" when things go well, are powerful motivators. Baby Boomers are currently senior and mid-level managers in most firms. They tend to live for their jobs and will jump in whenever and wherever needed. Phones and email are their preferred form of communication. They have seen big changes over their careers and were strong idealists in their youth. They may be somewhat cynical or disillusioned by now that they haven't changed the world. "Show me the money" and "Give me the title and the authority" describe the attitudes of many. They tend to be competitive and expect bosses to let them do their jobs with a minimum of interference. They know their place in the chain of command and still aspire to move up. Characteristics/interests: Involvement, dedication to the job, work hard/play hard Communication: Meetings, email, phone Fiscal Philosophy: Buy what you want, charge it please paintsquarecom GENERATION X Born about 1965 to 1980 (although some make a distinction of 1978 to 1982 as the "MTV Generation") "Change" is probably the single word that best describes the Gen Xer's philosophy. If we think we live in turbulent times, consider that this generation grew up with man landing on the moon, the end of the Cold War and the fall of the Berlin Wall. Gen Xers lived through the 1973 oil crisis, 1979 Iran Hostage situation and energy crisis, stagflation (stagnation and inflation), savings and loan failures, AIDS and the Challenger explosion; not to mention the rise of personal computers, videogames and the dot-com bubble. The U.S. was mostly at peace during their formative years and they have little use for politics and government leaders. Gen Xers tend to be quick studies, but are impatient with rigid guidelines, production quotas and authority in general. They tend not to want to be in positions of authority. They are ambitious and hard working but mostly as individuals and entrepreneurs. Gen Xers value diversity, creativity and personal challenge. They are more likely to prioritize home and family life. Being constantly on the road is not attractive. Gen Xers generally want the freedom to figure out their own methods rather than being mentored and are very willing to change employers if they think it makes sense for them. They have no patience with endless meetings and are attached to their cell phones (not just for calls, but for emails and texts). They want to be able to leave the job at the office or worksite when they go home. They are the first generation who tends to earn less (in constant dollars) than their parents. Characteristics/interests: Flexibility, skepticism, independence Communication: Immediate and direct, email, cellphone, text Fiscal Philosophy: Cautious and conservative GENERATION Y OR MILLENNIALS Bom about 1980 to the early 2000s Gen Y is fully immersed in technology. It may be hard to peel them away from Facebook on their iPhones. If you want to get their attention, a text may be more effective than talking to them directly. This generation has never known a world without ubiquitous computing, satellite TV and internet. Social status is critically important. Work tends not to be their highest priority, their diverse interests, short attention span and focus on socialization make building them into your team tougher. Their job is not their identity or prime focus. They work to live, rather than live to work. On the other hand, they may be much more receptive to the attention and mentoring of management. Knowing that the owner, or a similar person of high status, is paying attention to and investing in them will increase their own status and can be very effective. Most Millennials know they are just starting their careers and don't have an "I already know it all" mentality, but they see work as an entitlement, rather than the other way around, and are constantly evaluating whether their current employment provides what they want — the proper environment, career enhancement, and satisfaction. If not, they'll be looking to move on.

Explanation / Answer

The arrival of the new millennium not only marks a milestone in the Christian calendar but also signals a technological watershed for mankind. This happens to be a coincidence, not planned by man or nature, yet it provides us with a rare occasion to pause and reflect.

The reason I say we are approaching a technological watershed is that many believe, and I agree, that we are passing from the industrial age to the information age, driven by rapid and remarkable advances in information and communication technologies. New products and services based on these advances are everywhere. Although they are not always visible to us as consumers, they have permeated our lives as if we were living in an infon-nation-communication ether.

Management of industrial R&D in the next 10- 15 years will be profoundly influenced by the all-connecting, all-pervading nature of this information-communication ether. The impact will be felt in many ways, some obvious, some not so obvious and some not yet foreseen. In my view, there are at least five significant impacts with strategic implications for R&D leaders in industry:

1. Shrinking Time and Distance

This is the most direct and obvious impact of the information-communication revolution. Members of an R&D project team can now be dispersed around the world yet work together around the clock as if they were next-door neighbors, thanks to innovations like videoconferencing and on-line meetings. Multi-site videoconferencing with high-fidelity document transfer is bringing together technology users and suppliers on short notice and overcoming the inconvenience of time zones. Real-time (or near real-time) on-line meetings involving many individuals from as many locations are becoming fairly routine.

Such cybermeetings are being organized and run just like traditional, face-to-face get-togethers. On-line brainstorming sessions are gaining particular popularity. In some companies, videoconferencing is being combined with simultaneous on-line meetings to provide a truly powerful tool. For example, British Petroleum technologists were reportedly able to see, analyze, diagnose, and solve equipment malfunction problems on off-shore oil-drilling equipment-from their comfortable offices and laboratories in England!

2. Lowering Cost and Increasing Output

In addition to saving travel expenses and time, R&D people everywhere are reducing activity cost and increasing work output through intelligent use of information and communication technologies. Computer-aided design tools, laboratory information management systems, molecular modeling techniques, process modeling and simulation exercises, and electronic submission of new drug applications (NDAs) to regulatory agencies are just a few examples. R&D and engineering managers are making use of computer-aided project management to reduce product development cycle time. And use of computers and robots in conjunction with statistical planning of experiments is reducing the amount of trial-and-error in R&D.

3. Enhancing Organizational Networking/Learning

Even five years ago, most individuals in an organization depended on face-to-face interactions to build linkages, share knowledge, and generate ideas. Telephone and paper exchange complemented these face-to-face interactions. Because of widespread availability and use of network-based tools and systems such as electronic mail, groupware, search engines, web crawlers, etc., organizational networking and knowledge-sharing have now become much easier and more widespread within (and outside) R&D. Thanks to Internet and e-mail, opportunities to access external information rapidly and communicate with individuals at distant places have multiplied by several orders of magnitude.

Secure Intranets (and Extranets) are not just opening doors to similarly rapid access and exchange internally (and externally with selected partners) but also creating computerized information archives as lasting knowledge legacies for R&D organizations. Push technologies are allowing individuals and groups to broadcast information to wide audiences yet reach targeted groups and individuals to meet their specified interests. Last but not least, distributed information systems are providing the opportunity for every user to become a provider as well. Thanks to such self-managed networks and systems, organizational knowledge is building up within companies at a rapid rate, without bureaucratic and costly involvement of librarians, screening agents ("gatekeepers"), or editors.

4. Bringing Technologies Together in Novel Ways

Because information and communication advances are able to find their ways into so many applications, they are proving to be catalysts for converging multiple technologies that create new products, new services, and even totally new markets and channels. Although early examples were seen in the 1970s (e.g., computerized axial tomography) and in the 1980s (e.g., video games, industrial robots, VCRs, etc.), the 1990s have witnessed a truly dramatic rise in the number of such innovations. Examples are all around us: video camera, ATM, PC-TV, digital phone, DVD, Internet and e-commerce, and the list goes on.

In BOC, for example, we have combined advanced telemetry systems (to remotely monitor levels of our liquified gas products in storage vessels at customer sites) and predictive modeling techniques (to forecast timing for fresh product supply) to schedule timely delivery and eliminate product "run out." Taking a cue from other industries, we have initiated use of "smart tags" to track movement of our gas cylinders within our operations and at our customers' sites. Our vacuum pumps and related products for the semiconductor industry have built-in networking and diagnostic/predictive capabilities--capabilities that were virtually unimaginable 10 years ago. Looking 10 years ahead, I can only see an explosive proliferation of intelligent devices and components ranging from smart refrigerators (e.g., recently announced by GE) to intelligent lawnmowers.

5. Blurring of Traditional Boundaries

Last but not least, the information--communication revolution is blurring, if not eliminating, many of the traditional boundaries to which we have grown accustomed. We are witnessing not only the shrinking of time and distance and the merging of multiple technology streams but also an increasing level of cross-functional and cross-organizational collaboration. While the harsh realities of globalization and competition may have driven most firms to promote internal and external collaboration, the widespread availability and use of information and communication tools and systems has clearly accelerated the phenomenon.

It is no longer rare for a salesperson to interact with his R&D counterpart on a real-time basis to clinch a deal, or for R&D in one division to directly access market research done in another, or for a general manager to hook up to the company's Intranet to review the latest status of a new product development effort. Finding an expert across the globe to answer someone's burning question, without many frustrating phone calls, is now relatively easy in many companies. Employees, whether they are in R&D or Planning or Finance, can now log-in their ideas, technical and non-technical, on their company-wide network, get feedback from familiar as well as unfamiliar individuals and may even be able to secure management approval for exploratory efforts. Ideas no longer carry national or ethnic tags of origin as they can move across geographic and other boundaries almost instantaneously.

Probably the strongest indication of the move away from traditional functional mindsets is found in the new enterprise resource-planning (ERP) systems being rapidly adopted by large corporations everywhere. The modules and elements within these systems are designed around work processes, not traditional functional responsibilities and requirements.

Silently, invisibly and usually without fanfare, information and communication networks and systems are bringing together people from different organizations, backgrounds and responsibilities. Thus, the traditional organizational silos are slowly but surely being eroded to create a more integrated and efficient work environment. At ABB, for example, Percy Bernavik and his senior management team were able to run over 1,000 companies in more than 100 countries with a headquarters staff of only about 100!

Advice to R&D Leaders

In view of these significant impacts, how should R&D leaders in industry adjust their management strategies and processes as they approach the new millennium? The exact answer, as always, will depend on individual circumstances. With that in mind, I offer a few suggestions:

There is no turning back for the forces unleashed by the information-communication revolution. We should, therefore, embrace and leverage them to the fullest for the benefit for our organizations. At the very least, we must take full advantage of the many time- and energy-saving features of information and communication advances to reduce cost of operation and increase output quality and quantity. However, we should not be satisfied with such a reactive and minimalist mindset. Instead, we must continually push toward a more proactive and expansive approach.

In almost every industrial firm, R&D was the first function to welcome and exploit "computing." Yet, with time, R&D seems to have fallen behind. The adoption of manufacturing and logistics planning systems (MRPs) and ERPs by other functions has positioned them as the more imaginative and influential proponents of information (and communication) technologies. R&D management should pursue aggressively every opportunity to utilize information and communication technologies to support and enhance all aspects of the innovation process.

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