Motivating the Generation Mix

Asad Shahid
03 December 2013
MGMT E-4000 Organizational Behavior
Dr. C. Gibaldi

Formulating strategies that can deliver a competitive advantage is anything but easy. Senior
managers working with other individuals engage in countless conversations, meetings, experiments,
and analysis in order to create or modify company strategies. Implementing strategies and engaging in
the day-to-day behaviors that help to create a competitive advantage are difficult tasks. Hard work is
involved and managers and their associates must be willing to deliver strong efforts if a firm is to
succeed. With strong efforts being crucial, motivation in the workplace is essential. People must be
motivated if they are to effectively engage in the behaviors and practices that bring advantage and
success to a firm. It is important to note that different strategies require different types of people and
behavior, and thus, different approaches to motivation. A common definition of motivation is the force
that drives a person to act in a certain way. According to the text, motivation is defined as forces
coming from within a person that account for the willful direction, intensity, and persistence of the
persons efforts toward achieving specific goals, where achievement is not due solely to ability or to
environmental factors(Hitt, Miller, & Collela, 2009 p.187). There are a plethora of ways to motivate
people and great deal is known about the science of motivation and the practices that will most likely
increase and sustain the strong efforts by associates. In today's society, it becomes increasingly
common to find different generations working together, side by side. Each generation has its own
characteristics and factors they are motivated by(Pareek, 1974 p.18) . This alone makes it important for
managers to identify what motivates their employees and then face the challenge of joining their
associate's personal objectives with those of the company. People do things because they believe that it
will fulfill some current or future personal goal or desire and these goals/desires and methods people
employ depend heavily on the generation mix and how methodology is executed.
A generation is defined as a group of people born in the same general time span who share
some life experiencesuch as big historical eventspastimes, heroes and early work experiences
(Weston, 2001 p.12) . Generation gap analysts believe these shared life experiences condition

generational groups to see and act differently than other generational groups; hence, the emergence of
a generation gap (Weston, 2001 p.11). These generational differences, they believe, cause us to
communicate and use technology differently and have different world-views and perspectives on
family and work-life balance(Weston, 2001 p.11).
First, it is important to understand the different generations and then motivators of each. The
Traditionalists (born prior to 1947) work best when there is personal contact, strong leadership and
direction (Hammill, 2005 p.3). The Baby Boomers (born from 1947 to 1966) are the workaholics, and
have extended the work week from a standard 38 hours to 60 hours, adding almost a month to the work
year (Hammill, 2005 p.4). Boomers want work that will give them recognition, praise, and fame. The
Xers (born from 1967 to 1980), are children of Boomers and want to go home at the stroke of five so
they can pursue their other interests (Hammill, 2005 p.5). Xers want flexible schedules, independence,
professional growth, mentors, interesting work and plenty of time off. Lastly, Nexters, more commonly
known as Generation Y (born after 1980), the grandchildren of Boomers, are motivated by similar
incentives as Xers, but seek more direction (Hammill, 2005 p.5). These generational differences
impact an employees perception of whether he or she is appropriately recognized. Generations raised
to believe that sacrifice and duty are paramount want that aspect celebrated with formal awards,
dinners, pictures and handshakes with the upper echelon (Zemke,Raines,&Filipczak, 2000). Employees
who are Traditionalists often don't want anything expensive, while employees from other age groups
put personal development first and may prefer recognition in the form of more responsibility
(Zemke,et.al, 2000). Those who have mastered the art of managing across generations understand how
much supervision and instruction is needed by each type of employee(Hammill, 2005 p.6).
Theories of motivation explain why we act and why we do certain things rather than others.
Some theories relevant to workplace motivation include Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and Herzberg's
two-factor theory. These two theories are an aid to helping understand human nature and how an
individual's needs influence motivation. These theories explain the internal needs and motivation that

employees bring with them to work, and these theories put people first and employees second,
addressing human needs first (Hitt et al., 2009, p.192).
In his Hierarchy of Needs, Maslow proposes all human needs can be arranged into a hierarchy
of pre-potency, where the appearance of a certain need is connected to the satisfaction of the other,
more pre-potent needs(Hitt et al., 2009, p.193). The hierarchy of needs starts with physiological needs
such as eating, breathing, and sleeping. This leads to need number two, safety needs, and need number
three, Love/belonging needs. Need number four incorporate esteem needs, and the last level, need
number five are self-actualization needs(Hitt et al., 2009, p.193). The first four levels of needs, as
Maslow describes, can be called 'deficit needs'. He explains that these needs are felt by every human
being, but once any of these needs is satisfied, it is no longer motivating(Hitt et al., 2009, p.196). The
fifth level of needs, however, is called 'the being need'. It differs from the lower levels, because it is
never fully satisfied. The author explains that although people are mostly occupied with satisfying their
urgent 'lower' needs, it is the self-actualization need that drives us to the real innovation and
satisfaction(Hitt et al., 2009, p.194).
In addition, Frederick Herzberg developed a two-factor theory of motivation that makes clear
what the employer can bring to the motivation partnership(Hitt et al., 2009, p.196). According to
Herzberg, two factors affect employee motivation: dissatisfiers and motivators; both of which the
employer has primary responsibility(Hitt et al., 2009, p.196). Examples of dissatisfiers are poor
working conditions, unsafe equipment, unfair pay, etc. According to Herzberg, these problems must be
resolved before motivators can work(Hitt et al., 2009, p.197). Resolving the problems increases
employee satisfaction; however, it does not provide motivation. Motivators are factors that influence
job satisfaction and lead to motivation. Examples include achievement, recognition, satisfying work,
etc. These motivators turn an employee from being neutral about the job into a motivated employee.
The implications for the employers side of the motivation partnership are clear. The dissatisfiers must
be removed before motivators can work. Employees working in unsafe conditions with unfair pay will

not be motivated by recognition and delegation of additional responsibility. However, making the
workplace safe and increasing the pay to a fair level is not enough. These steps alone will fail to
motivate employees. They will be satisfied but not motivated. These neutral workers can be turned
into satisfied and motivated workers by using the motivators, e.g., recognition and delegation of
additional responsibility. Each employer can work to identify the dissatisfiers among his or her
employees. Removing the dissatisfiers provides opportunity to take advantage of motivators (Staw,
Sutton, & Pelled, 1994 p.62).
Since the baby boomers grew up in optimistic and positive times, they believe that the world is
at their feet. This influenced their competitive nature and they are a generation that enjoys winning.
They are known for their want to be in charge, to make an impact, and their focus on personal
achievement(Zemke et al.,2000). Due to their competitive nature, the Boomers are motivated by factors
such as being given the chance to prove themselves, gaining recognition in their companies through
titles, as well as public recognition for outstanding work and achievements(Zemke et al.,2000). Other
factors that motivate the boomers are are different perks such as being given a company car and
benefits that include great health insurance. Furthermore, the feeling of being valued and needed by the
company are highly motivating factors (Muchinsky, 2000 p.803). An example of this would be
employers offering development opportunities which would motivate the Boomers by providing them
with specific education to help them make a difference in their organization. Lastly, this generation is
characterized by a sense of safeness. They like long-term decisions, savings, and have a great respect
for authority and work in a manner to build relationships and stability(Muchinsky, 2000 p.804).
Generation X is known to be self-reliant and independent as they were the first generation to
have both parents working. Some characteristics that fit this generation well are that they dislike rules
and prefer doing things their own way, and are motivated by being given the freedom to act. The enjoy
having several projects allowing them to prioritize, giving them the feeling of being in control.
Generation X doesnt have a high regard for perks. They seek a workplace that is exciting, challenging

and meaningful, they are also motivated by fun office/sporting events that are arranged by the
company(Muchinsky, 2000 p.805). Nexters are optimistic multi-taskers with a global world view
who believe in volunteering and serving their communities. These diverse world views and life
approaches, some experts contend, can cause workplace clashes of epic proportions, lower morale
and increase turnover, requiring HR and talent professionals to take special care to keep the peace in
workplaces.
As a result of shrinking budgets and increasingly diverse missions, its critical that education
and training be imparted based on generational needs. For example, the Traditionalists and Baby
Boomers are typically more comfortable in a traditional classroom, and they can be uncomfortable with
role-playing, small groups and "touchy-feely" training (Haughey, 1993 p.8). They require constant
feedback if given self-directed training. On the other hand, if Xers and Nexters find themselves in
classroom settings, they will usually require more interaction. They enjoy computer based or
audio/video training and welcome instruction that is self-paced. While older students are more taskoriented, younger ones are more experimental. If a project requires outside the box thinking, consider
giving it to the Generation X and Y employees. Even though they have less experience, they thrive on
being creative and pulling something together. Give Boomers projects with a lot of detail that they can
understand because of their experience.
Having grown up in the video/computer age, the typical Xer or Nexter assimilates information
quickly and can focus on many things at once. Such multi-tasking is useful for consuming massive
amounts of information. Many older workers didnt develop these skills because they didn't need them
or practice them growing up. They tend to view younger staffers as scattered and inattentive to detail.
In most instances, Xers don't need a lot of detailed instruction (Haughey, 1993 p.10). They have a good
grasp on how to get information quickly. They are organized and they tackle each project differently.
Baby Boomers tend to be more comfortable with the way they have always done things and can be
resistant to change.

A manager has to get things done effectively through the team he or she has been assigned.
Although it seems easy, practically this is not an easy task to perform because there are several aspects
that come in to play when a manager is intending to ask employees to work according to the
requirement. The most important thing that a manager need is the ability to motivate employees
(Haughey, 1993 p.10). Motivation practice and theory are difficult subjects, and at times they are
touching as well. Despite of several researches that have been performed on this topic on the basic and
applied level, the subject of motivation is not clearly understood as yet. It has been seen that often
motivation is poorly practiced by the people. In order to understand the theory of motivation it is
important to understand human nature itself, because, in my opinion, the problem lies there.
Human nature can be very simple to understand, yet at the same time it can be very complex
too. Understanding the human nature, variation in attitude, difference in opinions and variation in
appreciation is very important for effective employee motivation in the workplace which leads to
effective management and leadership(Haughey, 1993 p.14). It is a fact that motivation is directly
proportional to productivity of a person, if your employee is much disciplined he will be highly
productive when he is motivated properly, the employees who are not motivated usually seek another
job elsewhere, so that they can gain motivation on their performed work (Staw et al.,1994 p.68). This
action reduces the sense of belonging to the company and reduces the eagerness to work correctly, and
when these employees leave their company, the company incurs training cost that had been spent on
them.
Identifying the needs of their employees is essential responsibility of management (Muchinsky,
2000 p.804). Each employee has their own way of thinking, and similarly their own expectations. No
employee will truly get motivated unless management satisfies their employee's need. For instance,
people who expect good money from an organization will never get satisfied by empowerment or
promotion compared to increased salaries. Some kinds of people within the organization will hate to

work on the tasks that are challenging and require innovative solutions that take time, and at the same
time, some kind of people will love to perform repetitive tasks because they are done easily. People
working for job satisfaction would not get satisfied by a salary increase, in comparison to the job that
will satisfy them. Human resources departments in the organization should also be assigned tasks to
identify the different needs of their employees in order to know how to satisfy them (Muchinsky, 2000
p.805).
If the human resources department fails to assign the right person to the right place in the
organization, the employee will get de-motivated and not perform to their potential. In the case of
someone who is over qualified for a job, they will feel that that they deserve better than the current
position and as a result, will not be motivated to work. Employee appraisal is very important from both
an organization and employee prospective(Muchinsky, 2000 p.805). This provides a means for
employees to set targets for themselves. The rewards that are provided after a good performance review
are always welcomed by employees, and in some cases expected, and they provide high levels of
motivation for the person. Positive feedback and appraisal puts more motivation within the employees
to perform even better in at a later time. However, most of the time, the appraisals are prepared
keeping the requirement of organization in mind, this should not be the case rather the needs of
employee should be kept in mind while preparing the appraisal this will motivate the employee a lot.
An employee may lose his motivation when he or she performs some exceptional task, or does
something good to the organization and does not get rewarded bonuses with his salary, it is important to
ensure to assess the expectations of the employee so that the organization is able to meet his
expectations.
In my opinion, the two common ways to influence motivation from associates are by incentive
motivation and motivation via personal growth. First, people can motivate themselves by working with
things that satisfy their personal needs. Secondly, people can be motivated by management using

incentives such as pay, promotions, and praise. Incentive motivation is used by companies as a stick
and carrot model. The company holds some type of incentive in front of employees in hopes of making
then move towards the reward in the right direction. The second method focusing on personal growth
as a motivator can change the ways associates think about work, making them more capable, which
gives them a significant purpose in coming to work along with maximizing employees motivation.
My employer, MEDITECH, has adopted a general strategy if differentiation based on
innovation and creativity. Differentiating in this was requires people who can think differently,
experiment in smart ways, accept responsibility, and appreciate the learning that accompanies failed
efforts. This strategy also requires people who want to be challenged and grow in the workplace. To
fully motivate such people, resources for trying new ideas must be made available, including time.
Opportunities to develop new skills and polish old ones are held at a high regard. Recognition for
success and pats on the back for strong efforts are necessary. Pay, while important, often takes the back
seat. Motivations are very important in order to get the full potential from your employees, motivation
is a very sensitive factor and an important one too, and this needs to be practiced very cleverly and
sincerely as well. For example, When the employees are able to complete the assigned task well within
the 8 hours, it is good to enable chatting programs, and social media websites, but make sure that it is
not announced, in this way employee will take some time out after the completion of the work to relief
himself or herself. This will also prevent the de-motivation factor and reduce frustration of work caused
due to the hard work. There is no doubt that the employees will produce higher level of result when
they get motivated, hence identifying the expectations and needs of the employee and fulfilling them is
the role of the organization.
At present, its time for HR and talent management professionals to stop looking at what
divides associates among the generations and start with what keeps them together. This is typically the
desire for their organizations to succeed, the need for good leaders, finding success in their careers, and

recognizing that everyone faces aging and uncertainty in the future(Pareek, 1974 p.26). All generations
desire continuous employment and are highly committed to good employers. It stands to reason,
then, that we all want our organizations to succeed. A recent catalyst study, as mentioned in
Generations at Work: Managing the Clash of Veterans, Boomers, Xers, and Nexters in Your
Workplace, 1,200 Generation Xers in North America found that 85 percent of respondents said
they cared a great deal about their organizations future, and 83 percent said they were willing
to go beyond what is expected to ensure the success of their organizations, countering prevailing
wisdom that Generation Xers lack loyalty to their employers (Zemke et al.,2000).
If we refocus generation gap to mean life stages, the differences among age groups can be
seen as a continuum and not necessarily divisive. For example, Generation Yers do crave feedback and
coaching. This need has been translated by generational gap pundits as seen as time-consuming and
ego-centric to Baby Boomers. If we rephrase that need for feedback and coaching into a life stage,
Baby Boomers can better understand that anyone embarking on a new career may need more frequent
confirmation and support than a seasoned professional. Instead of Baby Boomers hearing a great
sucking sound of valuable work time lost, they become the coach to the next generation in their fields.
When employers focus on what the generations have in common, treat their employees fairly
and offer them work-life balance, challenging projects, opportunities for advancement, learning and
growth in their jobs, they will get committed, loyal workers and productive workplaces in return. HR
and talent management professionals must look at what we have in common and build organizations
that speak to these commonalities. Instead of focusing first on what divides us, a better approach to
managing generations in the workplace is to start with our similarities and our needs.

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