GEN Y'S IMPACTS ON ORGANIZATION: AN

EXAMINATION OF GENERATIONAL EFFECTS

ON WORK ATTITUDE AND HOW IT DIFFERS
FROM PRIOR GENERATION
PROJECT OUTLINE REPORT
GEN XL
GMP 14-1! SECTION A! GROUP "

AMIT #HARADWAJ C A#HISHEK
KARTHIK H R
G14$$"! XLRI JAMSHEDPUR G14$1! XLRI JAMSHEDPUR G14$$%&! XLRI
JAMSHEDPUR

NILADRI SARKAR RAHUL RAI SALIN
KUMAR G
G14$&1! XLRI JAMSHEDPUR G14$&'! XLRI JAMSHEDPUR G14$4"! XLRI
JAMSHEDPUR
Page 1 of 13
TIRTHANKAR PAL
G14$! XLRI JAMSHEDPUR
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 Introduction
What triggered us to choose this topic?
Purpose and Significance of the Study
Delimitations
Chapter 2 Research Methodologies
iterature Re!ie" and #!er!ie"
Participants $ Sample
Instruments
Procedures
Chapter % Data Presentation &nalysis
Chapter ' (indings
Chapter ) Suggestions and Recommendations
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Chapter * Conclusions
Chapter + Scope for (urther Study
&nne,ure & -uestionnaire
Chapter 1
Introduction
What triggered us to choose this topic?
Never before has the Indian workforce been made up of employees from four distinct generations. Each of
these generations came of age at a distinct moment in history and the generational beliefs and behaviors of
these employees etend to their view of work and management. !he combination of a changing age profile
in the workforce and the changing nature of the work tasks in the knowledge economy, demanding a
higher level of skill and experience has been the trigger point for this research "# pro$ect at %&'I.
Purpose and ignificance of the tudy
!he purpose of this study is to provide a greater understanding of the age(related differences in work
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attitudes and behaviour among employees organi)ation. It is important that organi)ations are aware of the
issues* in particular* $ob satisfaction* work motivation and commitment* the relationships between $ob and
family characteristics and work(related attitudes.
!his research will utili)e +uantitative research methods to analy)e the correlation between different
generational cohorts and their attitudes towards work related issues. ,hile the research will analy)e some
significant differences between the generational cohorts* it will also focus on finding some beliefs in common
among the cohorts.
If the various generational cohorts within an organi)ation have overlapping or complementary attitudes this
synergy can be a benefit for an organi)ation. -et differences between generations in the workplace can
negatively impact an organi)ation and is an important but often overlooked factor of diversity in the
workplace. Previous researchers have suggested that the different attitudes of the various generations can
lead to conflict and loss of organi)ational effectiveness and efficiency. .ommunication and a positive
organi)ational culture can help to resolve friction between the generations as well as meeting each
generation/s desire for different rewards.
In order to be effective and efficient* leaders and managers need to have as broad an understanding as
possible of the people they hire* supervise and associate with daily. Providing managers with detailed
information on the values* attitudes and preferences of different generations provides one more essential
element of information that managers can refer to when anticipating* evaluating and0or resolving issues in the
workplace.
!he workforce issues previously identified must be continually addressed to produce an efficient and effective
organi)ation. Indeed* leaders* whether they be at the eecutive* mid( management* supervisory or
subordinate level are* or should be* keenly aware of them. !his study will address the item1 In organi!ations,
are there significant differences in employees" attitudes towards work that align with generational
affiliations?
#elimitations
!his study/s survey responses will be limited to student from the %&'I* 2amshedpur 34P 15(16 batch and
colleagues from previous organi)ations. ,hile there are four generations in the current workforce* according
to the literature* this report only documents attitudes of two generational cohorts1 3eneration %* and
3eneration -. If the survey has enough representation from the #aby #oomers to provide any statistically
valid data* then the research will be etended to include three generations.
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Chapter $
%esearch &ethodologies
'iterature tudy
,e will use the literature to understand the various generations. 3enerations have been identified work(traits
and values associated with these generations summari)ed in the table below.
(eneration )irth *r %ange +ther ,ames -alues Work./raits
3I 1726 8 1752 !raditional*
.onservatives*
9ilent
.onformism* !hrift* 4aturity "bedience* &oyalty*
"bligation* 9ecurity
#aby
#oomers
1752 8 17:; #oomer* 4E
3eneration
Idealism* .reativity*
!olerance* <reedom
,orkaholics* .riticism*
Innovation
3eneration % 17:1 8 17=1 %ers* 13
th
3eneration
Individualism* 9kepticism*
<leibility
&earning*
Entrepreneurial spirit*
4aterialism
3eneration - 17=2 8 onwards 4illenials*
3eneration Net
4oralism* .onfidence*
Positivity* Environmental
consciousness
Passion* #alance*
&eisure* 9ecurity
In recent years there/s been a substantial effort to understand the 3en - workforce and literature abounds
with the various working traits of this generation.
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Instruments 0 Procedures
!he two main sources of information for our pro$ect will be1
'eading( theory and other research and review works
'esearch( +uestionnaires* surveys and observation
!he team will design an instrument. <irst* participants will be asked to respond to an online survey asking
them to choose their generational cohort. Net* on a scale of 1(6* they will be asked to rate the etent to
which they agreed with various work(related statements. /he statements were decided upon after a
review of the pertinent literature, which suggested that there were differences among the generations"
attitudes towards job satisfaction, organizational commitment and career commitment1 !here will be a
total of 3;(36 items in the +uestionnaire. !he research aims to survey approimately 12; students and
employees in total.
>sing reviewed +uestionnaire and by online survey* we will identify where 3en - differs from the previous
generations and identify the commonalities between them if any. <urther* the study will confirm that surveyed
sample/ attitudes are in line with previous research from various parts of the world.
Participants
!he study will mainly take place in %&'I* 2amshedpur. !he students from 34P batch of 2;15(2;16* the #4
and ?' batch of 2;13(16 and employees of few corporate organi)ations will be re+uested to participate in the
survey. !he 9ample is being chosen such as to cover members of the 3en % as well as 3en -. !he main
sample of participants will be from various fields of work and would have had some work eperience in an
organi)ational setting. @s a control group* we intend to include as much respondents from all the above
mentioned generation cohorts especially the baby boom generations as possible* 3en(% and several from
3en -. !he survey +uestions are gender neutral but the participants will be chosen across all the genders.
@ll participants will be asked to give informed consent before beginning the survey. !he survey will take a
participant approimately fifteen minutes to complete. !he survey results will also be recorded in a
spreadsheet to analy)e the trends.
@lso* research $ournals* academy of management $ournals* books on organi)ational behavior and online
resources will be referred to study and confirm the already established survey results. @lso these will be used
as source to prepare the appropriate survey +uestionnaire.
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2ypothesis 13
3eneration - tends to be well educated* technologically advanced* and globally aware. !hey have a short(
term career perspective and general lack of trust in corporations.
!heir focus tends to be on personal success* but with a desire to improve life for others by volunteering. !hey
are known as multi(taskers and versatile communicators. Even though they are noted for being
technologically savvy* they are also able verbal communicators.
2ypothesis $3
Non(3en - tends to be more committed to their organi)ation than their 3en - counterparts. Non(3en -
shows higher affective commitment. !hey eperience the greatest $ob satisfaction.
!hey are also significantly more satisfied with their promotion opportunities than those who are in 3en -.
!he older generations also had greater intrinsic $ob satisfaction than 3en - and are significantly more
satisfied with the type of work they did and the financial rewards they received. People in the oldest age
group were significantly more satisfied with contingent rewards* work* and the work environment* and they
eperienced greater overall $ob satisfaction than the 3en -.
@ccording to @ppelbaum and his colleagues A2;;5B* eisting generational myths indicate that #aby #oomers
and the older generations are Cless adaptable and harder to trainD then 3en(%ers and younger generations.
3en(%ers are also characteri)ed as less committed than their predecessors though they are said to be the
first Ctechno(literateD generation in the workforce A&osyk 177E* 51B.
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Chapter.4
#ata Presentation 5nalysis
In this section* we will categori)e the data* collected from various respondents of the survey* into different
generations such as 3en %* 3en - etc. @nd within each such generation* we will show the percentage of
people who have voted for each of the work attitudes. !hese data may be represented in the form of #ar
3raphs or any other suitable forms.
!hese data will be compared and analy)ed across different generations and we will try to find out the trends
of these generations regarding various work attitudes.
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+rgani!ing the data
!he data or information should be organi)ed in a logical order. !he main ideas followed by supporting details
should be communicated. ,hile organi)ing data* more important or significant information will be first dealt
and then move to the least important information.
Chapter 6
7indings
#ased on the trend analysis from previous section* we will publish some concrete results on how different
generations give importance to different work attitudes and we will specifically find the difference between
3en - and all other generations.
,e epect that in consistent with literature* analytical codes relating to generational and life course bondsF
ine+uality* diversity and conflicts are epected to be apparent when we collate the data
Chapter 8
uggestions and %ecommendations
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If the future now belongs to knowledge workers* and successful innovation and economic growth depend
s+uarely on their effort. !he above research work will suggest as how the cohesion can developed among
various generations so that we can have conditions to maimi)e the organi)ation efficiency and output.
!his study sought to provide organi)ational leaders and managers with detailed information on the attitudes
and preferences of different generations. It provides an essential conceptual framework that managers can
refer to when anticipating* evaluating and0or resolving organi)ational workforce issues among and between
generations. !he results of this study can assist management in the selection of employees. ?aving an
understanding of the attitudes and preferences of co(workers and subordinates is likely to foster enhanced
communication* collaboration and productivity in the workplace.
Chapter 9
Conclusions
,e epect to etend the previous eamination 0 research done* but the results and conclusion will be in
contet to Indian work force and Indian organi)ation.
9ince various literatures and study are from international books and papers* we epect to have variation in
result if compared with international data 0 results.
Chapter :
cope for 7urther tudy
!he scope for further study may be there in case we do not receive the sufficient data from #aby #oomers
and 9ilent 3enerationF hence the scope for further study is epected to be there.
What you ;elieve will ;e the strength of your research and the potential pro;lems you may confront
in preparing this pro<ect1
!he strength of this research is availability of 3en - at %&'I and accessibility to 3en % in organi)ations with
which we were0are associated. ,e will be able to get enough sample data for analysis. <urther it would be
easier to interact and understand with participate in case of any ambiguity. "ther strengths for this research
are cohesive environment at %&'I* as a team of E we are working without disruptive conflicts* we are aware
of each other/s capability and also availability of resources at %&'I such as 25 hrs library* various academic
articles repositories that %&'I subscribes such as E#9."* P'"G>E9!* 29!"'* etc.
!he potential problems that we may face are time constraint because of other academic re+uirements. ,e
Page 1; of 13
will not be eclusively focus on the research and analysis. ,e are not sure of the +uality of the research
because of above constraints. !he other problem may be non(active participation of sample candidates* while
collecting the data. ,e lack eperience in such kind of research and analysis and will have to depend on the
books* articles* etc to interpret the analysis.
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