Aging Population Impact on the Labor Market Dissertation

Abstract

Employees are very important resource to any organization. A firm will have to rely on its employees to achieve its goals within its fields. Employees have the capacity to help transform a firm for the better. They have the capacity to create a working environment that would foster creativity and innovativeness. The current world today is very competitive and it requires innovative minds. Technology is bringing new changes in the market that demands that firms develop new approaches of operation that would make them more efficient. This can only be achieved if the employees have the capacity to respond to the changing environmental forces. The workforce can be categorized as young or aging population. Young employees who recently graduated from college are very agile in handling their duties. They are creative and very innovative in every action they undertake. However, they lack experience in their fields. They have not been working in these fields long enough to make any serious impact to the society. The aging population on the other hand, has experience. These employees have long period of handling various activities in their fields, and therefore knows what should be done. Because of this, the aging population is still important to organization today. They can team up with the younger employees and share their skills to come up with the best strategy of handling a given task.

Introduction

Introduction and Background of the Study

Human resource is one of the most important aspects of organization. Human resource, according to Uhlenberg (74), is an asset to an organization. This scholar notes that human resource is the most important asset to any organization. Failure or success of an organization will always depend on the quality and commitment of the employees. Quality of the employees is always determined by their level of training, and the experience they have in a particular field. The labor market has experienced massive changes following the inventions and innovations in various field related to human resource. The world has experienced massive changes in various sectors, following the changes in the emerging technologies (Alon 90). The current job market is very different from what it used to be in the near past. There is an increased pressure on the employees to deliver quality work in all that they do.

The production departments need employees who are efficient and understand the emerging technologies. This would enable this department to make its production more efficiently within the shortest time possible. The finance units need employees who have an understanding of the operational activities of all other departments within the organization. This way, the employees will be able to budget for each department appropriately. Marketing departments need employees who understand the emerging markets, and can apply social media marketing. This would enable the firm to be very competitive in the market. Every unit in the current organizations have developed new demands those employees must fulfill in order for their activities to be considered successful.

The aging population forms a substantial part of the current employees in the current job market. In the United Kingdom, the population of the young graduates has been constantly rising in the twenty-first century. The society has come to appreciate the importance of education, and every child is always taken through all the basic learning up to college level. This has seen a large number of young employees introduced into the labor market on a yearly basis. They are energetic, creative and innovation in their actions, but lack experience. They are very agile, but lack patience associated with the aging population. These new college graduates have deep understanding of the current emerging technologies. They understand the social media. They are flexible, and can be very useful when a firm or a department needs to change from one strategy to another. However, Clay (71) notes that satisfying them is as difficult as retaining them in the same firm for a long period. They are the generation Y. They are always looking for more. They rarely get satisfied, and this explains why they are very mobile. They are trying to achieve their desires by trying different fields. They like challenges, but do not entertain a lot of pressure from their supervisors (Eberhard 19). These are some of the strange characteristics of young employees.

The aging population on the other hand, has contrasting characteristics from the young employees. They are slow to adapting to the robust changes that may come their way. They are used to specific ways of carrying different activities. Bringing them new approaches as dictated by the emerging technologies may not work well with them. They tend to be rigid, and will always try to oppose any scenario where they are subjected to new approaches in their various field. A report by Shi (56) further states that the aging population has little understanding of the emerging technologies. A marketing officer who is aged fifty-five years has very little understanding of the emerging technologies in his marketing field. Such an employee may not have an account with Facebook, Tweeter or YouTube. Telling that employee to participate in social media marketing may be a little strange to him. Besides the above challenges, the aging population has some special characteristics that may make them very desirable in the face of employees.

The first characteristic that makes these employees special is their experience. The aging population has rich background of massive experience, gathered from a constant experience gained from several years of performing different activities. The aging populations have massive experience that can make them perform their different tasks with improved efficiency. They have the ability to predict the future of the market with utmost accuracy. They have the capacity to deliver within their various fields because of the long experience they have in their respective fields. These employees are also special in the fact that they have the capacity to stay with one firm for a very long time. They understand that they are on their way to retirement. They therefore do not have too high expectations in regard to satisfaction they need from what they do. A firm can therefore trust that they will stay with it for a longer period that a young employee will be willing. It is therefore easier to include them in the strategic planning of a firm.

Research Problem and Research Question

The business world is changing very rapidly due to the changes brought about by technologies. The world has been reduced to the global village, with new approaches that never existed before being witnessed today. Firms are under pressure to deliver. The suppliers are demanding more for lesser amount of products they deliver to the firm, stating the increasing costs. The consumers are willing to pay fewer prices for the amount they have been getting from these firms. This translates to increased costs, and reduced profits. These firms must come with mechanisms that they can use to help them manage this pressure coming from the two sides. Making profits is a must for these firms. Profits must be sustainable for the firm to prosper in the industry. The firm must take into consideration the type of competition that exists in the market. Other firms are determined to make their way to the top of the industry using every available means.

The only salvation for firm operating in the current competitive market is to have efficient employees who will help it cut the costs of production, improve quality of the products, and come up with the best ways of reaching out for the customers. This is the challenge that these firms have.

The labor market is characterized by the aging labor force, the middle aged and the fresh college graduates (Rothwell 96). Taking the two extremes of the aging labor force and the fresh college graduates, a firm is always faced by two contrasting group of employees. Firms require employees who have experience in what they do. This will help in elimination of wastes as a result of breakage or general damage, a fact that is very common with inexperienced employees. Experienced employees tend to be more efficient and very reliable. Firms also need employees they are sure can be retained in the firm for a relatively long period (Nelson 71). These characteristics are available in the aging employees, but lacking in the young employees who recently graduated from colleges. On the other hand, these firms need employees who understand the emerging technologies. They need employees who are dynamic and can help it change its strategies to suite new trends in the market. They need creative employees who have the capacity to meet the increasingly dynamic business environment. These characteristics are found in the young employees, but missing in the aging population.

These are the challenges that current employers are faced with. They have to decide what they want for their firms to prosper. They have to determine if they prefer experience over creativity and innovativeness, or vice versa. They have to determine if they need a combination of both, or a blend (Price 70). This leads to the following research questions.

1. In the current dynamic business environment, can experience be considered relevant in creativity and innovation?
2. What is the impact of the aging labor market on firms that are struggling to gain competitive advantage in the current business environment?

From the above research questions, the researcher developed research hypothesis. The following are some of the research hypotheses that would help guide this research

• H1o. Creativity and innovation are not some of the key factors that would determine success or failure of a firm in the current competitive business world.
• H1a. Creativity and innovation are some of the key factors that would determine success or failure of a firm in the current competitive business world (Poole 21).
• H2o. Experience is not an important qualification that an employees should have for them to be productive.
• H2a. Experience is still an important qualification that an employees should have for them to be productive.
• H3o. The aging population is not important to firms in their quest to be flexible to the changing business environment.
• H3a. The aging population is still important to firms in their quest to be flexible to the changing business environment.

The researcher developed the above three questions and hypotheses to help guide this research. The research will therefore try to respond to the above question by analyzing both the primary and secondary sources of data.

Justification of the Study

A number of researches in this field have been done before (Sohrab and Farhad 86). This research is not intended to duplicate such works, neither is it intended to be a piece of academic report that would be kept in shelves after the concerned authorities have gone through and approved it. This is a detailed research that is intended to have a positive implication in the field of human resource management. As stated above, human resource is very important. They are the defining factor, as far as success or failure of an organization is concerned (Rothwell 78). Their experience and dedication will always lead to success of the organization. However, when they lack desirable characteristics, then a firm will always have problems meeting various demands. This can ultimately lead to a complete failure of the firm. The firm may automatically fail to make it through because of the increased pressure in the external environment.

Human resource has faced a number of dilemmas in the past. The world is increasingly getting dynamic, with various changes taking place in much unexpected manner. Technology has turned to be the center stage of every activity of firms. Firms must have the capacity to understand the emerging technologies in order to manage competition. The employees must therefore have deep knowledge in the emerging technologies in order for them to be relevant to the organization. They must be innovative enough to help the firm come up with new product, or different approaches in the market that will make the firm and its products be positively unique. These requirements can easily be found in new employees. These firms also need experience. It is through experience that a firm can maintain consistence and efficiency. These characteristics are commonly found among the aging population.

This research is focused on finding the relevance of both the aging and young employees. It is intended to bring to focus a clear understanding of how a firm should balance the two. It also helps in explaining the impact of the aging population on firms in general, and on the young employees. This would help the firm determine how to balance the two contrasting resources within the firm. It would help determine how to blend the two in order to come up with a mix that not only work in harmony, but also share in their knowledge and experience in a way that would improve efficiency of both sides.

Delimitation, Scope and Key Assumptions of the Research

In the process of collecting data for this research, analysis of the gathered data and in compiling data, the researcher encountered a number of limitations and delimitations. This research was conducted within the United Kingdom. This was the scope of primary data collection. However, this field is universal, and issues relating to human resource affect firms in all parts of the world (Ham, Brekhus and Madden 26). Nevertheless, the sample population for this research was within the confines of this region. This dissertation is meant to be an inclusive analysis of the field of human resource. The society in the United Kingdom has a very sharp contrast to that of some other countries, such as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (Abdurrahman 20). In the United Kingdom, women have attained the status where they are considered an equal force to that of men. They can join any profession without fear of intimidation in whatsoever manner. In contrast, the Saudi society, and many other Islamic states, is still not ready for a professional woman. Peter and Graham (94) report that they still hold to the traditional idea that women are not supposed to take important roles in the society.

The researcher based this dissertation on the primary data gathered from this country, and this would not be a representative of what is happening in all other countries around the world, especially in the Islamic states. To counter this challenge, the researcher used secondary sources of data in the literature review in order to have a clear picture of what is happening in other countries. Review of secondary data reveals that although there is a difference in environmental structure in different societies, the challenges associated with human resource is becoming universal.

This research was conducted to find out the impact of the aging population on the labor market. This would lead to making a general advice to various firms on how to manage their human resource base. This had to be made clear to all the respondents as an essential ethics for a research. Determined to maintain ethics in this research, the researcher had to get a few willing individuals to respond to the questionnaires designed for this research. Although the researcher experienced constrains in the time available for the research, it was possible to conduct surveys, send and receive questionnaires, analyze data and write this dissertation in time. The researcher was also able to manage the available finances to meet the cost of this research successfully.

This research focuses on human beings. Unlike pure sciences where specimens can be manipulated in a controlled environment, it is not possible to control human beings (Williams 118). It is not possible to create a controlled environment where the research would be based on. People have different traits and feelings of one individual can never be the same as that of the other. Because of these facts, the researcher came up with several assumptions that would help make this research a reality. Some of the key assumptions made in this research were as follows.

1. The United Kingdom is a democratic state which respects human rights, and therefore, men and women have equal opportunities in the job market.
2. The society of the United Kingdom does not discriminate the workforce on the basis of country of origin, race, religion or any other demographical factors.
3. The aging population, just as the young individuals, has equal opportunity to get jobs in this country, based on their qualifications.
4. The human resource department of various firms within this country has full capacity to determine who to hire for particular tasks within their firms.

The planned scope of this study was in the context of the human resource in the United Kingdom, beyond which, any generalization of the findings may not hold. The research was entirely based on culture and practice of the English Society.

It is also worth noting that the society of the United Kingdom has already realized the social equality for men and women that are witnessed in other parts of the western world, especially in the Europe and United States. The report done by Sohrab and Farhad (26), affirms that this society is highly democratic, with every member of the society having the opportunity to explore his or her talents maximally. For this reason, application of this research should be in the context of such a free society, with no discrimination on the basis of gender or otherwise. Application of this research in a society that is yet to achieve social freedom for both genders may not have the results expected as stated in the last section of this research.

Literature Review

Introduction

This chapter focuses on analyzing literatures from other researchers on issues regarding the impact of the aging population on labour market. The world today is very dynamic. There are various forces that has made business environment very unpredictable. According to Sohrab and Farhad (34), technology is changing the face of the earth, and with it comes a number of changes. One of the areas that have witnessed massive change in the corporate world is the human resource department. According to Borman (122), the society today is very demanding. Customers are willing to pay less for improved quality products. On the other hand, suppliers are demanding for more for every raw material they provide a company with.

This puts most of the current companies at very awkward position. They have to withstand the pressure from the two sides. This fact is worsened by competition. The corporate world has gotten very competitive. New firms are coming into existence, and as Borman (56) observes, they come to the market with similar products. This poses serious challenge to firms that are already in existence. The competition is so stiff that some firms are forced to bow out of the race. This has seen most firms come out with different strategies that can help them withstand this stiff competition. Many firms have been avoiding the pricing strategy (Deal 85). Many firms have considered coming up with non-pricing strategy that would make their products appear unique in the market.

One of the most appropriate strategies in the current corporate society is creativity and innovativeness. Firms have come to realize that the only way that they can remain competitive in the market is by maintaining creativity in every activity they undertake Keene (35). They have come to realize that they have to be unique in their operations for them to be successful. This scholar says that this has posed a serious challenge in the human resource field. Firms are looking for creative yet experienced employees. Creativity and innovation has become very important to firms in the current society. It is not possible for a firm to survive in the current marketplace if its workforce is not creative enough. This has forced human resource management to come up with mechanism through which, it can nature creativity. This is a very challenging task. According to Keller (79), it is not easy to get creativity and experience in the same employee.

Creativity and Innovativeness

According to Rajan (117), firms need both creativity and innovativeness. Creativity is needed to make the firm manage the emerging trends in the market. Through creative employees, a firm is able to come up with new products and new approaches of conducting business that would make the firm efficient hence cut costs of production. This, as McWilliam (29) explains, will make the firm very competitive in the market. With reduced costs, a firm can be able to set competitive prices in the market that will make the products of the firm attractive. By producing new products in the market at a regular rate, the firm will be in a position to capture new market every time it comes with new products.

Experience is important in managing creativity. according to Kelly (148), when an individual has a lot of experience in handling a given task, that individual will find it easy coming with a new method of doing the same job, but in a more efficient way. However, this characteristic is more common with the younger generation than the aging population. The aging population tend to be reserved, and they would avoid any radical changes in undertaking their duties. This makes the younger generation better innovators than the aging population. The contradiction comes where the aging population have the much-needed experience, and lack the innovative mind (Rajan 89). On the other hand, the younger generation have the capacity to be creative, but lack experience in their various fields.

Increasing Diversity of the Workforce

This changing nature of the workplace is bringing new complexities both to firms and to the employees. According to Rajan (21), various organizations are headed by individuals who have advanced ages. They have conformed to the traditional way of life, and therefore are rigid to some of the changes that take place in the external environment. However, the workforce is constantly changing. Kelly (54 ) says that new employees who entered into the business within the last five years exhibit different adaptive features from those who have stayed within the job market for over ten years. These employees come to the job market with fresh ideas. They have skills in telecommunication and are very flexible to changes in the environment.

This scholar notes that industrial and organizational psychologists have a huge task of trying to reconcile these two contrasting personalities. While the older generation prefer status quo, and resent radical changes that may radically redefine their roles within the organization, the younger generation are vibrant are always trying new things that will make their tasks less repetitive. They are against status quo, and as Kelly (27) describes, this group is restless and very ambitious. The two divides must be brought together to ensure that there is cohesion within an organization. The aging populace may not be able to understand these changes taking place within the workplace. The younger population may not understand the reason why the aging population prefers to maintain status quo. This may lead to serious disharmony within the firm, which can cause serious challenge to the objectives of the firm.

Diversity at workplace did not occur overnight. It is a systematic change that takes place gradually and over a long period of time. It starts with development of a special need. When there is a necessity that is not meet by the current forces within the firm, the need to create a new approach will always develop. Once one need has been met, new needs will always arise, leading to further need to develop more changes within the firm. This is a continuous process that will ensure that change is constant. Understanding the increasing diversity in the workplace is very important. Organizational psychology is therefore, very important both to the older and the new employees within an organization. It will help in defining some of the factors that cannot be avoided within an organization. Different variables contribute differently to the evolutions of the trends in the market.

Technology is one of the leading factors that have contributed to the evolution of the workforce. Technology has redefined various roles within an organization. Communication has been improved, and with invention of sophisticated machines, it is now possible for a firm to downsize its workforce and replace it with machines. This forces the workforce to redefine their role within an organization. They have to avoid cases where their tasks can be performed by machines. Technology has also improved flexibility of the workforce. Those who have the capacity to understand the advanced technology can easily change from one task to another. Increasing demand for skilled workers is another variable. The world population is constantly on the rise. However, this increasing population does not have a proportionate increase in the number of skilled labor that is available in the job market. According to Rajan (78), despite the higher population in various countries around the world, firms have limited skilled labor to undertake various duties. As such, the markets for these employees have become tighter as firms struggle to recruit and retain the best workforce in the market.

The changing social structure of various societies is another factor. Women and youths are finding their way into the corporate world. This is another variable because it has direct effect on the output of the workforce. Various non-governmental organizations and human rights groups have come out strongly to fight for the rights of women and the youth at the workplace. Employers are forced to ensure that a given percentage of their employees must be of the other gender. This has seen scenario where firms are forced to develop delicate balance between genders to ensure that they work within the limits of the law. This has also seen rise in the percentage of young employees into managerial positions in the market.

Discrimination of Employees

The process of hiring employees always depends on a number of factors. When an employer sets forth to hire employees, there are a number of factors that have to be put into consideration by the concerned employer in order to ensure that those that are recruited have the best capacity to meet the demands of the specific tasks. The world is changing very fast, and with this, firms are forced to be flexible. They must be able to change with the changing external environment. Technology is the main agent of change, and as Kelly (148) notes, firms are under pressure to act in a way that will be able to satisfy the demands of the public in general, besides their customers. Employers are therefore, very keen to ensure that they have the best workforce.

Age discrimination during the process of recruiting employees has been an issue for a very long time. Employers are looking for specific qualities in employees when hiring them. One of the leading characteristics that employers look for is the ability to be flexible and change with changes that take place in the external environment. The other very important factor that they always put into consideration is the ability to understand the emerging technologies. Firms have realized that they cannot survive if they ignore the emerging technology in the market. They therefore, need employees who have understanding of these technologies in order to enable the firm run smoothly and manage market competition. These characteristics are lacking in the aging population. These characteristics are commonly found on young college graduates who are freshly getting into the job market. This paper seeks to investigate discrimination during the hiring process based on age and gender, with special focus on the older female employees.

Discrimination of Employees Based on Age

According to Kelly (148), the baby boomers are headed for retirement. The number of this group is massive and they have been actively been engaged in various employments for all that period. Their departure may have a massive effect on the economy of this country. Once they retire, they will have to depend on the working class for their survival. Kelly (148) explained that with improved health facilities, and better living standards, Americans have a longer life expectancy. Having the baby boomers on retirement will mean that they will have to depend on those who are working to offer them the security they need. The social security fund will be put under a massive pressure to ensure that these huge numbers of retirees are taken care of. It is on this basis that some economists have advised that the aging population should be retained in the job market as long as it may be possible. This will help ease pressure on the working population, and ensure that the society is not heavily dependent on the working population.

The biggest concern however, comes when the aging populations are force to look for new jobs. When employers are recruiting, there is always some form of bias in their choices. As was stated above, these employers are looking for young energetic individuals who are able to master the needed procedures in the dynamic market. This way, it becomes easy to manage the emerging trends in the market. Employing the aging population has been a big issue for employers under the current environment. According to Tannock (20), employers also find it difficult to employ older people because of the respect that Americans have for the old. A chief executive officer who is 37 years old will find it challenging to hire an individual who is aged 60 years. This is because it will be difficult to issue orders to an individual who is old enough to be his father or mother. The employer will feel uncomfortable working with these older individuals as their juniors who are supposed to receive orders from them

The elderly women have found it very difficult to get employment after their retirement. This is especially so in the private sector. One of the most important characteristics needed in an employee is experience. Employees who are aging have the experience that is needed for various tasks. However, Tannock (20) notes that the current labor market needs more than just an experience. An airline company would need young women as airhostess and not the elderly women. A hotel will hire younger and attractive women as waiter and not the elderly women. Every employer will explain that they need young individuals for various reasons. Not only are they more attractive and presentable to customers, they are also quicker in their actions and flexible in all the activities they undertake. It is important to look at some of the specific reasons why there is discrimination of employees in the current society.

Reasons for Discrimination of Employees based on Age

According to Tannock (20), the United States of America should find a way of putting their aging labor force into proper usage. It is uneconomical to retire a fifty-five year old employee who is still strong to go and start depending on the younger population while they still have the capacity to work. They should be allowed to work for a longer period in order to reduce the dependency rate in this country. This scholar strongly urges the government to come up with initiative where it will be the biggest employer of this group. This is because the private sector has shown clear bias against the aging population when employing their workforce. A chance of a 61-year-old woman passing an interview with younger women aged below 30 years is almost impossible. The following are some of the reasons why there is always bias during employment process.

Statistical Discrimination

Statistical discrimination is more inclined to benefit the aging population than the younger generation. It is a common phenomenon to see job advertisement demanding that an applicant should be having a specific minimum experience on a specific area. When an employer states that the desired candidate should have a minimum working experience of 15 years, the employer will be systematically eliminating the fresh college graduates who have below two years of experience. This discrimination always arises from the fact that some employers believe that such experience in a specific tasks would place an individual in a better place to meet the demands of the job. Most of these positions are always senior managerial positions that needs sobriety in order to work with some success. The aging population therefore, ends up securing the job at the expense of the younger employees.

According to Hall (56), the generations X and by extension Y, have characteristics that most traditional American firms do not admire. These individuals cannot afford to stay in one employment for a period of more than three years. They are restless individuals who feel that they should not be tied to one job for a long period. As a result, they prefer jobs that allow them to move conveniently from one place to another or from one task to another. This means that if an employer spends on such individual through training and development, it becomes a challenge to maintain that skill within the firm. Such an employee would easily move with that skill to a rival firm soon after acquiring it. This has made firms consider avoiding this group of employees, preferring the aging population. This form of discrimination is constantly on the decline as firms face the danger brought about by the need to embrace change.

Discrimination Based on Taste

This is currently the most common form of discrimination in the employment of different individuals to different tasks. This will always take place during the interview. During the interview, employers will always be looking at features beyond the details given on the resume and other academic credentials. Taste based discrimination can be looked at from a number of fronts.

Employer. As was explained above, employers are getting younger as time goes by. It is common to see an individual becoming a reputable chief executive of a firm at a tender age of about 27 years. When such employers are recruiting the workforce, age will always be a factor. They will prefer younger individuals who are able to meet their demands and easily take their instructions without much problem. Such employers may also find the younger employees more attractive when it comes to managing customers. They will consider hiring the younger population for creating an image for the firm in the market.

Employees. Employees may also dictate the type of other employees that a firm will employ. According to Hall (56), the workplace is becoming more integrated than ever before. Employees must work as a team in order to achieve their objectives within the desired period. This scholar notes that younger employees would always feel uncomfortable working with older employees within their teams. This is because they need freedom and the ability to share their life experience with their colleagues. This may not be possible if they are put with other employees who are older than they are. Employers will therefore, be forced to hire younger employees who will easily work with the existing workforce.

Customers. In most industry in the United States, customers prefer being served by the younger employees. This is because of a number of reasons. First, these younger employees are very fast, facts that will enable the customer get the service within the desired time. It is also a fact that the younger generation is technologically advanced and therefore, is able to help customers in this area. Then there is the physical attraction that the younger employees have above the aging employees. This has made the younger employees more attractive than the aging population, a fact that has seen the older employees find it difficult to secure job currently.

Relevant theories in this field

The current society needs self-motivated employees. This would help in ensuring that they are able to work with minimal supervision. De (89) talks about McGregor’s theory X and Y. This scholar notes that employees can either be viewed as lazy people who need heavy supervision to work appropriately, which is theory X. Theory Y holds that employees are self motivated and can deliver good work with very minimal supervision. Human resource management should always think positively of the employees, therefore should take theory Y in managing then. Hall (56) on the other hand, talks about the relevance of Maslow’s motivational theory on employees. Employees who are younger tend to be more motivated in their work because they are struggling to meet their social needs. The aging population may have satisfied this need and would not mind losing their jobs. The Work-life balance concept is one of the most popular concepts in human resource management.

According to Leibold and Sven (67), this concept is very important because it enables an individual to plan his or her personal life in a way that it would not interfere with his work schedule. These scholars note that the aging population are better than the younger generation in this. They have the capacity to ensure that they keep their work independent from their job. Moreover, the aging workforce has a better capacity to ensure that they keep emotions out of their official duties.

According to Warmuth (97), human resource management has to balance all the forces within the environment so that the quality of employees is maintained at very high standards. This scholar also emphasizes on the fact that the emerging trends in the market need a flexible mind. The aging population has their role within the firm. They have very strong impact on the firm in general, and the other workforce. The younger generation is flexible, and is better positioned to manage the emerging technologies. On the other hand, the aging population has the experience. When the two groups interact, they will share their capabilities, a fact that will make the younger employees more efficient. Through positive sharing, the aging population will transfer their skills learned through experience to the employees in order to enable them not only be flexible, but also skilled in every action they undertake.

Research gaps and research problem

The world is fast changing, and with it are several changes in the general structure of our societies. The position of women in the society has changed. Gone are the days when large firms monopolized the market with their products. The current society is very competitive (Tannock 28). Many scholars have done research and reported on the same. However, there seems to be a gap in these bodies of literature. Ruddar and Sundharam (19), observes that although they have comprehensively looked at the need for creativity at workplace in general, the scholars have not narrowed down to specific approaches in this field, and how the aging and the young can participate in it. This view is shared by Tannock (20), who says that the available bodies of literature have not given a comprehensive outlook on how the aging and young employees should relate. Clement and Rodney (24), admits that their scope is limited to global development of human resource.

It is upon this that the researcher decided to conduct this research in order to fill the gaps that other literature had left. There was need to respond to some pertinent questions raised by these scholars when summarizing their works.

To respond to the questions, and confirm some of the hypotheses stated above, the researcher had to go beyond the bodies of literature that are available in this field. The researcher therefore decided to conduct a research in order to come up with desired responses to the raised questions (Tannock 79). The chapter below is the methodology used by the researcher in collection, analysis, and presentation of the data. Every research project applies a certain research method to achieve its objectives depending on its goals (Abdurrahman 20). The methods used to conduct research in this project compared closely with the methods proposed in the research proposal. The researcher also maintained ethics in this research by avoiding any form of bias in data collection, analysis and presentation of the findings. The following Chapter 3 will present the chosen methodology in order to shed light on the research problem.

Methodology

Introduction

This chapter focuses on various aspects of research development. It includes methods of data collection, its analysis and presentation procedures. Every research project applies a certain research method to achieve its objectives depending on its goals. The methods used to conduct research in this project compared closely with the methods proposed in the project proposal (Anderson 12). This was so because the project proposal had been proven to be workable. In a piece of research, design always deals with purposes, aims, uses, plans, and intentions within constraints of money, time, location and staff’s availability.

The researcher briefed the respondents in advance in this study. This was important to make sure that respondents are psychologically prepared and ready for the interview. This was also to help in making sure that answers that were given were well thought of by the respondents. The researcher gave the respondents notice about the intended interview well in time. The management of this firm was also informed of the intended interview to ensure that they were aware of what would be taking place within the firm. The researcher realized that to enhance reliability, briefing was needed. Informing the researchers about the research enhances ethics. The researcher ensured morality in this research by making the findings public. Additionally, the researcher kept away from any form of criticism or bias in the process of collecting and analyzing both the primary and secondary data in this research. The secondary sources of data was used as part of the data that help validate the findings of this research. This section explains the reasons that made secondary data important part of the data that was used in this research. The chapter also focuses on questions that were used to guide in the collection of the data, reasons for collection and analysis of data and how the desired response would be retrieved from the respondents.

The chapter brings back the research hypotheses. This is important because it is at this stage that the researcher goes into the field to gather information. It is therefore necessary that the research hypotheses are brought to focus because they would be the guiding light in the process of gathering data (Baily 96). The researcher would be trying to confirm the hypotheses. In order to eliminate criticism, this chapter clearly states the scope of the study. There are limits beyond which this research may not hold because of the method used in data collection and analysis. It is therefore important that limitations are clearly stated to make it clear to readers of this material how far this research reveals what it purports to.

Since the main method of data collection was primary source, the questionnaire was the main instrument used to collect data. This chapter brings out the questionnaire format, reasons for choosing this format, its advantages and disadvantages. In a research process, sampling is very important because certain population can be too big to facilitate a study of the whole population (Bell 21). Also discussed in this chapter is the data analysis technique. In so doing, the researcher hopes to bring to focus the channel through which data would be collected. This is not only meant to bring clarity to this research but also help young researchers who will be interested in furthering research in this field to know the steps necessary to reach the desired results in a given research. The researcher has ensured that the methodology is not only important to the professionals in the financial sector, but also to other related sectors such as insurance, marketing, procurement etc.

Importance of Data Collection and its Analysis

In every research, it is always important to ensure that both the primary and secondary sources of data are used. The secondary sources of data always help in giving the research a solid base upon which to conduct the research. The sources will help make the researcher have a clue of where the research is headed to. On the other hand, it is important for the researcher to ensure that his or her work is original. Originality of the work will always be determined by the analysis of the primary sources of data. When conducting a research, a researcher should go to the field and collect data from primary sources within a selected sample population. This data will then be analyzed using the available statistical tools such as SPSS (Anderson 24). The researcher will then get the result which may be in line with the findings of other researchers or in contrary to them. The researcher will then be in a position to support the findings of other researchers, or reject them based on the findings of his or her research. This is what gives a piece of research validity.

Quantitative methods of research

Quantitative research entails a systematic empirical analysis of a given phenomenon using specific statistical tools. Quantitative methods will therefore be important in this research. It will enable researcher test all the hypotheses that were put forward for validity (Denzin and Lincoln 11). Qualitative methods will not be employed in this research because of its inability to support mathematical models that are needed in this research. Phenomenology and ethnographic research, which are aspects of qualitative research, could be appropriate in this research if the research were to take qualitative other than quantitative approach. Ethnography helps in the investigation of such issues as cultural practices of the study population, and in specific firm under investigation. Phenomenology can also help in investigating some facts about the firm under study. Despite these advantages, the researcher did not use the method because the main focus of this research was to analyze primary data quantitatively.

Scope of Collecting Data

It is always important to clearly define the scope of collecting data in order to avoid instances where a piece of research is used beyond its scope. Primary data collection in this piece of research was done with the help employees of Barclays Bank. Questionnaire was administered to these employees of Barclays Bank. The researcher limited the scope of collecting primary data to these employees, especially due to the limited time that was available for the research. The researcher was convinced that given the fact that the sample populations were locals of this region, they were in a capacity to respond to various relevant issues regarding this society that the researcher was interested in. They were in a position to describe the effect of the aging population within Barclays Bank in this region, and how this affected various other firms within the society that they can explain. The accuracy that the researcher needed in the research could be achievable within the scope.

Questionnaire design

The researcher used questionnaire as a tool for collecting primary data from the sampled population. The researcher formulated a questionnaire that was delivered physically, to the sample staff of the Barclays Bank the selected branches in London. The questionnaire was focused on capturing attitudes of the sample population in regard to the impact of the aging population on the labor market within this country. This questionnaire was developed with four sections.

The first section focused on the analysis of background of respondents. The second section focused on the gender and other demographical factors of these respondents. The reason for this was to establish the frequency of various views in specific categories so as to make sure that if there were any differences, then they were to be confined in their respective demographic space. The third section of this questionnaire focused on work experience and academic qualifications of these respondents. This was so because of the fact that individuals tend to respond in different manner based on their level of education, experience in a given job, gender and age. The fourth section focused on the detailed issues in relation to Barclays Bank as the institution under this investigation.

The researcher used both open and closed-ended questions in this questionnaire in order to help capture various issues under investigation. The researcher used open-ended questions because they allows respondents time to think and give their personal opinion about a given incident they are being asked about. This would also enhance their ability to accept participating in a given piece of research. It also minimizes errors that always occur when one makes a choice that is not a reflection of their mind because of the need to choose. This would help improve the validity of this research. conversely, the researcher also used closed-ended questions because they are easy to analyze. This is the reason why the researcher used both open an closed ended questions.

The closed ended questions can easily be coded and run in a statistical tool in order to generate the desired results. They are easily assigned numerical value that makes them easily be used in a mathematical model. This makes them more preferable when analyzing data using mathematical model. It is also important to note that unlike open ended questions, the close ended question are less time consuming because one only need to tick the answer considered as the most appropriate.

The questionnaires were sent to the respondents through physical delivery. The researcher made this decision upon considering the available resources and time for the research. This method is always considered as time consuming. However, it is very effective. It allows respondents to to think about the question posed, and give an appropriate answer. The fact that literacy levels of the respondents does not affect the results makes it even appropriate for this research.

It is also important to note that this method also allows for physical interaction between the researcher and the respondents. This allows the researcher to capture respondent’s reactions during the research due to face-to-face interaction. These reactions are vital because they help give more facts in regard to the real feelings of researched.

Using this questionnaire enabled the researcher capture relevant issues which are unique to the Barclays Bank. This helped because there were limited secondary sources of data about the research issue. The data enabled the researcher ensure completeness of this research. After completion of data collection, this data was then analyzed, culminating into various observations and then conclusions as discussed in chapters four and five of this research respectively.

Method of sampling used in this survey

When choosing a sampling method, some factors should be considered in order to ensure that the research achieves its purpose upon its completion. Precision was very important in this research. For this reason, the researcher chose stratified sampling method. This method is simple and very effective when the research is being analyzed quantitatively. Given that the population could easily be divided in subgroups, each with its own unique characteristics, the method was considered appropriate. The sample could easily be divided into various subgroups and each group given equal representation. In this case, the two strata will be the young and aging employees of the firm under study.

Reasons for choosing the sampling method

In this dissertation, the researcher had a clearly defined study population. The population of the study was limited to employees of Barclays Bank in its London region branches. Stratified sampling method was the best choice, as it would appropriately fit in our quantitative research. This method was also appropriate because it would enable the researcher get the data within the limited available. As this research is intended to help other researchers, this method allowed the researcher to express and explain the systematic method used in data collection. Because it does not involve complex mathematical equations, it was much easier to articulate the steps to anyone consuming the paper.

Methods of data analysis

Data analysis refers to the process of transforming raw data into refined useful information that can be of use to people. Glatthorn (65) advises that before settling on a method of data analysis, it is important to the approach to be taken by the research. The research can take quantitative, qualitative or categorical approach. This research took a quantitative approach. Depending on the type and accuracy needed, data analysis can take a simple descriptive form, or a more complex statistical inferencing. The technique used in the analysis can be univariate analysis, bivariate analysis or multivariate analysis. In selecting the appropriate method, a researcher should ensure that assumptions relating to the method are satisfied.

In analyzing the collected data, the researcher will use appropriate statistical data analysis tools such as descriptive and inferential statistics in analyzing quantitative data.

In relation to the quantitative analysis, Miller (91) argued that the most commonly used sets of statistics include mean, frequencies, standard deviation, median and percentages. The researcher will code and enter the quantitative data into Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS version 20). Using SPSS, the researcher will use cross tabulation to compare economic performance of the two groups.

Reliability and validity of the method

Validity means appropriateness, applicability and truthfulness of a study. It is the ability of research instruments to produce results that are in agreement with theoretical and conceptual values. In this study, internal validity was ensured through checking the representativeness of the sample. The researcher ensured that the sample used captured all important characters at the Barclays Bank as the target institution, and the Saudi society, especially the society in and around London city, as the immediate environment of our study. During data collection process and in analysis, the researcher steered away from any form of bias. All the respondents were picked randomly, without any preference. This ensured that data which was collected was not in any way, influenced by the opinion of the researcher.

External validity was ensured through triangulation that is, the researcher used more than one technique in collecting data. This was necessary to ensure that bias from one end is countered effectively by other techniques. As Delving (16) says, respondents are human beings with weaknesses when it comes to giving views freely. They would always exaggerate or underrate things when they make statements. Working with this in mind, the researcher designed a formula to moderate data gathered from the field to balance off the two extremes. The researcher found literature review to be very important in this part because the opinions they have are already moderated. External validity was also guaranteed by asking respondents to give their views. This would give them freedom of some sort, to provide information based on their own experience and views.

Reliability means that the study is consistent and lacks any ambiguity. It is the ability to trust something to provide an information that addresses the issue at hand. Dane (12) explains that it is associated with the level of accuracy of given instrument.

Analysis of data

Introduction

Chapter 3 discussed the methodology of this dissertation. In the methodology section, the researcher outlined the steps taken during data collection. It was made clear that data was collected through questionnaires, which were distributed, to employees of Barclays Bank at its London branches. In total, the researcher distributed 281questionnaires. In the previous chapter, the researcher briefly explained the purpose of data analysis, which this chapter seeks to achieve. This chapter will involve analysis of the primary data. Quantitative research involves systematic empirical study of a phenomenon by use of statistical tools (Baily 96). Its main objective is always to employ mathematical theories and models in developing its generalization (Poole 24). The sample was used as a representative of the entire population, and it is the data collected from the sample that the researcher wishes to analyze in this chapter.

Data analysis refers to the process of transforming raw data into refined useful information that can be of use to people. It is through the analysis that the researcher would be in a position to confirm or refute the hypotheses developed in previous chapters. Abdurrahman (14) asserts that a research’s success would be determined by how well the analysis is conducted. Poole (21), explains that the researcher can also choose to take univariate, bivariate or multivariate approach to data analysis. In so doing, it is very important that the researcher ensure that the assumptions relating to the method are met. In analyzing data, a researcher should choose the best statistical tool that would best lead to the desired answer.

The result would then be presented in tables, figures and charts. This chapter would thus focus on analyzing the data collected and testing the research hypotheses. It would also answer the research questions that were developed along with the hypotheses. The next chapter would then draw conclusions from the results found in this chapter. It would closely compare the findings of this research to those of existing bodies of literature to determine the variation and the implication of this variation.

The research questions and hypotheses’ data

Analysis of research questions

Conducting a research is like setting on a journey whose destination is not very clear to the traveler. Research is a path whose destination is unknown. However, it is important to note that despite this, there should be a proper plan on how the research would be conducted. A guide should be developed that would help in reaching the desired result in the research process. In a research, research questions and hypotheses are very important guides in developing a desired solution from the field. Hypotheses would always be developed from the research questions. Those hypotheses are always possible response to the research question.

Harvey and North (33) say that the research questions are the core of any research process. In case it is poorly developed, the entire research process would lose focus and the possible result that may come out of the research may not hold any meaningful truth. The researcher would be seeking answer to these questions.

Having confirmed from the literature review that there is a considerable gap in the performance of the aging and young employees, the researcher seeks to analyze the following question empirically.

In the current dynamic business environment, can experience be considered relevant in creativity and innovation?

This question was very critical to this research. It would help explain why the experience is relevant in the current competitive job market. The question was presented to the respondents and the data generated was fed into SPSS sheet to generate the graph.

From the graph below, it can be observed that 72.4% of the employees of Barclays Bank expressed that experience was very important.

In order to test whether there is a significant difference in the performance of male and female employees of Barclays Bank located in the London region, chi-square for equal proportions was applied using SPSS and Table 1 below shows the findings

Table 1. Source: Analysis of survey data.

Table 2. Source: Analysis of survey data.

From the above Table, it is noted that the value of chi square statistic is 31.186 and the corresponding p value according to this data is 0.000<0.05. Since the p value is less than 0.05, it can be confidently concluded that there is a significant reason to believe that experience is relevant in creativity and innovation.

The next research question was developed to know the impact of the aging population on firms in the current competitive market.

What is the impact of the aging labor market on firms that are struggling to gain competitive advantage in the current business environment?

From the bar graph below, it can be observed that 17.8% of the respondents rated the impact as good, 38.6% of the respondents rated it as fair and 28.6% rated it as poor.

It can be concluded that experience is necessary for employees to be innovative in their various duties in the firm.

Testing the research hypotheses

According to Hoyle (22), every research in social science sets forth to prove that specific phenomena occurred for specific reasons and for a specific duration. It is important for every researcher to take care when carrying out a research in order to ensure that focus is not lost. A research hypothesis helps in this. A path should clearly be set, upon which the research would take on reaching the desired solution.

Research hypotheses always provide solution to this. Gupta (42) defines hypothesis as a proposition made by the researcher about the research upon which the research would try to determine if it is true or otherwise. It is kind of a proposal or a guess that the findings of a particular research would be in a particular way. As Hoffman (51) notes, a research would always have two hypotheses for every single desired result. There is always the null hypothesis and alternate hypothesis. The null hypothesis would always refute the claim by saying that the proposition does not hold. On the other hand, alternative hypothesis would always try to affirm that the proposition set by the researcher holds. A test would always be conducted on the null hypothesis with an aim of rejecting it. It is always every researchers desire to reject a null hypothesis because when a research accepts a null hypothesis, it would render the whole research unnecessary. It would be rejecting the proposition made by the researcher, a fact that would render the research null and void.

In analyzing the research hypotheses, the researcher would set the level of significance, which is always given as percentage. The percentage set would determine the limit beyond which the researcher rejects the null hypothesis. If this limit is surpassed, then it would be stated that significant difference exists and this will make null hypothesis be rejected. Setting this percentage very high would increase chances of the researcher confirming hypothesis. However, it would significantly reduce the levels of accuracy of research. Setting the percentage very low increases the chance of the research rejecting the set hypothesis. However, it increases accuracy of the research. 5 percent is always an acceptable percentage and very popular in social sciences.

The researcher would test this hypothesis by analyzing the data gathered from both the employees and customers. In total, there were 281 respondents in the following categories

Below are the null hypotheses that the researcher wishes to test and reject in order to accept their alternative hypothesis, which would help in validating this research:

H1o. Creativity and innovation not are some of the key factors that would determine success or failure of a firm in the current competitive business world (Poole, 21).

This is the main hypothesis of this research whose rejection would validate the need for this research. By accepting this hypothesis, it would be a clear sign that the research confirms that there is an impact that the aging population will always have on firms in the current competitive market.

It can be observed from the bar graph below (Figure 5) that 75.8% of the employees felt that creativity and innovation has a great role to play in determining success of a firm, while 24.2 felt otherwise.

In order to test whether there is a significant difference that innovation would bring to a firm, chi-square for equal proportions was applied using SPSS. By running the inferential statistics the research findings can be generalized to the wider population within the sample drawn. Table 3 below shows the findings.

From Table 4 above, it can be observed that the value of the chi square statistic is 28.189 and its corresponding p value is 0.000<0.05. Since the p value is less than 0.05, the null hypothesis can be rejected and it can be concluded that creativity and innovation are some of the key factors that would determine success or failure of a firm in the current competitive business world

This leaves the researcher with the alternative hypothesis, which states as below.

H1a. Creativity and innovation are some of the key factors that would determine success or failure of a firm in the current competitive business world.

Upon rejection of the above null hypothesis, its alternate hypothesis would automatically be accepted (Poole 124). The null hypothesis has been rejected by a wide margin. The researcher has therefore proved, from the data gathered from the population sample creativity and innovations are some of the key factors that would determine success or failure of a firm in the current competitive business world. Having confirmed this hypothesis by a wide margin, the researcher consequently confirms that there is need to conduct this research that seeks to determine the impact of the aging employees on firms in the current competitive market. This opens door for the researcher to test other supportive hypotheses, which would further help in confirming this hypothesis.

The next hypothesis was formulated to determine the importance of experience in the current society.

H2o. Experience is not an important qualification that an employees should have for them to be productive.

From the bar graph below, it can be observed that 89.7% of the respondents felt that experience is still one of the most important qualifications that an employee should have.

In order to test whether there is a significant between an employee who is experienced and one who is not, based on the data collected from the field; chi-square for equal proportions was applied using SPSS.

From the table above, it can again be observed that the value of the chi square statistic is 176.972 and its corresponding p value is 0.000<0.05. Since the p value is less than 0.05, the null hypothesis is rejected and it is concluded that Experience is still an important qualification that an employees should have for them to be productive.

H2a. Experience is still an important qualification that an employees should have for them to be productive.

Confirmation of this hypothesis not only supports the main hypothesis (the first hypothesis) of this research, but also gives more clarification on the manifestation of this difference. It points out at some of the factors that have facilitated the difference stated in the first hypothesis.

The hypothesis below was formulated to confirm the need for this research. Rugg (27) observes that a good research should start by formulating the first hypothesis that would guide the entire research, and then following it with supportive hypotheses. Finally, there should be a hypothesis that would wrap up the entire research by confirming that the research was necessary.

If the null hypothesis below were confirmed to be true, then it would nullify the need for this research. By saying that the aging population is not important to firms in their quest to be flexible to the changing business environment, it would be a direct admission that the research had no basis.

H3o. The aging population is not important to firms in their quest to be flexible to the changing business environment.

The business environment today is very dynamic. Firms are faced with new challenges every day that demands that they formulate new methods of countering them. Flexibility of the firms is therefore very important. To help in testing the above hypothesis, the researcher used the results from employees who had been part of the management, however junior the position could have been. The research covered 281 employees of this bank at its London branches.

From the bar graph below, it can be observed that 89.7% of the employees stated that the aging population had a very big role to play in helping the firm manage the emerging forces. They noted that the aging population had a role to play in helping a firm become flexible.

In order to test the significant difference in the response given by the employees of Barclays Bank located in the London; chi-square for equal proportions was applied using SPSS.

From Table 8, it can again be observed that the value of the chi square statistic is 176.972 and its corresponding p value is 0.000<0.05. Since the p value is less than 0.05, the null hypothesis is rejected and it is concluded that the aging population is still important to firms in their quest to be flexible to the changing business environment.

The findings would be a confirmation of the alternative hypothesis below.

H3a. The aging population is still important to firms in their quest to be flexible to the changing business environment.

By rejecting the null hypothesis, the alternate hypothesis would be accepted the aging population is still important to Barclays Bank located in its quest to be flexible to the changing business environment.

This hypothesis tries to emphasize the fact that there is need to conduct the research to ascertain the impact of the aging population on the labor market. Barclays Bank has been dedicated to offering quality service to its employees in various regions. In its London branches, this bank has positioned itself as a firm that is sensitive to customer demands, and very flexible in its activities. The firm has faced a number of challenges based on the quality of the labor available in the labor market. This bank is just a representative of other banks facing the same challenges because of the dynamism in the environment.

Conclusion

The labor market today is very delicate. Firms are struggling to gain footage within their respective industries because of competition. The business world has changed from what it used to be before (Lu 21). The market immediately after the Second World War is very different from what exists today. Firms are faced with numerous challenges that they have to overcome in order to be considered competitive. While customers are demanding for lesser prices for the products availed to them, suppliers are demanding for increased prices for the raw materials they deliver. This is a very awkward situation that most firms have found themselves in, in the current society. The emerging technologies have also made the market very unpredictable (Clutter buck 32). New trends are emerging in the corporate world, and it forces the firm to be creative enough to manage the environment.

This has changed the perception of the employers towards employees. Experience has been, and still is one of the most important factors that employees should have. However, this research demonstrates that experience alone may not be enough consider an employee efficient. Creativity and innovativeness is also coming out strongly as one of the main determinants of a good employee. Inasmuch as a firm will need an employee who is experienced and can be consistent with his or her duties, there is need for creativity and innovation. A firm must be in a position to develop new products to the market at regular intervals. The methods of production must also be creative (Bell 87). The ultimate aim of any firm is to lower the costs associated with production. The production strategies have to be creative enough to make the firm cut on costs of production.

Human resource has the challenge of determining how to balance between the aging employees, and the fresh graduates. The two categories have what is needed in the current competitive business environment, though in different measures. While the older generation has the experience, the younger employees have flexibility and innovation. They have the ability to come up with something creative that can completely change the face of an organization. The younger generations have the capacity to try new approaches of handling various activities that can transform the face of a business completely. This is what organizations admire in the youths. Organizations are sure that through them, they can be creative enough within their respective fields. They know that they can help firms because market leaders through creative products. This is what has transformed many companies around the world.

Analysis of the primary data done in chapter four shows that despite these desirable characteristics found in young employees, the aging population also makes very important part of employees. The aging population is very important because they have experience. The analysis demonstrates that experience is also very important in nurturing creativity and innovation. The older employees can therefore impact positively on the younger employees. The younger employees can rely on the experience of the older employees in developing their talents in creativity and innovativeness. The two groups must therefore co-exist. They must be blended well in the organization (Tannock 57). This way, an organization will have all the characteristics desired in the two groups.

This way, it would be able to have a workforce that is able to use its experience to respond to the new forces within business environment. This will be an assurance that the firm can succeed within that environment by offering customers desired products in a desirable manner. The aging population therefore has a positive impact on firms and to other employees. Although they are a little slow in creativity and innovativeness, and also rather regard in their approaches, they have the much needed experience. This can help transform a firm, irrespective of its size in the industry.

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