Four Generations in the Workplace Research Paper

There exist two opposite opinions regarding diversity in the workplace. In the proposed video entitled “Four Generations in the Workplace”, the author reveals one’s point of view by stating that the business employing four generations of workers is more effective than others that do not have such an attitude to celebrating diversity in the workplace.

The opponents of such a position believe that for the steady growth and prosperity, businesses need only the youngest employees who are full of energy, proficient in information technologies, and have a contemporary way of thinking (Barak, 2013). The following paper aims at evaluating the information provided in the “Four Generations in the Workplace” video.

The video “Four Generations in the Workplace” gives an overview of how the employment of workers belonging to different generations can contribute to a firm’s work effectiveness. This video shows that people from different age groups are raised in different cultural backgrounds, and therefore, they have different experiences and worldviews. The author of the video believes that having employees of diverse background has a positive impact on the decision-making process for any business. Besides, one is confident that working with the four generations of people can make a business smarter and more effective.

Addressing the arguments of the opponents, they believe that for the steady growth, prosperity, and leading position at the market, businesses need only the youngest employees who are full of energy, proficient in information technologies, and have a contemporary way of thinking (Barak, 2013). These people deny the experience that the employees belonging to the older generations have accumulated and rely on the energy and ambition of youth (Barak, 2013). They also feel that employing people from different generations decreases the ability of a business to have an atmosphere of mutual understanding among the staff members (Barak, 2013).

Evaluating the two points of view on the subject, the position stated in the video under consideration appears more reasonable, as well as it is related to the body of evidence that numerous scholarly resources provide. According to Robbins and Judge (2015), celebration diversity in the workplace contributes to the business effectiveness for many reasons including

1. increase of the firm’s intellectual potential;
2. increase of the firm’s productivity;
3. increase of the firm’s customer-orientation potential;
4. improvement of managing.

Shared life experiences and common values unite the people of one generation (Robbins & Judge, 2015). Surprisingly, only people from one generation possess this unique characteristic of sharing the same life experiences. At that, for every generation, these experiences are different. Therefore, employing workers from various age categories, a business acquires a unique opportunity to unite different experiences and various perspectives on business matters to contribute to its effectiveness and prosperity.

In conclusion, the video “Four Generations in the Workplace” has observed the benefits of employing people from different generations. This video has provided evidence that the main value the representatives of one generation bring to the business they are employed in is their shared life experience, and for each generation, this experience is unique. Due to such different experiences, the representatives of different generations have their own perspectives on solving problems and facing the challenges businesses face, which helps in effective business functioning facilitation. Analysis of the video contents from the point of view of the scholarly literature suggests that the author’s position is proved by their findings.

References

Barak, M. E. M. (2013). Managing diversity: Toward a globally inclusive workplace. London: Sage Publications.

Robbins, S., & Judge, T. (2015). Organizational behavior (16^th ed.). New York, N.Y.: Pearson.