Managing Millennials: Looking Beyond Generational Stereotypes

Keywords

Diversity; Generation Y; Membership categorization; Millennials; Strategic management

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine what managers perceive Millennial employees as doing in organizations to find generalizations rather than relying upon stereotypes. Design/methodology/approach: In total, 25 interviews were conducted with managers in the hospitality industry. The transcribed data were analyzed to learn about identified category-bound activities described. Findings: Three prominent findings are elaborated. First, Millennials express a desire for learning and training, because they see this as fostering advancement. Second, there were mixed evaluations of Millennials effectiveness in teamwork. Specific teamwork problems managers identified involved cliquish behavior. Finally, managers stated that Millennials desire feedback. In order for the Millennial employee to feel satisfied with the feedback, however, it needs to be ample, positive and personal. Research limitations/implications: The ability to generalize findings is limited because the objective of qualitative research is not to predict. The study does offer some patterned observations by managers that may be useful to future employees and other managers. Practical implications: The analysis revealed that some practical problems managers may face when leading Millennial employees; however, these employees bring their own solution to the workplace: a desire for training. Originality/value: Existing research on Millennials has not acknowledged the desire for training by Millennials. This is an important finding due to its implications for effective management.

Publication Date

7-9-2018

Publication Title

Journal of Organizational Change Management

Volume

31

Issue

4

Number of Pages

920-930

Document Type

Article

Personal Identifier

scopus

DOI Link

https://doi.org/10.1108/JOCM-10-2015-0193

Socpus ID

85049110940 (Scopus)

Source API URL

https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/85049110940

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