Words: 2084
Work Ethics Generation By Generation A Pakistani generation is defined by the common attitudes, experiences and preferences that develop in the context of social and economic events of a defined period of time. Generations typically are associated with birth year ranges. Generational commonalities transcend cultural and gender differences. The social and economic influences that create popular culture are experienced by all within a generation, even though culture and gender play a role in how the experience is interpreted individually.
Every generation has its own working styles in organizations. The nature of work and the way of doing that work also changes with the changing times. The nature of work has changed dramatically over the last one hundred years and especially over the last thirty, which has caused many time management practices that worked well for previous generations to become obsolete. In the beginning of this century most the work in organizations was done by traditional workers. They have to repeat the same work over and over again to keep the organizations running.
Their work was confined to desk jobs done in the early part of the century; Traditional type of management was suitable for these conventional workers management. The management was well aware of how to take work from such employees and how to manage them. With the passage of time attitude, behavior, perception, expertise, knowledge of the employees modified. Their style of working changed with the change in generation. Literacy increased with the changing generations. Working style became better and better.
I have characterized Pakistani generation into four main generations; first, the people who were born before the independence of Pakistan. Second generation is, the people who have worked in the era of revolution from 1947 to 1965. Third, our father’s generation who worked from 1965 to 1999 and finally, our generation the young and independent generation. Generations & Work Ethic 1st Generation The first generation which i am discussing here in my analysis is the generation which is born before the war of freedom before 1947. This generation was lost in the spirals of the slavery without knowing their motto of doing things.
They just blindly follow their supervisors. The workers do not have any their own sense that where their work is leading them and whether this work is for the benefit or not. They believe that their foremost duty is to obey them. The workers in this era only know to obey their authorities. The credit of their accomplishments goes to their heads. Working environment was very strict and there was not a single source of motivation for the employees. They adapted to an environment of scarcity, valuing austerity. The communication style in that era was downward and power style was coercive.
The span of control in that era was very wide; too many workers reporting to a single supervisor. This generation can also be described by the words of the author Janes Mooney identified hierarchy showing that: “Organizations have a ladder of duties & responsibilities”. Another author Chester Bernard describes organization as a system of cooperative efforts with a common purpose in the “The function of the Executive”. Characteristics of the workers in this generation are: Values * Believe in conformity, authority and rules * Loyalty and respect for authority Attributes * Submissive Dislike conflict * Work oriented Work style * Consistency with non progressive attitude * Past-oriented * Prefer hierarchical organizational structures and will continue to view horizontal structure in a hierarchical way 2nd Generation In this 2nd generation, we are doing the analysis for the workers of 1947 to 1965. In the analysis, the work ethics and values of that era is discussed. It is noticed that with the change in the social status of the Pakistani workers their work trends also changed. Before, they used to obey their supervisor’s (which were mostly of other continent) order.
They cannot give any suggestion or opinion about wok or their way of doing work. But after the independence of the Pakistan, this impacted the workers a lot they feel free to perform their duties with the ease. Social goals of peace and national prosperity were important to this group. That generation was a changed generation; the workers of that generation expect success and they were on the path of achieving it. The workers in this era are workaholic, or at least a lot of them suffer from its effects. They are optimistic and self-motivated.
Like in Quaid’s wordings: “We must work our destiny in our own way and present to the world an economic system based on true Islamic concept of equality of manhood and social justice. We will thereby be fulfilling our mission as Muslims and giving to humanity the message of peace which alone can save it and secure the welfare, happiness and prosperity of mankind” Speech at the opening ceremony of State Bank of Pakistan, Karachi July 1, 1948. The face of the workplace began evolving from a fairly racially homogenous, paternalistic environment to one of increased racial and gender diversity.
The workplace slowly began to reflect the rapid political and social changes of the nation. This generation coined terms such as the “glass ceiling” and the “equal opportunity workplace” and began using personality profiles to build awareness of how to get along with all co-workers. Communication Style which is followed in this generation was downward communication style and power was formal, which is based on individual’s position in organization. He has only the authorities related to his position. The span of control here was also wide but not as compared to previous generation.
Characteristics of the workers in this generation are: Values * Community involvement * Prosperity * Ownership * Self-actualizing Attributes * Adaptive * Goal-oriented * Focus on individual choices and freedom * Adaptive to a diverse workplace * Positive attitude Work styles * Confidence in tasks * Seek collaborative, group decision making * Want to resolve conflict 3rd Generation This generation when discussed on the time continuum includes the years 1965 to 1999. This generation has the advantage of the best academic training and international experience in history.
They are breaking with traditional patterns, including creating informal work environments and transforming corporate structures from hierarchical into horizontal and flexible entities. Personal initiative and a healthy dose of skepticism toward large organizations have produced a lot of entrepreneurs from this generation. A key value of this generation is the achievement of balance between career goals and quality of life. This generation is task oriented. The labor force, is highly disciplined, works extremely hard and carries out the orders of their supervisors ungrudgingly.
The workers mind their own business without disrupting others’ work, focus on the task given and take pride in producing results. Communication Style in this generation was downward and lateral and span of control was low in that time. Characteristics of the workers in this generation are: Values * Contribution * Feedback and recognition * Autonomy Attributes * Long hours at the office, including evenings and weekends * Building their career over the long term and loyalty to their employer * Viewing themselves and their career as one and the same * Commitment to quality and doing a good job Adaptability * Finding solutions to problems Work style * High-quality end results * Believe in productivity * Balance between work and life???work to live not live to work * Flexible work hours * Comfortable with authority but not impressed with titles * Technically competent * Internal promotion 4th Generation The 4th generation means the generation of 21st century. This generation has lived their entire lives with information technology and they have a hard time comprehending a world without it.
They tend toward individual needs in favor of the community good and often demand a high level of autonomy. What the last generation lacks in loyalty, they make up for with the value they place on relationships with co-workers and supervisors. They’re flooding into our workplaces with boundless energy and ambitions to match. Communication Style follows by this generation is Upward, Downward and lateral. The span of control was also low in nature. Working environment is very open now, employees can give suggestions and their managers respect their decisions.
Basically the employees of this generation do not like to be constantly monitored by their supervisors during their work or at their work place. Similarly the work of workers is of novel and creative nature for which there are no set standards. Due to lack of benchmarks their performance cannot be measured through ordinary monitoring and evaluation machinery. Their work is highly cognitive that requires special system in order to prove whether they are positively contributing something to the organization or not. Their work is result oriented not process oriented.
Collaboration and communication with coworkers has increased drastically in this generation. The complexity and knowledge required to complete their tasks often makes it impossible for any one worker to know or be able to accomplish everything single handedly that needs collaboration of teamwork. Characteristics of the workers in this generation are: Values * Group-oriented * Self-expression is more important than self-control * Marketing and branding self is important * Respect must be earned; it is not freely granted based on age, authority or title Attributes Adapt rapidly * Crave change and challenge * Create constantly * Exceptionally resilient * Committed and loyal when dedicated to an idea, cause or product * Accept others of diverse backgrounds easily and openly * Global in perspective Work style * Want to know how what they do fits into the big picture and need to understand how everything fits together???want to effect change and make an impact * View their work as an expression of themselves; not as a definition of themselves * multitasking all the time Exceptional multi-taskers???need more than one activity happening at a time * Seek active versus passive involvement * Less likely to seek managerial or team leadership positions that would compromise life outside of work * Seek flexibility in work hours and dress code * Seek a relaxed work environment???bright colors, open seating, personal touches * Expect corporate social responsibility and will not work for, or purchase products from, organizations that are not socially responsible * Seek work in teams * On-the-job training Seek continuing learning and will take advantage of training made available to them * Want everything instantly???everything now * Effort can be separated from reward???there is no such thing as pay for performance * Feeling of entitlement * Seek to balance lifestyle and work, with more focus on lifestyle Predicting Trends of Next Generation Spurred by technological innovation and innovative social networking capabilities, collaboration and mobility have become far more pervasive today than they were only a decade ago, and this trend is accelerating.
By 2030, workers will spend more than 80 percent of their time working collaboratively, with only a few working face-to-face at the same time, in the same place. “Futurizing your organization–that is, creating an organization that thinks in the future tense and acts in the present–is prerequisite for success in a rapidly changing and uncertain world” (Morrison, 2007). Organizations that thrive will be those that are open to imagination, adapt quickly to change, accept new technological methodologies, and entice employees with learning opportunities.
Tomorrow’s successful organization will retain employees because they continue to challenge and empower them to use their knowledge and skills to benefit the team and the organization. Work will consist of creative environments that inspire, challenge, and motivate. A multitude of flexible work schedules, locations, and job arrangements–such as job sharing, and telecommuting–will be available. Diverse experience and backgrounds of workforce members will be accepted and utilized to create innovative work environments.
Opportunities will be created for people to contribute in a variety of roles. Next generation workers will be accepted and truly integrated into a variety of projects and career opportunities. The age will not be considered as a medium and these prestigious aged employees will be targeted for their industry expertise, business understanding, teamwork experience, and will be retained and utilized for their intellectual capital and wisdom. Work environments will support team-based projects and group dynamics.
The next generation workers will believe in effecting change and making an impact. They will prefer to express themselves rather than defining themselves through work. The nexters have the attitude of getting everything immediately. Training and mentoring programs will be creative, efficient, and effective, such as e-learning via the Web. In short, Employees will be recognized for contributions to new methods of work delivery. The impending changes in the makeup of the workforce remove barriers that have hindered progress in the past–doing it the same old way.