The Generation Game

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UohOuN

NVSDA

Behaviour

Attitude

Values

“the sense of possibility necessary for success comes not from inside us or from our parents. It comes from our time: from the particular opportunities that our particular place in history presents us with”

Malcolm Gladwell, Outliers(2008)

“Silent” generation Born:

- 1920s to 1940s

- Age 60s and 70s

Influences

- Great Depression

- World War ll

- Industrial era

Values

Dedication & Sacrifice

Duty before Pleasure

Conformity & Reward

Delayed Reward

Cautious Reticent Reserved

Waste not Want Not

Don’t like Debt

Respect for Position

Winston Churchill“We will fight them” speech

• Winston Churchill?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkTw3_PmKtc

“Boomers”

Born

- 1945 to 1960

Influence

- Grand visions

- Relaxation of wealth and freedom

- Beginning of the “empowered

individual”

- The rise of multinational companies

ValuesIdealism &

Optimism

Personal Growth and Gratification

Teamwork

Live Life on Credit

Health & Wellness

Image

Media

Family & Community

Family First

“Generation X”

Born:

- 1960 to 1989

Influences

- Globalisation

- Information revolution

- Digital era and colour television

- Social, political and economical

turmoil

Values

Global Awareness & Techno Literacy

Individualisation & Self Reliance

Thrill Seekers

Lifelong Learning, Not Scared of Failure

Survivors

Relationships are Vital

Influence of Music

Access to the world

Martin Luther King

Anti war protest

Moon Landing

Miner Strike

Charles Kennedy

Generation Y

Born:

1990s and 2000s

Influences

- global village

- The internet and cell-phones

- 9/11, global terrorism and protection

“Known as the Net Generation”

Values

Ethical Consumption

Optimism

Street Smart

Media & Entertainment Overload

High Self Esteem & Achievement Driven

Need to Know Whyhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_CgM2btWzM

Overnight Success

How different?

• Grown up with Sesame Street, MTV, the

internet, PCs/Macs, video games,

Facebook, MySpace, Flickr, Skype, iPods,

iPhones, iPads, PDAs etc.

• They live in a world of media

overstimulation and absolutely love it.

ImplicationsRonald A. Berk (John Hopkins University)

• They expect information at their fingertips.

• Technology interaction has enabled them to master

complex tasks and make decisions rapidly.

• Need to be taught information literacy and strong critical

thinking skills.

• Has fostered a false sense of ability such that they

routinely overestimate their skills at finding and

evaluating online information.

• Web 2.0 has fostered peer to peer engagement to

create, share and interact via networks.

• Kinaesthetic, experimental, hands-on learners who must

be engaged, constantly connected with first-person

learning, games, simulations and role playing.

Implications cont‟d• They naturally do several tasks easily at the same time.

Mixing work and play is common.

• They perceive print as expensive, boring and a waste of

time, they prefer visuals, graphics and images of any

kind.

• The express feeling easily and enjoy meeting new

people. Collaboration enables their „collective

intelligence‟ to emerge through the pooling of

knowledge, research, arguments and insights.

• Social bookmarking with blogs and wikis is also gaining

traction as a method to facilitate online collaboration

among students and between students and the

professor.

Generation Z

Born from the early 1990s.

Grown up with High speed

internet, smart phones and online

shopping.

Generation Z

• Comfortable with and even dependent on

technology.

• Constantly multitasking.

• More socially responsible.

• Always connected.

Characteristics

• Where they work will no longer be relevant. They will be more

transient which cause retention issues. (Karen Osborn, Thales

Training & Consultancy)

• Their ability to communicate when managing staff or making

presentations may be less honed.(Cary Cooper, Lancaster

University)

• They expect responses to be immediate….may cause frustration as

the employee waits for decisions to be made. (Sonja Stockton,

Alexander Mann Solutions)

• They are complete digital natives and cannot function without

communicating through social media. (Alison Heron, KPMG)

• Generation Z will have a desire for change for change, stimulation,

learning and promotion. (Yvonne Sell, Hay Group)

Expectations

• Will expect regular feedback.

• Aware of individuality and demand personalised

treatment.

• Possess positive attitudes such as openness to change

and creative use of technology.

• “Research suggests that they are imaginative and

solutions focused because of their less physical

experience of childhood. If they are exposed to online

games, the possibilities seem much more limitless.”

(Cooper, Lancaster University)

Entrepreneurs

• “When I speak to young people, many of them

want to set up their own business. So I believe

that this generation will have intellectual curiosity

aligned to an entrepreneurial mind set.”

• “But they will need to manage their short term

desire for stimulation with a need to focus more

on solving big, complex, multi-year problems”

(Stockton, Alexander Mann Solutions)

Companies targeting

Generation Z will want to….• Adopt technology-based marketing and sales

channels.

• „Catch them young‟

• Enhance their virtual world presence

• Develop high value for money products

• Provide „green‟ products and services or take a

proactive stance towards the environment.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUCfFcchw1w

Understanding why we don’t understand

We may have been living in the same house or working in

the same office as these people, but we are

living in different worlds

How does this affect the communication

methods used for each set of

stakeholders?