Research Discussion #5

TOPIC: Social Networks within Educational and Social Fields 

Please read the paper titled “The Influence of Social Networks within Educational and Social Fields: A Comparative Study between Two Generations of Online Students” carefully and offer your take on the topic presented in this paper in addition to what you have read in this week’s chapter 18 material.

Chapter Five Research Discussion Questions

1.  What are the key findings that are pertinent to generational perspectives that need to be considered when it comes to organizational development?

2.  What specific recommendations would you make to an organization seeking to avoid the normal resistance to the assimilation of digital technology by older employees? fade?out? 

PROFESSOR’S GUIDANCE FOR THIS WEEK’S RD:

Gen Xers: A Guide to Generation X in the Workforce

“Generation X is a generation of professionals who are helping to shape the current workforce. Many Gen Xers, as with other generational groups, share similar values and characteristics and by learning more about Generation X and how they function in the workplace, it can help better improve how you work with them.”

https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/finding-a-job…

More on Generations – Gen Z

“Members of the first generation of digital natives, Generation Z, come to the workplace with their own unique identity, perspective and needs. In this episode of All Things Work, host Tony Lee speaks with David Stillman, author of Gen Z @ Work: How the Next Generation Is Transforming the Workplace, about workers in this the generation and how companies can engage them.”

https://www.shrm.org/hr-today/news/all-things-work…

POSt

      This week’s article with regards to organizational development pointed out. The part that shares generational perspectives discusses the characteristics of Gen Y (Dimock’s take) and those of Gen X. The most pertinent findings will be the points of differences in the characters and attitudes of people from the two generations. Those differing attitudes are an opportunity for the manager to tailor further the management of the people portion of organizational development to ensure success, accommodate individual uniqueness, and show employees that they are foremost with regards to choices and actions taken by the organization. In addressing the differences, the manager must be careful not to stifle individuality to create conformity. For example, people learn in various ways; building system-wide capacity for effectiveness and internal efficiency does not translate to offering only one form or way of learning to employees, especially since organizational development is steeped in social scientific practice. In the case of addressing the example, the manager can incorporate the Peer-to-Peer learning option, Mentoring, Visual aids, etcetera.               While the points of similarities in the characters and attitudes of people from the two generations can be used to increase collaboration, cohesion, and performance by using this knowledge to inform team-building decisions. For example, in the study, both generations agree that social networks are to develop communications skills. Communication is central to feedback, improving work, engagement, and inclusion. Hence it is core to sustainable organizational development.                 When initiating organizational development-driven initiatives that allow for greater flexibility & adaptations, change, product enhancement, goal cohesions, strategy, and change. (Van Vulpen, 2022). It will be advantageous for the organization to understand employees. Even though the text focuses on academia, its findings can be transposed to aspects of development, be its employees’ personal development, team development, employee segmentation,’ change management, understanding of employee learning, etcetera.              “Older employees” in my response will address multiple generations, especially those born before 1980; because people work longer, the average employee age is higher also, and resistance to technology adoption is found chiefly among Generation X and older. A viable recommendation will be for the managers to exploit Garcia, Gil-Mediavilla, Alvarez, & de los Angeles Casares’s assertion that Gen X is a global-scale thinking general. By communicating the worldwide focus and reach of the technology and extended effects on improving effectiveness.              Another practical recommendation for avoiding resistance will be to use communication when technology adoption is being considered. The organization should solicit ideas through brainstorming and idea generation sessions. Carry-along and implementation are way easier when employees are part of the process, it generates a sense of ownership, and one would discover that employees are the most prominent advocates for the idea. Each person’s capacity may dictate the feasibility of some suggestions for addressing resistance. For example, resistance may come from inability; in a previous class, we discussed the use or incorporation of tech at the entrance/exit of Costco. However, if such an idea were to be implemented in Walmart -Sam’s Club, for example, using handheld devices to scan and verify membership at the point of entry. Walmart employs Seniors as Greeters (people 57years +); the employee may be unable to hold the device because of shakiness and loss of strength that comes with age. This idea is backed by Hussain, Ross, and Bednar’s Internet use by elderly research in Rossignoli, Virili & Za (2018), “usability issues,” accessibility issues,” etcetera. People of the X generation are only 20 years apart from the silent generation reviewed in the text mentioned above. Based on this, there is a wide gap in the way people born in the 1960s think and those born in the 1990s. Some recommendations may be more resource-intensive than others, which will determine the organization’s ability to implement them. Is it affordable?                Conclusively, social networks affect how people interact; there are differing and similar reactions per generation; knowing how these effects play out among employees by understanding how each generation tends to interact with their environment will aid in making better management decisions in organizational planning and development. However, since social networks and specific technologies that support them are relatively new (a few decades), data is still limited for the management to use.ReferenceGarcia, A. C., Gil-Mediavilla, M., Alvarez, I., & de los Angeles Casares, M. (2020). The influence of social network within educational and social fields: A comparative study between 2 generations of online students. https://online.calmu.edu/pluginfile.php/279897/mod_resource/content/1/The%20Influence%20of%20Social%20Networks%20within%20Educational%20and%20Social%20Fields%20A%20Comparative%20Study%20between%20Two%20Generations%20of%20Online%20Students.pdfRossignoli, C., Virili, F., & Za, S. (2018). Digital Technology and Organizational Change: Reshaping Technology, People, and Organizations Towards a Global Society 1st ed. 199 Van Vulpen, E. (2022). What is organizational development: A complete guide. https://www.aihr.com/blog/organizational-development/

According to the article, the main difference that emerged when in terms of the role of social networks within social and educational fields among Gen X and Y was the difference in the use of social media. Unlike generation X, generation Y seems to have used social media to transform their educational field, workplace, their working stations, their institutions, and their environment (García et.al. 2020). This is mostly driven by the need for autonomy through technology that might be viewed as an escape from the traditional restrictions. Generation Y has thus altered and personalized their surrounding environment through developing a curious mentality and remaining in continuous contact with their friends, surrounding environment, and others on the internet.It is thus true that generation Y has diverse reasons for using Social Networks as compared to generation X. The greatest percentage of Gen Y uses social media to stay up-to-date with news and current events while being amused. Consequently, they are twice more likely than Gen X and Boomers to use social media as a means of communicating with brands rather than email or call. This is because Gen Y overwhelmingly desires trustworthiness and authenticity in brand communication. On the contrary, a huge portion of Gen X feels ignored by brands even though they are the heaviest social media users, spending about seven hours weekly on social media platforms. They are mostly known to make buy items online with a loyalty scheme.Chapter Five Research Discussion QuestionsQuestion 1When it comes to organizational development, it is important for the different generations to learn the importance of how social networks can be used as a learning tool and as a strategy to allow the development of communication skills. For instance, social networks can allow departments to maintain ongoing conversations with questions and answers on blogs or hold brainstorming sessions (Rudolph, et.al. 2021). Consequently, teams can utilize wikis to manage projects, research case studies, and share best practices. In terms of developing communication skills, social networks can be used by organizations to develop collaborative technologies which can be valuable in the workplace because of their effectiveness in developing lateral communication, building relationships as well as improving understanding and teamwork.A positive attitude towards social networks and technology, in general, is essential in research and the development of ways of growing the organization. This is because social networks have assisted numerous companies to develop their work patterns to empower their workers through social media adaptation. Over the past few years, an increasing number of companies are introducing social media among employees from diverse generations with the aim of supporting innovation and creativity to enhance product performance (Rudolph, et.al. 2021). The organizations expect the employees to not only use social media platforms, but also use public social media platforms to interact with potential clients, and acquire resources to facilitate their product design (Rudolph, et.al. 2021).Question 2An organization seeking to avoid the normal resistance to the assimilation of digital technology by the older employees should first train the employees fully and then do a follow-up. This is because about 80 percent of older employees feel that an introduction to new digital technology makes them anxious which may make them hesitant to try the new digital process. The follow-up sessions are important because they allow the employees to give their feedback with the aim of discussing the setbacks or reoccurring matters (Langer, 2017). Secondly, it is important to communicate the change clearly. The introduction of a new digital process can be communicated in a number of ways including, scheduling one-on-one conversations, using the organization’s communication tool, hosting a meeting, or sending an email. The new digital technology should also be made easy for the employees to adopt. This is because the biggest reason why software implementation fails is that the process is too complex. Instead of choosing a system with complex features and the slickest demo, it is important to focus on the employees and what they need from the system (Langer, 2017). Thirdly, the organization should assemble an implementation team to champion the new technology. This is because the new digital technology’s superiority over its competitors and strategic value means little in terms of its acceptance among employees. The majority of these undertaking fails due to underestimating the importance or the scope of preparation.  ReferencesGarcía, A. C., Gil-Mediavilla, M., Álvarez, I., & Casares, M. D. L. Á. (2020). The influence of social networks within educational and social fields: A comparative study between two generations of online students. Sustainability, 12(23), 9941.Langer, A. M. (2017). Information technology and organizational learning: Managing behavioral change in the digital age. CRC Press.Rudolph, C. W., Rauvola, R. S., Costanza, D. P., & Zacher, H. (2021). Generations and generational differences: Debunking myths in organizational science and practice and paving new paths forward. Journal of business and psychology, 36(6), 945-967 

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