For this assignment, read the article, Millennials Are Defining the Workplace by Chris Komisarjevsky.

Answer the following questions as they relate to you and the articles information that you just read. Remember, this is an assessment about you.

Would you agree that Millennials you have grown up in the digital era? The article discusses the fact that, It comes naturally to them. It is part of their every day. It defines them and they, in turn, have significant influence on those around them, whether from home, the workplace or the treadmill. Social media, of course, are the favored form of communications. With smartphones, tablets (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. and other digital devices (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site., each tap matters greatly as they share thoughts and concerns or read what friends and others have to say.

Give some examples of your use social media and the impact to your day to day interactions with others? Does this impact or tend to minimize your person to person interaction? In what way is this detrimental to the business environment?

The article suggests that Millennials will eventually dominate and influence the workforce. What sorts of values and priorities do you feel you bring to the workplace that other prior generations did not? In pondering this question, consider this quote by Mr. Alsop, who wrote the book, The Trophy Kids.

The first wave of the Millennial Generationborn between 1980 and 2001is entering the work force, and employers are facing some of the biggest management challenges theyve ever encountered. They are trying to integrate the most demanding and most coddled generation in history into a workplace shaped by the driven baby-boom generation. Like them or not, the millennials are America's future work force. They are actually a larger group than the boomers92 million vs. 78 million.

The millennials are truly trophy kids, the pride and joy of their parents who remain closely connected even as their children head off to college and enter the work force. Millennials are a complex generation, with some conflicting characteristics. Although theyre hard working and achievement oriented, most millennials dont excel at leadership and independent problem solving (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.. They want the freedom and flexibility of a virtual office (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site., but they also want rules and responsibilities to be spelled out explicitly. Its all about me, might seem to be the mantra of this demanding bunch of young people, yet they also tend to be very civic-minded and philanthropic.

Do you feel that Millennials, (or yourself if you fit within the age bracket of this group), tend to be more independent thinking is prized, questioning is the norm and proof is what they are looking for? Do you find that organizations such as religion, social groups, corporations and politics can not be trusted?

Do you feel that Millennials don't seem to have the same sense of loyalty to their employers as do earlier generations, particularly Baby Boomers? Do you agree that they keep their distance, slower to make an emotional connection? Do they tend to be quicker to change jobs (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site., vote with their feet and seek a more open corporate environment? Give some examples.

What positive changes can the Millennials bring to the employer or management team as opposed to earlier generations? Please give specific examples.

Here is the article :

The Huffington Post

Millennials Are Defining the Workplace

Posted: 08/26/2014 6:03 pm EDT Updated: 08/26/2014 6:59 pm EDT

Millennials lead the pack when it comes to digital influence.

And understandably so. After all, now in their 20s and 30s, these adults have grown up in the

digital era. It comes naturally to them. It is part of their every day. It defines them and they, in

turn, have significant influence on those around them, whethe

r from home, the workplace or the

treadmill.

Social media, of course, are the favored form of communications. With smartphones,

tablets

and

other

digital devices

, each tap matters greatly as they share thoughts and concerns or read what

friends and others have to say.

Pew Research

calls Millennials

"digital natives."

In its 2014 report, "Millennials in Adulthood,"

Pew points out that they are:

"the only generation for which

these new technologies are not something they've had to adapt to.

Not surprisingly, they are the most avid users.

"They have taken the lead in seizing on the new platforms of the digital era

-

the internet,

mobile

technology

, social media

-

to construct personalized networks of friends, colleagues and affinity

groups."

In what may seem as no more than the blink of an eye, these Millennials are fast be

coming the

largest group of

employees

at companies large and small. Neither idle nor quiet, many of them

are making their mark.

Fast moving through

the ranks and exerting greater influence in the workplace, they are now

forcing changes in how to motivate and engage with employees. And you can count on that

continuing for a long, long time.

Ron Alsop, journalist, author and former

Wall Street Journal

e

ditor, set the tone for how the

Millennials would eventually dominate the workforce in his ground

-

breaking 2008 book: "

The

Trophy Kids Grow Up: How the Millennial Generation Is Shaking Up The Workplace."

Mr. Alsop saw early on that the Millennials would br

ing a set of values and priorities that

differed significantly from the generations that came before them: Gen X and Baby Boomers.

With the Millennials, he wrote,

"employers are facing some of the biggest management

challenges they've ever encountered."

http://www.thetrophykids.com

While the earliest assessments of Millennials tended to be very skeptical of this group

-

quick to

call them coddled and focused on themselves

-

we now have better insight

s and see this

generation as having very different expectations of employers than did their predecessors.

Among Millennials, loyalty is hard won, independent thinking is prized, questioning is the norm

and proof is what they are looking for.

Pew adds anot

her very important distinction: Millennials, the research says, are "unmoored from

institutions," or unattached from organizations that have been so important to earlier generations.

This applies to religion, social groups, corporations and politics.

Adding

to their sense of not

belonging, they see themselves as "low on social trust."

When it comes to the workplace, Millennials don't seem to have the s

ame sense of loyalty to

their employers as do earlier generations, particularly Baby Boomers. They keep their distance,

slower to make an emotional connection. They tend to be quicker to change

jobs

, vote with their

feet and seek a more open corporate environment.

As a retired CEO

--

with six millennial children of my own

--

I've seen firsthand the underlying

impact of this generation. Others may be ap

prehensive of the changes being brought about by

Millennials but I, for one, am not.

I see this as an opportunity to change the traditional paradigm of employer

-

employee relations

and engage more closely in order to foster a stronger bond. It is an opportu

nity to encourage

more of a partnership where views are exchanged, opinions are sought, and the dialog is candid

... of course, within the limits of regulations and disclosure.

To motivate and engage, the patterns of the past must change. Millennials esch

ew tradition,

including hierarchical behavior. And senior management at today's companies

-

a mix of Gen X

and Baby Boomers

-

must be willing to step back, give up some authority, use digital techniques

and invest time to better explore how Millennials can

help the company as they gain something

for themselves.

After all, the digital voices of Millennials are among the loudest, the most pervasive and the most

credible. They are heard far and wide and influence others through what they say and how they

feel.

Remember, smartphones in the office transcend firewalls. Sharing views with others takes only

one click. The bottom line is that this group has an enormous ability to shape perception and

reputation.

So, it's time to rethink the power of our youngest gen

eration in the workplace and focus on both

what works for companies and what works for them.

In our digital age, these Millennials have power and influence well beyond their age.

Author: Chris Komisarjevsky

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chris-komisarjevsky/millennials-are-defining-_b_5714683.html