Premium Essay

Baby Boomers

In: Historical Events

Submitted By meljones
Words 1397
Pages 6
Baby Boomer Leaders Face Challenges Communicating Across Generations
By Christine W. Zust, M.A. When I skipped off to elementary school in the late 1950s, I had no idea that in the years ahead my fellow classmates and I, along with the other 77 million Baby Boomers, would create radical change in American business, education and health care. I didn’t realize then that swapping my sandwich for someone else’s at lunchtime was a new way of thinking, something my parents never considered. I was, after all, part of the generation of choice. Yet as I look at my fellow Boomers today, I realize that the changes we put into motion in that lunchroom decades ago have placed us in today’s board room in a new position. We are the “sandwich leaders,” the first generation squeezed between managing and leading people older than us (Traditionalists) and those following in our footsteps (Generations X and Y). Along the way, we Boomers have met the ultimate challenge -- communicating across generations (now spanning up to four generations in the same workplace), each with different values, beliefs and attitudes. How are we keeping a diverse workplace population interested, motivated and committed to business? This is a question all leaders facing these generational issues must address. They are doing it through communication. Psychologist Dr. Paula Butterfield of Columbus, Ohio, says that working across generations is hard for many managers. “It can challenge beliefs and values they’ve always accepted, and squeeze them between the twin rocks of change and conflict.” The tools they use, especially communication skills, says Butterfield, can make or break their level of success. “Leaders who understand the conditions that shaped each generation and the values and beliefs that flowed from those conditions will have a handy set of tools in creating strong relationships and teams for

Similar Documents

Free Essay

Baby Boomers

...Baby Boomers Shuyang Wang, Team of Amanda, Brittany, Kesiri and Shuyang Introduction The population born between 1964 and 1964is commonly referred to as the Baby Boom generation (Census, 2006). Understanding the demographic characteristics of the Baby Boomers in the present day is very essential because Baby Boomers now comprise what is seen as one of the largest generations in U.S history. In 2013, Baby Boomers are ages 48 to 66. There are about 77 million boomers (the largest single generation surpassing children) in the U.S. today accounting for approximately $2 trillion in marketplace spending clout (Brandweek, March 2006.). Demographic Information The population size of Baby Boomers in 2006 was 77,980,296, with a percentage of 50.3% male and 49.7% female. The population by region in 2006 in South, Midwest, West, and Northeast are respectively 28060126, 17569066, 17421670, and 14929434. California (8,992,331), Texas (5,665,790), and New York (5,110,668) ranked the top three in population size in 2006. The education level of Baby Boomers in 2006 is 12.5% of less than high school graduate, 29.8% high school graduate, 28.9 some college, and 28.8 bachelor’s degree or higher. The employment states of Baby Boomers in 2006 is 74.1%employed, 3.3% unemployed, 0.1%armed forces, and 22.4% not in labor force. The selected household income in 2006 shows that 91.8% of Baby Boomers are with earnings, 10.4% are with social security income, 11.3% are with retirement income, and...

Words: 1182 - Pages: 5

Free Essay

Baby Boomers

...Baby Boomers HCS/490 March 26, 2012 Baby Boomers After World War two there was a boom in the birth rate in the United States, this part of the population became known as the baby boomers. This sizable population is coming to the age when there are more needs for the services of the health care system. This increased need for care is becoming a major hurdle in the fight to control costs to the U.S. health care system. Many concerns arise from this growing demographic, how is this influx of people going to affect the cost of health care as well as the ability of the system to handle this increasing demographic? Other challenges that arise are how to reach this demographic and provide the services that they need. Whether these are prescription medicine programs, therapeutic services, to in home care this demographic needs to know what products and services are available so they can make sound decisions that may help the U.S. health system avoid a crisis. Who are the Baby Boomers? Baby boomers are the generation that was born after World War two when there was a significant rise in the U.S. population this generation is now starting to get to the age of retirement and are beginning to represent a large number of people which will need the services of the current health care system. This aging population could have a direct impact on the health care system because of the sheer number of people which are in this age group. According to Anderson, Goodman, Holtzman, Posner...

Words: 1171 - Pages: 5

Free Essay

Baby Boomers

...Baby Boomers: Don’t Let Appearance Stand in Your Way! By Barbara Jaworski Workplace Institute Ageism in the workplace exists. If you’re a baby boomer and you’ve had to job hunt, you’ve probably experienced it.   There are many misconceptions around older workers but the reality is that baby boomers are highly skilled in using new technologies, agile when it comes to a changing workplace, and more committed and engaged than their younger counterparts.   When you interview for a new position, it’s up to you to convince those in charge of hiring that you’re just as passionate, energetic, adaptable and technologically savvy as those half your age and it begins with the first impression.   Studies have shown that, during the interview process, prospective employees make their decision to consider or not consider an applicant with the first 10 seconds of that applicant entering the room. You want to make that first 10 seconds count!    Because the decision to consider you for the position is made before you’ve had a chance to open your mouth, those first 10 seconds are all about appearance.   If you’re older, you need to convey the impression that you’re mature and experienced but also an energetic and enthusiastic individual who’s eager for new challenges.   Looking mature is fine—looking behind the times is not. If your clothes or hairstyle are10 years out of date, interviewers will wonder if your business skills are out of date, too. If you’re looking tired and...

Words: 529 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Baby Boomers

...Millennials always get a bad rap sheets and the sheet is getting longer and longer. Who can you blame, Um, the baby boomers. The ones that have given us the nasty stereotypes that had planted the seed on the rest of the Baby Boomers and Generation X so they can viewed us as job-hoppers and lazy. Baby Boomers probably think we stay on the couch, eating chips all day and letting our parents pay for our bills. Do they think that is the reasons why we still live with our parents? I mean living rent free is cool and your mom can still do your laundry; however that isn’t the real reasons why we still live with our parents. Do they really think our parents would let us sleep on the bed all day and not doing nothing? I mean nothing. Um no, my parents would totally kicked me out of the house. However, in reality, we are stuck and we are indebt. Do you really think we want to live with our parents? No, we want our own space; invite our friends and significant others, and not having to worry about...

Words: 575 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

Baby Boomer

...A baby boomer is a person who was born during the demographic Post-World War II baby boom between the years 1946 and 1964, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The term baby boomer is also used in a cultural context. Different groups, organization and individuals may have widely varying opinions on what constitutes a baby boomer. Baby boomers are associated with a rejection or redefinition of traditional values. In Europe and North America boomers are widely associated with privilege, as many grew up in a time of widespread government subsidies in post-war housing and education, and increasing affluence. One feature of boomers was that they tended to think of themselves as a special generation, very different from those that had come before. The phrase baby boom has been used since the late twentieth century to refer to a noticeable temporary increase in the birth rate. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the first recorded use of “baby boomer” is from 1970 in an article in the Washington Post. Howe, well known for their generational theory , define the social generation of Boomers as the cohorts born from 1943 to 1960, who were too young to have any personal memory of World War II, but old enough to remember the postwar American High. The generation can be segmented into two broadly defined cohorts: The leading-edge baby boomers are individuals born between 1946 and 1955. This group represents slightly more than half of the generation, or roughly 38,002,000 people of...

Words: 1533 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Baby Boomers

...Baby Boomers In todays’ workforce there are currently four generations working together side by side. The four generations are: Traditionalists, Baby Boomers, Generation X, & Generation Y/Post-millennials. Each has their own habits, styles, temperaments, and motivations. There is too much information to cover in this one paper, so I am specifically going to speak on the baby boomers. Baby boomers were born from 1946 thru 1964, and they make up 70% of the U.S population. Most baby boomers are well mannered, organized, and prefer to communicate “formally” rather than using current day technology. They prefer to work in an environment where there is a strong chain of command structure. And to add on that, most baby boomers are the authority figures in todays’ workforce. If one finds themselves in a supervisory position aver a baby boomer, they may find it challenging. Baby boomers are burning out with today’s workload, and they seem to dislike the tech-savvy post-millennials. One may find them to question authority a lot if they are a subordinate to a younger generation, because they may feel that they deserve a lot more than they are getting due to the time they have spent in the workplace. All in all, when supervising a baby boomer they can be your best friend or worst enemy. You must respect them and have an ear to whatever they are trying to communicate. Because over-all most baby boomers will do anything to see the workplace succeed because of the values they...

Words: 257 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

American Baby Boomer

...Rajashree Gopinath 25/02/2013 Principles of marketing Prof John O’Malley THE AMERICAN BABY BOOMER More babies were born in 1946 than ever before in the United States of America. Statistics indicate that 3.4 million people were born, which is 20 percent more than in 1945. This was the beginning of the so-called “baby boom.” In 1947, another 3.8 million babies were born and more than 4 million were born every year from 1954 until 1964. By then, there were 76.4 million “baby boomers” in the United States. They made up almost 40 percent of the nation’s population. So by definition baby boomers are the large number of people born worldwide between 1946 and 1964. History The Great depression and the World War II had just ended. This was the time when two of the most dreadful events of the world took its break. People who had postponed marriage during the Great depression and World War II had begun to consider starting a family. According to statistics between 1940- 1945, only 8% of women opted out of having babies. They started doing so because they began to think that the future holds comfort and prosperity. In a way they were rite. The then “American dream” was met by the passing of the GI bill on June 1944. Due to this, loans for homes and farms were made available to GIs at low interest rates, and low or no down payment was provided, which meant that it was cheaper to buy houses in suburban areas than to rent an apartment in the city. Hence people began...

Words: 1895 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

Baby Boomer Generation

...Baby Boomers The Baby Boomer Generation * When the soldiers returned from their tours of duty overseas during World War II they began families, which brought about a huge number of new babies that were born between 1946-1964. The dramatic increase in births during this period is called the Baby Boom. Baby Boomers are members of one of the largest and diverse generations in U.S. history. They came from different backgrounds and were raised in varied circumstances. But they were all children at some point in the 1950s, teenagers at some point in the 1960s, and young adults by the end of the 1970s. They were part of the first child-focused society, expected to complete high school and possibly continue on to obtain a college degree. Unlike previous generations, Boomers pursued higher education or moved away from family for their careers and educational interests. The Baby Boomer generation is often portrayed as a generation of achievement, optimism, and exploration. They witnessed and participated in some of the greatest social changes in U.S. history, such as the Civil Rights Movement, Women’s Movement, and much more. Some of the most influential people of this period include Martin Luther King Jr., Richard Nixon, Rosa Parks, John F. Kennedy, and the Beatles. * Baby Boomers are confident, self-reliant, and independent. They grew up during a time of reform with a belief that they can change the world. They insist on having a voice, being involved in decisions, and influencing...

Words: 2091 - Pages: 9

Premium Essay

Baby Boomers Research Paper

...the main groups are boomers and millennials. Boomers are the group of the people born during the baby boom, which occurred from the 1940s to 1960s. In the 1950s, the United States experienced a marked economic growth with an increase in manufacturing and home construction. In this decade America had recovered from the great depression due to the increase of manufacturing during World War II. People who lived in the city moved to the suburbs and lived in their own houses. There were more white collar jobs than blue collar jobs during this period. There was also an increase in the overall birth rate of...

Words: 1062 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Baby Boomers Research Paper

...Baby boomers are the first generation to actively declare a higher priority for work over personal life. They generally distrust authority and large systems. Their values were shaped primarily by a rise in civil rights activism, Viet Nam, and inflation. They are more optimistic and open to change than the prior generation, but they are also responsible for the “Me Generation,” with its pursuit of personal gratification, which often shows up as a sense of entitlement in today’s work force. Because of the fall of the dot.com marketplace, retirement savings of Baby Boomers were decimated and many now find themselves having to work longer than they had planned. A recent AARP survey of 2,001 people born in this era revealed that 63% plan to work...

Words: 617 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

Caring for the Baby Boomer Population

...Caring for the Baby Boomer Population Thomas Watrucki Thomas Edison State College Mentor Tish Dorman December 7th, 2014 The “baby boomer” generation (those born from 1946-1964) are now our retirement-age elderly that we healthcare providers are challenged with caring for. The Population Reference Bureau estimates that there are 76.4 million baby boomers (as of April 2014). About 3 million baby boomers will hit retirement age every year for the next 20 years (Barr, 2014). Healthypeople.gov estimates that 60 percent of this population will be managing more than one chronic condition by 2030. The American Hospital Association notes that the over 65 population will nearly triple as a result of the aging Boomers. What this means for us healthcare providers is that our healthcare system will be challenged with caring for a significantly increased amount of elderly with chronic ailments that we are seeing now. This will increase healthcare costs as chronic disease management increases and transitions are made from private insurance carriers to Medicare. I interviewed a baccalaureate nurse who works on the geriatric medical surgical unit in my hospital and asked her to identify the special needs of the Baby Boomer Generation. She has been a nurse for 25 years and has worked on that unit for the past 12 years. Looking back on her experience and the current trends of problems she encounters with this generation, specifically with the lower income minority population that we work...

Words: 1546 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Baby Boomer Economy Essay

...economy crashes, then they all do. This is very closely linked to the creation of the baby boomer economy, possibly the most brittle of economies that the world has ever seen. Housing prices are sky rocketing, houses are left empty, yet homeless still exists, and people are evicted everyday from their homes. This is the reality of the baby boomer economy Canada is in now, which is effected economically, socially, and politically to be, historically, one of the hardest times to be alive. The economic changes in the past 40 years have not been for the better, as the previous times had been. The baby boomer generation managed to change the cost of living expontentially, from being able to feed a family of 7 for under five dollars, per meal, in the 60-70s, to not even being able to feed one person for under five dollars a meal in 2015. As a concequence, a lot of millenials have began living at their...

Words: 700 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Baby Boomers In The Vietnam War

...The baby boomer generation is considered the largest generation ever in the history of the United States. As a result, this large generation of individuals brought upon the country a new way of social thinking and values. Despite this large general shift in social thinking and values there still was political variance amongst the generation itself, and the Vietnam War could be considered the hottest issue. The personal interviews presented in Discovering the American Past conducted on baby boomers, asking about their experiences revolving the Vietnam War, effectively displays the variety of reasons young individuals at the time believed the war was being fought for; some individuals shared similar reasons and others had differing reasons. In...

Words: 1427 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Baby Boomer Generation: A Comparative Analysis

...Technology, and its effect on the world has always been argued to be both a gift and a curse. A large majority of those who were born during the Baby Boomer generation and many other skeptics have argued that technology has been corrupting society and has enacted to become brainwashed while becoming de-evolved. This statement has become a cliché with those of the older, wiser generation. This cliché can both be supported and refuted because technology has not only made strides in improvement of education, health and society. But it can also be argued that it has led to social unrest, poor health, malice in educational field towards the student and teacher. Those without technology have proven to suffer tremendously and the argument can be made...

Words: 1515 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Why Are Baby Boomers a Lucrative Market?

...1. Why are Baby Boomers such a lucrative market? Baby boomers have a lucrative market because unlike the generation before them they want a lot of different things available to them. They are a perfect target market because they are willing to pay for what they want and they have the money to do so. Baby boomers are also usually more financial secure and if they like what you have to offer they’ll keep coming back. This generation also finds their health important and they keep up with diet and excises. With the average life span increasing that could give a company increased profits over time. 2. How has the marketing research process been used to understand how Baby Boomers shop and interact in stores? The research involved dressing up a person in a way that replicated what a person in their 70’s is feeling. They duplicated how a baby boomer gets merchandise off shelves and how high or low they look on the selves. By using observation methods researchers were able to record how a person’s physical conditions impacted their lives and buying decisions. They did all of this in a way that didn’t make the baby boomers feel embarrassed or put down. 3. How have stores used marketing research findings to tailor their stores and products to appeal to Baby Boomers? With the information found stores were able to adapt to that particular market in a manner that was appropriate to their needs. By lowering the selves and placing magnifying glasses near items that...

Words: 280 - Pages: 2