orion observatory issue 2 - hospitality net · 4 orion observatory issue #2 issue # 3 call for...

Blue M

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Email: enquiry@

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Academ

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Hafenstrasse 62

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Orion Observatory Cover Nov06:Orion Observatory Cover 15/11/06 12:12 PM

© Orion Publishing Pty Ltd, reprinted January 2007.

This work is copyright. Apart from any use permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in

a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means - electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise - without the prior

written permission of the publisher. Inside back cover reprinted with permission from Swiss-Belhotel International Limited.

The Orion constellation,visible in the night skies ofboth hemispheres, is knownas ‘the birth place of stars’because it has the highestdensity of young and newbornstars in the cosmos.

Inspired by this idea, the Orion Hotel Schools

aim to be the birthplace of our ‘stars’. We

watch with pride as our graduates become

the future leaders of the global Hospitality

and Tourism industry.

Orion Hotel Schools is the name of a

global alliance of leading hotel schools

around the world. We share a common

platform of educational values, beliefs and

teaching methodologies to underpin our

respective programs.

Our education philosophy is based on

the Three Pillar Approach: a balanced

integration of theoretical knowledge,

practical skills and personal development.

' W e T h a n k O u r S p o n s o r '

Orion Observatory Cover Nov06:Orion Observatory Cover 15/11/06 12:12 PM

1

WelcomeOrion ObservatoryOrion Journal

of International Hotel Management

EditorProf. Peter A Jones

[email protected]

PublisherOrion Publishing

Level 3, 141 York StSydney NSW 2000

AustraliaEnquiries: Mark [email protected]

Orion Hotel Schoolswww.orionhotelschools.com

Blue Mountains Hotel SchoolLeura, Australia

Pacific International HotelManagement School

New Plymouth, New Zealand

Academia Euregio BodenseeRomanshorn, Switzerland

Australian InternationalHotel School

Canberra, Australia

China TourismManagement Institute

Tianjin, China

Suzhou Tourism and FinanceInstitute

Suzhou, China

Orion Hotel Schoolsproudly supportSala Bai Hotel

and Restaurant SchoolSiem Reap, Cambodia

Orion Board of DirectorsFritz Gubler (Chair)

Gavin FaullMax Player

Bill McCallum

Orion Executive CommitteeFritz Gubler (Chair)Prof. Peter A Jones

Guy BentleyAnna Quek

Jocelyn MartinReto AmmannMark Goodwin

Orion Academic CouncilProf. Peter A Jones (Chair)

Helen BateyEve Kawana-Brown

Andrew BradlyGerard Port-Louis

Tony Gray

I am pleased to introduce this, Issue #2 of theOrion Observatory. This issue follows the themethat we have set for the journal; that ofconsidering the future trends and challenges thatimpact on the Hospitality and Tourism industries.

The success of Issue #1 confirmed the need for ajournal of this type with this focus and as theOrion Hotel Schools, we are committed tolooking to the future for the benefit of ourstudents and the industry.

As our focus is the future, what better than toconsider how our current and future students aredifferent from previous generations and how weas educators and industry need to recognise thosedifferences and change our approachesaccordingly.

Contributors are the making of journals and thisis no exception. I would like to personally thankall those who have contributed to making theOrion Observatory a feature of the industrylandscape and a journal that causes us to thinkabout the future.

Time is a precious resource and the amount oftime that is devoted to research and writingarticles is a reflection of the professionalism andinvolvement in the future that is Orion.

Fritz Gubler

Chairman Orion Hotel Schools

2

Orion Observatory Issue #2

EDITORIAL 3

ISSUE #3 CALL FOR PAPERS 4

THINK PIECES

THE PSYCHOLOGICAL CONTRACT ANDTHE PROPENSITY FOR KNOWLEDGESHARING AND CREATION 5Associate Professor Deborah Blackman andDiane Phillips

THE IPOD AND THE PHONE: WIRED ANDMOBILE, CHARACTERISTICS OF THEMILLENNIUM GENERATION 11Professor Peter Jones

THE NEW GENERATION – IMPACT ANDIMPLICATIONS

CHINA’S Y GENERATION 15Peter Demoor and Wayne Zhang

CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF EMPLOYABILITYSKILLS FOR THE FUTUREGENERATIONS 20Mark Goodwin

NETWORKING THE GENERATION YWAY: A DISCUSSION PAPER ON THEINTERCONNECTIVITY BETWEEN THETRADITIONAL HOSPITALITYINDUSTRY AND THE EMERGINGGEN Y WORKFORCE 29Helen Batey and Mark Woodbridge

REWARDING EXCELLENCE: A TRAININGDILEMMA FOR THE Y GENERATION 36Reid Walker

WHAT DO Y EXPECT AND WHY SHOULDWE CARE? GENERATION Y’S EXPERIENCEOF INDUSTRY PLACEMENT 48Eve Kawana-Brown

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY: WILL GENY DESTROY CIVILIZATION AS WE KNOWIT? 57Mark Woodbridge and Guy Bentley

STUDENT VIEWPOINTS

GEN Y WORKING SMARTER THROUGHKNOWLEDGE LEVERAGE: USINGINTEGRATED CHANGE IN TRAVEL ANDTOURISM 65Rosemary Higgerson

Y GENERS VIGNETTES 72Diane Phillips

SECTION 4: SHOWCASE OF STUDENTCOMMENTS

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MYGENERATION AND MY PARENTS’ 77Student perspectives

SUBSCRIPTIONS AND BACKISSUES 79

Contents

3

Editorial

Issue #2 is firmly focused on the future generations of managers in the industry. Whether theyare known as Generation Y, Generation M or ‘netgeners’– amongst many other tags – is asomewhat arbitrary academic distinction. What is clear is that this generation is different, hasdifferent expectations, and has different approaches, different ways of communicating,learning and working.

In this issue the first section is devoted to ‘think pieces’: articles entirely the views of theauthors but attempting to set the scene and draw together some of the key issues that are thenexplored in more detail in other articles.

The second section is devoted to the more academic approaches of researched and consideredarticles that focus on some of the more specific issues and implications of the generationalchanges for education and industry.

Section three showpieces a more academic and researched view from an existing student andsection four provides for some personal student observations on generational differences.

The consistent themes running throughout Issue #2 relate to how industry, and in particulareducation, needs to be constantly aware of the generational changes that are happening insociety, what is driving those changes and how we have to change how we think and behaveto engage with those generations. This requires a redefinition of what we expect, how weteach and how the new generations learn.

A tough call for many who may not be open to change but Issue #2 of the Orion Observatory isdesigned to stimulate and contribute to that debate.

Professor Peter A Jones

Editor Orion Observatory and Chairman Orion Academic Council

4


Issue # 3Call for Papers

Orion Publishing will be publishing Issue #3 of the Orion Observatory in October 2007.

The theme of Issue #3 is the characteristics, expectations and experiences of guests in thefuture. This is in keeping with the aim of the journal to explore the future of the Hotelindustry.

The working title of Issue #3 is 21st Century Tourists: the mints on the pillow will not be enough.

The journal will be structured into key themes and will include an editorial and theopportunity for a number of non-academic papers as individual viewpoints. The outline of thesections will be:

Editorial

Section 1: Think PiecesTwo articles that set the scene and theme, and which should encourage debate andbe provocative. Not more than 2000 words per article.

Section 2: Academic ContributionsUp to eight referenced articles based on themes related to the changing nature of21st Century guests and the impact of these changes on the industry of the future.Not more than 2500 words per article.

Section 3: Industry ViewpointsArticles that reflect the views of hospitality practitioners as to how the industry ismaintaining competitive positioning by attracting and satisfying the changingexpectations of their guests.

Authors are invited to submit papers that address these key themes and be of wider interestto both the industry and education.

Outline proposals for papers in the form of short (100 word) abstracts should be submittedelectronically to the Editorial Review Panel by no later than 1 May 2007. The address forsubmissions is: [email protected]

Abstracts should be succinct, outlining the key themes of the proposed paper using thekeywords that would form the basis of a literature search and highlighting the contributionthat the papers would make to the discussion and debate.

Final papers for publication are to be submitted using an approved style guide that will beforwarded to authors on acceptance of their abstracts.

The Editor and two independent academics will undertake the academic review process.Notification of acceptance of the abstracts will be by 14 June 2007.

5

Think Pieces

The Psychological Contract and the Propensity forKnowledge Sharing and CreationAssociate Professor Deborah Blackman and Diane Phillips

Abstract This paper reports upon a qualitative study undertaken at theAustralian International Hotel School. The study sought to explore thepotential posited relationship between knowledge management andthe psychological contract. The findings demonstrated four key themesmediating the relationship between the two: attitude towards the targetsharer, levels of perceived safety, the utility of the knowledge sharingand the opportunity for sharing. All of these will affect, and be affectedby, the status of the psychological contract held by the individual of theworkplace they are in. Future research to see whether these findingscan be applied more widely is proposed.

Keywords: Psychological contract, knowledge management, organisational behaviour

Introduction

In recent years, organisations have come torealise that what they ‘know’ is crucial totheir competitiveness. From the mid 1990sthere has been a rapid growth in the studyand practice of knowledge management.Now it is accepted that organisations whosepeople have superior knowledge and whoare able to harness that knowledge, willdevelop a fundamental source ofcompetitive advantage (De Geus 1997;Teece, Pisano and Shuen 1997). In recentyears, organisations have placed anextremely high value on knowledge:

Knowledge has become the most importantfactor in economic life. It is the chiefingredient of what we buy and sell, the rawmaterial with which we work. Intellectualcapital...has become the one indispensableasset of corporations (Stewart 1997 cited inLittle, Quintas and Ray 2002:2).

The recent growth in interest aboutknowledge has led to many writingsconsidering the notion and the issuessurrounding it. For example, Duffy (2000)describes knowledge as contributing toorganisational performance and stimulatingand maintaining innovative practices.Pérez-Bustamante (1999) discussesknowledge management in agile innovativeorganisations, describing knowledge as thefoundation of intellectual capital, in itself amajor consideration in innovativeenvironments, and relates the importanceof an organisation’s internal knowledgecapacity as a primary source of innovation.Pitt and Clarke (1999) note the role ofknowledge in innovation, stating that anorganisation must purposefully apply itsskills and knowledge to achieve strategicinnovation. Johannessen, Olaisen and Olsen

6


(1999) write about which management andorganising characteristics are best used tomanage innovation in the knowledgeeconomy, and note that some leading edgecompanies realise the value of the tacitknowledge they already contain forproviding solutions.

Innovation is increasingly discussed as oneof the desired outputs of knowledge, whilstthe need to manage workers in order todevelop the learning needed to promoteknowledge and innovation is also identified(Swan, Scarborough and Robertson (2002).The argument is that by managing thelearning and knowledge creation processescarefully and developing an innovativeculture, maximum innovation can beachieved. This indicates that thedevelopment of knowledge will be vital forthe success of all businesses but, as it isabout the management of people, it mayhave specific issues in the development andsharing of knowledge in new and/or smallfirms.

This paper will consider the importance ofthe psychological contract in enablingknowledge creation, sharing and utilisationin particular. Initially the paper will reviewthe literature which links knowledge andthe psychological contract. A studyundertaken in the Hospitality industry willthen be used to determine whether theposited, theoretical link can be confirmedand, if so, what form it takes.

Knowledge Creation and Sharing andthe Psychological Contract

A psychological contract consists of anindividual’s beliefs regarding the terms andconditions of the exchange agreementbetween themselves and their organisations(Rousseau 1989; Guest 1998). Suchopenness of the system will be affected by,amongst other things, organisationalculture/climate, HRM policy and practice,an individual’s personal experience andwhat potential alternatives are perceived aspossible (Guest 1998).

The importance of the psychologicalcontract upon successfully implanting

change strategies has already beendemonstrated; Pate, Martin and Stainesdemonstrated that the deterioration of trustrelations and increased cynicism,demonstrated by the poor state of thepsychological contract, ‘are likely to makefuture strategic programmes more difficultto implement’ (2000:491). It is argued thatthe state of the psychological contract willexplain the dynamics of the elementsaffecting the employment relationship and,potentially, the likelihood of successfullyutilising or changing aspects of work(Rousseau 1998). It is logical that issues ofcommitment, relations and trust are allgoing to affect how open the socialprocesses are within the organisations andconsequently knowledge creation, if this isseen as an ongoing, constructed way ofdeveloping new ideas (Newell et al. 2002).

There is already an established link betweenthe psychological contract and the successof change initiatives because outcomes areaffected by individual emotions (Pate,Martin and Staines 2000; Maguire 2002). Aview of knowledge as a socially created,evolving phenomena affected byrelationships between individuals and theirorganisation led Blackman and Davison(2006) to posit a theoretical relationshipbetween the psychological contract andknowledge management, arguing thatknowledge creation and sharing will beaffected by the felt emotions. This paper isbased upon research which sought to gainempirical data to clarify the already positedtheoretical relationship.

Methodology

The paper is based upon empirical datagathered from the Australian InternationalHotel School. The research sought to clarifythe relationship between the psychologicalcontract and knowledge sharing, creatingand utilisation. There is a lack of currentdata concerning this area and so aqualitative approach was chosen in order todevelop an understanding of thephenomena (Leedy 1985; Creswell 1994).

The qualitative study was undertaken usingin-depth semi-structured interviews and

7The Psychological Contract

Think Pieces

focus groups from a variety of stakeholderswithin and around the Hospitality industry.Four focus groups were held that involved25 people in total. Those included werecurrent hospitality managers, educators andstudents training to be managers who areall currently, or have recently been, inemployment within the Hospitalityindustry. Most interviewees have beenemployed in both large and smallhospitality businesses. Ten interviews,which lasted about 45 minutes each, wereundertaken; these reflected the samepopulation as the focus groups. Similarquestions were asked in each data collectionmethod, which would enable theinterviewers to see if the individual andcollective responses were markedlydifferent. If there were major differences,this would indicate problems with thepsychological contract. Respondents wereasked about how they conceived ofknowledge, how it was created, how it wasshared and when they would or would notshare it. Questions also addressed thenotion of the psychological contract, what itwas in general, how it was for the individualin certain circumstances and how it wasseen as affecting the issues on knowledgeaddressed earlier in the discussion.

The data was entered into the NVIVOqualitative data analysis package and coded,enabling an analysis using axial andthematic coding to be used. From thiscoding, themes emerged which permitted arange of issues to be explored and thedevelopment of a model that linksknowledge creation potential, thepsychological contract and entrepreneurialbuilding potential.

Findings and Discussion

It should be noted at the outset that theoutcomes from the individual and focusgroup data collection methods were verysimilar and that, in general, the majority ofrespondents held a positive psychologicalcontract with their employer. Four mainthemes emerged as being the key influencesupon knowledge sharing that were affectedby the current state of the psychologicalcontract: attitude towards the target sharer,

levels of perceived safety, the utility of theknowledge sharing and the opportunity forsharing. We will now explore each of thesein turn and explain how they relate to eachother. It should be stressed that the authorsare not claiming that these are the onlyaspects affecting knowledge sharing butthat these were elements demonstrated inthe data as being affected by or mediated insome by aspects of the psychologicalcontract.

Utility of the Knowledge Sharing

From the data, several aspects were seen toaffect the sharing of knowledge in terms ofthe apparent utility. It should be no surprisebut a major factor affecting the propensityto share was the perceived usefulness of theoutcome to the individual. What wasslightly more surprising was that theperceived usefulness of the knowledge tothe other party was a major element ofconsideration. Thus, this was affecting thetransactional level of the relationshipdetermining some aspects of what would beshared in terms of what the employee wasexpecting to occur.

Opportunity for Sharing

When asked what prevented knowledgesharing, a major factor was seen to be a lackof time which led to greater pressures andthe need to reduce how much informationand knowledge was being moved aroundthe system. It became clear that whereemployer expectations and employeeexpectations of how and when knowledgeneeded sharing were different, it was lesslikely to occur. This was again mediating,and being mediated by, the transactionalaspects of the relationship – what is needed,required and expected of the job by bothsides.

Attitude towards the Target Sharer

Not surprisingly the way the target receiver(usually another individual) was perceivedhad a major impact upon the knowledgesource’s willingness to develop new ideasand share them. Words that kept beingused were ‘trust’, ‘respect’, ‘openness’ and‘equality’. Without these and, more

8


importantly, in cases where there werereports of ‘toxicity or evilness’, there wasnot only no propensity to share but anactual resistance to it.

In this particular organisation it was madeclear that there were high levels of trustcoupled with a very positive psychologicalcontract. This had emerged almost as aresult of a difficult previous time ofuncertainty as the team had bonded andlearnt to support each other and worktogether well. It demonstrated how theattitude to the sharer was meditating andmediated by the relational aspects of thepsychological contract.

Levels of Perceived Safety

Linked to the issues of trust in the targetsharer were strong aspects of perceivedsafety to be able to share. This was relatedto a ‘no blame’ and ‘no fear’ culture. This isclearly cultural and will emerge from thevalues and norms set by the leadership. Itwas made clear that leaders need to activelydemonstrate the safety they proposed,whether in terms of being seen toundertake development in order toencourage knowledge acquisition, or in

actively supporting those who undertakesharing initially. ‘Walking the talk’ was seenas vital in order to ensure the relationalaspects pertinent to the psychologicalcontract were actively enabling safety.

By combining the different aspects aboveand considering which aspects of thepsychological contract they are more likelyto affect, we can model the propensity forknowledge sharing and the relational andtransactional aspects of the psychologicalcontract as shown in Figure 1.

Implications and Conclusions

There are several implications for actionemerging from the discussion so far. Themost important issue is that there is strongempirical evidence to support thetheoretical development of the link betweenthe psychological contract and the creation,utilisation and storage of knowledge. Thiswill, therefore, affect effective knowledgemanagement.

More importantly, Figure 1 shows thatorganisational management and leadershipwill need to be aware of the state of thepsychological contract within their

Figure 1: The psychologicalcontract as it affectsknowledge creation

Attitude to

Target Sharer

Leading to greater risk taking and knowledge creation

Leading to the creation of more opportunities

to share and capture knowledge

Blackman and Phillips, 2006

RELATIONAL

ASPECTS

TRANSACTIONAL

ASPECTS

Utility

Safety

Opportunity

Self-confidence

to share

Values

Perceived role

Go

als

9The Psychological Contract

Think Pieces

organisation if they wish to undertakeeffective knowledge management. If thepsychological contract is negative, this willcreate a greater barrier to effectiveknowledge development than almost anyother soft aspect. It is also clear that goodrelationships are not enough – in fact, it ispossible that a good relationship with noreal opportunity to share may lead to theemployees trying to help each other by pre-judging what to share and inadvertentlyreducing the potential to use knowledgecreatively.

This data needs to be further explored andthe full picture will then emerge of how tobetter manage employees in terms ofdeveloping a psychological contract thatenables effective knowledge sharing.

References

Blackman, D. & Davison, G. 2006,‘Psychological Contracts and their Role inthe Management of Knowledge inOrganisations’, Knowledge, Action and thePublic Concern, Academy of ManagementMeeting, August 11–16, Atlanta, Georgia.

Blackman, D. & Hindle, K. 2006, ‘WouldUsing the Psychological Contract IncreaseEntrepreneurial Business Building?’,Refereed paper at ACREW Conference,Monash University and Kings College,London at Prato, Italy, July 1–4.

Creswell, J.W. 1994, Research Design:Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches,Routledge, London.

De Geus, A. 1997, ‘The Living Company’,Harvard Business Review, March/April, vol.75, no. 2, pp. 51–59.

Duffy, J. 2000, ‘Knowledge Management:What Every Information ProfessionalShould Know’, Information ManagementJournal, vol. 34, no. 3, pp. 10–16.

Guest, D. 1998, ‘Is the PsychologicalContract Worth Taking Seriously?’, Journalof Organisational Behaviour, vol. 19, pp.649–664.

Johannessen, J.A., Olaisen, J. & Olsen, B.1999, ‘Managing and OrganizingInnovation in the Knowledge Economy’,European Journal of Innovation Management,vol. 2, no. 3, pp. 116–128.

Leedy, P.D. 1985, Practical Research:Planning and Design, 3rd ed. McMillanPublishing Co., New York.

Little, S., Quintas, P. & Ray, T. 2002,Managing Knowledge: An Essential Reader,Sage Publications, London.

Maguire, H. 2002, ‘Psychological Contracts:Are They Still Relevant?’, CareerDevelopment International, vol. 7, no. 3 pp.167–180.

Massey, C., Lewis, K., Warriner, V., Harris,C., Tweed, D., Cheyne, J. & Cameron, A.2006, ‘Exploring Firm Development in theContext of New Zealand SMEs’, SmallEnterprise Research: Journal of SEAANZ, vol.14, no. 1: Forthcoming.

Mishra, A. & Akbar, M. 2005, ‘KnowledgeGeneration in Mid-size EntrepreneurialFirms’, Vision, Oct–Dec, vol. 9, no. 4, pp.51–63.

Newell, S., Robertson, M., Scarborough, H.& Swan, J. 2002, Managing KnowledgeWork, Palgrave, Basingstoke.

Pate, J., Martin, G. & Staines, H. 2000,‘Exploring the Relationship BetweenPsychological Contracts and OrganizationalChange: A Process Model and Case StudyEvidence’, Strategic Change, vol. 9, no. 8,pp. 481–493.

Pérez-Bustamante, G. 1999, ‘KnowledgeManagement in Agile InnovativeOrganisations’, Journal of KnowledgeManagement, vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 6–17.

Pitt, M. & Clarke, K. 1999, ‘Competing onCompetence: A knowledge perspective onthe management of strategic innovation’,Technology Analysis & StrategicManagement, vol. 11, no. 3, pp. 301–316.

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Rousseau, D.M. 1989, ‘Psychological andimplied contracts in organizations’,Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal,vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 121–139.

Sorenson, O., Rivkin, J.W. & Fleming, L.2006, ‘Complexity, Networks andKnowledge Flow’, Research Policy, vol. 35,pp. 994–1017.

Swan, J., Scarborough, H. & Robertson, M.2002, ‘The Construction of “Communitiesof Practice” in the Management ofInnovation’, Management Learning, vol. 33,no. 4, pp. 477–496.

Teece, D., Pisano, G. & Shuen, A. 1997,‘Dynamic Capabilities and StrategicManagement’, Strategic ManagementJournal, vol. 18, no. 7, pp. 509–533.

Teodorescu, D. 2006, ‘InstitutionalResearchers as Knowledge Managers inUniversities: Envisioning New Roles for theIR Profession’, Tertiary Education andManagement, vol. 12, pp. 75–88.

Associate Professor Dr Deborah Blackman’s previous teaching appointments include theDeborah Blackman Bournemouth University, Solent University, University of Surrey and

University of Western Sydney, in the areas of human resourcemanagement, human resource development, management of changeand organisational behaviour. Prior to her academic career, she workedin the Hospitality industry. After working in both food and beverageand rooms division she went on to work as a trainer and supportofficer for hotel computer systems. Her research interests are in theareas of organisational learning, the human factors of knowledgemanagement and the relationships between management andphilosophy. She has published in (amongst others) ManagementDecision, The Learning Organization, Futures, The Journal ofKnowledge Management Practices and The Journal of Knowledge,Organisation and Change Management. Dr Blackman has writtenchapters in Tsoukas, H. and Shephard, J., 2004 (Eds), Managing theFuture: strategic foresight in the knowledge economy, Blackwells, and inMurray, P. Poole, D. Jones, G., 2005 (Eds), Contemporary Issues inManagement and Organisational Behaviour, Thomson Learning.

Diane Phillips Diane Phillips is a PhD scholar, a chef and a teacher-researcher. Herresearch interests are located in the broad areas of adult education andhospitality and tourism. They include knowledge production andmanagement, ideology, innovative service design, service operationsmanagement and gastronomy, food and culture.

11

Think Pieces

The iPod and the Phone: Wired and Mobile,Characteristics of the Millennium GenerationProfessor Peter A Jones

Abstract The millennial generation has been born into the world of wired andwireless technology; this has changed the way they think and act, andconditioned their social behaviour and their education and workexpectations. These changes are challenging the norms of previousgenerations and are challenging how we should be thinking about thefuture world of work and how we support the education and learningof these new generations. This think piece sets out to consider some ofthe key influences for these changes and challenges and to start toconfront the more traditional view of education towards one thatengages with Generation M on its own terms.

Keywords: Generation M, Generation Y, technological change, communication, education,e-learning, m-learning

‘Netgeners, echo boomers, Generation M,Generation Y, Gen Nest, the millenials, iPodgeneration’ – all are terms variously used byacademics, management consultants andmarketeers in somewhat vain attempts toclassify and segment the new generations inessentially western consumer-drivensocieties. The names are confusing enoughbut turning to definitions merely increasesthe confusion. Some authors cite post-1978as the beginning of Generation Y, otherspost-1980 or 1982. Generation M tends tobe considered as those born post-1992. Theage span of these generational segments alsochanges; some authors referring to 14–19sas one group, 16–21s, 18–24s and so on.Not only do authors vary in definition andstatements of generational characteristics,they also argue about the relative merits ofgenerational profiling, but all with the aimof trying to establish behavioural patternsand defining generational attitudes. This isthe ‘holy grail’ of marketeers in targetingspecific market segments.

In reviewing the literature and the specificresearch, certain themes emerge that helpto clarify and reinforce the common keyissues and the new generationalcharacteristics. These can be summarised as

cyber technology, communication, socialnetworks, multi-tasking, and global andsocial awareness.

Whatever definitions are used, thegenerations Y through M have been borninto a lifestyle that has been dominated byrapid changes in technology; technologythat has revolutionised communication, bethat one-to-one technologies such as mobilephones, to one-to-many devices related totelevision but more recently and, in manyways, more importantly, internetbroadband technologies. The products ofthis convergence of technologies – smallhandheld devices capable of videostreaming, internet access, video and stillphotography, text messaging, databaseretrieval, emailing, text and spreadsheetprocessing – are still rather quaintly knownas ‘phones’, an abbreviation of the evenmore quaint telephone or telephonecommunication device. In fact, the use ofthe telephone may be a more accuratereflection of the functionality of thesedevices. Even in the last few years, thesedevices have incorporated hitherto separatetechnologies, such as organisers, personaldigital assistants and more recently theBlackBerry. This convergence is continuing

12


with MP3, television and radio, and voicerecognition and activated commandsincluding Bluetooth technologies. Whensatellite navigation and GPS are added, onedevice will begin to demonstrate somethingof a truly integrated ‘PCM’ or personalcommand module that will automaticallyand permanently be linked to networkedwireless systems, including home- andwork-based computer systems.

The millennial generations, however sodefined, are technologically literate andembrace changes in technology as being‘theirs’ to use. ‘Geeks’ with cutting edgegizmos will exist but increasingly the geekswill be absorbed into the generationalmainstream. ‘Gen M’ are geeks, even usingdefinitions of less than a decade ago.

It is the use of technology that has lead tothe second of the generationalcharacteristics: communication. Sometimesreferred to as the ‘wired’ generation, itwould be better described as the ‘wireless’.The physical symbol of this‘communication’ generation is the mobilephone clutched to the ear in a near semi-permanent position. This is increasinglyseen as a psychological dependency; adependency that is just as severe as otherforms of addiction. To be out of contacteven for relatively short periods istraumatic. The oft observed phenomena ofGen M constantly checking their phonesevery time a train emerges from a tunnelleads to a collective sound phenomena thatcould be described as the ‘flip click’ as theyflip the phone screens open to check missedcalls or text messages. The mobile phone isnow the essential element of wardrobe, asimportant, or even more important, than allother accessories.

The importance of being in contact, ofusing phones, chat rooms, MSN orblogging space, is both the result ofdevelopments in cyber technology and thepower of the instant communication thatresults. To not be in contact is to lose‘control’, to be outside the social contextand to be exposed and vulnerable, not inany physical but in a psychological sense.

The intensity of communication messagesthrough all visual and audio stimuli in oureveryday lives has led to Generation Mbeing able to, very selectively, ‘tune in’ and‘tune out’ from that constant stream ofcommunication. They will actively engagewith communication that is engaging tothem and they may carry on several‘conversations’ using different technologiesat one and the same time. This ability tofilter and screen as well as to multi-task isagain a function of the technology and thepsychological development of being able tomulti-task using multi-attribute technology.

This ability to multi-task is often linked towhat is observed as short attention spansand the almost constant need for immediategratification. The ‘I want it Now’ generationis a factor of many influences; economic,social and cultural. These generations havegrown up in periods of almostuninterrupted economic growth. They areproducts of their parents’ consumeristculture. They have no experience of globalconflicts or wars or the concept of hardship,going without or making financial andmaterial sacrifice. They have been protectednot only by their parents but also by asociety that has increasingly regulatedagainst risk. In short, they are indulged andindulgent generations.

This does not mean though that they lack asense of ethical or social responsibility. Inpart, reflections of parents’ changingattitudes, these generations are moreinclined to take strong views on such topicsas ‘fair trade’ and environmental issues.Perhaps not as openly demonstrative astheir parents’ Baby Boomer generation, theywill use their economic power in subtlerand less obvious ways.

What does this mean for the currentgenerations of educators and managers whoin themselves are Generation X or later? Thechanges in the social and organisationalbehaviour of tribal and work groups hasmoved societal values away from those ofloyalty and longevity in employment tothose of the ‘free mover’ who is motivatedby engaging and challenging opportunitiesrather than routine repetitious activities.

13The iPod and the Phone

Think Pieces

The tribal values of the family group havebeen inclusive, engaging the generations infamily decision-making while, at the sametime, providing significant social stresses tosucceed both academically and in terms ofcareers. Unlike earlier Baby Boomers, theymarry later, are more likely to live withpartners and to come to parenting laterthan their parents. These are generationalattributes that influence all aspects ofexpectations, attitudes and social behaviour.

Work organisations have to adapt workpractices and processes to provide for moreautonomy, greater discretion in decisionmaking and opportunity for socialnetworking whilst ‘at work’, however thatmay be defined. These generations are notof the ‘workaholic’ variety of the BabyBoomers; social and cultural values havejust as important a place in the makeup ofGeneration M as does the value of work.

For the educator the challenge is just asgreat, if not greater. If not actively engagedin learning, the Generation Ms will ‘tuneout’ just as selectively as they do inresponding to other messages. Already thisgeneration has instant access to informationand far more than previous generations.This access is unfiltered and unqualifiedand often the result of an unrefined Googlesearch. What is important then will be todevelop those skills of filtering informationand recognising its value as knowledge.

If technology is a defining characteristic ofthis generation, then how should thistechnology be used to support learning?However it is used, it should be based onthe basic premise that it should:

be brief, short, pertinent blocks;

be engaging and require an active, not apassive response;

use the technology to good effect.

In considering the characteristics of themillennials, it could be argued thateducators should rethink the rather

traditional process approach to learning. Indoing so they should also question not justthe syllabi, but more importantly, the accessto and delivery of the students’ learning, tobetter reflect the expectations andcharacteristics of the new generation ofstudents.

The notion of ‘m-learning’ rather than e-learning is one that needs to be properlyexplored. Generation M are media savvy:they use multimedia technologies as part oftheir generational persona, they multitaskand will engage with material presented in avariety of interesting ways. M-learning is‘multi-learning’ using all available tools andtechnologies: iPod, PCM, phone, mobileDVD players, as well as the now almosttraditional online capability. Yet withconvergence these individual technologieswill become available in one device. It isforecast that by 2010 it will be possible tohave on one handheld device the storageequivalent of one TV channel’s output forone year. This rapid change in technologywill not only change the way we behave,work and learn but also change the way wethink about the world of work and, ofcourse, learning.

It is possible to postulate what such alearning approach may be; one that allowsflexibility in the ‘when and where’,opportunity for maintaining and enhancingsocial networks, challenging and engagingactivities, the opportunity to multi-task andmove between several activities at the sametime and shorter periods of directengagement with ‘teachers’. This shouldlead to a reappraisal away from the processof teaching to the more holistic approach ofengaging with students in a variety of waysthat better reflect their normal behaviours.

The essential issue as either manager oreducator is to recognise the changing sets ofcharacteristics, not to try to imposebehavioural norms that belong to previousgenerations and to actively engage with thenew generation in providing practical waysto learn.

14


References

Bennett G., Sagas M. & Dees, W. 2006,‘Media Preferences of Action SportsConsumers: Differences BetweenGeneration X and Y’, Sport MarketingQuarterly, vol. 15, pp. 40–49.

Eisner, S. 2005, ‘Managing Generation Y’,Ramapo College of New Jersey, SamAdvanced Management Journal, Autumn,pp. 4–10.

Goldenberg, B. 2006, ‘Transitioning to theNetGen Environment’, CustomerRelationship Management, June, vol. 10, no.6, p.18.

Holtzhausen, T. & Strydom, J. 2006,‘Generation Y Consumers: BehaviouralPatterns of Selected South AfricanStudents’, Business Review, Cambridge, vol 5,no. 1, Summer, pp. 314–318.

Kehrli, S. & Sopp, T. 2006, ‘ManagingGeneration Y’, HR Magazine, May, pp. 113–119.

Prensky, M. 2005, ‘Engage Me or EnrageMe – What Today’s Learners Demand’,Educause Review, September/October, vol.40, no. 5, p. 60.

Saba, J. 2006, ‘Teenage Wasteland’,Restaurant Business, February, p. 13.

Syrett, M. & Lammiman, J. 2003, ‘CatchThem If You Can’, Director, October, pp.70–74.

Tsui, B. & Hughes, L. 2001, ‘GenerationNext’, Advertising Age, January 15, vol. 72,no. 3, pp.14–16.

Tucker, P. 2006, ‘Teaching the MillennialGeneration’, The Futurist, May–June, pp. 7–10.

Wolburg, J. & Pokrywczynski, J. 2001, ‘APsycholographic Analysis of Generation YCollege Students’, Journal of AdvertisingResearch, September/October, vol 41, no. 5,pp. 33–52.

Professor Peter Jones Professor Peter A Jones is currently Head of Tourism, Hospitality andLeisure, Thames Valley University, UK. Editor of the OrionObservatory, he is also Chair of the Orion Academic Council.

15

The NewGeneration –Impact andImplications

China’s Y GenerationPeter Demoor and Wayne Zhang

Abstract The western term ‘Y Generation’ means people born 1980–1995(Reynolds 2005). The Chinese have a term called ‘Ba Shi Hou’, whichmeans ‘post-1980’. This term refers to all those Chinese born in the1980s and as the ‘One Child Policy’ began in 1979 (Bennett 2004),there is a distinct difference between these Ba Shi Hous and theirparents. The term Ba Shi Hou was coined by a juvenile writer whosename is Gong Xiao Bing. Gong originally used it to define the newgeneration of literature writers born during the 1980s. However, morerecently it has been used in many fields including marketing,management and sociology. This paper considers the two expressionsof Y Generation and Ba Shi Hou to be synonymous. This paper aims toexamine the characteristics of these Ba Shi Hou compared with their‘Baby Boomer’ and ‘Generation X’ parents. Furthermore, whatchallenges do these characteristics present for the education system inChina, particularly for the Chinese campuses of the Blue MountainsHotel School (BMHS) and what are some possible solutions toovercome these aforementioned challenges?

Although Y Generation is not a Chinese term, a 17-year-old Americannamed Michael Stanat has written a book entitled China’s Y Generation.Stanat researched the topic in China and has been described as the‘Doogie Howser’ of international marketing (Glass 2006). In his book,Stanat (2005) explodes the stereotypes of poor farm workers guidingwater buffalos through rice paddies and peasants scavenging crowdedcity streets, and speaks of ‘resourceful, highly educated Chinese youth’who are becoming increasingly wealthy as foreign companies invest onChinese shores. Stanat carried out the bulk of his research in Shanghai,which like Tianjin (where China Tourism Management Institute[CTMI]-BMHS is situated), is a metropolitan area that cannot becompared with China’s rural areas. There are different rules for countryand city areas in China. For example, the One Child Policy does notapply to rural areas and rural urban migration (permanent ortemporary) is controlled by the Central Government. This paper willonly focus on the urban Ba Shi Hou, specifically those in Tianjin.

Keywords: Y Generation, China, generational change, education

16


The Characteristics of Ba Shi Hou

There is much research and many articlescommenting on the characteristics ofChina’s Ba Shi Hou; some are positive andothers are negative. Compared with theirparents this generation really shows someunique characteristics.

Generally, they are more open, rebelliousand aggressive. According to Stanat (2005),they are very pragmatic and eager to makelots of money. In terms of lifestyle, they areinclined to enjoy life, as their parents oftencomplain that they ‘spend money likewater’ and spend too much time playingcomputer games. However, in terms ofmanagement, they are creative, want to beheard and look toward fast promotions,whilst lacking team spirit. In terms ofmarketing, they follow fashionableproducts with less brand loyalty and moreindividuality. They are stronglyindependent, want to be noticed and haveeven been described as ‘avant-garde’ withdyed-hair and weird wardrobes. Some haveeven described them as self-oriented withpoor personal management and planning.

What does this generation have to say tothese allegations? Here are some commentsfrom students studying at the CTMIcampus:

‘I must relax more than my parents...everySaturday and Sunday I must wake up afterthree in the afternoon.’ Wendy Li

‘All the things I want are easy to get.’ KwonHo Fung

‘It’s a new world, I can do what I like orwant, no need to follow others. Actually, Ican say it’s my world.’ Xin Cheng

What is this ‘new world’ in which China’sBa Shi Hou is growing up in and how did itcome into being? One must first take a stepback in history to the China in which the BaShi Hous’ parents grew up.

Contrasting Ba Shi Hou with theirParents

The environment in which China’s Ba ShiHou has grown up is markedly differentfrom that of their parents. Their life hasbeen dominated by a One Child Policy anda westernised free market economy,whereas their parents predominantly livedin large families within communes, in aplanned economy beset by the ‘Great LeapForward’ and the ‘Cultural Revolution’.

Where the western term for Ba Shi Hou is YGeneration, the western term for theirparents’ generation is either Baby Boomersor X Generation. X Generation ‘refers topersons born in the 1960s and 1970s’(Ritchie 2002). Baby Boomers were born inthe years following the Second World War,from ‘1946–1964’ (Ritchie 2002).

Their parents were born into a new Chinaunder the leadership of the CommunistParty. They experienced natural disasterslike the three years of famine – in Chinareferred to as ‘shang shan xia xiang’. Theycan be generalised as family-oriented andvalue food, life and traditions. WithinChina, typical examples of this generationinclude: Wang An Yi (a famous writer),Lang Ping (a famous volleyball coach), CuiYong Yuan (a famous host of CTTV) andPan Shi Yi (a successful real estateentrepreneur).

To really get a feel for the lives they led, onemust be transported back in time toexamine the world in 1958, when the GreatLeap Forward aimed at surpassing Englandin terms of steel production.

Everywhere, small backyard furnaces werebuilt, where everybody pitched in inaround-the-clock shifts. Quota for thecollection of used iron had to be met, cookingpots were smashed, door handles weremelted down in order to meet theproduction demands. Only later it becameclear that the quality of this mass-producedpeople’s steel was so poor that no use couldbe found for it. (Landsberger 2002)

17China’s Y Generation

The New Generation

Forty years ago Australia went ‘metric’ andat the same time China entered the CulturalRevolution. During the Cultural Revolution,which lasted until 1976 (Galduroz 2006),Chairman Mao Ze Dong outlined howpeople should think. If their thinking wasdifferent from what was outlined, they weresubjected to punishment. At this time manyof Ba Shi Hous’ parents were afraid to talk,fearing they may say something ‘wrong’.

Economically, China has moved from aplanned economy to a free market one,under the guidance of Deng Xiao Ping (Sun2004), who succeeded Chairman Mao in1976. Whilst Ba Shi Hous’ parents were toldby the government what they could do andwhat they could own, Ba Shi Hous spendcopious amounts of money on fashion andmaterialistic items. The governmentdictated their parents’ purchasing decisionsthrough various methods, including theissuing of food stamps. These food stampsmeant that one could only have a certainamount of food items per month, noexceptions. This led to the emergence of ablack market in China.

During the time of the Ba Shi Hous’ parentsand grandparents, Chinese wereencouraged to have large families but whenit was discovered that the population hadreached one billion (1,000,000,000) people,the One Child Policy was introduced byDeng Xiao Ping in 1979 (Bennett 2004). Thishas created a generation in China that hasno sisters or brothers, creating a national‘only child’ syndrome,

...typically selfish loners, prone toexaggerated feelings of superiority andliable to have trouble building closerelationships. (Bennett 2004).

On the other hand the Ba Shi Hougeneration are obviously feeling pressurefrom their parents. One student at ourschool stated ‘For us it’s a very hard lifenow...the competition is intense...it’s somuch pressure; the child has too much tolive up to.’

Research (Qing Nian 2006) indicates thatthere is a great gap between Ba Shi Hou(after 1980) and ‘Ba Shi Qian’ (before 1980).In the eyes of Ba Shi Qian, Ba Shi Hou isself-focused (61.4%), do not want to beresponsible (53.1%), and are prone toembellish their personal abilities (64.2%).On the other hand, only 28.7% of Ba ShiHou accept the fact that they are self-focused; only 22.4% of Ba Shi Hou acceptthat they do not want responsibility andonly 28.1% accept that they embellish theirpersonal abilities.

Challenges for Education

Ba Shi Hou have given us many challenges.The main ones are how to:

increase mutual understanding. Ba ShiHou often complain that they do notunderstand their parents and that theirparents do not understand them. Thesame could be said for the relationshipbetween students and teachers;

shape their behaviours whilst respectingtheir personal independence;

motivate them and facilitate theirlearning;

help them to deal with this competitiveworld;

help them find their roles within theirfamilies, organisations and society; and

face social pressure and work stress.

Possible Solutions to these Challenges

All the students in the CTMI-BMHS joint-venture program are members of the Ygeneration. Some of the traditionaleducational and teaching methods do notseem to apply to this new generation. Howto face all the challenges aforementioned isan issue to which we must pay attention.We should focus on how to maintain thegood points and project characteristics ofChinese hospitality education.

18


Suggestions for the Education System

Instilling them with the ‘right’philosophies in life, such as publicservice, charitable work, teamwork andvalues.

Contribute to China’s hospitality is ourstudents’ first priority.

Helping students better understandwestern culture and learning from theiradvanced knowledge and theories inhospitality, whilst adhering to our owngood traditions.

Freedom is relative but not absolute.

Discipline is essential for their personalsuccess.

Suggestions for Teachers

Changing the teacher-focused class toincrease students’ participation.

Transformation from teacher ‘spoon-feeding’ to independent learning styles,facilitated by teachers.

Using more audiovisual andtechnologically advanced teaching aids.

Continuous development of newteaching methods.

Conclusion

From our analysis we can see that Ba ShiHou are really different from their parentsbecause of the contrasting situations orconditions that they face. This is an obviouschallenge to education and teaching in thecurrent day and age. We need tounderstand this young generation, as Chinais different from western countries. China’sY Generation or Ba Shi Hou has its owncharacteristics which vary from the westernY Generation. On the one hand we need tochange some of our traditional Chineseteaching methods, whilst on the other hand

we also need to develop new teachingmethods that allow for these Chinesecharacteristics to be included. Cultural‘melting’ really poses new challenges foreveryone involved in the Chineseeducational system.

References

Bennett, C. 2004, ‘Home Alone’, TheGuardian, November 9. Retrieved 22 June2006 from http://www.guardian.co.uk/

Galduroz, M. 2006, ‘Discovering China; TheCultural Revolution’. Retrieved 22 June2006 from http://library.thinkquest.org/26469/cultural-revolution/

Glass, N. 2006, ‘Michael Stanat, “DoogieHowser” of International Marketing’.Retrieved 29 June 2006 from http://www.odeo.com/audio/311845/view

Landsberger, S. 2002 ‘Great Leap Forward’.Retrieved 22 June 2006 from http://www.iisg.nl/%7Elandsberger/glf.html

Qing Nian, 2006, ‘Misunderstanding YouthBorn After 1980’. Retrieved 3 July 2006from http://hzrb.hangzhou.com.cn/20050801/ca1046407.htm

Reynolds, A. 2005, ‘Gen Y’. Retrieved 20May 2006 from http://www.nonprofithub.com/gen-y.htm

Ritchie, K. 2002, ‘Generation X’. Retrieved 3July 2006 from http://www.answers.com/topic/generation-x

Stanat, M. 2005, China’s Y Generation,Homa & Sekey Books, New York.

Sun, X. 2004, ‘Revisions of China’sConstitution.’ PLA Daily. Retrieved 22 June2006 from http://english.chinamil.com.cn/special/e2004lh/wjhb/6.htm

19China’s Y Generation

The New Generation

Peter Demoor Peter Demoor lectures in food and beverage at Blue Mountains HotelSchool’s joint venture with the China Tourism Management Institute inTianjin, China. He has previously held teaching positions in Australiaand England, and obtained his Degree in Hotel Management fromGriffith University on Australia’s Gold Coast. Peter has also been amanager in five star hotels, both in Australia and the People’s Republicof China.

Wayne Zhang Wayne Zhang lectures at Blue Mountains Hotel School’s joint venturewith the China Tourism Management Institute (in Tianjin, China). Hehas been teaching at CTMI for more than 20 years but started teachingthe Blue Mountains program at CTMI, including Marketing, Tourism,Accounting and some other subjects in 2001. Wayne has completed anMBA from Tianjin’s Nankai University. His interests lie in education,tourism, history and management.

20


Critical Analysis of Employability Skills for the FutureGenerationsMark Goodwin

Abstract Employers of Generation Y graduates are looking for more than justtechnical skills to fill vacancies. They are also looking for Yers withready-made (or ready-to-be-made) employability skills.

This paper analyses issues arising from the Employability Skills for theFuture final project report, published by the Australian Department ofEducation, Science & Training (DEST) in March 2002 with the aim ofshowing how the current discourses regarding employability skillshave been constructed and which ultimately have led to the currentvocational and technical education (VTE) reform of embeddingemployability skills in national Training Packages.

It is this writer’s opinion that there will be an ongoing requirement forcomplementary guidance on how to include and cover employabilityskills when implementing Training Packages, as well as a need forfurther research on the requirements for assessing and reportingemployability skills when assessing people against units, qualificationsand proposed skills sets within Training Packages.

Given these concerns, the timeframe for incorporation of employabilityskills into Training Packages should be approached with all dueconsideration and caution.

Keywords: employability skills, Mayer Key Competencies, high level review of trainingpackages

Introduction

Today, high rates of employment and astrong Australian economy have producedskill shortages in many industries.Currently, national skill shortages have beenidentified in a range of professionsincluding commercial cookery and catering,accounting, nursing and health and intrades including electricians, bricklayers,carpenters and hairdressers.

Employers of Generation Y graduates arelooking for more than just technical skills tofill vacancies. They are also looking for Yerswith ready-made (or ready-to-be-made)employability skills, which are associatedwith the following benefits:

an improved bottom line throughstreamlined staffing, higher productivityand fewer mistakes;

fewer disputes;

lower labour turnover;

reduced absenteeism;

a more pleasant working environmentfor everyone in the workplace;

good reputation, leading to attraction offurther, good-quality Yers;

21

The New Generation

the possibility of retaining the betterYers for medium-term careers and evenlong-term careers in management; and

satisfaction afforded to managers,supervisors and co-workers throughseeing a Yer become confident andhappy in a workplace.

This paper analyses issues arising from theEmployability Skills for the Future finalproject report, published by the AustralianDepartment of Education, Science &Training (DEST) in March 2002 with theaim of showing how the current discoursesregarding employability skills have beenconstructed and which ultimately have ledto the current VTE reform of embeddingemployability skills in national TrainingPackages.

The first part of the paper looks at theEmployability Skills for the Future projectand its findings, including development ofwhat is now known as the EmployabilitySkills Framework. The paper then examinesthe Framework in local and internationalcontexts before concluding with a report onhow the discourses about employabilityskills have progressed since projectcompletion.

The ‘Employability Skills for theFuture’ Project

At the time the Employability Skills for theFuture project was conceived threegovernment reports, Backing Australia’sAbility (2001), Knowledge and Innovation(1999) and Investing for Growth (1997),highlighted the positioning of Australia asan international player in the knowledgeeconomy and the need to continue buildingAustralia’s capacity to effectively operate inthe ‘global knowledge-based economy’.

These reports discussed how Australiawould effectively respond to globalisationand the knowledge economy. They notedthe importance of knowledge work andknowledge workers to Australia’s economicsuccess. Significantly, the authors discussedthe need to ensure the Australian

community understood the broad issuesunderpinning globalisation and theknowledge economy but more particularly,they considered the need to create acommunity equipped to understand andparticipate in ongoing change and todevelop ‘human capital’.

Enterprises were increasingly seeking amore highly skilled workforce wheregeneric and transferable skills were broadlydistributed across the organisation. Therewas also broad agreement that all youngpeople needed a set of personal attributesand skills that prepared them for bothemployment and further learning. It wasrecognised that the ongoing employabilityof individuals was dependent on themhaving a set of relevant skills, as well as acapacity to learn how to learn new things.However, what was less clear was whatthese attributes and skills should be in thecontext of challenges facing Australianindustry.

The Business Council of Australia (BCA)and the Australian Chamber of Commerceand Industry (ACCI) judged it timely andprudent to obtain the views of industry tohelp develop a comprehensive frameworkof employability skills and sought assistancefrom DEST and the Australian NationalTraining Authority (ANTA).

Project Findings

The ACCI/BCA project (as it becameknown) identified those key genericemployability skills that enterprises arguedindividuals should have along with job-specific or relevant technical skills. Theproject also identified the ongoing relevanceof the Mayer Key Competencies butconfirmed that employers now required aset of personal attributes in all employeesand a set of additional skills. Theseadditions were seen as essential by theenterprises participating in the research.Finally the project identified anEmployability Skills Framework that cancontribute to the thinking and curriculumdevelopment of the Australian educationand training system.

22


In summary, there are a number of criticalaspects underpinning the Framework.

The Framework identified by employersshould build upon employer recognitionand integration of the Mayer KeyCompetencies.

Employers have identified the importanceof what have been termed ‘personalattributes that contribute to employability’and indicate that these are required as partof the set of employability skills.

The skills identified as critical toemployability are broadly consistent acrossindustry sectors and all are importantalthough elements of the skills depend onthe industry and workplace context.

The priority of these employability skillsvary from enterprise to enterprise subject tothe context of the job level andrequirements.

The employability skills identified are asrelevant as job-specific or technical skills.

The employability skills identified arerelevant to entry-level and establishedemployees. What is also recognised byemployers is that the elements and level ofcomplexity of a skill will vary with both thejob type and classification.

There is a strong recognition of the role oflifelong learning in skill development andresponse to change.

Employer views with regard to leadershiphave emerged that suggest the skillsidentified in the Framework underpin anemployee’s capacity to lead.

It is recognised that customer service ofitself is not an isolated skill but rather theoutcome of the integration of a range ofdifferent skills of an individual, e.g.communication and problem solving.

The Employability Skills Frameworkconsolidates the outcomes of the researchwith enterprises and takes intoconsideration findings of the ACER review

(2001) which comprised research about theliterature related to employability skills.This review informed the industry researchstages of the ACCI/BCA project with respectto, amongst other items, the Australiancontext and overseas trends. There aresignificant areas of commonality with theoutcomes of this research and theinternational research as discussed later inthis paper.

The configuration and content of theEmployability Skills Framework, however,more closely reflects the language andtrends in thinking in Australia. The MayerKey Competencies have provided bothAustralian industry and the Australianeducation and training system with a usefulstarting point and tool for understandingand applying the concepts of genericemployability skills.

Enterprises participating in the researchplaced a strong emphasis on the need forboth entry-level and ongoing employees toexhibit a broad range of personal attributes.Employers suggested that entry-level andongoing employees needed to reflectattributes that were acceptable to the rest oftheir peers and customers and also stressedthe need to ensure future employeesdeveloped these personal attributes, as theyare an integral feature of an employableperson and a key component of theEmployability Skills Framework.

The Employability Skills Frameworkincorporates the following personalattributes that contribute to overallemployability:

loyalty

commitment

honesty and integrity

enthusiasm

reliability

personal presentation

common sense

23Critical Analysis of Employability Skills

The New Generation

positive self-esteem

sense of humour

balanced attitude to work and home life

ability to deal with pressure

motivation

adaptability.

The key skills identified in conjunction withthe personal attributes to make up theEmployability Skills Framework are:

communication skills that contribute toproductive and harmonious relationsbetween employees and customers;

teamwork skills that contribute toproductive working relationships andoutcomes;

problem solving skills that contribute toproductive outcomes;

initiative and enterprise skills thatcontribute to innovative outcomes;

planning and organising skills thatcontribute to long-term and short-termstrategic planning;

self-management skills that contributeto employee satisfaction and growth;

learning skills that contribute to ongoingimprovement and expansion inemployee and company operations andoutcomes; and

technology skills that contribute toeffective execution of tasks.

Development of Employability Skills inAustralia

The challenge of the last 20 years has beento identify what makes people employable(from school, VTE or the higher educationsector). Efforts have focused on identifyingthe capabilities, capacities, competencies,skills, attitudes and attributes required. The

three most significant efforts to try anddetermine the skills required by all thoseseeking to enter the world of work havebeen the:

Karmel Report in 1985, which amongother policy issues stressed therequirement for secondary schools tosupport graduates attaining suitablestandards for employment;

Finn Report in 1991, which includescurriculum principles that supportedthe development of key competencies;and

Mayer Report in 1992, which proposeda set of key competencies.

The Mayer Committee (AustralianEducation Council 1992: 7) identified thekey competencies as:

‘...competencies essential for effectiveparticipation in the emerging patterns ofwork and work organisation. They focus onthe capacity to apply knowledge and skillsin an integrated way in work situations.Key Competencies are generic in that theyapply to work generally rather than beingspecific to work in particular occupations orindustries. This characteristic means thatthe Key Competencies are not only essentialfor participation in work but are alsoessential for effective participation infurther education and in adult life moregenerally.

At the time the Committee excluded theconsideration and inclusion of attributesand attitudes within the key competencyframework. More recent work overseas hassought to include such factors in models ofgeneric or key competencies or skills.’

The Mayer Key Competencies are:

Collecting, analysing and organisinginformation;

Communicating ideas and information;

Planning and organising activities;

Working with others and in teams;

24


Using mathematical ideas andtechniques;

Solving problems; and

Using technology.

(Australian Education Council, MayerCommittee 1992: 8–9)

More recent studies have reinforced theneed for generic employability skills. Hase(2000 cited in the ACER review 2001:21),described the importance of teamwork,creativity, learning to learn, and self-efficacyin the development of individual andorganisational capability. This concept ofcapability described by Hase reinforces theimportance of key competencies asdeveloped by the Mayer Committee butalso suggests that they need to be extendedif high-performance workplaces are todevelop more broadly.

The ACCI/BCA project sought to expandthe understanding of what skills enterprisessee as essential employability skills inindividuals and, as previously mentioned,builds on the Mayer Key Competencies.

Developments Overseas

The United States, the United Kingdom,Canada and the European Union also placea heavy emphasis on the development andassessment of generic employability skills.There are significant similarities in aspectsof the work being undertaken in theseplaces and Australia.

Developments in the United States ofAmericaIn 1991 the Secretary’s Commission onAchieving Necessary Skills Report (theSCANS Report) was released. The reportidentified the skills required foremployment, levels of proficiency in them,and ways to assess them. The workplacecompetencies identified were an ability toproductively use:

resources

interpersonal skills

information

systems, and

technology.

The foundation skills and qualitiesidentified comprised three elements:

basic skills

thinking skills, and

personal qualities.

This model has underpinned all later workin the United States.

It should be noted, however, that in recentyears there has been a stronger push forinitiatives aimed at job-specific skilldevelopment largely in response to industryconcerns with regard to specific labourshortages. It is unclear whether this is ashort-term or long-term trend but does putthe United States in contrast to othercountries and regions.

Developments in the United KingdomEngland, Wales, Northern Ireland andScotland have all sought to develop modelsof employability skills and link them toeducation and training policies andactivities. Scotland uses the term core skillsto describe employability skills. Key skillsand basic skills are used elsewhere. Theinitial model of skills was developed forstudents in the 16–19 age group andincluded:

communication

problem solving

personal skills

numeracy

IT, and

competencies in a modern (foreign)language (Scotland did not include this).


The New Generation

In 1999 there was a change in this approachwhereby both school-age and adult learnerswere considered. The skills group wassimilar but competency in a foreignlanguage was removed and England alsoadded improving own learning andperformance. The literacy and numeracycomponents of the key skills were alsorecognised as basic skills at entry level andat levels 1 and 2 of the NationalQualifications Framework.

Developments in CanadaIn Canada the Employability Skills Profileidentifies the generic academic, personalmanagement and teamwork skills that arerequired to varying degrees in every job. Italso specifically recognises the importanceof certain attributes and attitudes to aperson’s success in the workplace. Theprofile has been used extensively incurriculum development in schools.

Developments in EuropeThroughout Europe both government andindustry leaders support the concept ofgeneric employability skills. Countries suchas Austria, Germany, France and Sweden allhave well developed skills models (knownas key skills, transferable skills, genericskills); however, there is ongoing debate asto what should be included, particularlywith respect to information andcommunication technology skills,assessment and the link to lifelong learning.

Table 1 from the ACER review (2001: 38)provides a comparison of the skillframeworks in place. (See page 24.)

Developments Since ProjectCompletion

At the ANTA Ministerial Council meeting inNovember 2002, Ministers agreed to‘establish a high level review of TrainingPackages to ensure teaching and learningare strengthened and that they meet bothcurrent and future skill needs’ (Schofieldand McDonald 2004:36).

The High Level Review of TrainingPackages Phase 1 Report recognisedgovernment desires to have a fullyintegrated education and training systemthat meets the social goal of lifelonglearning and supports the human resourceneeds of the contemporary economy.

As part of the widespread changes requiredto achieve the government’s goals, Chappellet al. (2003) suggested a contemporary VTEpedagogy characterised as being more:

learner-centred

work-centred, and

attribute focused,

where attributes included ‘a variety ofgeneric, key and employability skills as wellas other qualities, attitudes and dispositions’(Chappell et al. 2003:14). The authorsargued that development of such a suite ofgeneral capabilities would have a highpremium in the world of work as it wouldoffer (amongst other things) a commonfocus and language across sectors.

Hawke (2004) recognised, however, thatdespite all the discussion and debate aroundthe ideas of generic or employability skills,Australian VTE faces significant challengesin responding to a generic skills agenda.Experience over more than a decade hasshown that teachers and trainers have realconceptual difficulties in finding ways toincorporate the abstract and complexcategories that Mayer established withinlearning programs and at the time of hiswriting, there was still no clear empiricalbase for any particular configuration of thegeneric skills.

While industry and enterprises clearlysupport generic skills, employers requirecredible and transparent processes wherebysuch skills are assessed and certified forthem to be useful and they need to beprovided in Training Packages in anintegrated way. It was suggested thatperhaps the ‘built in, not bolted on’

26


Australian Mayer United Kingdom Canada USA (SCANS)Key Competencies (NCVQ) core skills Employability Skills workplace

Profile know-howCollecting, analysing Communication Thinking skills Informationand organising Foundation skills:information basic skills

Communicating Communication Communication Informationideas and Personal skills: skills Foundation skills:information improving own basic skills

performance andlearning

Planning and Personal skills: Responsibility skills Resourcesorganising activities improving own Thinking skills Foundation skills:

performance and personal qualitieslearning

Working with others Personal skills: Positive attitudes Interpersonal skillsand in teams working with others and behaviour

Work with othersAdaptability

Using mathematical Numeracy: Understand and Foundation skills:ideas and techniques application of solve problems basic skills

numbers using mathematics

Solving problems Problem solving Problem solving Foundation skills:and decision making thinkingskillsLearning skills

Using technology Information Use technology Technologytechnology Communication skills Systems

Post-Mayer Modern foreign Manage informationadditions: Cultural language Use numbersunderstandings Work safely

Participate in projectsand tasks

Source: Adapted from Werner 1995.

Table 1: Comparative table of genericemployability skills by country


The New Generation

approach taken for language, literacy andnumeracy might work to ensure genericskills are applied appropriately, with furtheremphasis that employability skills can onlybe effectively taught and assessed in contextand that ‘we should not repeat the mistakesthat led to Key Competencies falling by thewayside’ (Schofield et al. 2004:6).

In ‘Moving on...’, the final report of theHigh Level Review of Training Packages,Schofield and McDonald (2004) furthervoiced their concerns that generic skills wasthe most significant design issue facing theTraining Package model, and one whichrequired immediate attention and urgentresolution. For them:

‘This issue needs to be ‘front and centre’ inconsideration of design issues.’

They urged that:

‘the current work in the area be acceleratedand strengthened, and that an agreednational position be reached andimplemented as a matter of urgency; and

Training Package developers be providedwith specific guidance and advice on how toidentify employability skills needed withinindustry and how to incorporate them intoTraining Packages’ (Schofield and McDonald2004:19).

The government progressed this advice byciting as a priority in the NTQC Work Planto be completed by the end of 2004, the‘reaching (of) a nationally agreed approachfor accelerating the incorporation of genericand employability skills in TrainingPackages’ (ANTA 2004:6).

In February 2005 the policy of embeddingemployability skills within national TrainingPackages was formerly announced by theHon Gary Hardgrave MP, Minister forVocational and Technical Education andMinister Assisting the Prime Minister. Inthe directions paper called ‘SkillingAustralia’ a guiding principle of any futurechanges to the VTE and higher educationlandscape is stated to be that industry andbusiness needs must drive training policies,priorities and delivery including

‘developing more flexible Training Packagequalifications – explicitly incorporatingemployability skills and developing sharedskills sets across industries to break downthe silos in different industries’ approachesto skills development’ (DEST 2005:6).

DEST (2005), in charge of Industry SkillsCouncils (ISCs) since July 2005, has alreadyset the ISCs the following priorities:

to rationalise Training Packages acrossindustries and identifying cross-industryskills and units of competency tofacilitate greater transferability ofqualifications across industries andoccupations; and

to simultaneously embed employabilityskills and transparent assessment ofthese skills into Training Packages.

Conclusion

While perhaps a watershed event in theconstruct of the discourse aboutemployability skills in Australia, theEmployability Skills for the Future projectdid not present any universal truths aboutthe ways or means of embeddingemployability skills into popular VTEculture. There remain many questions to beanswered. To begin with the EmployabilitySkills Framework detailed in the ACCI/BCAreport was an ‘example only’ developedfrom the sample of employers consultedand therefore, remains open tointerpretation.

It is this writer’s opinion that there will bean ongoing requirement forcomplementary guidance on how toinclude and cover employability skills whenimplementing Training Packages, as well asa need for further research on therequirements for assessing and reportingemployability skills when assessing peopleagainst units, qualifications and proposedskills sets within Training Packages.

Given these concerns, the timeframe forincorporation of employability skills intoTraining Packages should be approachedwith all due consideration and caution.

28


References

Australian Education Council 1992, KeyCompetencies, AGPS, Canberra.

Australian Education Council, Finn ReviewCommittee 1991, Young People’sParticipation in Post-secondary Education andTraining. Report of the Australian EducationCouncil Review Committee, AGPS, Canberra.

Australian National Training Authority,2004, It’s happened... what now? (Supplementto Moving on... High Level Review of TrainingPackages), ANTA, Melbourne.

Chappell, C., Hawke, G., Rhodes, C. &Solomon, N. 2003, High Level Review ofTraining Packages Phase 1 Report: AnAnalysis of the Current and Future Context inWhich Training Packages Will Need toOperate, ANTA, Brisbane.

Commonwealth of Australia, 2001, BackingAustralia’s Ability: An Innovation Plan forthe Future, AusInfo, Canberra.

Commonwealth of Australia, 1997, Investingfor Growth, AusInfo, Canberra.

Commonwealth of Australia, 1999,Knowledge and Innovation: Policy Statementon Research and Research Training, Ausinfo,Canberra.

Curtis, D. & McKenzie, P. 2001,Employability Skills for Australian Industry:Literature Review and FrameworkDevelopment, Australian Council forEducational Research, Melbourne.

Department of Education, Science &Training, 2002, Employability Skills for theFuture, DEST, Canberra.

Department of Education, Science &Training, 2005, Skilling Australia: NewDirections for Vocational Education andTraining, DEST, Canberra.

Hase, S. 2000, Measuring OrganisationalCapability: Beyond Competence (conferencepaper), AVTERA 2001.

Hawke, G. 2004, ‘Generic skills and VTE inAustralia: From Mayer to ...?’ paperpresented at Generic Skills WorkshopMelbourne, 7 May 2004, Oval Research,University of Technology Sydney, Sydney.

Quality of Education Review Committee,1985, Quality of Education in Australia.Report of the Review Committee (KarmelReport), AGPS, Canberra.

SCANS, 1991, What Work Requires ofSchools. A SCANS report for America 2000,Department of Labour, Washington, USA.

Schofield, K. & McDonald, R. 2004, Movingon... Report of the High Level Review ofTraining Packages, ANTA, Melbourne.

Schofield, K., McDonald, R. & Leary, C.2004, Working Paper 3 Training PackageDesign (High Level Review of TrainingPackages), ANTA, Melbourne.

Werner, M.C. 1995, Australian KeyCompetencies in an International Perspective,NCVER, Adelaide.

Mark Goodwin Mark Goodwin is the General Manager of Orion Publishing and aDirector of PM Group, Sydney, which specialises in the developmentof support materials for vocational and technical education. He is also amember of the Employability Skills Panel which functions on behalf ofDEST. Mark is currently on leave of absence from the University ofTechnology Sydney where he is expected to complete a Master ofEducation (in Adult Education) by the end of 2007.

29

The New Generation

Networking the Generation Y Way: A Discussion Paperon the Interconnectivity between the TraditionalHospitality Industry and the Emerging Gen Y WorkforceHelen Batey and Mark Woodbridge

Abstract Friends, relationships and the networks they form are important toGeneration Ys. They have elevated their own personal networks to beessential sources of support but also sources of news, entertainmentand filters through which to view and deal with the world. TheHospitality industry has historically experienced significant ‘networkeffects’ on a local, national and global basis. The ‘small world’phenomenon is exemplified by the global Hospitality industry wherethe links formed with individuals withstand significant physicaldistance, changes in employers and changes in roles over many years.It appears that this phenomenon is based on more than just friendship.In the Hospitality industry, today’s subordinate may be tomorrow’sboss and today’s competitor may be tomorrow’s employer. WillGeneration Y use the characteristics of the existing Hospitality industrynetwork to their advantage, subjugating their own networks, or willthey try to shape the industry networks in the image of their ownnetworks which are driven by very different and fluid imperatives?

Keywords: Networks, small worlds, Generation Y, Hospitality industry

We have always known and accepted that‘networking’ is a legitimate and importantpart of any career in the Hospitalityindustry. It has been noticeable for manyyears that some hospitality executives are‘naturals’ who appear to know everybody inthe industry, often on a global basis. Butwith a growing awareness, consciously orsubconsciously, of the power of networking,do all Gen Yers have the potential tobecome expert networkers or, moreimportantly, how useful is developing thisskill for the establishment, longevity andsuccess of their career within the Hospitalityindustry?

Generation Y Characteristics

Demographers have concurred that thoseborn between 1980 and 1994 are known as‘Generation Y’ or Gen Ys and they comprise‘more than 4.2 million of the Australianpopulation’, which is approximately 20.5%

(Sheahan 2005:3; McCrindle 2006b:2). Thisgeneration is believed to be the most‘formally educated generation ever’ with’77.1% of year 10 students’ completing Year12 (ABS 2006 cited McCrindle 2006b).They have ‘embraced iPod, TiVo and othertechnologies’ (Wetzstein 2005) and brokendown geographical and cultural barriersthrough the use of technology – ‘emailbefore you phone and text before you talk’(Henry 2006).

Gen Ys are loyal to ‘their parents, friendsand team-mates at work’ (Henry 2006) butnot loyal to brands, employers andironically ‘money is not the strongestmotivator’; many Gen Ys leave their jobs‘not because there is a compelling reason toleave but because there is no compellingreason to stay’ (McCrindle 2006a, Dinnell2006).

30


Communicating the Gen Y Way

Researchers believe that Gen Ys rely on‘connectors’ within their social networks –‘knowing the person who is on the door ofthe new place in town’ and how do the GenYs communicate with these connectors –‘word of mouth’. As Sheahan (cited inSmith 2006) states ‘the speed of whichword of mouth spreads is faster with thisgeneration than it has ever been before’ and‘Gen Y can’t go to the toilet without tellingfive of their friends first!’. Cell phoneproviders such as Verizon and T-Mobilehave estimated that within two years ’70–90million Americans will have phones thatcan perform most of the functions currentlydone on a personal computer’ (Roche andWilliams 2006). By 2008, the annual textmessage volume is expected to explode to220 billion, supporting the claims that wordof mouth is of paramount importance(Roche & Williams 2006). Software such asSkype, the Internet protocol phone serviceaccessed through the Web, has enabled GenYs to develop their own peer-to-peernetworks. According to Skype’s CEO andco-founder, Niklas Zennstrom, over ’15million users have signed up worldwidewith an additional 80,000 registering daily’(cited Roche and Williams 2006). Very littleevidence is available as to how the cost ofthis new technology affects the Gen Y user.Anecdotally Japanese teenagers now smokeless as they perceive their mobile phone is amore essential accessory and they cannotafford both their phone bill and cigarettes!

Gen Ys appear to intuitively understand theconcept of clustering and that certainpeople have stronger or weaker links,especially when it comes to businessnetworking and ‘how every person is a newdoor, opening up into other worlds’ (Watts1999:11). Often friends (strong ties) cannotoffer assistance to find a new job, simplybecause they also move in the same circles,whereas the weak ties such as a businesscolleague may be able to provide theinformation required.

Networks and How they Work

Networking – described by some as ameans of ancient bartering – is not a newphenomenon specific to hospitality, asevidenced by examples drawn throughouthistory. Paul in 34 AD became the ‘fiercestsupporter of the new faith – Christianity’and realised that in order for the religion togrow and develop, the ‘message needed tobe spread’. This he undertook by walking‘nearly 10,000 miles’ throughout the next12 years of his life, but this alone did notguarantee success (Barabasi 2003:4). Sowhat did make his networking sosuccessful? It was ‘meeting other people’ toshare a ‘common interest and to shareknowledge’; in Paul’s case it was primarilytax issues as he was a tax collector (Barabasi2003:4).

Cynics might argue that this example wascoincidental, as sociocultural anddemographic circumstances created thenecessary environmental conditionsenabling Christianity to spread rapidly. Butwas the spread of Christianity a uniquenetwork? Experts such as Paul Erdos andAlfred Renyi (1959) believed not, as theysurmised that ‘networks not only areconnected but are well beyond thethreshold of one’ and it only requires ‘onelink per node (person) to stay connected’(cited in Barabasi 2003:19,18). In hospitalityterms, it is rather like a cocktail party; notall the guests know every person presentupon arrival but as the event progressesguests move from small groups (clusters) tonew groups thereby creating a larger group.All those present are linked by the specificevent and, if this social link is mapped,there would be a path between all guests.

This connectivity or ‘social capital’ hasalways been valued by some members ofour society and it is widely accepted that if aperson has a high number of contacts, theyare perceived to have more knowledge,influence and power by being able ‘to drawon the resources contained by members ofthe network’ than someone with fewer links(Kadushin 2003).

Networking the Generation Y Way 31

The New Generation

The spread of AIDS illustrates only too wellthe power of an informal network and howconnectivity has linked millions of peoplewith a deadly disease in a relatively shortperiod of time. Is it possible that the spreadof AIDS can be attributed to ‘patient zero’, aFrench/Canadian flight attendant? Theanswer could be a simple yes, as Erdos andRenyi’s random network theory (1959) tellsus ‘only one acquaintance is required toform a society’ (cited in Barabasi 2003:19),so as ‘the average number of links per nodeincreases beyond the critical one, thenumber of nodes (people in this case) leftout of the giant cluster decreasesexponentially’ (Barabasi 2003:19). At theend of 2005 ‘an estimated 39 million peopleworldwide were living with HIV/AIDS’ andin 2004 it was concluded that ‘4.1 millionpeople became newly infected’ (AIDS 2006online) and the number of cases (if Erdosand Renyi’s random network theory isvalid) will continue to increase as those ‘leftout of the giant cluster decreasesexponentially’.

Six Degrees of Separation

Closeness and connectivity is of greatimportance both from a social and businessnetworking perspective, a viewpoint sharedby Milgram (1967), a Harvard Professorwho rediscovered the notion ofinterconnectivity which has beenpopularised by the name ‘six degrees ofseparation’, a phrase originally used in JohnGuare’s 1991 play of the same name (citedin Barabasi 2003:29; Watts 1999). Milgram,through research and experiments,deduced that despite society’s enormoussize ‘it can be easily navigated by followingsocial links from one person to another’(cited in Barabasi 2003:30). It is nowaccepted that human society exists in asmall, densely webbed environment and, associologists estimate that as each individualknows by name between 200 to 5,000people, these contacts are on average onlysix links from each other.

With the development of the World WideWeb in the late 1980s and its hyperlinksand uniform resource locators (URLs), thenavigation from one page of information to

another, interconnecting the world by theclick of a mouse, is now possible. Eventhough the Web was estimated to have‘close to one billion documents’ in 1999, it isnot the size that is so important but thepotential closeness (interconnectivity) ofany two documents (Barabasi 2003:31).

By 1999 it had been deduced that theInternet was ‘scale-free’, meaning that whensmall bits of it are magnified they resemblethe whole. This knowledge had two majorimplications: firstly, scale-free meant theInternet is robust and resistant to randomfailure, which thankfully has been proven(so far) to be true but unfortunately it is alsoconfigured of many hubs, which aresusceptible to deliberate attacks. Thisvulnerability was demonstrated by Mafiaboy – a fifteen-year-old boy who onFebruary 7, 2000 successfully ‘halted theoperations of a billion-dollar company(Yahoo) with access to the best computersecurity experts in the world’ by simplyinstructing many computers to bombardYahoo with messages (Barabasi 2003:2). Associety becomes dependent oncommunication webs, reliability is a majorissue and even though hundreds of routerson the Internet fail daily, the ‘network rarelysuffers major disruptions’. Consequently, ithas been concluded that scale-free networkslike the Internet ‘display an amazingrobustness against accidental failures’(Barabasi & Bonabeau 2003:55,56).Identifying the Internet as being scale-freehas led to the understanding that in orderto prevent computer viruses being spread,the solution is to treat a relatively smallnumber of hubs which will stamp out thevirus. Research has also shown that the‘network of human sexual partners seemsto be scale-free’ consequently to stop thespread of AIDS or a similar disease could bea simple matter of treating the ‘right people’(‘What does the Internet look like?’ 2002).

Through research it has been identified thatthe interconnectivity of any two documentsfound on the Web is on average ‘only 19clicks away from another’ (Barabasi2003:34). But it is not quite as simple as 6links, 19 clicks away from another person

32


or document – does everyone have thesame amount of links? As Granovetter(1983 cited Watts 1999:14) believed, ‘weakties are less likely to be socially involvedwith one another than are our close friends(strong ties)’, so consequently in a socialand business network the weak ties are ofmore significance.

Gen Y hospitality graduates, throughdeveloping and building the right networksthat interconnect small hubs and utiliseweak links within clusters, together withtheir inherent Gen Y characteristics, havethe potential to develop more meaningful,robust and interconnected professionalrelationships than previous generations.

Gen Ys Networking Within TheHospitality Industry

This ‘small world’ and scale-freephenomenon is no better seen than in theglobal Hospitality industry where linksformed with individuals withstandsignificant physical distance, changes inemployers and changes in roles over manyyears.

For longevity within the current Hospitalityindustry, operators need to be able toquickly adapt to changing externalenvironments by recognising and utilisingthe characteristics of their small worldnetwork, when knowledge sharing isrequired in response to strategic decisionmaking in ‘response to a surprise changeinduced by a complex environment’(Metcalfe 2003).

With increased mobility, growth of newdestinations, larger hotel corporationsdominating the world market and greateraccessibility, Generation Y has numerousopportunities to move within the currentHospitality industry. This coupled with GenY’s characteristics of limited loyalty toemployers and an attitude that work issecondary to their social life creates a highlevel of employment mobility which todayis very evident within the Hospitalityindustry. Not only do Gen Ys adopt this newtechnology to maintain pre-existingrelationships with friends, family and

neighbours but also use it to forge newrelationships outside the more traditionalfamily network as there appears to be a‘greater scope for limited purpose, looserelationships’ centred around interest andcommonalities (Benkler 2006:375). Benkler(2006) also believes that the Internet ‘offersmore degrees of freedom for each of us todesign our own communication space thanwas available in the past’ but it does not‘make us more social beings’ (Benkler2006:374). This freedom through the use ofthe Internet and technology does give theGen Y hospitality student or graduategreater power, more opportunity andflexibility to strengthen ties that areperceived to be important either personallyor career wise. This constant re-connectingwith ‘weak ties’ develops the Gen Y’sknowledge base and increases theprobability that their views/outlook on theirlife/career will be more flexible, a traithighly valued by the Hospitality industry.

Hospitality is not unlike many otherindustries, in that today’s subordinate maybe tomorrow’s boss and today’s competitormay be tomorrow’s employer.Characteristically, Gen Ys understand that‘personal success is directly linked to thenetworks you join’ (Baines & Hale 2004), aview supported by Robert Dilenschneider, aNew York businessman and best sellingauthor who believes that networking hasproved to be a dynamite tool for findingjobs, lobbying promotion, lining up newbusiness and finding out what’s going on –developing relationships give you access tothe resources you need to develop a career,which he believes is built on relationships,not expertise (Dilenschneider 1999).Alumni associations build on thesedeveloping relationships, not only aligninggraduates with industry but also enablingstudents to access the graduate networksthat develop, as many employmentopportunities within the Hospitalityindustry occur through peer-to-peernetworks.

But are Gen Ys more adept than previousgenerations at identifying the best hubswithin a network to connect with? Not


The New Generation

necessarily, as Barabasi (2003) believes thatwhen deciding where to link on the Web,we ‘follow an unconscious bias and linkwith a higher probability to the nodes weknow, which are inevitably the moreconnected nodes of the Web’ (Barabasi2003:85). Gen Ys are therefore notnecessarily better networkers but possiblymore practiced, experienced and competentthan other generations in accessing,utilising, exploiting and manipulatingpotential and available networks, be theytechnological or personal ‘connectors’.

Gen Y’s Use of the Internet

The majority of hospitality operators havereadily adopted Internet technology as ‘anenabling technology – a powerful set oftools that can be used wisely or unwisely’(Porter 2001:63). Large worldwide hotelcorporations rely on this technology toprovide information, reduce difficultiesassociated with purchasing, marketing anddistribution and allow ‘buyers and sellers tofind and transact business with one anothermore easily’ (Porter 2001:66). The numberof customers accessing hospitality productsvia the Internet grows rapidly as theconsumer seeks to gather as muchinformation as possible before making theirpurchasing decision. But as consumersaccess more and more information via theInternet the Gen Ys prefer to rely on theirnetwork of peers when seeking informationthrough ‘collaborative authorship tools, likethe Wiki, which is the basis for Wikipedia’and blogs (Benkler 2006:373). The ease withwhich information can be posted anderased using social software is veryattractive to Gen Ys and has created anenvironment with a high level ofparticipation through co-authorship. It isinteresting to note that participation onthese sites brings together unconnectedindividuals ‘replacing common backgroundor geographic proximity’ with a commonpurpose (Benkler 2006:375). But curiously,the Gen Y participators appear to not wishto verify or authenticate the informationgained; they generally just accept it as beingcredible because it has come from theirpeers ‘so it must be right!’.

For multi-international hotel corporationsGen Ys heavy reliance on information frompeers or as it has been described ‘I do whatyou do’ must be of concern especially ifoperating in many diverse environmentswhich rely on a strong company culturewhich may easily become diluted through alow level of adherence to corporateknowledge (Camazine et al. cited Metcalfe2005:188). In addition the perceivedabsence of loyalty and willingness to shareinformation and experience could dilutecorporate cultures as the information travelsalong the Gen Y nodes.

Corporate communication within largehospitality organisations has primarily beenattributed to emails, faxes and web pagesand rely heavily on standardisation(asynchronous knowledge sharing), ratherthan sharing information orally. This heavyreliance on written communication maypose a threat to the long-term viability ofthe corporation as Gen Ys prefer tocommunicate in short, often coded,messages which across internationalboundaries may cause even moreoperational confusion (Metcalfe 2005) anddiminish knowledge management.

Strength, Longevity and Usefulness ofProfessional Relationships

The Hospitality industry has historicallyexperienced significant ‘network effects’ ona local, national and global basis. The ‘smallworld’ phenomenon is no better seen thanin the global Hospitality industry where thelinks formed with individuals withstandsignificant physical distance, changes inemployers and changes in roles over manyyears. With fewer independent hoteloperators, the current trend for theformation of large global conglomerateswith standardised procedures and products,and a worldwide human resource skillsshortage, the majority of hospitalityemployees are provided with a greateropportunity for travel which creates thenecessity for developing global networks.Gen Ys through their communicationchannels maintain their contacts throughthe shortest and easiest path possible; this inreality maintains a close knit network by

34


maximising closeness between all therouters by continually updating data whichreduces the number of clicks or links awayfrom each node (colleague). The shorter thepath, the faster the communication processwith less distortion or disruption.

But the Hospitality industry is a ‘smallworld’, tightly clustered with many of thekey players having been in the industry formany years, so will this naturally promotenetworking as a means of promotion andprogression? Does a newcomer to theindustry (i.e. Gen Y) need to adopt the samestrategy in order to progress? It is generallyagreed that in the industry, people move toanother property or a different country butthe key people do not substantially changein the network.

Given the theory discussed above there isno doubt that the existing traditionalhospitality network can link with the elasticand adaptable networks that Gen Y create.However it is probable and indeedanticipated that their interconnectivitynodes will need to adjust in order to surviveand flourish.

Will Generation Y use the characteristics ofthe existing Hospitality industry network totheir advantage, subjugating their ownnetworks, or will they try to shape theindustry networks in the image of theirown networks which are driven by verydifferent imperatives? Perhaps theHospitality industry needs to adopt some ofthe Gen Y’s communication modusoperandi; rather than using technology tofeed all corporate information into a‘hierarchical centralised’ system, moreemphasis should be placed oninterconnectivity with the weak links,setting up small world knowledge networksand knowledge clusters. Propertyemployees should be encouraged todevelop appropriate networks, which inturn will create dynamic knowledgeableclusters weakly tied together, promptingthe increase of a knowledge sharing visionacross all members of a global hospitalityorganisation.

As more Gen Ys enter the workforce andthere is increased awareness of theimportance of social networks as amarketing and communication tool,industry groups such as the Hospitalityindustry will need to re-evaluate how thesenetworks can be integrated into their dailyand strategic operations. Social networks bytheir nature are dynamic, ever evolving toadopt the latest technology and haveenabled not just the Gen Ys the opportunityto expand their social network in ways thatwere not previously possible.

But as is known, Gen Ys like tocommunicate and network on their termsand we from different generations need torecognise that we live in a world where ’60million people’ use a ‘peer-to-peer networkthat did not exist three years ago’ (Rocheand Williams 2006). The Hospitalityindustry needs to encourage, adopt andadapt these new communication methods iffor no other reason than the ‘bottom line’,indirect marketing intelligence, not tomention the wealth of untappedinformation flowing through socialnetworks. But the dilemma facing anyemployer is ‘whose information is it?’ andshould ‘these social networks be subject tothe same privacy protection that applies toindividuals’ (Ethier 2006). Maybe this issuewill not be of concern as Barabasi(2003:158) states ‘Our planet is evolvinginto a single vast computer made of billionsof interconnected processors and sensors –but will this computer become self-aware?’

References

AIDS 2006, ‘2006 Official Press Release:Day 6 XVI International Aids ConferenceCloses With Calls To Deliver On UniversalAccess To Proven Prevention Strategies,HIV Care and Treatment’. Retrieved 26August 2006 from http://www.aids2006.org

Baines, D. & Hale, C. 2004, ‘Use NetworkTheory to Develop Services’, PharmaceuticalJournal, 14 August, vol. 272, pp. 222–223.

Barabasi, A. 2003, Linked, Penguin Books,Melbourne, Victoria.


The New Generation

Barabasi, A. & Bonabeau, E. 2003, ‘Scale-Free Networks’, Scientific American, May,pp. 50–59.

Benkler, Y. 2006, The Wealth of Networks:How Social Production Transforms Marketsand Freedom, Yale University Press, NewHaven and London.

Dilenschneider, R.L. 1999, The Critical 14Years of Your Professional Life, CarolPublishing, Secaucus, NJ, USA.

Dinnell, S. 2006, ‘The Y Front’, HR Monthly,May, pp. 24–26.

Ethier, J. 2006, ‘Current Research in SocialNetwork Theory’. Retrieved 28 June 2006from http://www.ccs.neu.edu/home/perrolle/archive/Ethier-SocialNetworks.html

Henry, A. 2006, ‘Generation Y’, HarpersBazaar, January/February, pp. 30–32.

Kadushin, C. 2003, ‘A Short Introduction toSocial Networks: A Non-TechnicalElementary Primer’. Retrieved 24 July 2006from http://construct.Haifa.ac.il/~cerpe/papers/kadushin.html>

McCrindle, M. 2006a, Managing GenerationY: Attracting, Recruiting, Retraining &Training Generation Y. Retrieved 18 July2006 from http://www.mccrindle.com.au

McCrindle, M. 2006b, From Builders &Boomers to Xers and Y’s: A Social Report onGenerations X & Y. Retrieved 18 July 2006from http://www.mccrindle.com.au

Metcalfe, M. 2005, ‘Knowledge Sharing,Complex Environments and Small-worlds’,Human Systems Management, no. 24, pp.185–195.

Porter, M. E. 2001, ‘Strategy and theInternet’, Harvard Business Review, March,pp. 63–78.

Roche, R. & Williams, S. 2006, ‘The Fastand Fascinating Rise of Generation Y’,American Banker, April 18, vol. 171, no. 73,p. 2A.

Salt, B. 2006, ‘Demographic Rifts RevealShape of Future’, The Australian, ThursdayApril 6.

Sheahan, P. 2005, Generation Y: Thriving andSurviving with Generation Y at Work, HardieGrant Books, Melbourne, Victoria.

Smith, B. 2006, ‘Y Oh Y Won’t You BuyThat Brand’, The Age, Saturday June 17, p.2. Retrieved 18 July 2006 from http://www.theage.com.au

Von Friedrichs Grangsjo, Y. & Gummesson,E. 2006, ‘Hotel Networks and Social Capitalin Destination Marketing’, InternationalJournal of Service Industry Management, vol.17, no. 1, pp. 58–75.

Watts, D.J. 1999, Small Worlds: TheDynamics of Networks Between Order andRandomness, Princeton University Press,Princeton, New Jersey.

Wetzstein, C. 2005, ‘Generation Y EmbracesChoice, Redefines Religion’, The WashingtonTimes. Retrieved 25 June 2006 from http://www.washingtontimes.com/functions/print.php?

‘What does the Internet look like? 2002, TheEconomist Newspaper. Retrieved 11 June2006 from http://www.economist.com/science

Helen Batey Helen Batey is Dean of the Blue Mountains Hotel School, Australia witha research interest in hospitality and tourism trends.

Mark Woodbridge Mark Woodbridge is Senior Lecturer at the Blue Mountains HotelSchool and an active researcher in the areas of ethics in management,the electronic marketplace and the impact on hospitality and tourism.

36


Rewarding Excellence: A Training Dilemma for the YGenerationReid Walker

Abstract Generation Y are motivated by the search for recognition, instantgratification and the quest for the ‘right job’ (Sheahan 2005). ThePacific International Hotel Management School in New Zealand seeksto reward and promote excellence, most visibly through severalgraduation awards, but such awards tend to celebrate the individual,none moreso than Dux. How does this remain relevant to an industrywhere soft skills, especially pertaining to teamwork, are highly sought?The contrast between Generation Y’s wants and demonstratedbehaviour is illustrated in the lack of drive and the willingness of alarge percentage to strive for mediocrity when the individual awardappears unachievable. This paper seeks to address the relevance ofsuch an award, whilst exploring possible options of the ‘credit’,‘honours’ and ‘distinction’ endorsements to qualifying diplomas anddegrees. It is thought that this generation may seek higherachievements if such wider ranging acknowledgment was forthcomingand result in a better prepared and higher level of achievement withineach cohort.

Keywords: Generation Y, motivation, academic excellence, hospitality

Introduction

The personal goal of many educators andthe stated mission of many educationalinstitutes is the pursuit of academicexcellence. Achievement of this aim isassisted by generation literature that focuseson delivery techniques that best suitdifferent student cohorts. Thecharacteristics of the current generationwithin education are attracting extensiveattention but from an educator’sperspective, there is a developingcontradiction between Generation Y’s actualbehaviour and their publicisedcharacteristics. A contradiction existsbetween their quest for instant gratificationand lofty career ambitions versus theirreluctance to achieve or strive for academicexcellence. This is partially created as aconsequence of including groupassessments in hospitality courses based onrecommendations of key stakeholders andthe often debated merits of group workassessment. This paper focuses on the

debate over how to best motivateGeneration Y to higher levels of academicachievement, whilst not compromising theprinciples of group assessment or integrityof results. It is suggested using wideracknowledgement of academic excellencewill encourage these students to more thanjust mediocrity.

Many identifiers have been proposed tolabel the current generation. Use of theidentifier ‘Generation Y’ is popular, largelydue to the publicity given to this term byconsultants such as Sheahan (2005) andMcCrindle Research (2006). Sheahan’spopular offering Generation Y: Thriving andSurviving with Generation Y at Work, as wellas contributions from Chester (2002),Huntley (2006) and Martin (2001) areallowing for greater understanding of thisgroup. Generation Y has been accepted ashaving their own set of characteristics,motivations, and ethical and moral values.

37

The New Generation

Due to this, much focus is being given tohow managers, trainers and educatorsshould deal with them, as indicated by theconsiderable number of results found whenGoogling Generation Y, with conferencesand seminars established across a widerange of industries.

This paper presents a background ofcharacteristics, teaching styles andmotivation for Generation Y. The experienceof the Pacific International HotelManagement School (PIHMS) is used todemonstrate these issues, including theresults of a survey of PIHMS students.Finally, the literature and case study is usedas a framework for a better model forrewarding Generation Y students in ahospitality school.

Background

Generation Y, sometimes called millenialsamongst other labels, are considered to bethose born between 1978/80 and 1994/2000. They are considered to betechnoliterate (Krause 2005; Raines 2002),highly educated (McCrindle Research 2006;Sheahan 2005), in search of the ‘right job’rather than ‘any job’ and desirous ofacknowledgement and recognition(Sheahan 2005). There is also evidence thatthey direct their energies towards theimmediate future (McCrindle 2002) and arefocused on achievement (Raines 2002).

Their motivation for education is reputablyfounded on the drive for qualifications,which is a reflection of society preachingqualifications are required for nearly everyposition (Choy and Delahaye 2003). Initself, this issue is part of the ongoingincrease in entry level requirements formost positions and a manifestation of theknowledge economy. Regardless of therationale for this development, employersvalue qualifications and as a consequencestudents are now focused on assessmentand grades so that they can obtain thedesired qualifications (Choy and Delahayen.d). These qualifications are an aspect oftheir ‘credentialisation’ that should make iteasier to stand out from the crowd.

However, Howe (2003) suggests that thereis a dilemma in this motivation, in thatachievement is given more emphasis than itmay deserve. Furthermore, it isrecommended that educators need toencompass many of these aforementionedrequirements within assessment tools andacknowledgement in order to fully sustainthe students’ motivation (Choy andDelahaye, n.d).

Academic excellence is not necessarilypromoted by the public sector within NewZealand though. The Crown entity, theTertiary Education Commission, whichoversees tertiary education in New Zealand,does not currently identify a specific level ofachievement so long as students completequalifications within the set timeframe.However, within New Zealand’s educationalinstitutes, one form of recognition ofacademic excellence that is widely used atthe primary, secondary and tertiary levels isthe distribution of awards and scholarships.Investigation of New Zealand providers bythe author identified the continued practiceof using the taglines ‘with Distinction’ and‘with Credit’ on qualifications as recognitionof higher achievement. This articulation ofachievement can serve to satisfy GenerationY’s need for recognition as well as the searchfor credentials but the changing focus ofteaching may or not be synergistic withsuch measures.

Pedagogical development has focused onthe issue of engagement in both theclassroom and through the online learningenvironment. These developments areflourishing as they have allowed for furtheremphasis on the role of group activities andassessment. Such developments are usefulfor the current cohort, which reactsfavourably to teamwork in both assessmentand activities (Jonas-Dwyer and Pospisil2004; Howe 2003). Moreover, it isadvantageous for hospitality educators tohave students who expect and thrive onteamwork, as the industry demands it.

For hospitality training institutes theidentification of Generation Y’srequirements from educators must become

38


a significant driver for change. There isagreement that employers would be moresuccessful if they were to adopt a mentorapproach rather than that of the director(McCrindle Research 2006; Sheahan 2005).This is transferable to many hospitalitytraining institutes, where academic andpractical education form part of the syllabusand would fit with ‘educator as facilitator’for self-directed teams constructing theirown learning, rather than the ‘educator assupplier of educational content’.

Generation Y have their own characteristics,motivations for achievement and desires.When combined with the requirements ofhospitality training organisations andtraining organisations in general, thisgeneration is going to necessitate aparticular approach to be adopted. It is theauthor’s belief that current rewardmechanisms may not be ideally suited tofully motivate Generation Y students andalso produce students that are industryready. PIHMS currently is one institute thatis investigating the full spectrum ofacknowledgement and motivation.

Rewarding Academic Excellence atPIHMS

Presently, PIHMS uses a ‘three pillarapproach’ to teaching practical skills,theoretical knowledge and personal orprofessional development. Students’willingness to attain high marks isencouraged by their own intrinsic

motivation, career prospects and schoolrecognition of their abilities through theawarding of a prize for Dux. This award hasprovided for recognition of an individualbased on their overall achievement in allsemesters of their PIHMS Diplomaprogram and is selected based on theaggregate mark attained from all finalgrades. The awards for Dux in the Diploma,Degree and Postgraduate programs are themost significant in a group of seven awards.Another five awards celebrate workplaceachievement, leadership, dedication tocampus life and other such extracurricularactivities. These awards are articulated tostudents through their Student Handbookand are selected based on staff nominationswith final endorsement by the AcademicBoard. Historically, the Dux award has beendominated by female New Zealandstudents who have completed all fivesemesters (as opposed to being Direct Entrystudents in semesters 3 or 51). Moreover,the spring intake that has traditionallyincluded a large percentage of internationalstudents replicates this trend (Table 1).

The current criteria for selection of Dux hasgenerated negative feedback from theSemester 5 students, particularly as to thefairness or eligibility for all students due tothe nature, requirement and contribution ofgroup work towards students’ final marks.Discussion with lecturing staff lends somesupport to the students’ claim that thisapproach is unfair. Furthermore, a Duxaward celebrates individual excellence so

Table 1: Aggregate statistics for recipients of the awardfor Dux of Diploma of Hotel Management

Autumn Graduation Spring Graduation

Awards 11* Awards 9

Male recipients 2 Male recipients 2

Female recipients 9 Female recipients 7

International recipients 1 International recipients 0

*One semester had two joint winners of the award.

Rewarding Excellence 39

The New Generation

the inclusion of group marks in selecting awinner can create unnecessary dilemmas.This is evidenced by the debatesurrounding group selection. Presentlythese groups are school-appointed, but theSemester 5 cohort believes that the drawingof a weak group reduces the opportunityfor a high mark and the ability to competefor the Dux award.

Another factor that is worthy of attentionwithin the context of the Dux awards is thatof language development. A student withminimum entry standards for English isvirtually incapable of competing for Dux byvirtue of Semesters 1 through 5 beingevenly weighted in the calculations.However, by graduation this same studentdemonstrates substantial development intheir communication skills and therefore isa more competitive force. In discussionswith administration staff responsible for theinitial Dux grade aggregate calculations,there was general agreement that a highernumber of students would become acompetitive threat.

Compounding the above situation, as of theAutumn 2006 graduation, PIHMS Duxrecipients are to be automatically offered amanagement traineeship position with theAccor hotel group. This providesmotivation for students and certainlyrewards excellence, but the rationalesurrounding candidate selection is unclearfrom lecturers’ and students’ perspectives.The only rationale for selection thatstudents are provided with is an insertion inthe Student Handbook, ‘This awardrecognises all-round excellence, asdemonstrated by the recipient student’soverall achievement within the Diploma ofHotel Management program’ (PIHMS 2006:45). With this being the case, it wouldfollow that the rationale for selection is alsounclear from Accor’s perspective as animportant stakeholder. Accor’s involvementprompts further investigation of whethergroup assessment should be included ornot. While it can be assumed that Accorwould require all-round excellence as

typified by the three pillar approach, if anindividual award should not include groupmarks then there is a difficulty inestablishing ‘all-round excellence’.

It is the quantifying of the three pillarapproach that may present the mostdifficult challenge to the selection of such acandidate for Accor. The curriculum atpresent lends itself to measurable academicachievement overlaid with a subjectiveselection of a student’s worthiness. Ensuringthe success of Accor’s reward will rely ontwo things; the integrity of any selectionand the student’s own performance once inthe position. By ensuring there is integrityin the selection then it is unlikely that thestudent’s own effort will be insufficient.Quality processes as per Gray and Kawana-Brown (2005), will play a significant factorin generating such integrity within allacademic and operational processes, butadditional methods must be implementedto guarantee that Accor and the widerHospitality industry continues receivingDux recipients of the highest calibre.

Evaluating the Recognition ofAcademic Achievement

In August 2006 a short survey was emailedto all 209 students at PIHMS, investigatingtheir motivations regarding academicachievement and academic excellence.Questions were designed to elicit bothqualitative and quantitative information.

A total of 52 students respondedrepresenting a response rate of 25%.Students from across the academicprograms replied and with a representativemix of New Zealand and internationalstudents (Table 2). However, the responserate is dominated by the higher semesters, afactor not surprising given they are morelikely to be contemplating their finalsemester and any awards they may be ableto compete for. This respondent profileprovides a useful insight into themotivations of the students and theirattitudes towards achievement.

40


Students were asked to identify a‘successful mark’ and then what type ofmark they try to achieve in theirassessments. A strong relationship wasexpected between what each studentbelieved was successful or ‘excellent’ andwhat they aimed for in their work and thisrelationship is largely present as shown inFigure 1. Intriguing though is therespondents’ tendency to aim for slightlyless than their perception of success, whichhints at the mediocrity alluded to earlier.This may be a result of their having apragmatic response to high workloads,multiple personal goals and indicated lack

Gender Male: 48 Female: 52

Student originated from New Zealand: 38 International: 62

Enrolment stage Semester 1: 4

Semester 3: 10

Semester 5: 47

Degree: 39

Table 2: Key characteristics of respondents (%)

of motivation. Careful analysisdemonstrated that this was not acumulative anomaly; individualrespondents often indicated a sought gradeless than their perceived successful grade.

Students identified many differentmotivations for academic achievement.These were analysed and categorised asshown in Figure 2. The respondents couldbe considered as typical of Generation Y inthat they are motivated by ‘credentialism’and a generic sense of achievement.Understandably, the respondents alsoindicated that through achievement they

Figure 1: Grades considered successful versus gradessought by students


The New Generation

hoped to further their career prospects butthat personal goals and family and friendsalso assist in motivating students towardscompleting their qualifications.

The motivations reflect what should beexpected given even an elementaryunderstanding of students and also fromthe identified literature. Credentialism,being assessment driven, motivated byachievement, are all motivations. Of interestis the explicit mention within an open-ended question of awards as being amotivational factor, with some studentsapparently aiming for tangible recognitionof their academic achievement. Manyrespondents stated that such awardsgenerate attractive career opportunities andplacements; this was an extension of a largeproportion of the students who thoughtthat better grades offered greater careeropportunities. Although only a small groupwere motivated by awards, extrapolationcould indicate that those motivated bycredentials and achievement would like tosee further recognition of their highergrades.

Anecdotally, PIHMS students havequestioned the fairness of group assessmentwith claims that a proportion of eachsemester finds group assessmentdemotivating as a result of ‘social loafing’ or‘free riding’ (Beenen et al. 2004). Asignificant group has identified that thismay be the case in that they found groupassessment affected their motivation levelsnegatively, whilst several other impacts onmotivation levels were also demonstrated(Figure 3 over page).

Responses to this question have producedunexpected results. There are a highnumber of students (35%) who believe theirmotivation levels are positively impacted bygroup assessment. One plausibleexplanation for this is that some of theserespondents may be amongst the ‘socialloafers’ or the academically disadvantagedand therefore perceive group assessment asan opportunity to increase their grades.Social loafing is also believed to beminimised through individual motivationas demonstrated in the ‘collective effortmodel’ (Karau and Williams 1993, cited in

Figure 2: Categorised motivations for academicachievement. Note: Percentage of respondents doesnot equal 100% as respondents could have multiplemotivations

42


Beenen et al. 2004). Upon furtherinvestigation of such responses thisexplanation is weakened, as many studentssuggested there was additional pressure toperform so that they do not let othersdown. There is also a significant numberwhose motivation is dependent upon thegroup makeup and dynamics. One couldassume that various situations would seethese students move to either increasing ordecreasing motivation for achievement.One respondent summarised students’dilemmas perfectly: ‘It is also difficult [sic] ifgroup members have different ideas abouta successful grade. Some are just happypassing and so will do work to thatstandard... and others strive to get 70/80%grades. There is no balance’. This resultcomplies with the belief that Generation Yare in favour of group work (Jonas-Dwyerand Pospisil 2004; Howe 2003) but it alsoimplies that students may opt out of fullinvolvement with group assessment oncethey perceive that high grades may not beachievable. This may prohibit such students

Figure 3: Impacts of group assessment on motivationlevels for academic achievement. Note: Percentage ofrespondents does not equal 100% as respondentscould have multiple motivations.

from achieving academic excellence.Arguably, Dux recipients are not the onlystudents achieving excellence but it appearsthat competitiveness for such an award isaffecting academic motivation.

Having identified an issue with individualmotivation within group assessments for31% of respondents though, it is importantto seek a potential solution. Studentsarticulated many solutions (Table 3), mainlyadvocating for self-selection and being in a‘better group’. However, PIHMS has hadfeedback from both graduates and industryfor several years recognising that groupwork is highly beneficial once studentsenter the workforce, regardless of whethergroups were ‘academically successful’.

A significant percentage of respondentsbelieved that by being in good groups thatmotivation would increase. ‘Good groups’were identified as groups within whichpeers were of the same perceived academicability, had similar motivations and were


The New Generation

willing to work, communicate andparticipate fully. Furthermore, this largeresponse rate is related to a belief that bybeing able to self-select groups, motivationlevels would be increased. As expected withany investigation regarding groupassessment, there is a belief that by usinggrades and results and/or an individualcomponent within the group grade,students may become increasinglymotivated. It is noteworthy that apercentage of respondents (8%)acknowledged that further support fromteaching staff would be beneficial for theirmotivation levels; this would be in line withthoughts that Generation Y requires moreof a mentoring approach (McCrindleResearch 2006; Sheahan 2005).

In accordance with the identifiedmotivations of ‘achievement’ and‘credentials’ it is proposed here that PIHMSstudents may respond favourably toadditional recognition of theirachievements. Using the ‘with Distinction’

Table 3: Methods for improving motivation levels ingroup participants. Note: Percentage of respondentsdoes not equal 100% as respondents could havemultiple methods for improvement.

Methods Percentage of Respondents

Good team members and atmosphere 38

Pick own group 15

Grades and results 15

Individual components 10

Lecturer support 8

Better topics 6

Career developments 6

Unsure/Don’t know 6

Total 104

and ‘with Credit’ taglines on degrees anddiplomas may generate higher motivationlevels and therefore achievement levels.Students were in favour of such a proposal(Figure 4 over page), as is exemplified bythe comment from one student that‘motivation comes from achievements toadd in CVs for most people. If there is oneprize, which is Dux of the courses, therewill not be competition for others in therange of higher-middle to lower students,since they may think it’s impossible to catchthe higher students and thus ultimately aimfor just a pass grade’. However, there wereseveral lines of debate offered by studentsthat are worthy of future discussion.

There was a significant percentage (34%)who believed that such a scheme may notbe advantageous for their motivation.Whilst this antipathy should not be ignored,further communication of the benefits ofsuch a proposal may lead to higher levels ofsupport. Firstly, a small group indicatedtheir belief was based on their experience

44


Figure 4: Would ‘with Distinction’ and ‘with Credit’increase motivational levels for achieving highergrades?

with New Zealand’s recently adoptedNational Certificate of EducationAchievement (NCEA). This new assessmenttool is used in secondary schools and hasbeen subject to substantial debate as to itseffectiveness from many stakeholders; it isnot surprising that students who haveexperienced the NCEA debate woulddemonstrate reluctance towards a similarproposed assessment scheme.

Within the non-supporters was a groupwho believed that more recognition (thanalready carried out) was ‘childish’ and that‘a degree is a degree’. This contradicts thereported characteristics of Generation Y andis more reflective of a mediocrity that isarguably evident in today’s society. Withinthe New Zealand education context thephrase ‘Cs get degrees’ is well known and itwas reported to the researcher that studentsare ‘taught over the years that employeesonly glance at a resume for approximately 7seconds... what’s the point’.

The introduction of these taglines was also

seen as promoting equal opportunity andmotivation for international students. It wasargued that language barriers/developmentrule a percentage of students out ofcompetition for Dux awards and thosetaglines may be beneficial for thisproportion of the student intake. It isimportant, however, that any moves topromote equality for students orheightened motivations should not be seenas excluding the other students.

Currently, PIHMS is initiating a review ofawards with a view to creating higher levelsof motivation, acknowledgement andtransparency. It is believed that the awardsystem could be redesigned to achievefavourable results in all three of these areas.Most importantly, the results above indicatethat it could also have substantial benefitsfor academic achievement levels and thatthe introduction of a distinction/creditsystem may only be one facet to beinvestigated within a revisited awardsystem.


The New Generation

Conclusions and Recommendations

Generation Y students believe thatcredentials and achievement are importantoutcomes of their education. Hospitalityeducation may always necessitate a certaincomponent of group assessment andactivities to best prepare students with thesoft skills required to succeed in theirchosen careers. It is therefore necessary thatPIHMS implements an approach toassessment and recognition of achievementthat celebrates both the individual and thegroup, while also allowing for integrity ofprocesses and development for students,educators and courses within the program.

This research demonstrates that studentsare not driven by mediocrity but may optout of achieving success when certainconditions prevail. It is not believed thatsignificant reconstruction of groupassessment is required but the addition of awider spread of awards and recognitionmay minimise this opting-out situationimmensely, and therefore lead to morecompetitiveness for Dux award selection.However, the justification for a new awardand recognition system cannot be deliveredfrom a paper such as this. A far greaterconsultative process with alumni, currentstudents, employers and other educatorsshould generate the feedback required todevelop an improved system.

The Distinction/Credit system should beinvestigated further with stakeholders.Certainly, the ability to offer recognition of awider body of students in a generation thatseeks recognition should be a win-winsituation. This would need to be offered aspart of a more widespread award systembut most importantly this would offer thesmall degree of differentiation that couldmake attracting prospective employerseasier. It is recommended here that therecognition and rewarding of students hasto be based around several phases within aprogram, as outlined below, in order tohave the maximum effect:

Grades/results for individualassessments and papers during theprogram;

Industry Placement during the program;

Diploma and Degree qualifications forstudents who complete their course andare conferred at graduation;

Diploma and Degree ‘with Distinction’or ‘with Credit’ qualifications forstudents who reach higher levels ofsuccess and are conferred at graduation;

Awards where students are selectedbased upon criteria and presented atgraduation.

Within a new system there is room forseveral awards similar to Dux, each withtheir own advantages. These are outlinedbriefly in Table 4 (over page) but wouldrequire consultation to best achieve thestated aims of maximum motivation,acknowledgement and transparency. A newsystem offers potential for rewarding groupachievement also. The proposed structuredoes not include an award for students thathave travelled the greatest distanceacademically but such an award could alsopromote achievement and would beavailable for all students and as suchdeserves further investigation.

The articulation of Dux criteria is difficultwithin a three pillar approach and canbecome more subjective and therefore lesstransparent than is required. If theproposed structure or a variation wasimplemented, then a Dux award could bepossible where a candidate claimed two ormore of the nominated awards.

In a competitive world, where minimumstandards for entry into the workplace arealways increasing, completion of Diplomaand Degree qualifications are notnecessarily enough to differentiate students.By rewarding all who achieve academicexcellence, it may be possible to motivate allstudents to higher achievement and so offerbetter candidates to the Hospitalityindustry. In turn, Generation Y studentsreceive the acknowledgement they crave, aswell as offering them the means to advancehigher or faster.

46


References

Beenen, G., Ling, K., Wang, X., Chang, K.,Frankowski, D., Resnick, P. & Kraut, R.E.2004, Using Social Psychology to MotivateContributions to Online Communities.Retrieved 6 September 2006 from http://www.si.umich.edu/

Chester, E. 2002, Employing GenerationWhy, Chess Press, Vacaville, CA.

Choy, S. & Delahaye, B. 2003, YouthLearners: The Authentic Neglected SpeciesLearning For An Unknown Future. Retrieved9 August 2006 from http://surveys.canterbury.ac.nz/herdsa03/pdfsref/Y1030.pdf

Choy, S. & Delahaye, B. n.d, Some Principlesfor Youth Learning. Retrieved 9 August 2006from http://www.avetra.org.au/publications/documents/PA023ChoyandDelahaye.pdf

Gray, T. & Kawana-Brown, E. 2005,‘Making Quality Assurance a “Point ofDifference”: The Journey from Complianceto Continuous Improvement’, OrionObservatory: Orion Journal of InternationalHotel Management, vol.1, no.1, pp 65–70.

Award Selection Rationale

Award for Overall Achievement Offered to the top performing individual(s) based ongroup and individual assessment

Award for Academic Excellence Offered to the top performing individual(s) based onall individual assessment

Award for Excellence in Hospitality Offered to the top performing individual based onManagement final grades in all semesters (Accor Traineeship)

Award for Excellence in Group Offered to top performing individual(s) based onAssessment group assessment only in Semesters 3 and 5

Table 4: Recommended awards for PIHMS

Howe, N. 2003, ‘President’s Institute:Understanding the Millennial Generation’,The Council of Independent Colleges.Retrieved 9 August 2006 from http://www.cic.org/publications/independent/online/archive/winterspring2003/winter_spring_2003.pdf

Huntley, R. 2006, The World According to Y:Inside the New Adult Generation, Allen &Unwin, Crows Nest, NSW.

Jonas-Dwyer, D. & Pospisil, R. 2004, ‘TheMillennial Effect: Implications for AcademicDevelopment’, Proceedings of the HERDSAconference: Transforming Knowledge intoWisdom, Curtin University, SarawakCampus Malaysia, July 4–7. Retrieved 8August 2006 from http:www.herdsa.org.au/conference2004/Contributions/RPapers/P050-jt.pdf

Krause, K. 2005, ‘The Changing StudentExperience: Who’s Driving It and Where IsIt Going?’, Proceedings of the StudentExperience Conference: Good Practice inPractice, Charles Sturt University, WaggaWagga, September 5–7. Retrieved 26 July2006 from http://www.csu.edu.au/division/studserv/sec/papers/krause.pdf


The New Generation

Martin, C. A. 2001, Managing Generation Y,HRD Press, Amherst, USA.

McCrindle, M. 2002, UnderstandingGeneration Y. Retrieved 26 July 2006 fromhttp://www.itpnz.ac.nz/conferences/past_conferences/2002-APNZ/MarkMcCrindle01.htm

McCrindle Research, 2006, New Generationsat Work: Attracting, Recruiting, Retraining &Training Generation Y. Retrieved 1 August2006 from http://www.mccrindle.com.au/wp_pdf/NewGenerationsAtWork.pdf

PIHMS (Pacific International HotelManagement School) 2006, PIHMS StudentHandbook: July to December 2006, PIHMS,New Plymouth, NZ.

Raines, C. 2002, Managing Millennials.Retrieved 9 August 2006 from http://www.generationsatwork.com/articles/millenials.htm

Sheahan, P. 2005, Generation Y: Thriving andSurviving With Generation Y At Work,Hardie Grant Books, Melbourne, Victoria.

Endnote

1. PIHMS currently accepts students withApproved Prior Learning into theprogram at later entry points. This mostcommonly occurs after students havebeen on Industry Placement inSemesters 2 and 5 of a five semesterprogram.

Reid Walker Reid Walker is a tourism and marketing lecturer at the PacificInternational Hotel Management School, New Zealand with researchinterests in film, many forms of special interest tourism and tourismmarketing.

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What Do Y Expect and Why Should We Care?Generation Y’s Experience of Industry PlacementEve Kawana-Brown

Abstract To recruit and retain good staff, managers need to figure out ways tokeep Generation Y motivated in the day-to-day reality of work,especially given that they are likely to fill more mundane positions(Sheahan 2005). Generation Y are employees who demand variety,challenge, change and promotion (McCrindle Research 2006). This is achallenge for all industries but one especially for the Tourism andHospitality industries. These industries employ proportionately moreGeneration Y staff than do other industries on average, and arecurrently facing significant shortages of skilled labour.

Research at Pacific International Hotel Management School (PIHMS)has revealed that expectations of both Y Generation hospitality studentsand their employers are not met by their actual experience of paidindustry placement in the Hospitality industry.

The biggest ‘shocks’ for students are how little feedback andacknowledgement they receive, and how little opportunity they haveto try out their ideas for improving hotel operations and to experiencefeelings of professional achievement.

Such dissonance can potentially result in a loss to the industry of acaptive, trained and qualified resource. In this paper, the findingsregarding students’ ‘shocks’ are interpreted in light of what has beendiscovered about the preferences and ideals of Generation Y asemployees. Based on the conclusions drawn, recommendations formanaging Generation Y industry placement students (employees)within the Hospitality sector are then proposed.

Keywords: Generation Y, internship, hospitality, hospitality education, work adjustment

Introduction

Popular media, business-orientedpublications and conferences are litteredwith references to Generation Y. This paperwill not seek to reiterate the definition ordetail of what Generation Y is to what maybe an already ‘Y-weary’ audience. Thediscussion assumes ‘Generation Y-ness’ ascharacteristic of students on the Diploma/Degree program at Pacific InternationalHotel Management School (PIHMS) on thebasis that almost all of these students areaged between 18 and 25 for the duration of

their Diploma/Degree studies. This placesthem chronologically within Generation Yvia definitions as advanced by McCrindleResearch (2006) and Sheahan (2005).

During 2004–5 research was conductedwithin the industry placement function ofthe Diploma/Degree program at PIHMS(Kawana-Brown 2006) to explore andmeasure the degree to which a six monthpaid work placement met the expectationsof both students and employers involved inindustry placement.

49

The New Generation

These students were employed forapproximately six months as entry-levelfood and beverage service staff,predominantly within New Zealand hotels,during 2004. As such, most were treated asstandard staff members and were paid astandard adult wage.

The research instruments were initiallydesigned to probe ‘employee and employersatisfactoriness’ variables, which owe theirdevelopment to ‘work adjustment’ researchconducted by the University of Minnesotain the 1980s (Dawis and Lofquist 1984).However, reinterpretation of the keyfindings from the student surveys in light ofGeneration Y literature reveals someinteresting corollaries to the initial findings.

The findings of the primary research intoPIHMS students’ experiences duringindustry placement support theoriesregarding how workplaces should treatGeneration Y employees. However, withsimilar findings resulting from ‘workadjustment’ and ‘workplace socialisation’research in the 1980s, it may be reasonableto suggest that recommendations arisingfrom the following analysis are rightly setwithin the perennial context of relating theworld of work to the younger generation –keeping in mind that ‘le plus ca change, leplus c’est la meme chose’ (the more thingschange, the more they stay the same).

This paper provides a brief summary of theresearch methodology employed to emergeexpectation-reality gaps experienced byPIHMS with respect to employment/employer ‘satisfactoriness’. The findingsreported in this paper are limited to thosethat revealed the most significant negativevariance from expectation experienced atthe mid-industry placement mark by thestudent respondents using a group averagescore. The workplace ‘shocks’ experiencedby students are reinterpreted with referenceto theory regarding what Generation Y tellus they need from the workplace andconclusions are drawn andrecommendations made in light of thisanalysis.

PIHMS Employer/EmployeeExpectations and Realities Study

Judgements regarding employee andemployer satisfactoriness are influenced byboth parties’ prior expectations and areknown to impact an employee’s willingnessto remain within an organisation, as well asinfluencing an organisation’s interest indeveloping and promoting an employee(Dawis and Lofquist 1984; Feldman 1976).

High expectations can certainly impactstudents’ congruence, and satisfaction, withemployers and the industry as well, oncethey are confronted with the realexperience. Within this study, thisdissonance (or lack of congruence) wastermed ‘Expectation-Reality’ Gap,disappointment, or as per other literature,‘surprises’ or ‘shocks’ (Louis 1980 cited inGaravan and Morley 1997; Garavan andMurphy 2001). Where there is dissonance,it has been proposed that this mayultimately contribute to the high staffturnover experienced by the Hotel industry(Barron and Maxwell 1993; Pavesic andBrymer 1992; Waryszak 2000).

Research instrumentsFour questionnaires were designed tomeasure the expectations and perceivedrealities of students and hotel staff who arepartners in the PIHMS’ industry placementprogram – three student questionnaires [fori) prior to, ii) during, and iii) following,industry placement], plus an employerquestionnaire.

For efficiency’s sake, and because employersrepeatedly host PIHMS students, theemployer survey was conducted via onequestionnaire, which recorded bothemployers’ expectations, and their actualexperience, of hosting students.

Needs identified as relevant to worksatisfaction that were operationalised via thestudent questionnaires were: abilityutilisation, achievement, activity,advancement, compensation, co-workerrelationships, creativity, recognition,

50


technical supervision, variety and workingconditions. The employer questionnaire alsofocused on nine satisfactoriness issues – thistime relating to the ‘satisfactoriness’ of thestudents/employees.

The student expectation questionnaire wasdesigned to measure students’ expectationsof internship employment via 19 closed-ended statements which required responsesin a 5-point Likert-type format. Thequestions were asked in the format ofstudents being asked to Strongly Agree,Agree, Undecided, Disagree or StronglyDisagree with statements such as:

‘I expect to be able to make use of all my F&Bskills and abilities in my job’, and

‘I expect to receive a fair financial reward forthe work that I will do’.

In the follow-up reality questionnaires thesame questions were asked in the presentand then past tenses, to provide a measureof the students’ actual experience of theexact same work satisfactoriness/adjustment variables.

The student expectation questionnaire wascompleted by 116 students in June 2004,just days prior to their first six monthindustry placements. These students hadjust completed a six month program atPIHMS, which included training andworking in the area of their industryplacement.

Mid-placement reality questionnaires weremailed and/or emailed to 108 studentsapproximately two months into theirindustry placement semester. 53 responses(representing 46% of the placement cohort)were received and analysed.

A post-placement reality questionnaire wascompleted by 87 students (representing75% of the placement cohort) in February2005, approximately one month aftercompletion of the industry placement.

Data collection and analysisThe student samples surveyed and theirdemographic composition is outlined inTable 1. The average age of the groupssurveyed situates them as representative ofthe estimated mid-point of Generation Y.

Simple descriptive data analysis was appliedto data from all surveys to record frequencyand distribution (mean) of responses.Figure 1 (see page 50) shows a graphicrepresentation of the frequencies recordedfor each of the question sets that probedstudents’ expectations and perceivedrealities during and after placement.

It can be seen that for almost allsatisfactoriness variables, initial expectationswere high and that the reality of industryplacement, in most cases, did not measureup to those expectations. Percentage-basedmeasures of variance were then used as thebasis for determining differences betweenexpectations and perceived realities. Theseven greatest ‘shocks’ experienced bystudents at the mid-placement mark areshown in Table 2 (i.e. realities that variedfrom expectation negatively by 15% ormore).

Industry Placement ‘Shocks’ forGeneration Y Employees

This research revealed some significant gapsbetween the expectations of students withregards to the industry placementexperience. In general, high positiveexpectations are held and these expectationsare in the main not being met. Analysis viademographic subgroup revealed thatexpectations were often not met by asignificant margin of 20% or more(especially in the case of New Zealandstudents).

Generally speaking, ‘shocks’ lay in store forthese Generation Y students/employeeswith regard to the degree to which they feltthey were:

1. not able to try out their ideas forimproving hotel operations;

2. not receiving the feedback they felt theyneeded to develop their capability forthe job;

3. not receiving acknowledgement by theiremployer for the good work they weredoing;

4. not receiving a fair financial reward forthe work being done;

What Do Y Expect and Why Should We Care? 51

The New Generation

Pre-Placement Mid-Placement Post-Placement(Expectation) Reality Survey Reality SurveySurveyJune 2004 August 2004 February 2005

Total No. of Responses 116 53 87Respondents who were 58 70 60Female (%)Age of Respondents (years) 19.5 20 20.3

Ethnicity of Respondents (%):New Zealanders 39 42 41Chinese 25 34 28Indian 10 11 10Korean 11 4 9Other 15 9 12

Location of Internship:Respondents in New Zealand – 87 74Hotel Industry Placements (%)Respondents in Australian – 11 22Hotel Industry Placements (%)

Table 1: Demographic analysis of student surveysample groups

Expectation Variable Degree of Variancefrom Students’Expectations

The degree to which they felt they were able to try out some oftheir ideas for improving hotel operations (Q7) -22%The financial reward they were receiving for the work they weredoing (Q10) -18%The opportunity for promotion during their industry placement(Q11) -18%The degree to which they were receiving the feedback they needed(Q16) -18%The degree to which their job was providing them with a feelingof professional achievement (Q2) -16%The degree to which they were being acknowledged by theiremployer for the work they were doing (Q6) -16%The degree to which they were learning a lot about hotelmanagement (Q18) -16%

Table 2: Negative expectation-reality gaps experiencedby students at mid-placement

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The New Generation

5. not experiencing feelings of professionalachievement;

6. not learning a lot about hotelmanagement while on placement; and

7. not having available to themopportunity for promotion within theterm of the industry placement.

Earlier research has revealed that studentsperceive task variety, regular feedback, jobsignificance and job challenge shouldalways be present in a work placement(Laycock, Herman and Lactz 1990 cited inGaravan and Murphy 2001).

These same necessary job attributes areechoed in the findings of the Generation Yexperts, who propose that to retainGeneration Y employees, workplaces needto provide the following (N.B. numberinghas been applied to these provisions to‘match’ them to the shocks students foundwhen encountering workplace reality –numbers 1–7 above):

1. Inclusive management styles thatencourage Generation Y participation(McCrindle Research 2006) andempowerment, responsibility andencouragement for Generation Yemployees to express their individualityand creativity (Sheahan 2005);

2. Mentoring – a combination of ‘telling’and ‘asking’ (Sheahan 2005);

3. Regular recognition and personalconnection (Sheahan 2005);

4. Fair compensation and diverse materialrewards (Sheahan 2005);

5. Opportunities for involvement and afeeling of being valued, a sense ofpurpose and meaning in their work andincreased ‘employability’ (Sheahan2005);

6. Training and career development(especially in ‘soft skills’) (McCrindleResearch 2006), competent managersand supervisors and new challenges andexperiences (Sheahan 2005); and

7. Varied job role and opportunity foradvancement (McCrindle Research2006).

This is evidence of an unfortunatecorrelation between the attributes relatingto employment that are of importance toGeneration Y employees and the workplacesatisfactoriness variables that resulted in‘shocks’ for students while on placement.

Implications for Employers ofGeneration Y in the HospitalityIndustry

Generation Y students’ perception thatworkplace realities fall significantly short oftheir ideal may be a bitter pill to swallow foremployers who also perceive that theseGeneration Y employees are not measuringup to their expectations. Indeed GenerationY employees are viewed as fickle, self-focused and transient (McCrindle Research2006), short-term focused, over-indulged,egotistical, impatient and unrealistic in theirexpectations as a consequence ofoverestimating their own skill levels(Sheahan 2005).

However, the Hospitality industry as awhole should heed the warning bellssounded by the findings of this and otherresearch, regardless of employers’perspectives of ‘who is in the wrong here’.

It is estimated that 120,000 new employeeswill be needed in the industry between nowand 2010 (Hanrahan 2006). Anotherestimate proposes that 31,000 new full-timeworkers will be needed from 2004–2011(Jobs Research Trust 2004) to meet thegrowing demand for tourism andhospitality workers.

Competition for skilled workers for theHospitality and Tourism industry representsa real challenge. The industry alreadystruggles to replace staff ‘churn’, which ishigh in the Hospitality sector (estimated atan average of 25% for the sector as a whole(Hanrahan 2006), and as high as 72% forpart-time staff in at least one publiclydocumented instance (Ham 2006).

Given the pressures that the industry willface to recruit staff in sufficient numbers tomeet demand in the next 5–10 years,current strategies for attracting and keepingskilled staff will not suffice. Supplying

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replacement for current industry churn isalready challenging enough. Added to thischallenge is the fact that New Zealand isexperiencing its lowest unemployment ratein 20 years (Career Services 2006), thathospitality is a low wage industry and is alsoan employer of a disproportionate numberof young people in an aging population(Canterbury Development Corporation2005; Hanrahan 2006).

New Zealand’s Tourism and HospitalityWorkforce Strategy is clear that ‘staffshortages, and the constant scramble toreplace staff, damages businesses’ ability todeliver quality’ (Tourism IndustryAssociation New Zealand 2006:7) and thatongoing skill shortages will both stymiepotential industry growth and the industry’sability to deliver the quality that the PureNew Zealand international tourism brandpromises to overseas tourists.

The recruitment problem, with itsattendant impact on quality provision, canonly be exacerbated by the tendency forhospitality graduates to veer away fromemployment in the very sector they havechosen to train for (Barron and Maxwell1993; Pavesic and Brymer 1992; West andJameson 1990).

Whether the industry likes it or not,effectively managing their Generation Yemployees, including the ‘captive audience’of hospitality students on industryplacement, is of critical importance. Givenindustry churn and the imminent exit fromthe workplace of the Baby Boomergeneration (McCrindle Research 2006), itwill not be long before the currentGeneration Y inductees are required tomanage a good proportion of New Zealand’shospitality and tourism product.

Recommendations for ManagingGeneration Y in Industry Placement

Writers like McCrindle (McCrindleResearch 2006) and Sheahan (2005)recommend numerous strategies foreffectively leading and managingGeneration Y, which will also add value tothe leadership and management of allemployees (Sheahan 2005).

In light of the findings from this survey ofreasonably committed frontline staff for theHospitality industry (employed across arange of around fifty hospitality enterprisesin 2004), and drawing on therecommendations of both Sheahan (2005)and McCrindle Research (2006), thefollowing four recommendations to addressthe shortcomings of the students’ initialhospitality employment experience areproposed:

1. People-oriented supervisors andmanagers need to be promoted and/ortrained in ‘soft skills’, which will allowthem to manage by mentoring,communicating, empowering, relating,respecting and encouragingparticipation. Sheahan (2005)recommends ‘pride-swallowing’ ifnecessary to achieve the desiredoutcome of providing the appropriatecontext for retaining and developingGeneration Y staff. The setting ofboundaries, accountabilities and the‘telling’ what to do will only be effectivein the context of the more subtle andsophisticated ‘soft management’approaches. The criticality of developingthese ‘soft skills’ has recently seen theseemerge much more explicitly inPIHMS’, and many other tertiaryproviders’, curricula.

2. Strategies and projects need to bedeveloped to allow for the harnessing ofGeneration Y’s desire to creativelycontribute to, and thus belong and findpurpose within, an organisation.Sheahan (2005) recommends notallowing ‘the great divide’ (the gapbetween Generation Y’s actual skill levelsand their self-perceived efficacy) tohinder employers from offering themopportunities for skill development viamanaged contributions to projects ofinterest to both the Generation Yemployee and the employer.

3. Opportunities for professionaldevelopment and credentialisationwhich enhances Generation Y’s futurecareer prospects. This should includepromotional opportunities, exposure totask variety, new challenges, personnel


The New Generation

and other stimuli which they willpositively associate with their employer’sbrand.

4. Attention to the reward package thatwill allow employees to perceive value inthe employment relationship. A ‘widerlens’ may be of value here to focus onlong-term benefits that could ensuewhen making remuneration andworking conditions more competitivewith those of other industry sectors.

While the entirety of this ‘offer’ willcertainly not all be deliverable on ‘day one’,the possibilities, and evidence that thefuture realistically includes thesepossibilities, must be present. Firstimpressions count for Generation Y, as doesthe communication of corporate brandvalues (Sheahan 2005) and inductionactivities must be carefully considered inlight of this.

Conclusion

This research into students’ experience ofpaid industry placement in the Hospitalityindustry indicates that a number ofattributes of employment that are ‘musthaves’ for Generation Y are currently notpresent in the context of their industryplacement experience.

Recommendations for more effectivelymanaging Generation Y for performanceand retention within the industry are madeto have a greater focus on ‘softmanagement’ skills to actively harness thedesire of Generation Y to have creativeinputs into a business, to enhance thevariety and opportunity of developmentopportunities afforded to Generation Yemployees and to make the rewardspackage offered to Generation Y employeesmore competitive. If implementedeffectively, one would hope that the shocksexperienced by students on industryplacement might be reduced.

While industry placement may be seen as afinite and temporary employmentrelationship, the opportunity to theindustry represented by these Generation Yhospitality students (and future managers)cannot afford to be squandered.

‘Concessions’ made now on the side of theemployer may well hold the key toensuring that students’ and employees’expectations (i.e. ideals) of employment inthe industry are met and that the qualityand growth of the industry is thus moreassured.

References

Barron, P. & Maxwell, G. 1993, ‘HospitalityManagement Students’ Image of theHospitality Industry’, International Journalof Contemporary Hospitality Management,vol. 5, no. 5, pp. v–viii.

Canterbury Development Corporation2005, Canterbury Sector Skills AnalysisSeptember 2005, Christchurch, New Zealand.Retrieved 4 September 2006 from http://www.cdc.org.nz/content/library/CDC_SSA_Hospitality_Sep05.pdf

Career Services 2006, Labour MarketSituation – February 2006. Retrieved 4September 2006 fromwww.careers.govt.nz/

Casado, M.A. 1992, ‘Student Expectationsof Hospitality Jobs’, Cornell HRA Quarterly,vol. 33, no. 4, pp. 80–82.

Dawis, R. V. & Lofquist, L. H. 1984, APsychological Theory of Work Adjustment,University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis,USA.

Feldman, D. C. 1976, ‘A ContingencyTheory of Socialization’, AdministrativeScience Quarterly, vol. 21, pp. 433–452.

Garavan, T.N. & Morley, M. 1997, ‘TheSocialization of High-Potential Graduatesinto the Organization’, Journal ofManagerial Psychology, vol. 12, no. 1/2.Retrieved 7 July 2004 from http://80-eblinks1.epnet.com.ezproxy.massey.ac.nz/citation.asp

Garavan, T.N. & Murphy, C. 2001, ‘TheCooperative Education Process andOrganisational Socialisation: A QualitativeStudy of Student Perceptions of itsEffectiveness’, Education + Training, vol. 43,no. 6, pp. 281–302.

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Girard, T.C. 1999, ‘Interns’ Perceptions ofInternships: A Look at Work, Supervisionand Appraisals’, Journal of CooperativeEducation, vol. 34, no. 3, p. 42.

Ham, G. 2006, ‘Partnerships in Action’,paper presented at HSI National HospitalityTraining Conference 14 July 2006. Retrieved6 September 2006 from http://ssl.ebits.co.nz/hsi

Hanrahan, S. 2006, ‘Addressing the Future:Developing the National TourismWorkforce Skills Strategy’, paper presentedat HSI National Hospitality TrainingConference 14 July 2006. Retrieved 6September 2006 from http://ssl.ebits.co.nz/hsi

Jobs Research Trust 2004, The Jobs Letter, 12November, no. 218. Retrieved 7 December2004 from http://www.jobsletter.org.nz/pdf/jbl218.pdf

Kawana-Brown, E. 2006. ‘Internships: YouCan’t Always Get What You Expect!’Refereed Conference Proceedings from 9thAnnual New Zealand Association forCooperative Education, 27–28 April 2006.Forthcoming at http://nzace.sci.waikato.ac.nz/past_conf_proc.htm

McCrindle Research 2006, New Generationsat Work: Attracting, Recruiting, Retaining &Training Generation Y. Retrieved 1 August,2006 from http://www.mccrindle.com.au/wp_pdf/NewGenerationsAtWork.pdf

Pavesic, D.V. & Brymer, R.A. 1992, ‘JobSatisfaction: What’s Happening to theYoung Manager?’, Cornell HRA Quarterly,vol. 30, no. 4, pp. 90–96.

Sheahan, P. 2005, Generation Y: Thriving andSurviving with Generation Y at Work, HardieGrant Books, Melbourne, Victoria.

Tourism Industry Association New Zealand,2006, Tourism & Hospitality WorkforceStrategy, Wellington, NZ.

Tourism Research Council of New Zealand2004, New Zealand Tourism Forecasts 2004–2010. Retrieved 7 December 2004, fromhttp://www.trcnz.govt.nz/

Waryszak, R.Z. 2000, ‘Before, During, andAfter: International Perspective of Students’Perceptions of Their Cooperative EducationPlacements in the Tourism Industry.’Journal of Cooperative Education, vol. 35, no.2–3, pp. 84–93.

West, A.J. & Jameson, S.M. 1990,‘Supervised Work Experience in GraduateEmployment’, International Journal ofContemporary Hospitality Management, vol.2, pp. 29–32.

Eve Kawana-Brown Eve Kawana-Brown is Vice Principal Curriculum and Quality at thePacific International Hotel Management School, New Zealand. With avaried background in adult and vocational education, Eve’s researchinterest is in cooperative education – and she is currently working onlongitudinal research regarding the industry placement experiences ofhospitality students and how these impact their careers within theindustry.

57

The New Generation

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY: WILL GEN Y DESTROYCIVILIZATION AS WE KNOW IT?Mark Woodbridge and Guy Bentley

Abstract We all hope that the world of the future will be better than the world ofthe present or the past. But with Generation Y running the world of thefuture, will we be able to recognise that world? Our version ofcivilization could be so profoundly changed as to effectively render itdestroyed. Intellectual property has been a cornerstone of the growthof wealth in the west since the 15th Century and will play a criticallyimportant role in the future. Generation Y seems transfixed by digitaltechnology, the Internet and the World Wide Web, without anyconsideration of the accuracy and efficacy of the information that theyobtain and with no respect for the ownership of intellectual property orcopyright. However, the apparent rejection by Gen Y of the concept ofintellectual property rights as irrelevant may diminish the ability of thecivilization of the future to generate wealth and prosperity. Matchingthe prosperity of the recent past may be very difficult. But who are weto judge? Society should stop worrying about issues that are irrelevantfor Gen Y now, let alone in the future, their future. There are moreprofound forces at work that should be focused on to ensure in theface of the destruction of civilisation as we know it, a new, better, moreresilient Gen Y civilisation will be created.

Keywords: intellectual property, copyright, wealth, growth, Generation Y

A civilisation that is prosperous andrelatively peaceful is all that Generation Yhas known. While they may not set out todeliberately destroy civilisation as we knowit, they may well achieve this outcome if,through their actions or inactions, thecritical institutions of our civilisation arediminished, rendered obsolete, discarded ordestroyed. One of these critical institutionsis intellectual property (IP).

Wealth and Property Rights

The world was not always as wealthy as it istoday – not by a considerable margin. Thewestern world grew wealthy as a result ofthe application of property rights, scientificrationalism, capital markets and fast andefficient transportation (Bernstein 2004:15–16). These four factors coalesced in Britainaround 1820 and then ‘spread’ to the USAand the rest of what we now call thedeveloped world. All of these factors are

important and the loss or diminution of justone of these institutions will severelyhandicap a nation. However, it is propertyrights which have come to the fore andwhich have caused considerable debate inthe digital information age.

Secure property rights include rights tophysical property, intellectual property andcivil rights. These rights are essentialpreconditions for a society to achieveeconomic growth, wealth accumulation anda general level of prosperity. Withoutrespect for intellectual property there is nofinancial incentive for creators of new andinnovative ideas, processes, software andentertainment content to spend time andeffort producing something new (Bernstein2004:16–17).

Professor Milton Friedman, recipient of the1976 Nobel Prize for economics, once said,

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‘You cannot have a free society withoutprivate property’ (cited in Bernstein2004:51). Dr Freidman was at the timeconcentrating more on physical propertythan IP. While his assertion was true forphysical property it is more relevant todaywith respect to IP. This is because IP hasmoved onto centre stage as we move intothe world of the future, the world that willbe dominated by Gen Y.

A Definition of IP

But what exactly is IP? According to theWorld Intellectual Property Organization(WIPO), (n.d online) a specialised agency ofthe United Nations that was founded in1967, IP refers to ‘creations of the mind:inventions, literary and artistic works, andsymbols, names, images and designs usedin commerce’.

The WIPO divides IP into two broadcategories:

Industrial property, which includesinventions (patents), trademarks, industrialdesigns and geographic indications ofsource; and

Copyright, which includes literary andartistic works such as novels, poems andplays, films, musical works, artistic workssuch as drawings, paintings, photographsand sculptures, and architectural designs.Rights related to copyright include those ofperforming artists in their performances,producers of phonograms in theirrecordings and those of broadcasters intheir radio and television programs. (WorldIntellectual Property Organization n.d.online)

WIPO has a laudable mission to develop,‘...a balanced and accessible internationalintellectual property system, which rewardscreativity, stimulates innovation andcontributes to economic development whilesafeguarding the public interest.’ (WorldIntellectual Property Organization n.d.online).

IP has a long history in the western world.Intellectual property was designed initiallyto protect the interests of the inventor orcreator in the form of a monopoly on the

use of their idea for a given period of time.By providing a financial incentive and asecure financial reward, the inventor orcreator society was, and continues to be, theultimate beneficiary. New ideas createwealth for the creator of these ideas butthey also create wealth for the rest ofsociety. But only if IP is respected andhonoured (Bernstein 2004:82).

IP in Ancient China

The role and value of IP in the west canperhaps best be appreciated by examiningwhat took placed in Imperial China, wherethe Emperor, as a matter of course, wouldconfiscate inventions without compensationor worse! This was the situation with theinvention in China of printing, paper andthe bill of sale (Bernstein 2004:82). Thebehaviour of an Imperial Chinese Emperorin ignoring or abusing IP, translated directlyinto lower rates of invention generation,lower rates of innovation and lower rates ofeconomic growth in China for hundreds ofyears.

Patents: The Origins of IP

Patents were the first instance of IP in thewestern world. Renaissance Florence issuedthe first patent in 1421, to FilippoBrunelleschi for the design of a large boat tocarry marble. In Elizabethan England, theQueen used ‘Letters Patent’ to serve herown ends by awarding her cronies withvaluable monopolies, to the financialdetriment of her people in general. Thiscaused Parliament great consternation untilthey demanded this form of Royalprerogative be stopped. In the United Statesof America, the first Patent Act of Congresswas signed into law by President GeorgeWashington on 10 April 1790 (Bernstein2004:86).

Patent law has an inherent paradoxicaldimension to it that has been central to thebeneficial operation of IP since the 15thCentury and is likely to continue to be ofcentral importance. If a patent creates toomuch protection for the owner of thepatent and, in effect, limits the circulationand use of IP, then competition and

Intellectual Property 59

The New Generation

commerce will be stifled. Conversely, if theprotection afforded by the patent is toolimited, the incentive to create and produceis stifled or removed.

In recent years, the classical approach to IPhas been found to be relatively simplisticand an inadequate explanation of thepatterns of economic growth and increasesin prosperity that have been observed indeveloped and newly developed countries.Why, for example, have many economiesshown increasing returns to scale and notdecreasing returns as would be expected iftraditional economics were applied? Whatmysterious new ‘invisible hand’ has been atwork?

Intellectual property is the outcome of aseries of social choices. It is the balancebetween providing adequate incentives togenerate new ideas while simultaneouslyproviding incentives for the efficientdistribution and use of existing knowledge(Warsh 2006:xvii).

The Global Knowledge Economy

The world is now an increasingly integratedglobal knowledge economy. Evenorganisations that are ostensibly engaged inmanufacturing are knowledge-based. Overthe past 15 years, economists have realisedthat the 200-year-old classical paradigm of‘land, labour and capital’ has to beredefined. Adam Smith’s famous 1776treatise, The Wealth of Nations, wasappropriate and revolutionary for his time.But the world has most definitely changed.In the 18th Century there were no highspeed communication or transportationsystems. And no World Wide Web. It is nowrecognised by leading economists that thereis a separate and fundamentally different‘economics of knowledge’ that differs incrucial respects from the traditional aspectsof people (with their skills and strengths)and things (capital and natural resources)(Warsh 2006:xxii).

So what is different about ‘knowledge’? Theknowledge economy represents a

fundamental shift from the economics ofscarcity to the economics of abundance.This is achievable because knowledge is atype of good that is ‘non-rival’ and ‘partiallyexcludable’. That means that knowledgecan be ‘consumed’ by more than oneperson at a time. This is due mainly to thefact that knowledge, especially knowledgein a digital form, can be copied endlessly atvirtually no cost. While we may want topartially exclude some people from using agiven piece of knowledge at a given time, itsnon-rival nature and effective zero cost ofcopying will ensure that, eventually, theknowledge in question will be free tocirculate. This is where things really getinteresting. This is because the value of anidea increases the more it is copied andused. Its value is also amplified by the sizeof the market it is used in to transform‘rival’ or material goods. The larger themarket and the more copies of the idea thebetter. Ideas are the drivers and economicprosperity the outcome. The ultimateoutcome is economic growth, probably at ahigher level than may have been achievedotherwise.

Information: Free and Expensive

Information ‘wants to be free’ (Warsh2006:297). But information and knowledge,especially the ‘original’ of a new piece ofknowledge, can be extremely costly toproduce. Once created, if it is in digitalform, it can be copied, transmitted, postedon a web site and be accessible to hundredsof millions of potential users in anexceedingly short time. That is afundamental, indeed a seismic shift, in theway the world works. This scenario hasonly been possible for less than 20 years.

While all this has been happening,Generation Y has been growing up. Andgetting educated. And realising that there isnow one truly global market that offers anddemands that they play new roles to newrules. On the way to their fantastic futurethey have demonstrated an attitude to IP,plagiarism and digital piracy that rangesfrom ignorance to disdain.

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Generation Y and IP

Generation Y is not convinced and notconcerned that IP should or has to beprotected. After all, if cutting and pastingand using the web is so easy, why wouldyou have to worry about pesky rules set byolder generations who are out of touch?

Most Generation Ys have extensiveexperience using the World Wide Web.Indeed, most have never used a ‘real world’source for research for their school oruniversity assignments. Most have ‘...littlebasic knowledge of how information isproduced, organized and disseminated’(Holliday and Li: 2004:356). Gen Ycompares all of their information searchesto how Google operates. Generation Y isseemingly not interested in the inherentlimitations of any particular searchresource. Most Gen Y students in a USstudy of information behaviour by Hollidayand Li (2004) displayed what can best bedescribed as a ‘chaotic’ approach toinformation searches, using the mostfamiliar resources, which in most cases wasthe Web. These students focused theirinformation search on speed andconvenience; what we might call the ‘quickand dirty’ approach. They showed littleevidence of a coherent search strategy.

‘Search’ is probably today’s most criticallearning skill that our students need tomaster. They use a Web search engine,typically Google.com or Yahoo.com, as theirpreferred information source. However, it isoften the ineffective searching strategies andinappropriate selection of keywords andmultiple terms that produces pooroutcomes. Typically a single term is usedand the first reference that comes to hand isselected. In the case of Google, the first sitereturned to a student will be the most‘popular’ site, not necessarily the site thatwill be the most relevant or useful for thestudent’s assignment. And in general, asusers of search engines such as Google,‘...we are extraordinarily good atincoherence, making the task of procuringuseful search results a Herculean task’(Battelle 2005:23).

Gen Y students are a pragmatic group.Their behaviour has been described as‘When we need we take. When we own weprotect. Checking takes time, may cost,why bother?’ (Hannabuss 1998:186). Gen Yseems to consider that the ends of gettingan assignment done as quickly as possibleare justified by the means of a quick websearch and a cut and paste from Wikipediaor another web site. The only problem isthat, strictly speaking, such behaviour ‘may’infringe copyright. In this case, the contextof the use of web IP is a key issue. Theyseem to like the ‘Wild West’ view ofcopyright that assumes that theenforcement of IP terms and conditions ofuse are in effect ‘unpoliceable’ and so not anissue for them to be concerned about. Doesthat mean IP on the Web is ‘open source’,that is anyone’s for the taking? In a strictlegal sense, no it’s not. But there are manyexceptions and many, many ‘shades ofgrey’. And that just makes Gen Y moreconfused (Hannabuss 1998:189).

World Intellectual PropertyOrganization

Copyright, patents and intellectual propertyare comprehensively covered by lawaround the world. There are 183 currentMember States in the World IntellectualProperty Organization, all of which are veryintent on protecting their citizens’intellectual property rights. Copyright hasbeen the main means of protectingintellectual property for hundreds of years.But clearly copyright and IP in general istoday facing a crisis of enforcement and ofrelevance.

Generation Y are intelligent, ambitious,articulate and uninhibited. They have apersistent and at times annoying habit ofasking ‘Why?’ (Kehrli and Sopp 2006:114).And they are asking why with respect tointellectual property law, simply because tothem the various IP laws do not makesense. Even the WIPO has admitted that‘..there are systematic errors incontemporary intellectual property policy’(Boyle 2004:1).


The New Generation

Intellectual property rights are not intendedto be ends in and of themselves. However,even a brief review of the literature (Joint2006; Seadle 2004; Drahos 2004; Johnsonand Groneman, 2003 and Meisel andSullivan 2002) suggests that for many of thestakeholders in this area, enforcement ofcopyright to protect income streams is theirprime concern, with related literacyprograms and, of course, sanctions alsobeing important.

Copyright

Copyright is not all encompassing. It doesnot require official registration to be ineffect. It does not protect an idea itself butrather the ‘representations’ of the idea.Copyright of the idea allows the originatorto do or not to do with the idea as theyplease, for a given period of time. Copyrightdoes not cover any ‘facts’ that may bediscovered by say a research scientist. Thisis because such facts are not the result of anoriginal creative undertaking. Such facts arein the public domain (Urs 2004:202).

Copyright is a ‘bundle’ of rights coveringrights for:

reproduction;

modification and adaptation of anoriginal idea to create derivative works;

distribution;

public performance; and

public display (Urs 2004:202–203).

Where Gen Y gets yet more confused andfrustrated is that copyright is by no meansabsolute. There are exceptions for archivingand copying in libraries, ‘fair use’ provisionswhich relate to ‘reasonable’ not-for-profituse and the ‘first sale’ doctrine which allowsthe originator to sell their rights (Urs2004:203).

This state of confusion has beenexacerbated by the introduction of digitalinformation technology and the Web,which have overturned the fine balance andthe boundaries between the interests of

society and ‘creators’ that existed forapproximately 300 years (Urs 2004:204).This ‘cultural ecology’ is threatened by thespeed and ease of copying and transferringdigital content at no cost.

One could easily conclude that manystakeholders in the unfolding challenge ofestablished IP law by ubiquitous digitalcontent, would like to turn the clock backto an era in which the role and function ofIP was clear, reliable, enforceable andgenerally more straightforward. But there isno going back. The genie is very much outof the bottle.

The answer lies not in the past but in thenew and innovative ideas of the future thatcan be deployed and leveraged to drivefuture economic growth and prosperity.

It is Time for IP Law to be Reviewed

It is time that IP policy and law wasreviewed. And in areas that are not asobvious as the nagging issue of digitalpiracy. At least since the formation of theWIPO, intellectual property protection hasbeen designed to strike a balance betweenprotection and dissemination in the publicdomain. While digital piracy is a majorconcern, it may be more effectivelymanaged through the implementation ofnew technology.

What is more worrying from a broaderperspective of the future growth andprosperity of society and Gen Y’s world isthe trend towards an increase of the rightsof the IP originator. Indeed, contemporaryattitudes toward IP seem to be ‘...that thepublic domain should be eliminatedwherever possible’ (Boyle 2004:1). TheWIPO considers that IP policy is currentlyunder the influence of a ‘maximalist rightsculture’ (Boyle 2004:1). This increasingimportance of the rights of the IP creatorcan inadvertently affect the pool of newideas in the public domain. This is clearlynot the best way to generate prosperity in aknowledge economy wherein ideas must be‘free’ to circulate if they are to positivelyaffect growth. Ideas that are unreasonablywithheld from the market, especially in the

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case of ideas that can produce a significantpositive increase in the welfare of the poorin developing countries, are not in anyone’sbest interests.

Gen Y Knowledge Workers

We also have to recalibrate our thinking onyet another front. Barring calamitousplanet-wide climate change, it is most likelythat the typical Gen Y knowledge workerswho enter the workforce in their twentieswill still be in good physical and mentalhealth 50 years after starting work. In thecase of Orion students, this means that theywill still be working in 2057. During theintervening fifty years, Gen Y knowledgeworkers will need and demand frequentand ongoing education in a ‘lifetimelearning’ setting (Drucker 2002:24). If wethink about that span of time against thebackground of the liberation of intellectualproperty, further and probably fantasticdevelopments in digital technology and theimpact and opportunities of the WorldWide Web, there is little doubt that Gen Ywill indeed destroy civilisation, ourcivilisation, as we now know it.

Fifty years is a huge span of time in today’sworld. It is certainly enough time for newinstitutions, new theories, new ideologiesand new technologies to be developed anddeployed that will simultaneously solve,and create, new problems. In this period oftime, we can reasonably expect thatlearning styles and technologies will changeand hopefully get better.

Barring global conflagration, computers willbe with us for the foreseeable future. And if‘Moore’s Law’ continues to operate as it hassince 1965, doubling the speed and powerof processors every 18 months, the powerof the PC of the future will be immense,perhaps even beyond what we cancurrently imagine.

Gen Y Learning Styles for a NewCivilisation

We will probably look back and wonderwhy it took society such a long time torecognise what today’s young children andGen Ys already know. That is, at presentthere is a huge gap between the way theyoung learn and the way we teach. This gapbetween learning and teaching is based onthe use of older ‘established’ methods ofteaching encountering the leading edgelearning style of Gen Y, which tends to bemore based on the present and theirperceptions of the future. An equivalent gaphas developed once before. It was in the16th Century university, about 100 yearsafter the invention of the printing press andmovable type (Drucker 2002:11). We don’thave the time to spare that they did in the16th Century. Things change too fast andtoo profoundly. The current gap must beclosed if Gen Y is to be equipped with theskills and knowledge that they will need tobuild a new civilisation.

The next 50 years will not be all smoothsailing. There will be intergenerationalfriction. The Baby Boomers and theirfinancial entitlements will not go quietly; farfrom it. But perhaps, just perhaps, the hugepotential growth from effective leveragingof ‘people, ideas and things’ will createfuture wealth of such a scale that there willbe enough to support the older generations,as well as funding the new opportunities forGen Y.

We are headed for some tense andcomplicated times that, as a society, we havenot experienced before. Knowing how towrite an essay and how to strictly apply anoutmoded vision of IP will not be relevant.But, somehow, we cannot help thinkingthat knowing how to navigate the Web andmake a PowerPoint presentation will be.

References

Al-Rafee, S. & Cronan, T. 2006, ‘DigitalPiracy: Factors That Influence AttitudeToward Behavior’, Journal of Business Ethics,vol. 63, pp. 237–259.


The New Generation

Bailey, R. 2001, ‘Post-scarcity Prophet’Reason Online. Retrieved 30 August 2006from http://www.reason.com/0112/fe.rb.post.shtml

Battelle, J. 2005, The Search, Penguin Group,New York.

Benkler, Y. 2002, ‘Intellectual Property andthe Organization of InformationProduction’, International Review of Law andEconomics, vol. 22, pp. 81–107.

Bernstein, W. 2004, The Birth of Plenty,McGraw-Hill, New York.

Bollen, L. Vergauwen, P. & Schnieders, S.2005, ‘Linking Intellectual Capital andIntellectual Property to CompanyPerformance’, Management Decision, vol. 43,no. 9, pp. 1161–1185.

Boucher, R. 2001, ‘The Future of IntellectualProperty in the Information Age’, FifthAnnual Cato Institute/Forbes ASAPTechnology & Society Conference, November14, The Cato Institute, Washington.

Boyle, J. 2004, ‘A Manifesto on WIPO andthe Future of Intellectual Property’, DukeLaw & Technology Review, no. 9, pp. 1–12.

Brown, B. 2005, ‘An Investigation ofAcademic Dishonesty Among BusinessStudents at Public and Private UnitedStates Universities’, International Journal ofManagement, vol. 22, no. 2, pp. 201–214.

Caslon Analytics, 2004, ‘IntellectualProperty Guide’. Retrieved 30 August 2006from http://www.caslon.com.au

‘Copyright Infringement’ 2006, Wikipedia.Retrieved 29 August 2006 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page

Drahos, P. 2004, ‘Securing the Future ofIntellectual Property: Intellectual PropertyOwners and Their Nodally CoordinatedEnforcement Pyramid’, Western ReserveJournal of International Law, vol. 36, pp. 53–77.

Drucker, P. 2002, Managing the Next Society,Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford UK.

Foster R. & Kaplan, S. 2001, CreativeDestruction, Currency and Doubleday, NewYork.

Hannabuss, S. 1998, ‘Issues of IntellectualProperty’, New Library World, vol. 99, no.1143, pp. 185–190.

Holliday, W. & Li, Q. 2004, ‘Understandingthe Millennials: Updating Our KnowledgeAbout Students’, Reference Services Review,vol. 32, no. 4, pp. 356–366.

Johnson, K. & Groneman, N. 2003, ‘Legaland Illegal Use of the Internet: Implicationsfor Educators’, Journal of Education forBusiness, January/February, pp. 147–152.

Joint, N. 2006, ‘Teaching IntellectualProperty Rights as Part of the InformationLiteracy Syllabus’, Library Review, vol. 55,no. 6, pp. 330–326.

Kehrli, S. & Sopp, T. 2006, ‘ManagingGeneration Y: Stop Resisting and StartEmbracing the Challenges Generation YBrings to the Workplace’, HR Magazine,May, pp. 113–119.

Khare, R. & Reagle, J. n.d., ‘Panel 3: RightsManagement, Copy Detection, and AccessControl’, Compiler Press. Retrieved 29August 2006 from http://www.compilerpress.atfreeweb.com/us_aii.htm

Marsden, C. 2005, ‘Free, Open or Closed –Approaches to the Information Ecology’,info, vol. 7, no. 5, pp. 6–19.

Meisel, J. & Sullivan, T. 2002, ‘The Impactof the Internet on the Law and Economicsof the Music Industry’, info, vol. 4, no. 2,pp. 16–22.

Microsoft Corporation 2006, ‘SoftwarePiracy Protection’. Retrieved 29 August2006 from http://www.microsoft.com/piracy/how.mspx

Moglen, E. 1999, ‘Anarchism Triumphant:Free Software and the Death of Copyright’,First Monday. Retrieved 29 August 2006from http://firstmonday.org/issues/issue4_8/moglen/index.html

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Recording Industry Association of America,2003, ‘Copyright, Copyright Laws’.Retrieved 29 August 2006 from http://www.riaa.com/issues/copyright/laws.asp

Romer, P. 1990, ‘Endogenous TechnologicalChange’, Journal of Political Economy, vol.98, no. 5, part 2, pp. S71–S102.

Romer, P. 2000, ‘Time: It Really Is Money’,CMP Media. Retrieved 29 August 2006 fromhttp://www.informationweek.com/803/romer.htm

Romer, P. 2001, ‘Why, Indeed, in America?Theory, History, and the Origins of ModernEconomic Growth’, AEA Papers andProceedings, vol. 86, no. 2, pp. 202–206.

Romer, P. 2002a, ‘When Should We UseIntellectual Property Rights?’, AEA Papersand Proceedings, vol. 92, no. 2, pp. 213–216.

Romer, P. 2002b, ‘Economic Growth’ TheLibrary of Economics and Liberty. Retrieved30 August 2006 from http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/EconomicGrowth.html

Seadle, M. 2004, ‘Copyright in theNetworked World: Technology andConsumer Rights in Copyright’, OCLCSystems & Services: International DigitalLibrary Perspectives, vol. 20, no. 3, pp. 110–114.

Seamans, N. 2002, ‘Student Perceptions ofInformation Literacy: Insights forLibrarians’, Reference Services Review, vol.30, no. 2, pp. 112–123.

Smith, M. & Hansen, F. 2002, ‘ManagingIntellectual Property: A Strategic Point ofView’, Journal of Intellectual Capital, vol. 3,no. 4, pp. 366–374.

Tan, B. 2002, ‘Understanding ConsumerEthical Decision Making with Respect toPurchase of Pirated Software’, Journal ofConsumer Marketing, vol. 19, no. 2, pp. 96–111.

‘The Growth of Growth Theory’ n.d., TheEconomist. Retrieved 30 August 2006 fromhttp://www.economist.com

Urs, S. 2004, ‘Copyright, AcademicResearch and Libraries: Balancing theRights of the Stakeholders in the DigitalAge’, Program: Electronic Library andInformation Systems, vol. 38, no. 3, pp. 21–207.

Walker, J. 1996, ‘Cyber-Property:Copyright, Citation, and the World WideWeb’, Department of English University ofSouth Florida. Retrieved 29 August 2006from http://www.cas.usf.edu/english/walker/papers/cyberprop.html

Walsh, G. Mitchell, V. Frenzel, T. &Wiedmann, K. 2003, ‘Internet-inducedChanges in Consumer Music ProcurementBehavior: a German Perspective’, MarketingIntelligence & Planning, vol. 21, no. 5, pp.305–317.

Warsh, D. 2006, Knowledge and the Wealthof Nations, W. W. Norton & Company, NewYork.

‘Wikipedia: Copyrights’, 2006, Wikipedia.Retrieved 29 August 2006 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page

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Guy Bentley Guy Bentley is Principal of the Blue Mountains Hotel School, Australiawith senior educational management experience in a number of keyappointments and research interest in the areas of quality assuranceand educational benchmarking.

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Student Viewpoints

GEN Y WORKING SMARTER THROUGH KNOWLEDGELEVERAGE: USING INTEGRATED CHANGE INTRAVEL AND TOURISMRosemary Higgerson

Abstract The concept ‘Knowledge is power’ (Sir Francis Bacon, 1597) is not new,but it does bear large significance for Generation Y. The profile of thisupcoming generation includes the greatest level of formal education todate, and ‘tech savvy’ capabilities, exemplified in a fondness for phonesthat can do much more than the humble call. Yet the most interestingapplication of these attributes will be how they apply these skills andthinking patterns to management styles. Working ‘smarter’ requiresconsidering elements in an organisation that will be subsequent to aripple effect from business decisions and coordinating change throughintegrated management styles. A case study of Qantas Airlinesdemonstrates coordinated knowledge leverage in recent changeprograms.

Keywords: knowledge leverage, integration, change management, Generation Y

Introduction‘The intensification of technology into dailylife and the growth of embedded knowledgehas seen the capacity to make andimplement choice fundamentally affected.’(Jorgensen 2003:47)

In the perfect cliche example of mygeneration, a ‘Google search’ will tell youthat there are approximately 253,000 hitsfor the field search of ‘Generation y’ +management (Google 2006). Yet the contentof the material deals more with how tointegrate the ‘Gen Yer’ into the workplace.As important and as ‘now’ focused as it is toeffectively incorporate this new generationinto the employment field, perhaps the

question should not be ‘How do we manageGen Y?’ (Eisner 2005; Martin 2005; Shinnn.d) but rather ‘How will Gen Y manage?’How will the common trends of: tech savvyskills, collaborative networking, consensusdriven decisions, ‘mosaic’ of interests,holistic approach to work/life and thehighest levels of formal education to date,(Cetron, De Micco and Davies 2006;Jorgensen 2003; McCrindle 2006a;McCrindle 2006b; Martin 2005) shape theway Gen Y make management decisions?For this report, we will follow the definitionof McCrindle’s (2006a) Generation Y, asbeing born 1980–1994, currently betweenthe ages of 12–26 and comprising

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approximately 20.5% of the population.Applying Jorgenson’s (2003:47)observations to the upcoming generation,this paper seeks to briefly look at how theywill use their skills, interests and, mostimportantly, their education to managebusinesses in the future. The main focus ofthis report is a case study on QantasAirlines, and the applied use of the‘Sociotechnical Diagram’ (Kast andRosenzweig, quoted in Brown & Harvey2006:43) to analyse the effect of three majorchange programs held within closeproximity. The case study and report seeksto illustrate possible techniques that Gen Ywill apply incorporating knowledgeleverage and a holistic approach tomanagement in the future.

Developing Trends into ManagementStyles

Common ground between serious Gen Yresearch and so called ‘pop literature’(Jorgensen 2003:47) reports agree on severalkey trends associated with the ‘dot-com’generation. However, it is more thanidentifying these elements that is required,as the full potential and value of these traitsis revealed in how they might be used tobenefit businesses from a managementperspective. The key trends addressedwithin this paper are: technologicalprowess, preference for less hierarchicalorganisational structure and the high levelsof education leading to knowledgemanagement.

In the Programme for International StudentAssessment 2003 Survey of Australiansecondary students (Organisation forEconomic Co-operation and Development2005:92), 97% of the sample had access to acomputer at home and 100% had computeraccess in schools. A further 90% classifiedthemselves as competent in internet skills(Australian Council for EducationalResearch 2006). Therefore, technologicaladeptness and familiarity can be considereda common trait amongst the ‘dot-com’generation. The ability to confidently andinstantly access data is paving the way forcommon databases, providing information

to make informed choices at all levels of theworking environment (Cetron, De Miccoand Davies 2006; Jorgensen 2003:47).

The flatter ‘flexible and organic’ businessstructure (McCrindle 2006a:17)compliments the environment of increasedknowledge and decision-making power ofall staff. Already an established trend(Cetron, De Micco and Davies 2006;Jorgensen 2003; McCrindle 2006a;McCrindle 2006b), this appeals to the ‘noboundaries’ work ethic (McCrindle2006a:18) and will appear to remain thepreferred business structure, resulting inbroader job descriptions becomingcommonplace. This trend is also in line withthe holistic approach to work and personallife. Incorporating the ‘mosaic of interests’and ongoing training (McCrindle 2006a;McCrindle 2006b) will develop managerswith a more diverse range of skills to fitthese broader job responsibilities.

Arguably, the trend with the most impact isthe degree of educational support forGeneration Y. 80% of teenagers hadcompleted secondary school or a CertificateII or higher in 2005 (Dusseldorp 2005 citedin Australian Clearing House for YouthStudies n.d.) and ‘High School retentionrates have doubled since the early 80s’(McCrindle 2006b:7) making thisgeneration known as the most formallyeducated generation to date (Cetron, DeMicco and Davies 2006; McCrindle2006b:7). Education promotes ‘thinkingoutside the box.’ ‘Knowledge is power’(according to Sir Francis Bacon, 1597) andGen Y will apply this power as a tooldenoted as ‘knowledge leverage’ to achievepertinent business acumen.

So how will these elements of tech savvy,flexi-flat business structures and knowledgemanagement bond to benefit managementin organisations of the future? Thesociotechnical diagram is one approachtowards a more ‘holistic’ managementperspective, as it demonstrates the ‘rippleeffect’ of incorporating new initiativesacross the entire organisational framework.The collaboration of each new initiative,

Gen Y Working Smarter 67

Student Viewpoints

accounting for the flow-on of decisionsthrough knowledge management, willmaximise the efficiency of change programsand hence economic benefits. The casestudy of Qantas blends in the flavours oftechnological progress and provides strongevidence for the effectiveness of a lesshierarchical structure, whilst examining theintegrated nature of three change programsin the ‘holistic management’ style.

The sociotechnical diagramAccording to Brown and Harvey (2006:43),an organisation can be viewed as fivesynchronised subsystems. None of thesesubsystems are isolated, as a change in oneaffects the others to some degree. This iswhere the ‘ripple effect’ comes into play.Management incorporating the ‘holisticapproach’ and greater levels of educationwill encourage ‘Gen Yers’ to considermaterial that does not appear to beimmediately connected. This methodologywill ultimately produce a more effective,coordinated and integrated approach tochange management, as opposed to thereactionary measures required afterimplementing an isolated focus change.

To demonstrate the potential benefits ofembracing this style of integrated change,

we will apply the ‘sociotechnical diagram’(Figure 1) concept to Qantas Airlines, as aprime example of a hospitality and tourismcompany that has successfully negotiatedseveral external pressures.

Case Study: Qantas and the Need forChange

According to the Chairman of Qantas, MsMargaret Jackson and CEO Mr GeoffDixon, the motivating factors behind theneed for change are the ‘...ever-increasing[levels of] competition, rapidly escalating oilprices and the heightened securityenvironment’ (Qantas Airways 2005b). Thegoals and values defined by the organisationinfluence changes in the other foursubsystems. According to Mr. Dixon, eachdivision of Qantas has ‘...aggressive targetsfor profit, return on assets, cost and growth’(Qantas Airways 2005a) and this value shiftwill initiate the ‘ripple effect’ into the othersubsystems.

To address these threats Qantas initiatedthree change management programs:

The introduction of new technologies inthe form of the Airbus 380 and theBoeing 787 to minimise fuel costs as a‘technical subsystem’ change (QantasAirways 2005a);

Figure 1: The sociotechnical diagram

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Flatter management structure withbroader responsibilities for flexibilityand rapid response to external threats asa ‘structural subsystem’ change (QantasAirways 2005b); and

Culture reform and added securityobjectives, with the aid of AmazingPeople and Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, as ameans manipulating the ‘psychosocialsubsystem’ (Qantas Airways 2006c).

Technical subsystem changesAs part of a ‘fleet renewal’ program Qantaspurchased 12 Airbus 380 aircraft inNovember 2000 (Qantas Airways, 2005a),and further developed the plan inDecember 2005, when they signed on toacquire 115 Boeing 787 carriers (QantasAirways 2005a). Margaret Jackson,Chairman, believes that ‘This fleet plan willgive us a modern fleet offering maximumflexibility, lower seat mile costs and greaterfuel efficiency’ (Qantas Airways 2005aonline).

The latest edition to the fleet, the B787, theresult of Boeing’s sonic cruiser research,uses new, light composite materials in 50%of the construction of the aircraft, requiring20% less fuel than other aeroplanes of thesame size (Boeing 2006). Qantas intends touse the aircraft for ‘medium-haulinternational, trans-Tasman and Australiandomestic routes’ (Qantas Airways 2005aonline) as the structure of the carrier makesit ideal for ‘point-to-point’ destinations(Qantas Airways 2006a).

To complement the medium haul service,the main focus of the Qantas fleet will bethe Airbus 380. The aircraft has two cabindecks, which will enable double theamount of seats available for the one craft.Increasing the amount of passengers onboard without increasing the number ofaircraft required will produce lesscongestion in the already overtaxed airports(Airbus 2006). The increased volume ofpassengers per craft will help Qantas toachieve its inflated profitability goals.

Structural subsystem changesThe program to reduce the number ofmanagement positions by 15 per cent in thelast few months has seen the restructure ofthe corporate hierarchy (Qantas Airways2005b). Now a ‘significantly smaller topteam with broader responsibilities’ mansthe helm, as the company starts slimmingdown to become more efficient (QantasAirways 2005b). The reasoning behind thetrim is the more project-based approach tobusiness that gives greater flexibility to themanagement team to pursue new proposalsand initiatives. So what are the benefits ofthis reorganisation? Increasedaccountability of divisions, as well as $1.27billion in ‘cost and efficiencyimprovements’ to date (Qantas Airways2006b) are apparently on the list. This is animpressive figure considering that theprogram was only initiated on 20 February2006. Increasing the reflexive nature of thebusiness saves costly delays in time andresources, which is inherent of a flatterorganisational management structure.

Psychosocial subsystem changesThe Engineering Technical Operations andMaintenance Services (ETOMS) of Qantasemploys approximately 6,000 people and isone of the largest industrial organisations inAustralia (Qantas Airways 2006c). TheETOMS’ departmental objective is to‘...continue to operate successfully in arapidly changing market, managing andproviding safe, compliant, high qualitycustomer services at competitive costs andturnaround times’ (Qantas Airways 2006conline).

In light of this objective, the engineeringtransformation program was designed in2001 in conjunction with Amazing People,Deloittes and Interaction Strategic andCultural Communications (Amazing People2005). The program incorporatescontinuous improvement focusing onprocesses, leadership and employees(Qantas Airways 2006c) to move towards a‘project versus program work’ structure(Amazing People 2005). In their clienttestimonial about Amazing People, Qantas


Student Viewpoints

commended the organisation on itswillingness to ‘tenaciously challenge for thegood of the business, often at risk of shortterm conflict’ (Amazing People 2005).

The integrated effect of thesociotechnical diagramAs the macro environment exerted pressureonto Qantas in the area of competition, thetechnical subsystem adapted by taking onnew forms of technology in the form of theB787 and the A380. This overlapped withthe goals and values subsystem to reducefuel costs and increase profits throughgreater passenger numbers. It alsooverlapped the structural subsystem, whichadjusted by incorporating a flattermanagement approach, to interface moredirectly with the company’s assets. Theflatter hierarchy enables the company to bemore responsive and flexible in theirbusiness decisions but it also requires thepsychosocial subsystem to support anadaptable culture. To that extent Qantasunderwent outside assistance to change theculture of ETOMS to make it moreaccepting of change and to keep itscompetitive edge. This change managementprogram and indoctrination also hadfinancial benefits in keeping with the goalsand values subsystem of increasingproductivity, and lowering costs throughdecreased response times. The managerialsubsystem overlaps all of these subsystemsbecause it is the means by which thecompany facilitates changes and exchangesinformation.

Conclusion

Staying abreast of the competition hasmeant some major developments in mostkey areas of the company, from newtechnology integrations (Qantas Airways2006a) to flatter management (QantasAirways 2006b) and leadership programs(Qantas Airways 2006c). The financialbenefits of the current change programswill take some time to become apparent asthe A380 and the B787 are some years frombeing physically integrated and have largeoutlay costs, and the benefits of themanagement restructure and the ETOMS

leadership programs provide little directquantitative results (Amazing People 2005).The investments into training, culturechanges and leadership skills will ultimatelyprove most beneficial to Qantas, for if theycannot accept change, develop themselvesand adapt to current external pressuresthen no amount of advanced technologywill be able to save the company frombacksliding.

The effectiveness of an integrated changemanagement program is highlighted by theongoing success of Qantas Airlines as awhole. These results can be applied to theHospitality and Tourism industry and eventhe general community at large. Aspreviously stated in ‘Developing trends intomanagement styles’, this broadmindedapproach to management decisions is aproduct of education and learning, anelement that Generation Y have been moreprivy to than previous generations (Cetron,De Micco and Davies 2006; McCrindle2006b:7). One would therefore concludethat we will see the increase of managementdecisions applying theories such as the‘sociotechnical diagram’ (Brown & Harvey2006:43) to gain a more ‘holistic’ androunded effect.

Unfortunately, there is a lack of statisticalinformation available to substantiate manyof the ‘assumed traits’ of Gen Y, which haseven prompted conflicting conjecture onpoints such as the Gen Y work ethic(Cetron, De Micco and Davies 2006:208;Jorgensen 2003:43; McCrindle 2006a:6).More quantitative and qualitative researchshould be undertaken to ensure increasedaccuracy in predicting further theanticipated benefits of the Gen Y trends formanagement.

In closing, my personal recommendationsto prepare for the Generation Ymanagement wave are to provide largeinvestment into training/further educationand expansion of management courses,which will produce the most effectivemanagers who will use their ‘knowledgeleverage’ to best advantage for the future ofbusiness.

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ReferencesAirbus 2006, ‘A380 – First Flight’. Retrieved30 April 2006 from http://events.airbus.com/A380/seeing/indexminisite.aspx

Amazing People 2005, Corporate Website.Retrieved 24 April 2006 from http://www.amazingpeople.com.au

Australian Clearing House for YouthStudies, n.d. (updated Friday 11 August2006), ‘Australian Youth Facts and Stats:Australian Youth Profile’. Retrieved 11August 2006 from http://www.youthfacts.com.au/

Australian Council for Educational Research2006, ‘Media Release: Australian StudentsAmong the Highest Users of Computers atSchool and in the Home’, AustralianCouncil for Educational Research. Retrieved10 August 2006 from http://www.acer.edu.au/news/documents/PISA_ICT_240106.pdf

Boeing 2006, Corporate Website. Retrieved30 April 2006 from http://www.boeing.com

Brown, D. & Harvey, D. 2006, AnExperimental Approach to OrganizationalDevelopment, 7th ed, Pearson Education,Upper Saddle River, New Jersey.

Cetron, M. De Micco, F. & Davies, O. 2006,Hospitality 2010: The Future of Hospitalityand Travel, Pearson Prentice Hall, UpperSaddle River, New Jersey.

Eisner, S. 2005, ‘Managing Generation Y’,SAM Advanced Management Journal,Autumn, vol. 70, no. 4, p. 4.

Google 2006, ‘“generation y” +management’. Retrieved 1 August 2006from www.google.com.au

Jorgensen, B. 2003, ‘Baby Boomers,Generation X and Generation Y? PolicyImplications for Defence Forces in theModern Era’, Foresight, vol. 5, no. 4, pp. 41–49. Retrieved 26 June 2006 from EmeraldDatabase.

Martin, C. 2005, ‘From High Maintenanceto High Productivity: What Managers NeedTo Know About Generation Y’, Industrialand Commercial Training, vol. 37, no.1,pp.39–55. Retrieved 24 June 2006 fromEmerald Database.

McCrindle, M. 2006a, Managing GenerationY: Attracting, Recruiting, Retraining &Training Generation Y. Retrieved 1 August2006 from http://www.mccrindle.com.au/wp_pdf/NewGenerationsAtWork.pdf

McCrindle, M. 2006b, Bridging the Gap:Generational Diversity at Work. Retrieved 1August 2006 from http://www.mccrindle.com.au/wp_pdf/BridgingTheGap.pdf

Organisation for Economic Co-operationand Development 2005, ‘Are StudentsReady for a Technology-Rich World?’,Programme for International StudentAssessment. Retrieved 10 August 2006 fromhttp://www.pisa.oecd.org/dataoecd/28/4/35995145.pdf

Qantas Airways 2005a, Corporate Website.Retrieved 24 April 2006 from http://www.qantas.com.au

Qantas Airways 2005b, ‘Media Release:Highlights – Qantas Results for the yearended 30 June 2005’. Retrieved 18 April2006 from http://www.qantas.com.au/infodetail/about/investors/MediaRelease2005.pdf

Qantas Airways 2006a, ‘Media Release:Qantas Board Chooses Boeing’. Retrieved 18April 2006 from http://www.jetstar.com/pdf/news/20051214.pdf

Qantas Airways 2006b, ‘Media Release:Qantas Group Executive Changes’.Retrieved 18 April 2006 from http://www.qantas.com.au/regions/dyn/au/publicaffairs/details?ArticleID=2006/feb06/Q3392


Student Viewpoints

Qantas Airways 2006c, ‘Fact Files’.Retrieved 18 April 2006 from http://www.qantas.com.au/infodetail/about/FactFiles.pdf

Shinn, K. n.d, ‘4 generations of workershave much to offer bosses’, The CurtissGroup. Retrieved 6 April 2006 from http://www.thecurtissgroup.com

Rosemary Higgerson Rosemary Higgerson is currently completing a Bachelor of Commercein Hospitality Management at the Blue Mountains Hotel School. Herprevious studies have been in specialist mathematics, physics andliterature with a dabbling of IT. Rosemary has special interest intechnology in hospitality and this is her first publication.

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Y GENERS VIGNETTESDiane Phillips

Abstract This article is a series of short narratives relating to the ‘Y generation’ asthe next generation of hospitality and tourism leaders and managers.The dialogue is a personal literary sketch, reflecting the views, attitudesand values of ‘Y geners’ on work and career development. Thenarratives include: the changing and mobile nature of work; aspects ofoptimism and confidence in the future; concepts of independence, self-reliance and freedom; shades and perceptions on conformistbehaviour; belonging and acceptance, self-image and branding;marketing; and an examination of motivation, initiative and creativity.

Keywords: Generation Y, careers, motivation, changing nature of work

Introduction

The following student viewpoints have beenwritten as a series of short narrative quotesrelating to ‘Y geners’ as the next generationof hospitality and tourism managers andleaders. The stories reflect attitudes thatcould shape and influence the workplace inthe future. A series of 21 interviews wasundertaken to collect the data. The responserate was 35%, which is positive given that asHuntly in 2006 notes, Y geners’ opinions areso highly valued that they normally get‘rewarded for their responses’. The data willalso be used as a basis for further researchquestionnaires in order to gain insight intothe Y generation as managers and leaders inthe future. Attitudes to leadership generatedthe most in-depth discussion fromparticipants; their views were diverse butfocused upon the leader’s ability to satisfyindividuals need in the workplace.

Reflecting on Work and CareerDevelopment

The first question asked in the researchprocess was related to how the Y geners seetheir work and career progression. Theresults seem to suggest that the Ygeneration is fairly confident in their ownabilities and believe anything is possible.Fast career progression is expected and theyexpect their opinions to be valued andaccepted. They appear fearless and

confident in the face of change and abouttheir values, needs and aspirations. The‘Dotcoms’ responses are as follows:

‘In my opinion, career progression should bebased on the level of work experience plusqualifications. We should always lookforward and never think to regress, set ahigher level than my ability in order toreach the top level in the future...I haveconfidence in my ability to learnanything!...Career progression is achievedby...re-inventing yourself and learningsomething new each day that you can use atsometime in your job...career planning is...very individual...everyone has careerissues... Management needs to consider eachand every individual need...

The Changing and Mobile Nature ofWork

A broad range of issues came to the surfaceon the nature of change at work. Therelational aspects of work seemed morepredominant in the minds of theparticipants, although the transactionalaspects of work did rise to the surface. Theinitial comments were related to relations atwork and what this brings to the workplacetable. It seems it is all about ‘me, me, meand more me’ – individual handling is thekey to future management.

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Student Viewpoints

Self-actualisation‘In the past, work meant the job that aperson does in order to earn money.However, people today want self-actualisation through their work. So they dowhat they like and what they can dowell...nothing else is acceptable, otherwisewe will just work at any job until the rightone comes along.’

Teamwork‘There is a greater need to be proactive andwork as a team...teamwork is a big thingand being able to be comfortable in a team...managers who are not in touch witheveryone else in the team and what they aredoing are negligent in their emotional andprofessional intelligence...response time tothis is vital to managing in the future. Thatis if you want to keep your qualifiedpersonnel...This is to the point where the Ygen will stop doing something if they do notfeel comfortable doing or discussing it...If wefeel you do not have any genuine interestand understanding, we will stop it is...ifthere seems to be a lack of control bymanagers to get things done as if they do notknow how to handle staff...’

Leadership‘Leadership is vital in the future; managerstoday take their titles too seriously andthink that this earns them the right to berespected, etc...but staff know whenmanagers are being fake, they know whenthe GM helps out, if it is not genuine andthey just do it because they have to, that isfake and forced...they need to genuinelylead...Hospitality and Tourism is the mostartificial industry, the majority of peoplehere and in higher education that teach itare totally bogus as leaders and managers.They seem to think they are held up on apedestal... and are special...it’s all aboutimage!’

‘I think a leader must have skills to dealwith staff...management need to know us asindividuals...leaders need to be even moremulti-skilled, multi-disciplinary in theHospitality and Tourism industry...adapting to the changes of technologies,society and its beliefs...leaders, should trainstaff to meet quality standards, shouldalways take care of employees’ personal (asa professional) development, should

encourage staff to use their initiative andabove all should ask staff to share theirideas...They must have understanding ofhuman emotions and how they work.’

‘Yes... the nature of work is changing. Manyof the individuals who profess to be leadersin the Hotel industry are working just forthe sake of earning, there is no real interestand...the most important aspects of workneeded to succeed are strong determination,punctuality, dedication...initiative, self-motivation and...we need to be a greatleader in the workplace.’

Changing Labour Laws‘Well, I think as far as Australia is concernedthe cost of labour is a major issue...Themajor difference is in Australia casuallabour is paid on an hourly basis withoutconsidering the skill or productivity levelwhere in most other...countries casuallabour is paid on daily or weekly basis...Wehave to work longer hours and be multi-talented in our roles, and flexible andadaptable to the changing workconditions...the most important aspect ofwork is people...their job satisfaction,variety, the work environment, relationshipbetween the workmates, careeradvancement opportunity, flexibility inwork hours and opportunities to travel.’

‘The primary aspect of work underconsideration is the pay, in terms of howadequate a compensation it is in terms of thesacrifices people have to make. There alsoappears to be a limited set of skilled labour,which are therefore in great demand and areoften lured with the incentive of higher payand better benefits. .. It’s an ever-expandingmarket...’

Aspects of Optimism and Confidencein the Future for Y Geners

The Net generation are full of optimism andconfidence for themselves and their future;they believe that they are justified in theattitudes of optimism and idealism thatthey share with their Baby Boomer heritage.They believe they can talk the talk, andwith little effort, walk the walk!

74


‘I am an optimistic and happy personrelaxed and enjoy my way of life. I can beserious in my job, and I can be playful, but Ido not want to worry and be unhappy...theword individual is very important to meand so is individual branding, it relates howprofessional one is at the workplace andhow good one is as a humanbeing...language is another importantperspective, you need to be able to speak thelanguage to seem confident...language can beused as a power tool in the workplace...ifyou can’t talk the talk, you are not going tobecome a manager!’

Concepts of Independence, Self-reliance and Freedom

From the literature review completed as apart of this research, the concepts ofindependence, self-reliance and freedomseemed to be predominant ideas in theminds of the Y generation. Following arediscussions and meanings of the aboveterms which suggests that Y geners placehigh levels of importance on their ownperspectives and their opportunity andability to make decisions, whilstperspectives on individual viewpointsappear not to be able to be challenged byothers’ views.

‘Self-reliance, freedom and independencerelates to money and viewpoint. Earning asubstantial salary results in self-reliance,personal freedom and independence fromobligations related to finance...however, Iwill extend the significance of freedom to myfreedom of thought. While I listen to otherviews, I’m not necessarily influenced bythem unless I agree with them. I do believein teamwork, but not herd mentality...I needto be in a position to take your own lifedecisions...I took the decision to join theHospitality industry...my parents justsupported me wholeheartedly...this isfreedom for me.’

‘Self-reliance is how well I can survivewithout depending on others, the capabilityof doing the job effectively andefficiently...freedom is the flexibility of work,such as flexible working hours, travelopportunities and variety of workmates. Ilike the freedom of not being controlled bythe company as I can manage the job myselfindependently, so I need empowerment from

managers. Independence will always applyto people who manage themselves.’

‘...self reliance means to me that I shouldtrust myself and be confident...that’s hard. Isone really free anymore? I still get fed thingsI don’t want...freedom is a state of mind...work freedom is about making decisions.Freedom is very important or the perceptionof it is anyway...my colleagues are not intofreedom, they are a bunch of sheep! Intoday’s world the person who stands upagainst the concept or ideas, themanagement or whatever is almostexiled...maybe its cultural or youth. It’sweird as there is no support for people whospeak out, when you step out of the mouldwhen you don’t conform...you need to standup an be counted and they won’t.’

Shades and Perceptions onConformist Behaviour for Y Geners

‘Yes! The Hospitality and Tourism industrydoes need conformist behaviour as it showsthe image of your professionalism – it isabout conforming...it’s hard to not fit it, youhave to! You must do and have certainthings, like to be clean shaven in yourjob...then you will automatically fit in. If youdress and be what they want you to be, thismeans that you conform. Moulding peoplehas an impact for the future; people want tobe different but do not want to stand out asa generation...the industry requires somedegree of conformity as far as work practice,social etiquette and decorum are involved.The purpose of the industry is to welcomeguests and provide a service, while at thesame time, doing so in a refined andpolished manner, which exceeds everydaymanners and norms.’

‘There are many guests who come from allover the world with many different culturesand beliefs; it will be easy to offend themwith your carelessness. Adopting aconformist behaviour is necessary to appealto the majority of guests; being conformist itis a requirement of personality to work inH&T industry I think.’

Belonging and Acceptance and Self-image or Self-branding

‘Belonging is very important to me...itmeans I have already been accepted as amember of one group and have colleagues

Y Geners Vignettes 75

Student Viewpoints

who pursue the same goals and values. Itmakes me feel comfortable and relievedwhen I work with other colleagues who feelthe same way...It is important for everysingle human being to be accepted.Socialisation is a part of ourexistence...belonging to a high status groupis not very important to me...but on theother hand, if I work in a company I alwayswant to belong to it, belonging makes mefeel I am a part of their family so I will putmore effort into my job. Acceptance isessential to me for working, it gives me moredrive to work harder, I need to be acceptedfor whom I am and the effort I have beenputting on my job...on the job I consider allmy friends family, a good friend is alwaysthere, and is still the same person andrelationship! This makes me feel as if Ibelong!...belonging is an illusion...I don’tthink anyone belongs anywhere...the majorthing then is to be accepted not belonging...if you can accept a person who is different...then it is about tolerance and flexibility forthe future.’

‘...The best brand of the world is I, myself. Itmeans how much I am different from othersand how much others recognise me.Actually, individual brand is powerful in areal society...’

Motivation‘Motivation contributes to staff morale andwillingness to achieve a goal...Motivation isalways necessary for the seniormanagement staff to motivate hissubordinates to put the maximum effort atwork which results in constructive work...Inthe past teachers or parents sometimesstimulated me through reward andpunishment...these days many companiesare trying to stimulate employers to workharder. I think it is a good method to makepeople show their ability.’

‘Motivation is very important tomanagement; because not only do you haveto motivate yourself but also you have tomotivate the rest of the employees...drivewill inspire coworkers and subordinates inleading by example. Drive is just likemotivation and it drives you to work hardand achieve good result...motivation isgetting as much professional knowledge as Ican before going out to work, needed to

apply theory to practice to confirm mypractical experience...to be able to feelconfident in what I do.’

Initiative‘Using your initiative is acceptable in smallways in the Hospitality industry for thecustomer but I do not believe it is requiredin any other way, people don’t like youcoming up with new ideas, it shows themup!...Initiative its very important fromevery employee point of view that they arewilling and allowed to take initiative.’

‘The nature of this generation is a passiveone; they do not want to stand up for whatthey believe...They lack the initiative to takethe challenge; they will take the challenge ifsomeone tells them to take it!’

Creativity‘Creativity is not very important in H&Tindustry...it is only recognised when solvingproblems that you need creativity toachieve the best possible results for theguests. Employees who can think creativelyunder pressure can divert potentialdisasters that could reflect badly on thehotel image.’

‘Creativity is important in adopting aflexible approach to different situations andpeople, enables a department to adjust tosudden changes or inconveniences, as wellas aids progress generally. Creativity is veryimportant to move ahead in life...the personwho is creative gets a good amount ofcredits, it helps you move ahead.’

‘Motivation, drive, innovation andcreativity are aspects of management thatare linked. We should never forget that weare managing a service industry and not aproduction industry; we are not workingwith machines, we are working with peoplewho have emotions. Remember thatmotivation is a very important tool to createthe driving force in your co-workers andemployees working under you to always becreative and to take initiative; we must set acommon goal in front of them, must givethem freedom and encourage them to becreative which will help in their personaldevelopment leading to the company’sdevelopment.’

76


Closing Comments

From the brief analysis conducted on thedata to date, these initial comments on theviews of the Dotcomers reflects the opinionthat the next generation believe it ismanagement’s responsibility to providethem with individual development, supportand provide for their needs, and seek themout to discover these needs.

‘My generation wants to be spoonfed! Theyfeel that the work is done when atschool...when in reality the hard work isalways there if you want to succeed...mycolleagues all believe they have high levelsof capabilities but I think they will fallunder the pressure of a real job in a hardindustry; their ability to work hard andmake decisions is not there. They think theyare all model GMs for the future! When inreality they cannot apply their work...theyare too fickle and change their mind becausesomeone else does not agree with them; theirbehaviour is very conformist and they wantpeople to like them and be friends withthem. We need leaders who are notmediocre!’

ReferencesAustralian International Hotel School(forthcoming), Y Generation ResearchProject, AIHS, Canberra, ACT.

Huntly, R. 2006, The World According to Y:Inside the New Adult Generation, Allen andUnwin, Sydney, NSW.

McCrindle Research 2006, New Generationsat Work: Attracting, Recruiting, Retainingand Training Generation Y. Retrieved June18 2006 from http://www.mccrindle.com.au

Taylor, A. 2003, Do We Know Who We AreTeaching? Teacher EducationUndergraduates’ Views of the World,University of Western Australia, Perth, WA.

You’ve Heard About Generation X. NowHere’s Generation Y 2000, (radio program),ABC Radio National, Sydney December 17.

77

Showcase ofStudent Comments

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MY GENERATION ANDMY PARENTS’Student Perspectives

The following essays have been compiled by three Level One studentsfrom the China Tourism Management Institute (CTMI), the BlueMountains Hotel School’s campus in Tianjin, China. The first essay isfrom the Chinese (mainland) perspective. It is written by Zhang Zhewho was born in Tianjin. The second essay is an Indonesianperspective, written by Amilia Thomas. The last essay is a Hong Kongperspective, written by Tong Ho Nam who was born in Hong Kongand later lived in New Zealand before coming to study in Tianjin.

Keywords: South east Asia, generational change, aspirations, expectations

Chinese Perspective by Zhang Zhe

With the current development of industryand technology our lives are becomingeasier than ever. For my generation, wegreatly enjoy our lives. However, for myparents’ generation life was very different.Some of the more significant differencesinclude entertainment practices and socialpolicies. Their generation’s social policieswithin the People’s Republic of China werenot the same as at present. Some of thesegovernment policies had detrimental effectson their lives. This included a governmentplanned economy whereby one could onlyhave the basic foods that the policy makersstipulated. For example, if you wanted tobuy rice you could only have your quota,no more than that. Although China israpidly moving into a market economy inour generation, we also experience somenegative social policies, none more than the‘one child policy’.

Whereas our parents had many brothersand sisters and had to share their things

accordingly, our generation has no brothersor sisters. Perhaps we are losing some of thecaring qualities that people once had foreach other. Parents care for their child somuch, always making sure they have basicthings, from warm clothes in winter, rightthrough to expensive mobile phones andfashionable shoes. At the same time thechild rarely knows the parents’ birthdays.The ‘one child policy’ has changed theChinese culture. Entertainment isconstantly developing. For our parents, girlswere limited to a Chinese version of hopscotch and boys to unusual balancinggames called ‘zhuang guai’ and ‘tui tiehuan’. If they were lucky, they may havelistened to the radio for information. This iscontrasted with today’s MSN, karaoke anddisco. The propensity for my generation tospend money (our parents’ money) on suchentertainment is ever increasing. Ourparents could not even imagine what thelives of their children would be like andwhat they have become.

78


Our life is easier than that of our parents.We should spend more time thinking aboutlife from their perspective. We should carefor them and not simply think of ourselves.

Indonesian Perspective by AmiliaThomas

There are many differences between mygeneration and that of my parents. Most ofthese differences are due to particularlifestyles, both in the past and the present.The two major differences are social statusand behaviour. Presently, people’sbehaviour has changed dramatically sincemy parents’ generation. Now almost everyperson in the world has freedom and thedemocratic right to speak and actappropriately. In the past people’s behaviourwas bound by etiquette. For example,young people always used to respect theirelders and did whatever their elders toldthem to do. Today’s youth can speak and doanything they want to do. The biggestdifference between past and presentgenerations is social status. Social status hasbecome more developed yet open to allpeople. A good example is the majority ofwomen in the world now having thefreedom and opportunities to speak and actlike men. In the past, all women could onlybe a good wife to their husbands. Moreover,today’s women are more independent andequal in terms of social status, whencompared to men.

The greatest differences between thegenerations are caused by lifestyle,especially changes in social status andbehaviour. People have the freedom and theright to speak and act, which theypreviously did not have. Moreover, womenhave greater independence and freedom interms of their voice and actions. People inmy generation have a better life than in thepast, as all countries are developing andsocieties are opening up.

Hong Kong Perspective by Tong HoNam

Throughout the world there live manydifferent types of people. The termgeneration tracks human history over a

period of time. Generations may witnesshumans improving from the first humanuntil present day. In this discussion ongenerations I would like to talk about thelast two generations, my generation (the ‘Ygeneration’) and that of my parents (the ‘Xgeneration’). In particular, I would like toillustrate an improvement in lifestyle overthis period. There are many ideas one couldtalk about for this topic. In my opinion Iwould like to focus on two: food andtechnology.

You may ask ‘How can food affect ourlifestyle?’ Indeed, the nutritional value oftoday’s food is much more than thirty orforty years ago. Therefore, people who areliving now are absorbing more nutritionfrom their diet, meaning that they havemore energy in their daily lives and astronger immune system. Also, the varietyof food compared to the X generation hasundergone a stunning increase. Many newproducts enter the marketplace each day.Modified genetic fruit is a good example.This genetically modified food allowshumans to absorb the nutrition within thefruit more easily.

Technology is very useful in our lives. Wedo not just use technology, we usetechnology that can help us. For example,the personal computer is not more thanforty years old. Indeed, it was not widelypopular fifteen years ago. Nowadays peopleuse the computer for many things,including chatting to people on the otherside of the world, gathering worldwideinformation and even building up theirbusinesses. They may even stay in front oftheir computer for a whole day, failing tostep out of their houses. Technology is trulymaking our lives easier.

In conclusion, food and technology are themost important items to improve our livescompared to that of our parents. Besides, Ithink this is a wonderful time to live. Iwould firmly surmise that withoutimprovements in food and technology wewould not be that far away from ourparents’ generation.

✁

79

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