University Essay: Workplace Diversity and Management Leadership

This essay delves into the critical importance of workplace diversity, emphasizing the need for effective leadership skills in a multigenerational environment. Drawing on two provided sources and peer-reviewed journals, the essay examines how managers can successfully navigate the complexities of a diverse workforce, particularly focusing on the dynamics between different generations, such as Gen Z and older employees. The analysis highlights the value of intergenerational knowledge sharing, where experienced employees contribute practical business knowledge, and younger employees bring in technical expertise. The essay stresses the need for managers to adapt their leadership styles to accommodate the different generations, promote mutual understanding, and foster collaboration to achieve organizational goals. It also references a TED Talk by Chris Conley, which introduces the concept of a 'modern elder' to promote success in a diverse workplace, highlighting the benefits of combining experience and technical knowledge within teams. The essay concludes by underscoring that the key to a successful and productive workplace lies in the unity of employees, with effective managers building mutual understanding and collaboration among all employees.

Running head: INTRODUCTION TO MANAGEMENT
Introduction to Management
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

The essay emphasizes on the significance of workplace diversity and nurtures the
sources of stated evidences. With reference to two given sources and researching peer
reviewed journals, the essay will reflect the essentials of a manager to work efficiently in a
diverse workplace. The leadership skills to show in diversity and inclusion will also be
discussed that can refer to core elements required to be considered in foregrounding the
analytics. The analysis focuses on the diversion of a workplace holding employees from five
different generations and focusing on intergenerational wisdom sharing concept. The age-gap
of the Gen Z and elders are significantly considered to show the bridge of excellence or skill
gap. Elders in the organisation are skilled with experience while Gen Z knows the
technicality well than anybody else. Hence, amalgamating the experience and skilled
generations in a single team can bring prospect to the company.
From analysing the contents and perspective of the article, it can said that the
industrial reformation in this time requires workforce both with experience of business
practicalities and technological knowledge. The generation referred to as Gen Z carries
similar features as the millennial generation but reflects new behaviour patterns. There is a
difference to deal with the new generation with the experienced one in terms of the
adaptability (Clark, 2017). Managers have got the wand in their hand to understand and
manipulate the new generation to cope up with the operational activities whereas have to treat
the existing senior aged employees with enthusiasm and encouraging them to support the new
culture. The study reflects the doubt of every generation about the culture of its next
generation and distinctively interprets the need and mutual understanding of expertise sorted
in organisation comes as success (Schroth 2019). Communication, analysis, understanding,
learning are some of the essentials found in establishing good team work (Grow and Yang
2018). The organisations operating in this generation are in need of these essentials.

From the TED Talk session by Chris Conley, it can be interpreted that the concept of
modern elder is derived to make a diverse workforce represent success in prospective way.
The central matter of the talk session involved the workplace diversity and sequential
experiences of available employees in the organisation. The effectiveness of mixed
generation teams in an organisation are represented with the examples of Conley and Laura at
Airbnb (Chris Conley 2019). The technical expertise of the new generation hardly
acknowledges the business experiences earned on the practical field of dealing the situation
and winning over rationale thinking. Every generation has their own set of experiences that
they had been confronting since their early days in the industry. Interpreting that with the
current scenario is a bit different due to technological interpretation. It is impactful to create a
relationship of mutual trust and understanding amongst the diverse aged workforce due to
interpretation of learning involved in both for the fresher and the experienced (Bencsik
Horváth-Csikós and Juhász 2016). The present time has took over the seniorities with almost
40% of bosses younger than their employees. This is the success for the Gen Z and the need
of organisations to utilise technology at its most.
The theories of workplace diversity has been analysed to hold the crucial significance
in developing an effective workforce. The flow of generations’ knowledge is expedited by
increasing the talent pool and interpret innovations for improving the team goals. With
increase of subject relativity and understanding the immediate requirements of organisation,
employees can be made productive with mere motivation to learn (Iorgulescu 2016).
Referring to the sources discussed above, the young and senior generation both had materials
to learn from each other and being dependable as a team brings effectiveness to team spirit.
Motivation and understating emotional intelligence is necessary to understand and interpret
the needs a growing business that will be able to hit the market milestones. Diversity of
workplace varies based on age, gender, culture, religion, and many more parameters, but the

solo motive of every organisation remains to be same as working in unity and acquiring
success. The sharing of knowledge, skills and behaviour do not come as diversity but unity of
human to human.
Hence, from the critical analysis above from sources referring to the significance of
workforce diversity as based generation age and experiential differences. The management
aspect of any organisation prefers to go for diversified skills in a team that with help of
cooperation can achieve the targets. Hence, mutual understanding and collaboration of
employees are significant that an efficient manager can build up. Primarily, there are hardly
any issues arising for a fresher in the beginning,

Reference
Bencsik, A., Horváth-Csikós, G. and Juhász, T., 2016. Y and Z Generations at
Workplaces. Journal of Competitiveness, 8(3).
Chris Conley (2019). What baby boomers can learn from millennials at work -- and vice
versa | Chip Conley. YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=7p1nCRQCiUM [Accessed 16 Aug. 2019].
Clark, K.R., 2017. Managing multiple generations in the workplace. Radiologic
technology, 88(4), pp.379-396.
Grow, J.M. and Yang, S., 2018. Generation-Z Enters the Advertising Workplace:
Expectations Through a Gendered Lens. Journal of Advertising Education, 22(1), pp.7-22.
Iorgulescu, M.C., 2016. Generation Z and its perception of work. Cross-Cultural
Management Journal, 18(01), pp.47-54.
Schroth, H., 2019. Are You Ready for Gen Z in the Workplace?. California Management
Review, p.0008125619841006.