Prelims

Half Title Page

Mentoring Millennials in an Asian Context

Title Page

Mentoring Millennials in an Asian Context: Talent Management Insights from Singapore

Paul Lim

Singapore Management University, Singapore

Andrew Parker

University of Exeter, UK

United Kingdom – North America – Japan – India – Malaysia – China

Copyright Page

Emerald Publishing Limited

Howard House, Wagon Lane, Bingley BD16 1WA, UK

First edition 2020

© 2020 Paul Lim and Andrew Parker

Published under exclusive licence by Emerald Publishing Limited

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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN: 978-1-78973-484-3 (Print)

ISBN: 978-1-78973-483-6 (Online)

ISBN: 978-1-78973-485-0 (Epub)

List of Figures

List of Tables

About the Authors

Paul Lim is an award winning Lecturer at the Organizational Behaviour and Human Resources (OBHR) discipline with the Lee Kong Chian School of Business, Singapore Management University (SMU).

Prior to joining academia, Paul spent 10 years in marketing, specialising in the area of Brand Management. His work has taken him to the advertising, social work, tourism and fast moving consumer goods industries. He has worked for companies ranging from non-profit organizations to small medium enterprises and multi-national publicly listed companies in Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, Canada and the United States. His last position in the private sector was managing Singapore's business operations for the subsidiary of a publicly listed Malaysian company.

His research interests lie in individual resilience, mentoring millennial leaders (Gen Y) and multi-generational leadership. He teaches courses in leadership, ethics, negotiation, conflict management and human resources management at undergraduate and post-graduate levels. He believes that these topics are vital in preparing leaders to navigate through current and future societal challenges. Paul also speaks on issues related to human capital management at conferences and organizations both locally and internationally; providing thought leadership in the local and regional media.

Outside of work, Paul is a faculty representative with the Committee for Diversity and Inclusion at SMU. He is also a founding member of a charitable foundation for underprivileged children. An avid sports fan, Paul enjoys running, tennis, golf, swimming and CrossFit. He also loves exploring new places and cultures and has travelled and trekked to more than 40 cities, towns and villages in over 20 countries.

Paul possesses a Doctorate in Business Administration (People, Organizations and Society) from French business school, Grenoble Ecolé de Management (France); an Executive MBA from the Helsinki School of Economics (Finland); and completed his undergraduate degrees in Commerce and Economics at the University of Toronto (Canada). He has also trained with Harvard Law School's Program on Negotiation (USA), obtaining a certificate to train negotiation in the organization.

For more information, Paul can be contacted at:

http://www.linkedin.com/in/drpaullim.

Andrew Parker is Professor of Business at the University of Exeter. His research uses the lens of network theory to better understand problem solving processes, innovation, knowledge transfer, turnover and performance within organizations. He has conducted social network analysis research in over 70 multinational organizations and government agencies.

He was a Senior Consultant at IBM's Institute for Knowledge Management, a research fellow at the Network Roundtable at the University of Virginia as well as an advisor to the Knowledge and Innovation Network at Warwick Business School. In addition, he has recently been a visiting professor at MelNet, a network research group based at the University of Melbourne and a visiting professor at the University of Kentucky's LINKS Center for Social Network Analysis.

His research has appeared in Science, Journal of Management Studies, Organization Studies, Journal of Applied Psychology, Management Communication Quarterly, M@n@gement, Social Networks, Sloan Management Review, Organizational Dynamics and California Management Review. He is the co-author of The Hidden Power of Social Networks. He received his PhD from Stanford University.

Qualifications

• PhD Sociology (Stanford University)

• MA Economics (Northeastern University)

• MSc Development Studies (London School of Economics)

• BSc Political Science (Northeastern University)

Read more at:

https://business-school.exeter.ac.uk/about/people/profile/index.php?web_id=Andrew_Parker#Q7TzJGuweDBxKOFL.99

Preface

It was over a dinner gathering with some colleagues from the fast moving consumer goods industry that probably provided seed for this book. Over dinner, the seasoned professionals took turns complaining and expressing bewilderment at how challenging it was for them to manage their young hires – young being below the age of 30. I remember taking in all their comments and then chimed in that instead of being negative about them, we should seek to understand them. This gave way to more ridicule and predictions that such efforts would be in vain. However, I left that night determined to find a way to gain insight into the minds of millennials and to explore how mentoring affects their attitudes towards work.

We fear what we do not understand. Often times, we fail as a result of fear due to inertia, apprehension or a sheer lackadaisical attitude towards an area that we do not understand. At times, we perceive we know better. In reality, most times we are too clouded by our pride or do not even realise the existence of our blindspots due to ignorance. At a recent human resources practitioner conference, one professional innocently posed a question to a renowned academic on how she should handle millennials. To the surprise of many attendees, this academic shot back and claimed that enough has been said about millennials and that we should move on to other topics in the field of human resources. Although much might have been said or written about millennials, the truth is that many experienced individuals continue to find the generation gap too wide for them to bridge. Many simply do not know what makes a millennial tick.

I sincerely hope that this book will provide some insights in your journey in understanding a new and exciting generation. Even as I share my thoughts and findings, I am reminded that the more I learn, the more I discover I do not know.

Paul Lim

Acknowledgements

I would like to appreciate and thank my doctoral thesis supervisor, Andrew Parker, for his guidance and direction that immensely helped in the successful conclusion of my thesis. It is said that a good supervisor constitutes to half the battle won in the writing of a dissertation. I am glad that Andrew fits the bill.

To my family, my wife and three children, two of which I had during the course of writing the thesis, I am grateful for your never ending support and encouragement during the many dark days of hiding from the sun in order to complete my writings.

To the OBHR faculty at the Lee Kong Chian School of Business, Singapore Management University, I am indebted to how you all have provided me with the conditions and advice to progress in my academic journey.

I would also like to thank OCBC Bank and the team at OCBC Campus for allowing me access to interview mentors and protégés of their MentorMe programme. It was a joy to see great formal mentoring practices put into place. To the mentors and protégés who took time to speak with me, I am grateful for your insights and I have learned much.

Last but definitely not the least, I am humbled by the finished work of my Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, whose provision for this opportunity and His empowerment to see it to the end has opened my eyes to things previously unseen.

Finished.

Paul Lim