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Demographic data indicate that the Millennial generation (those born between 1982 and the early 2000s) are entering the workforce and will become an increasingly significant component of the workforce in the near future. The Millennial generation appears to have significant differences in values, attitudes and expectations regarding work than prior generations.

The authors reviewed the literature on the “Millennial” generation (those born between 1982 and the early 2000s) and the research on giving negative feedback to identify issues that are significant with respect to the manner in which managers give negative information to this new generation of workers.

To be effective, negative feedback to Millennials needs to be consistent and ongoing. The feedback must be perceived by Millennials as benefitting them now or in the future. Managers must be assertive enough to make sure the employee understands the concerns, but sensitive to the fact that many Millennials have difficulty accepting such feedback.

These findings offer suggestions for future research that needs to explicitly examine the differences in the new generation of workers and how these persons respond to current managerial practices.

Millennials are now entering the workforce in significant numbers. Managers will find increasing opportunities to address the organizational and individual needs of these workers. Managers must learn how to effectively direct and motivate this generation of workers, including how to provide constructive negative feedback.

Demographic data indicate that the so-called “Baby Boom” generation will be leaving the workforce in large numbers over the next few years, and will be replaced by the Millennial generation.

To date, there has been little attempt by management researchers to address the organizational implications of the generational shift that is occurring. We seek to draw attention to one specific area of management practice – delivering negative feedback – and explore how the knowledge may be changing as a new generation of workers enter the workplace.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of organization leaders, particularly top managers, in building support for and developing behaviors that are consistent with values‐based management, by providing an empirical assessment of the effect of an organization's senior leadership on the values‐based management process.

As part of a program of organization development, a values‐based management approach was implemented in a large manufacturing organization. As part of the process, a system of measuring and evaluating values‐based behaviors was developed. The senior leaders of two groups of the organization were assessed in terms of their values behaviors, and their direct reports were likewise evaluated by the organization using a 360° process.

The results indicated that the leader's values behaviors were significantly related to the values behaviors of subordinates. Subordinates of leaders who strongly demonstrated values‐based management behaviors were more likely to exhibit the same behaviors.

The value of these findings lies in the suggestion that the role of organization leaders, and specifically the behaviors demonstrated by leaders, are important in determining the outcomes of values‐based management techniques. Subordinates may take cues from their leaders and model their values‐based behaviors after those of the organization's leadership.

The purpose of this paper is to develop a conceptual linkage between life‐work balance and emotional intelligence (EI).

Based on a review of the literature, it is suggested that life experiences contribute to the development of EI, which then moderates the individual's life‐work balance. The effect of emotions in an individual's personal life environment is of primary importance in the development of EI, which influences the work environment. The effects of work experience on one's personal life are influenced significantly by the level of emotional intelligence.

The level of EI is viewed as central to developing an individual's life‐work balance, and the primary effect of one's personal life suggests that it is more appropriate to view work as a component of overall life satisfaction; hence the use of the term “life‐work balance”.

The paper is a theoretical development of a model that emphasizes the role of emotional intelligence in life‐work balance; as such, there is a need for empirical research to examine the propositions generated by this analysis.

Managers should seek to develop emotional intelligence in the work setting to improve employees' abilities to manage life‐work balance.

This paper extends current research on EI and life‐work balance by conceptually integrating these two concepts and provides a framework for future research and investigation.

Strategy Question: Is there a way to help me follow through on the changes I personally need to make?

Summary: You are not doing yourself or your organization a favor by neglecting changes you need to make to be more effective. You know what you really need to work on. If not, your boss, Board or peer group can probably help you. The Ten-Quarter Tool provides a simple method to identify a behavior you want to change, forces you to be aware of it throughout your day, and gives you a method to reinforce repetition. Here is how it works. You determine the behavior you want to improve. You take 10 quarters and put them in your left pocket. Your goal is to do the new behavior 10 times each day. Every time you do it, you move one quarter from your left to your right pocket. At the end of the day your goal is to have all 10 quarters in your right pocket. Kind of simple, right? Yet it works. You jingle a bit when you walk, but the weight of 10 quarters and the noise emanating from your pocket reminds you of the task at hand.

Strategy Question: How do I develop an effective plan and strategy in an environment that is highly uncertain, turbulent, and unpredictable?

Summary: An organization exists as a subset of numerous spheres of influence, including the overall environment, the economic forces within that, and the industry forces within that. The Strategic Environmental Scan (SES) uses a structured approach to survey each of those areas, compile responses, sort responses, forecast impacts of those issues seen as higher probability, and highlight those issues for plan consideration. Since a strategist can’t control these forces, it is important to understand the environmental forces to develop real-time course corrections within the planning horizon. The tool consists of a basic one-page framework along with a process to gather, assess, and organize information that the strategist can use to determine what environmental issues deserve serious attention in the development of the strategy and plan, which issues need to be monitored, and which can be ignored (for the time being). This tool builds upon Dr. Michael Porter’s gold standard Five Forces Industry Analysis and employs stakeholder input to ensure a full appreciation of the broad environmental factors.

Strategy Question: How do I assess the “business health” of my products or services?

Summary: The Product–Volume–Margin Chart tool is used to construct a picture of the “business health” of a product or service. The one-page chart is designed to provide a clear and concise “current state” business profitability picture by casting revenue of key product/service forms in Pareto fashion against a corresponding profit metric for each (we use Gross Margin) plotted in bullet point form. Concurrently the chart structure provides a means for quickly developing a deeper insight to product/service profitability issues that may exist. The PVM analysis is among the most helpful tools in our arsenal, and is one of the first, if not the first tool we use entering a new situation. Many companies we encounter simply have not pulled information together in this way, for a variety of reasons (numbers being held close to the vest, legacy ERP shortcomings, sales reporting buckets being different, etc.) The tool shows the user, especially those who have never done a comparison like this, how to structure the product/service forms, how to choose profit metrics and construct them if necessary.

Strategy Question: How do we determine and prioritize which products/services need action?

Summary: This very important tool helps provide a perspective on where product/service improvements are needed relative to performance and margin parameters. It is designed to provide a concise “current state” assessment of product/service offerings using three categories: (1) No deficiency — competitive in both Product and Price/Cost areas (color coded white), (2) One deficiency — Product performance or Price/Margin deficiency (color coded gray); and (3) Two deficiencies — Product performance and Price/margin deficiency (color coded black). When these product/service deficiencies are displayed relative to the most important market segments (ranked in decreasing order of priority), the tool output serves as an insightful baseline from which to scope, frame, define and prioritize product improvement and margin-enhancement projects needed. Your list of potential projects begins here. Many of the prior tools come together at this point. Through previous tools, the markets, environment, and the current competitive positions of the products or services are understood. This tool helps to define a structure to pull all this information together in a simple way to add perspective toward defining and prioritizing potential actions.

Strategy Question: How do we effectively communicate our brand to our customers and our market?

Summary: Many firms have a sense of the organization’s “brand.” We define brand as “the promise of an experience” to the customers. Firms need to identify the elements of the customer experience that are valued by the customer and determine the brand experience the organization wishes to convey is consistent with the experience of the customer. This tool uses a simple survey process methodology to determine whether the brand experience the organization wishes to convey is consistent with the experience of the customer. A simple X/Y chart is used to array the firm’s offerings based upon the customer’s perception of the brand experience. Comparisons with competitive firms can be included in the analysis. The results provide insight into the effectiveness of promotional and communication efforts intended to develop brand awareness among customers.