Tapscott: Business

TAPSCOTT

Business:

Tapscott leads us through a great chapter regarding the Net Generation and the workplace.
The realities are that companies are going to need to completely breakdown and rebuild their infrastructure in order to survive the next 30 years. This is primary the result of the Net Gen who are eager to initiate, engage, collaborate and evolve in their workspace.
The Net Gen has a reputation of a generation of individuals who feel “entitled” and come into the work force unwilling to work their way to the top as previous generations of workers. Therein lies the battlefield. As two generations collide, baby boomers and Net Gen, we see a “survival of the fittest” mentality develop.
As we have all heard this semester, this is a generation that has, indeed, grown up digital. Yet they bring with them a vast amount of knowledge and confidence to support a company’s mission.
Perhaps it is a matter of meeting half way. Would that pave the way? It may. But this is a generation that has its own definition of a work day. Net Gen’s wanted to create, work as a team and collaborate on company initiatives. As the book points out, this generation can become quickly disengaged if they join an organization that considers Facebook a distraction.
I think that Google is setting precedence in nailing this generation. Google is said to be the most successful company in the world. In a recent NBC program, Google attributed its success to its people and its customers. In regard to staff, the working environment is comprised as one in which you do not have a dress code, that you are encouraged to step away from your desk to work out, play ping pong, do your laundry or have sushi for lunch. All of these options are on site and free to the staff. Google’s methodology is simple. Make all of these “distractions” available on site and free and they will work more. This is an organization that is able to recruit some of the most brilliant minds in the business but they are also able to structure a work day that brings this brilliance to the surface to benefit the company.