Class Facilitation Assignment
This assignment will help to develop your facilitation skills. Working individually or in pairs you will lead one of about 12 student-facilitated classes on an assigned date. You will be responsible for the overall class experience, start to finish. Working with the material scheduled for that class (see course schedule) you will pose questions, lead discussion, design additional exercises related to the topic of the day, and lead the class meeting.
As facilitator, obviously, you will do significantly more preparation for this class compared to the ones where you are participant.Following is some material you may want to reference/use in the session next week on Thursday. The class seems to engage around exercises. I’m confident you’ll come up with something beyond these discussion questions (although they’re good). Thanks in advance. Call or send email if you need help.
How Old Should you be to drive a Bus?
Goals
• To explore attitudes and opinions related to chronological ages
• To illustrate legal and cultural frameworks related to age that shape beliefs, expectations, and actions
• To understand that ageism includes the young as well as the old, although in the United States, only those over forty are legally protected under the Civil Rights Act of 1964
Summary
This exercise is designed to illustrate stereotypes about all ages – young, middle-aged, and mature – while allowing students to identify their own socially-conditioned expectations about age and ageing. The students will discuss a range of chronological ages and link them with specific activities. When asked to justify why a certain age is appropriate for an item, students usually have difficulty giving clear justifications. As students cite “evidence” (e.g., legal, cultural, biological and developmental) to support their answers, they may recognize their own stereotypical beliefs about age.
Note: Items 13 and 14 were left blank for instructors or students to add additional items.
How old should you be to……
1. ….. start formal schooling?
2. ….. live alone?
3. ….. serve in the armed forces?
4. ….. drive a bus?
5. ….. fly a commercial plane?
6. ….. buy an alcoholic drink in a bar?
7. ….. have a baby?
8. ….. retire from work?
9. ….. manage a department of 50 employees?
10. ….. get married?
11. ….. vote in state elections?
12. ….. start your own business?
13. …..
14. …..
In-Class Instructions
1. Form groups of 4 to 5 members each.
2. Ask each group to come to consensus on all of the age events in the list. The group should write down the age they feel is appropriate for each event and give a one to two sentence explanation of why they selected that age for that event.
3. Stop the discussion after about 15 minutes and ask a representative from each group to come forward and write the age they selected for each event on the board/chart.
4. Discuss the similarities/differences in the ages selected. Be prepared to play devil’s advocate in instances where the groups all cluster around the legal age for an event. Press them to give clear reasoning for their answer. If the answer corresponds to the “legal” age, then question them as to why and if the legal age is appropriate.
Discussion Notes
The aim of the discussion is to highlight the unconscious and socially-constructed views students hold about chronological age. The key to illustrating bias is to be prepared for the discussion with evidence from a range of sources to show differences in acceptable ages across the decades, states, and different cultures and also to include issues related to human biological and cognitive development.
Legal Ages Students may tend to cluster around the legal ages for some of the listed events. Be prepared with evidence of differences in legal ages for various activities with data from different U.S. states and different countries.
Outliers Groups or individuals who give answers that are well outside the “norm” should be given time to discuss their views. If possible, developmental as well as social justifications should be included. For example, when is it appropriate to start school? If very young ages are given (e.g, 2 or 3 years), child development data can be used to show when the human brain is ready to learn. If students err on the older end of the spectrum, issues of biological maturity can be used.
Resources
The following websites can be helpful for finding supporting materials:
• Each state has its own Department of Motor Vehicles website that
will provide information on minimum ages for all types of driving licenses,
e.g., www.dmv.gov.ma; www.dmv.gov.ca; www.dmv.gov.ny
• International driving information can be found on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Driver%27s_license
• Minimum and maximum ages for enlisting in the U.S. military: http://usmilitary.about.com/od/joiningthemilitary/a/enlage.htm
• International military service age and obligation facts: www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2024.html
• Various U. S. pilot license age requirements: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilot_certification_in_the_United_States
• International elementary school ages: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primary_education
• International drinking ages: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_drinking_age
• International marriage ages: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marriageable_age
• Detailed requirements on the U.S. constitution and requirements to run for President: www.usconstitution.net/constquick.html
Generational Diversity in the Workplace
Goals
• To gain a greater understanding of diversity among generations
• To describe how groups of individuals in a generational cohort may be influenced by social, historical, and cultural forces of their generational timeframes
• To analyze workplace cases and apply generational concepts in written and/or oral communications
Outline of Key Points
I. Four generations are currently in the workforce
A. Differences in attitudes, values, work ethics, work-life balance, communication, etc., among generational cohorts
B. Little agreement on the overall profiles and dates of cohorts
C. Soon to be joined by Generation Z (1994-2004)
1. Highly influenced by technology
2. May experience more unemployment and layoffs due to older generations staying in the workforce longer
II. Veterans (1922-1943)
A. Core values: dedication, discipline, self-sacrifice, hard work, delayed rewards, respect for authority
B. Influenced by stock market crash, Great Depression, New Deal, World War II, Korean War, etc.
C. Motivators: respect for experience, acknowledgement of their experiences, etc.
D. Communication: prefer face-to-face and more formal language
E. Leadership style: direct, command-and-control style
III. Baby Boomers (1943-1960 or 1946-1964)
A. Core values: optimism, team work, health and wellness, personal growth, and staying young
B. Influenced by McCarthy hearings, Civil Rights, Vietnam War, JFK, etc.
C. Motivators: directness, being appreciated, flexibility
D. Communication: face-to-face or electronic
E. Leadership style: collegial and consensual, can be authoritarian
IV. Gen Xers (1960-1980 or 1965-1980)
A. Core values: diversity, global orientation, balance of work and family, technology, casual approach to authority, self-reliance
B. Influenced by women’s liberation and gay rights, Watergate, Three Mile Island, recessions and layoffs, Iran hostage crisis, Exxon Valdez, and fall of Communism
C. Motivators: technology, feedback, having more autonomy and fewer regulations
D. Communication: electronic, informal, soundbites
F. Leadership style: uncomfortable with bureaucracy, egalitarian
V. Millennial/ Generation Y (1980-2000 or 1981-1999)
A. Core values: civic duty, confidence, optimism, collaboration, diversity, community, connections through technology
B. Influenced by September 11th, school shootings, Clinton-Lewinski scandal, Community Service Learning
C. Motivators: flexibility, autonomy
D. Communication: expect to be given respect, electronic and visual media preferred
E. Leadership style: prefer teamwork, resiliency, experiential learners
VI. Generational Diversity Case
Discussion Questions and Answers for MANAGING DIVERSE GENERATIONS IN A RETAIL SETTING
1. What are the generational issues Julia faces with each employee? What cultural, historic, or societal issues may influence these generational issues?
Ethel represents the Veterans’ generation and has the assets that she is hardworking and loyal to the organization. She is reluctant to disagree with authority and goes where she is assigned. In addition, she is not from a generation that is accustomed to technology for communication or for retail operations. She is limited in terms of technology because it represents change from the status quo.
Ethel may have been influenced by the events surrounding World War II, the Great Depression, the stock market collapse, and the New Deal. Many of these events created a mindset for members of that generation to a) value that they have work and b) be confident that they would be “taken care of/rewarded” in their retirement for their longevity with one company.
Larry represents Gen Y and has workplace assets such as being technologically literate and the ability to multitask. He is not intimidated by authority and tends to be impatient in terms of when he expects rewards and feedback on his job performance. Larry believes work should be fun and believes communication should be done via texting or email, not by phone calls. The technology often creates a situation wherein Larry is impatient with person-to-person interactions and this creates poor customer-relationship skills.
Larry may have been influenced by the events and trends of his generation: being reared by parents who were child-focused, the use of technology in educational and personal settings, the September 11th terrorist attacks, the violence of the Columbine High School massacre, and the Oklahoma City bombing. Many Gen Y workers are inexperienced in handling difficult issues with people. For this reason, Larry needs more mentoring on the job to develop customer service skills and team building. Because he may have grown up in an environment receiving a lot of attention from his parents, he’ll bring that need to work and require more attention by supervisors at work.
Rick represents the Baby Boomer generation. He brings a service orientation with him that may be influenced by generation events such as the start of the Peace Corps and Civil Rights Movement. Rick has the willingness to go the extra mile in a work environment. He believes in hard work and has a willingness to please the customer.
Events that may have influenced Rick include the Kennedy election, the start of the Peace Corps, the Cuban Missile crisis, John Glenn going into space, Martin Luther King’s march on Washington, D.C., the assassinations of Dr. King, John F. Kennedy, and Robert F. Kennedy, the founding of The National Organization for Women, and the Vietnam War.
2. How do these generational issues affect Julia’s management of the department?
Julia knows that customers expect their wants and needs to be met immediately. In order to do this, she must recognize the role that training and mentoring could have with each employee. Julia must find ways to work with each employee’s strengths and ways to correct their weaknesses.
Julia needs to work with Ethel’s strengths of loyalty and stability. Ethel can be given personalized training in use of the computer and the inventory system. In addition, she may need extra training on the products offered in the department. It’s important to relate her training to her experiences on the floor. After the personalized training, Julia can have Ethel start to use the computerized cash register and the use of technology in inventory control of the DVDs and movies. In assigning Ethel’s work, it may benefit the department to pair Ethel with a Gen Y part-time worker who is more technologically adept.
In working with Larry, Julia needs to build on his asset of technological know-how. Julia should take a mentoring approach focusing on the policy of “the customer comes first.” In order to provide structure in the work environment, she needs to provide constant feedback and praise to shape his behavior. She also needs to work with Larry on designing simple instructions for showing customers how to use specific equipment—a collaborative task. In addition, Larry should “shadow” Rick to observe his sales techniques.
Julia needs to recognize that Rick needs technical training. Julia should have Larry work with Rick to learn the simpler technology (e.g., computers, iPads, etc.) so he can gain confidence. To reinforce Rick’s strong personal selling skills, Julia should provide positive feedback as a motivator.
4. What generalizations are made by upper management about the employees? In your opinion, are they right or are they wrong? Be specific.
Ethel. She may be perceived as being too old to work effectively and having nothing to contribute in the organization.
Larry. His technology skills would transfer into personal selling skills.
Rick. His personal selling skills could carry into technology sales, where he would have technological proficiency.
Julia. She can support and develop a competent team, is adept at accessing information on the internet, and knows enough about technology to move into the manager position in Electronics without prior experience in the department.
Religion in the Workplace
How Canada Handles Religious Discrimination
For the above 2 readings you will develop questions and/or exercises which you considerable suitable to engage the class.