Prepare in a Word document using APA guidelines for margins and page numbers in header and spacing. Re-write in bold font the questions asked. Follow that with a well developed narrative answering the questions substantively while also providing rationale. Two other references that are APA reputable should also be included along with your text with in-text citations to support your case within the case narrative as appropriate. Include a reference page. (100 points)

Julie is the owner and manager of Julie Marchese Photography (www.mar-k-zphotography.photoreflect.com). Her business has grown to more than she can handle alone and she decided to hire another photographer. Julie, being of the late baby boomer generation, wanted to hire a photographer from a younger generation to bring a new and different creative viewpoint to her customers. She hired Maggie, a twenty-something photographer who she believed would bring in fresh ideas to her company. What Julie wasn’t expecting was having a hard time understanding and working with someone from the Millennial generation. Julie said, “Maggie does a good job taking pictures, but seems to have a problem staying focused on the other responsibilities of the position.” Many employers are now trying to work with and understand the generation that is called by so many names, including the Millennial Generation, Millennium Generation, Millennials, Generation Y, Generation Next, Net Generation, Always Connected Generation, Eighties Babies, or Echo Boomers. This generation is described as a group of “jugglers” who value being both footloose and connected to their peers 24/7.1 They stay connected via technology such as Facebook, IM, and texting, and are totally comfortable in a thumb culture that communicates online and by cell phone. To an employer these could seem like distracted employees who are more interested in their best friend’s dating life than serving their customers. So is this the most misunderstood generation yet or the most distracted? We really can’t look at the generation born between 1981 and 1995 (give or take a few years) as baby-faced teenagers anymore. The bulk of the Millennials have struggled to find their place in the 21st century. They are the most diverse generation ever and have often grown up in nontraditional families.2 As they age, some of the adult pressure and strain has started eating away at their celebrated optimism and good cheer as it does with every generation. Happiness is higher on their agenda than past generations, but many Millennials remain motivated by material things. They will not forgo their comfort to make a difference.3 The Millennial generation has been raised in a culture that places more focus on the self and less on group, society, and community.4 The aphorisms have shifted to “believe in yourself” and “you’re special.” The culture emphasizes individualism, and this gets reflected in personality traits and attitudes.5 In the same way, older generations may view Millennials’ willingness to trade high pay for fewer billable hours, flexible schedules, and a better work life as a lack of commitment, discipline, and drive. Is this true? Or are they just more focused on what is really important in life? Perception seems to be a major factor in understanding the younger generations. Julie has found that Maggie’s generation is looking for meaningful work and a solid learning curve. They have high expectations of their employers and don’t want to do anything they feel is beneath them. Julie has also found that Maggie works better when they work as a team versus working alone. The Millennial generation has grown up playing on teams with no winners or losers, or even all winners. They have been laden with trophies just for participating.6 Julie may want to focus more attention on giving Maggie different forms of feedback and guidance. Millennials like to be kept in the loop and seek frequent praise and reassurance. Honesty, humor, and information are important to this generation.7 Employers need to be aware that this generation has a tendency to move on to other employers when they feel they are not advancing or achieving in a timely manner. You can expect your Millennial employees to stay with your company three to five years on average. Maggie has been a large help to Julie when it comes to marketing to her fellow Millennials. Where Julie’s generation was easy to reach via television, Maggie’s generation has grown up in the media-saturated world of their parents and responds differently to advertisements.8 They are more likely to respond to advertisements on the Internet, at a snowboarding tournament, or on cable television. The ads may be funny or disarmingly direct. The thing to avoid is assuming that you know this generation better than they know themselves. They are more pragmatic than the Baby Boomers ever were, and they have a BS alarm that goes off quickly. They walk in and usually make up their minds very quickly about whether they want something or don’t want it. They know a lot of advertising is based on lies and hype.9 So as soon as you have them figured out, it is likely to change tomorrow. Millennials live in a fluid world that requires an unprecedented mutability of mind and action, and flexibility of identity and disposition. Millennials expect to live their lives in constant transition, always upgrading, changing, and leapfrogging to the latest technology. Markets that are wholly dissimilar in almost every other way look strikingly alike when it comes to Millennials.10 Julie has seen an increase in sales and new customers, and has learned to work with her Millennial. Just as in times past, passing knowledge from one generation to the next takes place, and learning to work with the individual, not the generation, turns out to be the most important thing on the road to success. Keeping an open mind, staying flexible, and using nontraditional methods to reach today’s consumers including the Millennials has become the next step on the road of marketing.

Questions

1. Can the Millennial generation be considered a microculture?

2. What type of social power, if any, does the Millennial generation hold?

3. How has social media and group influence helped to define the Millennial generation?

4. What generation has been called the boomerang kids? Why?

5. What makes the Millennial generation so different from generations before?