Cover not available
Article published In:
Strategic Communication: Beyond nation cultural adaption, images and identity
Edited by Hassan Abu Bakar and Bahtiar Bin Mohamad
[Journal of Asian Pacific Communication 28:1] 2018
► pp. 129–150

Generational differences in workplace communication

Perspectives of female leaders and their direct reports in Malaysia

| Universiti Utara Malaysia
| Universiti Utara Malaysia

Purpose – This research investigates the generational differences in workplace communication, expectations and behaviors of employees from the perspectives of female leaders and their direct reports.

Design – This study employs a qualitative approach through in-depth interviews with 12 female leaders and 24 of their direct reports who are working in various organizations in Malaysia.

Findings – Findings include three themes that emerged as key in determining and reflecting the female leaders’ experiences in communicating with their employees in the workplace: (1) attitudes towards power and authority; (2) being creative and taking risks and (3) workplace dynamics.

Research Implications – The workplace setting and the leaders’ stance with regards to workplace interaction have seen adjustment towards a flatter and less-hierarchical structure in line with the challenges associated with the 21st century organizations.

Practical implications – Leaders and members of the organizations should work towards balancing some traditional and emerging expectations and work practices to better engage with each other.

Originality/value – This research highlights the interactions between two distinct groups that are gaining importance and influence in the current workplace; female leaders and the Gen-Ys and uncovers the unique blend between perceived cultural dimensions, the influence of technology advancement and overseas exposure in organizations in Malaysia.

Keywords: generational differences, workplace communication, female leaders
Article outline
  • Introduction
  • Generational differences in the workplace
  • Generational differences and communication styles
  • The GLOBE study
  • Methods
    • Study design, approach and sample selection
    • Data collection
    • Techniques of data analysis
  • Findings and discussions
  • Female leaders’ attitudes towards power and authority
  • Female leaders efforts to foster creativity and risks-taking in the workplace
  • Workplace dynamics and communication styles
  • Conclusion
  • Limitation and suggestion for further studies
  • Acknowledgments
  • References
Published online: 19 January 2018
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/japc.00007.abd
References
Adler, N. J. & Osland, J. S.
(2016) Women leading globally: What we know, thought we knew, and need to know about leadership in the 21st century. Advances in Global Leadership, 91, 15–56. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Ahmad-Zaluki, N. A.
(2012) The pre-and post-IPOs gender composition of board of directors in Malaysia. Gender in Management: An International Journal, 27(7), 449–462. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Ayman, R., & Korabik, K.
(2010) Leadership: Why gender and culture matter. American Psychologist, 65(3), 157. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Becton, J. B., Walker, H. J., & Jones-Farmer, A.
(2014) Generational differences in workplace behaviour. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 44(3), 175–189. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Berkery, E., Morley, M., & Tiernan, S.
(2013) Beyond gender role stereotypes and requisite managerial characteristics: from communal to androgynous, the changing views of women. Gender in Management: An International Journal, 28(5), 278–298. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Boekhorst, J. A.
(2015) The role of authentic leadership in fostering workplace inclusion: A social information processing perspective. Human Resource Management, 54(2), 241–264. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Chavez, C. I., & Weisinger, J. Y.
(2008) Beyond diversity training: A social infusion for cultural inclusion. Human Resource Management, 47(2), 331–350. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Chawla, D., Dokadia, A. & Rai, S.
(2017) Multigenerational Differences in Career Preferences, Reward Preferences and Work Engagement among Indian Employees, Global Business Review, 18(1), pp. 181–197. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Chen, P. J., & Choi, Y.
(2008) Generational differences in work values: a study of hospitality management. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 20(6), 595–615. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Cheung, F. M., & Halpern, D. F.
(2010) Women at the top: powerful leaders define success as work+ family in a culture of gender. American Psychologist, 65(3), 182. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Cooper, D. R., & Schindler, P. S.
(2014) Business Research Methods. © The McGraw− Hill Companies.Google Scholar
Corbin, J., & Strauss, A.
(2008) Basics of qualitative research (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage PublicationsGoogle Scholar
Cox, L. V.
(2016) Understanding Millennial, Generation X, and Baby Boomer Preferred Leadership Characteristics: Informing Today’s Leaders and Followers. Brandman University, USA. ProQuest Dissertations Publishing.Google Scholar
Crumpacker, M. & Crumpacker, J. D.
(2007) Succession planning and generational stereotypes: Should HR consider age-based values and attitudes a relevant factor or a passing fad?. Public Personnel Management, 36(4), 349–369. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Day, D. V.
(2000) Leadership development: A review in context. The Leadership Quarterly, 11(4), 581–613. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Eagly, A. H., & Karau, S. J.
(2002) Role congruity theory of prejudice toward female leaders. Psychological review, 109(3), 573. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Fondas, N.
(1997) Feminization unveiled: Management qualities in contemporary writings. Academy of Management Review, 22(1), 257–282. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Francis-Smith, J.
(2004) Surviving and thriving in the multigenerational workplace. Journal Record, 11. [URL]
Galli, E. B., & Müller-Stewens, G.
(2012) How to build social capital with leadership development: Lessons from an explorative case study of a multibusiness firm. The Leadership Quarterly, 23(1), 176–201. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Gilbert, J.
(2011) The Millennials: A new generation of employees, a new set of engagement policies. Ivey Business Journal: Improving the Practice of Management, September-October 1–3.Google Scholar
Glass, A.
(2007) Understanding generational differences for competitive success. Industrial and Commercial Training, 39(2), 98–103. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Hartman, J. L., & McCambridge, J.
(2011) Optimizing millennials’ communication styles. Business Communication Quarterly, 74(1), 22–44. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Hofstede, G. H.
(1980) Culture’s consequences: International differences in work-related values. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
House, R. J. et al.
(2004) Culture, leadership, and organizations: The GLOBE study of 62 societies. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
House, R. J., Wright, N. S., & Aditya, R. N.
(1997) Cross-cultural research on organizational leadership: A critical analysis and a proposed theory. In P. C. Earley, and M. Erez (Eds.), New perspectives in international industrial organizational psychology, San Francisco: New Lexington.Google Scholar
House, R., Javidan, M., Hanges, P., & Dorfman, P.
(2002) Understanding cultures and implicit leadership theories across the globe: an introduction to project GLOBE. Journal of World Business, 37(1), 3–10. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Howe, N., & Strauss, W.
(1992) Generations: The history of America’s future. Harper Collins.Google Scholar
Inglehart, R.
(1997) Modernization and post-modernization: Cultural, economic, and political change in 43 Societies. Princeton. N.J.: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Ismail, M., Abd Rahim, A. N., Lee, K. H. & Mohd Thahri, N. F.
(2016) Cultural Values and Career Goals of Gen-X and Gen-Y Employees: Evidence From Selected Malaysian Companies, Organizations and Markets in Emerging Economies 7 (2), pp. 43–64. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Jogulu, U. D.
(2010) Culturally-linked leadership styles. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 31(8), 705–719. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Jogulu, U. D., & Wood, G. J.
(2008) A cross-cultural study into peer evaluations of women’s leadership effectiveness. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 29(7), 600–616. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Lanaj, K., & Hollenbeck, J. R.
(2015) Leadership over-emergence in self-managing teams: The role of gender and countervailing biases. Academy of Management Journal, 58(5), 1476–1494. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Lyons, S., & Kuron, L.
(2014) Generational differences in the workplace: A review of the evidence and directions for future research. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 35(1), 139–157. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Martin, D.
(2005) On secularisation: Towards a revised general theory. Ashgate Pub Co.Google Scholar
McCann, R. M., & Giles, H.
(2006) Communication with people of different ages in the workplace: Thai and American data. Human Communication Research, 32(1), 74–108. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2007) Age-differentiated communication in organizations: Perspectives from Thailand and the United States. Communication Research Reports, 24(1), 1–12. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
McFarland, L., Senen, S., & Childress, J. R.
(1993) Twenty-first century leadership. New York: Leadership Press.Google Scholar
Meister, J. C., & Willyerd, K.
(2010) Mentoring millennials. Harvard Business Review, 88(5), 68–72.Google Scholar
Mencl, J., & Lester, S. W.
(2014) More alike than different what generations value and how the values affect employee workplace perceptions. Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies, 21(3), 257–272. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Miller, M., Hodge, K., Brandt, A. & Schneider, E.
(2013) The young and the restless: Gen Ys in the workplace: are you prepared?. FDCC Quarterly, 63(3), 226–250.Google Scholar
Myers, K. K., & Sadaghiani, K.
(2010) Millennials in the workplace: A communication perspective on millennials’ organizational relationships and performance. Journal of Business and Psychology, 25(2), 225–238. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Oblinger, D.
(2003) Boomers, gen-Xers, and millennials: Understanding the new students. Educause Review, 381, 37–47.Google Scholar
Olson, M.
(2009) The logic of collective action, Vol. 1241. Harvard University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Osland, J., Oddou, G., Bird, A., & Osland, A.
(2013) Exceptional global leadership as cognitive expertise: In the domain of global change. European Journal of International Management, 7(5), 517–534. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Rowley, C., Bae, J., Horak, S. & Bacouel-Jentjens, S.
(2016) Distinctiveness of human resource management in the Asia Pacific region: typologies and levels, The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 1–16.Google Scholar
Scharwtz, S. H.
(1994), “Are there universal aspects in the structure and contents of human values?”, Journal of Social Issues, Vol. 501, No. 41, pp. 19–45. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Sekaran, U., & Bougie, R.
(2013) Research methods for business: A skill-building approach. New York. Wiley & SonsGoogle Scholar
Shaw, S. and Fairhurst, D.
(2008) Engaging a new generation of graduates. Education and Training, 50(5), 366–378. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Shore, L. M., Randel, A. E., Chung, B. G., Dean, M. A., Ehrhart, K. H., & Singh, G.
(2011) Inclusion and diversity in work groups: A review and model for future research. Journal of Management, 371, 1262–1289. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Smith, P. B. & Peterson, M. F.
(1995) Beyond value comparisons: sources used to give meaning to management work events in twenty-nine countries. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Academy of Management , Vancouver, Canada.
Smola, K. W. E. Y., & Sutton, C. D.
(2002) Generational differences : revisiting generational work values for the new millennium. Journal of Organizational Behaviour, 231, 363–382. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Taylor, P.
(2014), “The next America boomers, millennials, and the looming generational showdown”, New York: Pew Research Center.Google Scholar
Tulgan, B.
(2011) Generation Y. Journal of Leadership Studies, 5(3), 77–81. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Twenge, J. M. & Campbell, S. M.
(2008) Generational differences in psychological traits and their impact on the workplace. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 23(8), 862–877. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Tyler, K.
(2008) Generation gaps: millennials may be out of touch with the basics of workplace behavior. HR Magazine, 69–72.Google Scholar
van Emmerik, I. H., Euwema, M. C., & Wendt, H.
(2008) Leadership behaviors around the world: The relative importance of gender versus cultural background. International Journal of Cross Cultural Management, 8(3), 297–315. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Wasserman, I. C., Gallegos, P. V., & Ferdman, B. M.
(2008) Dancing with resistance: leadership challenges in fostering a culture of inclusion. In K. M. Thomas (Ed.), Diversity resistance in organizations. New York, NY: Taylor and Francis.Google Scholar
Yin, R. K.
(2014) Case study research: design and methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Zikmund, W., Babin, B., Carr, J., & Griffin, M.
(2012) Business research methods. (12th ed.). Mason, Ohio, USA: Cengage LearningGoogle Scholar
Cited by

Cited by 2 other publications

Rathakrishnan, Thanuja, Feranita Feranita, Lin Woon Leong, Yong Jing Yi & Roy Mouawad
2022. Evolution of Entrepreneurship Development Among Different Generations in Adopting Technology in Malaysia: Towards a Reconciliation for Collaboration. In Innovation in ASEAN, ► pp. 53 ff. DOI logo
Richards, Melanie B., Karin L. Becker & Jessica Stollings-Holder
2023. Escaping generational conflict: using gamification to examine intergenerational communication & problem-solving. Review of Managerial Science DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 1 april 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.