Within the corporate world we now see three different generation cultures working side-by-side. Progressive mangers are expected to understand these differences and make peace with the different mindsets and traits that come along each age group. In order to retain top talent and build solid working teams rewards and assignments should take into consideration the personal likes and dislikes of each of the groups.

Culture plays an important part of successful management. For example, older executive managers have a different culture than their younger subordinates. Today there is four different cultures co-existing at once; traditionalists who were born before 1945, boomers who were born between 1946 and 1964, generation x born between 1965 and 1977, and finally generation Y born after 1977 (Sachs, 2006).

An interesting article by Dana Kyles outlines three of these differences with clarity (2005):

Baby boomers are seen as competitive, political and hard working. They hold the majority of management level positions are results orientated instead of the method. They want the status symbols that come with higher pay, special parking spaces, titles and perks. There is approximately 80 million in the workforce.

Generation Xs are seen as disloyal, individualistic and technologically savvy. They were raised in a time of single parents and unconventional wisdom. When they began entering the workforce they did so during economic recession and strife. They are not interested in the status symbols that many of their Baby Boomer parents are interested in but want to feel a certain level of satisfaction from their jobs. There is around 46 million in the work force.

Generation Ys are seen as technologically savvy, purposeful and able to multitask. Many Generation Ys have been reared in non-traditional households like the Gen Xers but have come to understand their place in society. They are still individualistic but want to contribute to society. They also desire personal relationships with supervisors and want feedback. Technology and fast paced lifestyles have given them the ability to multi-task with ease. There is approximately 75 million just entering the work force.

Corporations need to adapt their cultures and reward structures to better appeal to the interest of their employees. Companies who adhere only to the interest of the executive management may find themselves having high turn over and low performance at the lower ranks. This raises the cost of business and reduces the overall effectiveness of the organization.