Has the generation gap ever been wider? It’s always been there, but new technology, climate change, geopolitical strife and different work ethics often seem to accentuate divisions between baby boomers and generations X, Y, Z and (coming soon) A.
In the business school classroom, too, the mix of students from these groups has the potential to create divisions. Johannesburg Business School dean Randall Carolissen says: “Some younger students will google to fact-check what lecturers say in class and challenge them if the two sets of information don’t match. Some of the older professors really struggle, because they aren’t used to being publicly challenged.”
It doesn’t help that those googled “facts” are often wrong.
Baby boomers (born 1946-1964) and, to a lesser extent, Generation X (1965-1980) were raised to mostly accept what teachers tell them in the classroom. That trust has eroded as Generations Y (1981-1996 — also known as millennials) and Z (1997-2012) have moved through the education system. New technologies have offered them alternative sources of information but also a different worldview.
Increasingly they want to know the provenance, or background, of employers, including attitude to certain social issues. They are less inclined to take what they are told at face value. Rather than adjusting to an established working environment, they expect it to adapt to them.
As part of this, they want a better work-life balance. Thus, many may reject traditional working hours and practices, such as working from an office, and they are more likely to change jobs and even careers during their working life. Carolissen says: “They have limited loyalty to one company.”
A study by Johns Hopkins University in the US says employers ignore these new demands at their peril. “To cultivate a workplace environment where all employees can thrive, employers must be wary of these values as well as of the nature of the social, political and technological atmospheres that have generated them,” it says.
Unlike baby boomers and Gen Xers — who grew up in a mostly physical, hands-on environment — millennials and Gen Z are technology driven. Millennials “are comfortable with technology and expect it to be integrated into their learning experience”, says Johns Hopkins. “They value collaboration, hands-on learning and immediate feedback.”
Of Gen Z, it says: “They have grown up in an even more technology-saturated environment than millennials and, as such, are very comfortable with technology. They value personalisation and flexibility in their learning, and they appreciate a mix of online and in-person instruction.”
Traditional business schools are becoming obsolete because they are not responsive to the needs of the new digital world
— Penny Law
Penny Law, director of Joburg-based Regenesys Business School, says many schools are not adapting fast enough to the changing student environment. “Traditional business schools are becoming obsolete because they are not responsive to the needs of the new digital world,” she says. “Most are struggling and cannot survive in a free marketplace without government subsidies.
“Technology is disrupting business school education in a major way. People will not be paying astronomical fees for substandard education when they can get it at a fraction of the cost at new digital education institutions. Higher education is at the cusp of revolutionary change. Traditional and risk-averse brands will fall like dominoes within the next decade.”
Regenesys, she adds, “has been preparing for this new digital age for the past decade. We have invested heavily in technology, research and people, and in the development and accreditation of a new generation of programmes for the new digital world.”
Kobus Jonker, director of the Tshwane School for Business & Society, says that, with an average student age in the upper 30s, many business schools have not yet felt the full force of this change. Where they have experienced it, they have had to compromise established practices. Teaching and exam times have become more flexible and there has been growing demand for shorter courses.
The trouble, Jonker says, is that while some younger students are uncomfortable with long-term commitment and solutions, the real business world doesn’t work like that. “Teaching long-term strategy to people who don’t want to look that far ahead can be a challenge,” he says. “Running a business is not about quick solutions.”
Milpark Business School director Segran Nair says: “Different generations come with different needs. They are products of the way they were brought up. Generations Y and Z, particularly the former, like to engage actively in the classroom. They listen to what faculty has to say but then want to share their own opinions, based on personal experience. That experience does not necessarily match someone else’s.”
Joseph Sekhampu, director of North-West University Business School, tells the FM: “Business school education must continually evolve to meet the needs of future generations.” Today, students expect more flexibility, practical skills and ethical leadership. “We incorporate modern teaching methods, promote interdisciplinary collaboration and enhance our engagement with the business community,” Sekhampu says.
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