Implications of the Digital Divide to the Workplace: Digital Natives versus Digital Immigrants

A Project Submitted to the Chandaria School of Business in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirement for the Degree of Global Executive Masters in Business Administration (GeMBA)The purpose of this study was to investigate the implications of the digital divide in the workplace with a focus on digital natives versus digital immigrants. The study was guided by the following research questions; what are the generational differences in training styles and training needs for the digital natives and digital immigrants? What do digital natives and digital migrants perceive to contribute to success in the workplace? And what are the best practices that can promote retention among both the digital natives and the digital immigrants at workplace? The study adopted descriptive research design to generate information and create the opportunity for in-depth responses. The study population was 76 Lolwe Television Network staff at its station in Nairobi who were stratified into top, middle, operational management and junior staff. Since the population of study was small, the researcher conducted a census and questionnaires were used to collect data from the respondents. Data was analyzed with the help of SPSS to generate descriptive statistics and presented in frequency tables and figures. The study found out that the respondents preferred studying/ reading using a digital device as opposed to hard copies of reading materials, performed well when networked and access social networking websites which include Twitter was a fundamental a part of their lives. The younger generation viewed getting evaluation and remarks as a top approach to learn soft abilities, preferred training in the areas of expertise and leadership. Visual and graphics learning appealed more to the digital natives, they were accustomed to learning at high speed, prefer learning that allowed one to explore and to actively test ideas and also preferred learning that allowed one to explore and create knowledge. The study also found out that respondents associated less with employing organization but more with the work and were able to work far from the workplace or from home and still produce quality results. The digital natives sought to maintain a good work-life balance in comparison with the immigrants and giving the natives flexibility in their work schedules would permit them to pursue other activities outside work while at the same time maintaining a high level of productivity. The digital natives sought for opportunities to learn from their superiors, preferred to share information with different group members, continuously sought for remarks from superiors, were very comfortable in a team setting and working together was far more effective than going it alone. The study further found out that mentoring created an environment of trust for a diverse workforce, the respondents preferred a job that does not close into one task but variety and also preferred a management style which was more of consensus than command and before one could manage and lead they must be able to understand and connect with the followers. These major findings are what should have been in the abstract as well. The study concludes that that some training styles and needs for digital natives differed from those of digital immigrants. For instance, younger workers do not favor learning soft skills through classroom instruction, organizational culture that accommodates the digital native is crucial for success. The digital natives prefer working in teams that allow flexibility and also innovation which has impacted the way people think about work and the way they interact with and at work and the digital culture has been a boom for the organization, it has also changed the power balance in the employer-employee relationship, often more towards the employee. The study recommends that managers and trainers should consider possible age-related preferences when teaching ‘soft skills’ and endeavor to provide constant assessment and feedback to the digital to enable them to learn. It also recommends that the organization should develop a strong supportive workplace culture that allows team members to feel connected and included even if they are spread out. The study further recommends that the organization should adopt a management style that is more of consensus than command where employees are engaged in matters affecting the organizations and also their wellbeing. The management should provide a more open work environment with increased information transparency to promote retention