Organizational Attractiveness and Job Attribute Preferences of Business Students

Abstract

For organisations today, right people are key differentiators that give them a competitive advantage. But, rapid changes in technology, nature of work and organisational structure coupled with a volatile and highly competitive market have made it difficult for firms to find the right talent with right skills. Employers are faced with an additional challenge of dealing with a diverse workforce in terms of gender, sexual preferences, race, ethnicity, abilities and generation. Today, with almost all the baby boomers (born between 1946 and 1964) phased out; it is projected that the Gen Y employees will outnumber the Gen X in the near future. One of the most important challenges for HR managers is to acquire and retain the Gen Y employees (born between late 1970s and mid 1990’s) who are likely to comprise the bulk of employees. It therefore becomes important for HR managers to develop strategies to hire and retain these employees. Gen Y employees do not stay with one organisation and are ready to switch jobs and sectors for better pay and development opportunities. The expectations and preferences of Gen Y are different from their predecessors. Literature throughout indicate that the members of Generation Y or Millennials prefer flexibility in their work schedules and positions as well as the ability to maintain a substantial work-life balance. Millennials desire constant feedback and recognition from their superiors and seek developmental opportunities in the workplace. Therefore, Gen Y is believed to have a protean career attitude with most of them being self-directed in their career development unlike the traditional careerists who depended on the organisation for their career progress. Management students form a substantial part of the graduates looking for employment after their course and are an important source of recruitment for employers. It is thus important to understand what these young aspirants look for when pursuing employment with organizations, so that organizations can focus on these factors to attract and retain them. This study aims to investigate the protean career orientation of Gen Y management students and examine the job attribute factors considered important and attractive by these young aspirants when seeking employment with organizations.