"We are millennials. We try to do that (find purpose) instinctively!" This is what Mark Zuckerberg said in his commencement speech at Harvard University in 2017. 'Decoding the MZ generation' has long been a critical interest for most conscious organizations. A Korean book addressing the sociocultural characteristics of those born in the 90s even gained popularity through word-of-mouth, recommended by a former president of South Korea. At one prestigious corporation, executives even attended a lecture given by new hires from the MZ generation, creating quite a buzz. The heart of the 2030 electorate was also considered a decisive factor in the last election. As the keyword has become more prominent, academic research on the subject has increased, and various writings and papers are readily available. Now, even articles featuring 90s-born professors are emerging, making it clear that a new wave of generations has arrived in academia.
Over a decade has passed since the instinctively 'purpose-driven' M generation began entering the university staff community. As the Z generation, which will lead South Korea's higher education administration alongside the M generation, sets foot in the academic community, one might wonder about the organizational systems and cultures that South Korean universities are experiencing. About three years ago, I heard shocking news that at a private university in Seoul, more than a dozen employees with only one or two years of experience resigned within a year. Considering the very small number of regular employees hired by a domestic university in a year, this is an enormous proportion of young administrative professionals leaving their jobs at the university. The vivid testimony of university-related people around me, who seem to think that the escape matrix, which was relatively quiet for the past two years due to the frozen job market caused by the pandemic, is starting again this year, reminded me of the seriousness of the current situation. One might wonder what the 'purpose' they ultimately failed to find here was.
Many university employees in South Korea experience what is called a 'reality check' once or twice a year. It's the time of regular personnel shuffling. When 'that day' approaches, the focus that was poured into the job at hand moves to whether hypotheses like 'in a few days, it will no longer be my job,' 'soon, I won't be working with that person' will be confirmed as true or false. It's a natural flow of consciousness, as you can let go if you leave or let someone go. However, what needs attention are the frustration and agony of those who have to be immediately immersed in new tasks after being moved to other departments regardless of their will. In a cliched expression, those who can find a thread of consolation in the charm of balancing between the needs of the organization and personal ideals are relatively better off. Under the system of most domestic universities, where 'organizational logic' is dominant, ambitions and efforts for personal career development are often considered luxuries.
"Under the motto of 'boosting universities' global competitiveness', a significant transformation in higher education commenced around the year 2000, setting off a series of changes and evolutions in university administration. The roles of university staff have progressively become more specialized, varied, and advanced. The focus has not only been on building dedicated organizations and teams around the theme of 'internationalization', but also on exploring new administrative areas such as intellectual property rights, technology transfers, and startup incubation. Moreover, a shift towards a specialized customer relationship management (CRM) perspective in managing donations and alumni relations is emerging, and attracting projects and business development for revenue diversification has gained prominence. Even academic administration, once deemed suitable for 'generalists', is evolving in complexity to enhance the competitiveness of programs. The pressing question amid these changes is whether universities' human resources and professional development systems are keeping pace with these trends.
Collective skill enhancement for individuals and organizations necessitates 'accumulation over time'. For instance, in the realm of internationalization, core competencies include not only negotiation skills to navigate complex stakeholder relationships but also analytical abilities to interpret global trends, strategic thinking to identify and leverage opportunities, networking skills to strategically mobilize resources, and an entrepreneurial spirit to tackle uncharted territories. Be it transitioning from an international office to a publishing department, or from an admissions team to a human resources team, from an academic group to a financial accounting department, or from a library to a purchasing team, within the repeated 'personnel turmoil' in the administrative field, job engagement, satisfaction, self-efficacy, and sustainable performance creation become individual challenges of 'sink or swim'. Back in 1979, educational administrator Thomas B. Greenfield stated that 'an organization is a conversation among its members'. Fast-forward to 2022, what kind of discourse are the millennial and Gen Z employees engaging in with the universities they serve?
"The challenge in innovating universities lies in the fact that maintaining the status quo does not pose an immediate problem." This statement from the book 'In Pursuit of Knowledge' succinctly encapsulates why, despite the pressing demands of an advanced university administration, innovation in human resource and organizational management seems stagnant. However, paradoxically, it's unlikely that many higher education stakeholders would consider it sufficient for universities to simply 'maintain the status quo without immediate problems'. Just as research and teaching excellence are vital, it's undeniable that the modernization of the administrative system, which acts as a vital link connecting the diverse functions of the university, plays a crucial role in university advancement. Therefore, "why must the expertise of employees still be marginalized in the agenda of global competitiveness of universities", "who is showing interest in implementing cutting-edge HR and organizational management that fosters mutual growth of the organization and individuals", are questions that millennial and Gen Z university employees continue to grapple with."
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This content is a translation of an article originally composed in Korean language, which was published in June 2022 on the University News Network, a premier media outlet in South Korea dedicated to higher education. For the original article, please visit http://news.unn.net/news/articleView.html?idxno=528925.
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