The Internship Movie: Generational Gap Analysis
The Internship: Generational Gap Analysis
The Internship remarkably captures many different aspects of management throughout the entire process in which the two main characters Billy, played by Vince Vaughn, and Nick, played by Owen Wilson, are given an opportunity to participate in an internship with Google. Originally, Billy and Nick were known as great salesmen and made a living selling high-class watches together. Life seemed set in stone for the two salesmen, until they were hit with the unfortunate news that their companies were shutting down. Startled by this new knowledge, Billy and Nick were now jobless with little known information about what it takes to be hired in the modern world. Against all odds, and after a very intriguing interview, the two were given an internship with Google, along with many young and brilliant college students. The purpose of this highly regarded internship was for all interns to be placed into groups, and from there, the different groups would compete in various job-related challenges. The final goal for the Google internship was that whichever team won would be given a career with Google, which would seem almost impossible for Billy and Nick to achieve with such a large age gap between them and the other interns, in addition, having close to no technological experience. Throughout the movie, we see various topics that coincide with management, mostly due to the large generation gap between Billy, Nick, and the rest of the interns. The generation gap led to a large amount of disagreement within the team that Billy and Nick were assigned to, with most disunity stemming from A-type conflict. A-type conflict can be defined as a disagreement that focuses on individuals or personal issues. These controversies almost split up Billy and Nick’s team, which would then cause them to lose the Google job opportunity. Fortunately, Billy and Nick pull through the generation gap. Their team
The Internship remarkably captures many different aspects of management throughout the entire process in which the two main characters Billy, played by Vince Vaughn, and Nick, played by Owen Wilson, are given an opportunity to participate in an internship with Google. Originally, Billy and Nick were known as great salesmen and made a living selling high-class watches together. Life seemed set in stone for the two salesmen, until they were hit with the unfortunate news that their companies were shutting down. Startled by this new knowledge, Billy and Nick were now jobless with little known information about what it takes to be hired in the modern world. Against all odds, and after a very intriguing interview, the two were given an internship with Google, along with many young and brilliant college students. The purpose of this highly regarded internship was for all interns to be placed into groups, and from there, the different groups would compete in various job-related challenges. The final goal for the Google internship was that whichever team won would be given a career with Google, which would seem almost impossible for Billy and Nick to achieve with such a large age gap between them and the other interns, in addition, having close to no technological experience. Throughout the movie, we see various topics that coincide with management, mostly due to the large generation gap between Billy, Nick, and the rest of the interns. The generation gap led to a large amount of disagreement within the team that Billy and Nick were assigned to, with most disunity stemming from A-type conflict. A-type conflict can be defined as a disagreement that focuses on individuals or personal issues. These controversies almost split up Billy and Nick’s team, which would then cause them to lose the Google job opportunity. Fortunately, Billy and Nick pull through the generation gap. Their team
Cited: Voice of America News. (2005). Technology in workplace widens generation gap. Lanham: Federal Information & News Dispatch, Inc. Cialdini, R. (2001). Harnessing the Science of Persuasion. Harvard Business Review. Tjosvold, D., Chen, Y., & Yu, Z. (2003). Conflict management for individual problem solving and team innovation in china. Rochester: Social Science Research Network. Gursoy, D., Maier, T., & Chi, C. (2008). Generational differences: An examination of work values and generational gaps in the hospitality workforce. International Journal of Hospitality Management. Society for Human Resource Management. (2011). SHRM Poll: Intergenerational Conflict in the Workplace. Retrieved from http://www.shrm.org/.