Millennials and Structure Structure is best for millennials because:  They want it. o 72% of millennials agreed with the statement “I prefer a structured environment with clear rules.” o Educators report that millennials want structured academic paths.  They need it. o 50% of managers in one study noted Millennials need a high level of supervision and structure. o More than 50% of education professionals identify clear structure as a key pedagogical strategy. Millennials want structure in most aspects of their lives. Accustomed to living via day planners and packed schedules since early childhood, unstructured environments can cause confusion and uncertainty. In an examination of fourteen articles on millennials, Farrell and Hurt (2014) note that “desire for structure” is one of six key characteristics of the millennial generation (pg. 49). Millennials themselves clearly state this preference. In the National MBA Survey of more than 5,600 MBA students, 72% of millennials agreed with the statement, “I prefer a structured environment with clear rules,” while only 33% of Generation Xers (those born between 1965-1980) agreed (Beekman, 2011). Educators at the university level have also observed and reported on millennial students’ desire for a clearly structured academic path, wanting to know exactly what information will be on tests and expressing preference for highly structured classroom activities (Merlino, 2009; US Chamber of Commerce, 2012). This need for structure extends to the workplace as well because it “creates a clearly defined picture of the organization” (Farrell & Hurt, 2014, p. 53). With this picture in mind, millennial workers figure out how to improve, understand existing procedures, and make suggestions about improvements. Just as millennials themselves express a clear need for structure, employers, managers, and educators have also found that millennials need structure, even if they do not specifically communicate that need. In a study of ten managers, 50% of them indicated that millennials need a high level of supervision and structure (Engels, 2011). This can be a challenge for some managers who may be unaccustomed to providing that, but in research involving business students, education professionals noted that clear structure is a key pedagogical strategy for working with millennial students (Merlino & Rhodes, 2012). When managers assign projects without explicit instructions or well-defined criteria, millennials struggle (Claps 2008; Hershatter and Epstein 2010). Taking into account the observed need for structure as expressed by both millennials and managers, M2M’s training program incorporates clear structure into each activity and has specific, clear objectives. The program’s design builds from unit to unit so that participants acquire specific skills via structured activities. Alsop (2008) found that checklists, mentoring, and clear goals help millennials reach their potential. The M2M program takes this advice and implements it at every level of the experience. Clearly communicated objectives help guide participants, but the hands-on experience and flexibility of the program also contribute to a sense of autonomy on the part of the participants. This combination of autonomy and goal-orientation has been found to be successful (Gursoy, Thomas, & Chi, 2008; Kim, Knight, & Crutsinger, 2009). M2M both offers this structured experience to clients and enables them to help create structure in their speaking, an approach ideal for the structure-loving millennial generation. Bibliography Alsop, R. (2008). The Trophy Kids Grow Up: How the Millennial Generation is Shaking Up the Workplace. San Francisco, CA: Jossy-Bass. Beekman, T. (2011). “Fill in the generation gap.” Strategic Finance 93(3): 15-17. Claps, E. (2010). “The Millennial Generation and the Work Place.” Master’s Thesis, The School of Continuing Studies and of The Graduate School of Arts and Science, Georgetown University. Engels, J. E. (2011). “The millennial generation in the workplace.” Master’s Dissertation & Thesis, Department of Management Sciences, University of Waterloo. Farrell, L., & Hurt, A. C. (2014). “Training the millennial generation: Implications for organizational climate.” Journal of Organizational Learning and Leadership 12(1): 4760. Gursoy, D., Maler, T. A., & Chi, C. G. (2008). “Generational differences: An examination of work values and generational gaps in the hospitality workforce.” International Journal of Hospitality Management 27(3):448-58. Hershatter, A., & Epstein, M. (2010). “Millennials and the world of work: An organization and management perspective.” Journal of Business Psychology 25:21123. Kim, H., Knight, D. K., & Crutsinger, C. (2009). “Generation Y employees' retail work experience: The mediating effect of job characteristics.” Journal of Business Research 62(5): 548-56. Merlino, N. (2009). "Key pedagogical strategies for millennial generation students in university business courses." Master’s Thesis, Department of Organizational Leadership, University of La Verne. Merlino, N., & Rhodes, R. (2012). “Technology in the 21st century classroom: Key pedagogical strategies for millennial students in university business courses.” Journal of Supply Chain and Operations Management 10(1): 113-30. US Chamber of Commerce. (2012). The millennial generation research review. National Chamber Foundation. http://www.uschamberfoundation.org/millennial-generationresearch-review