Bentley University News

We all know that millennials are tech savvy, diverse and highly motivated when it comes to advancing their professional careers. But did you know that they're also passionate about social causes? 

Millennials — roughly defined as someone in their late teens to someone in their early 30s and often labeled as “lazy” and “self-centered” by those from older generations — not only want to help make the world a better place, they’re actually doing something about it.

Millennials are rapidly becoming a significant part of the workforce — accounting for more of a third of all workers today, and projected to be close to half by 2020. Still, our PreparedU survey reveals that 66 percent of millennials still feel misunderstood by older generations. The media is trying to help, devoting a bunch of recent coverage and commentary to millennials. Here’s a quick summary of some of the best.

How College is Like Sunscreen

In my previous blog, I put Detroit’s financial condition — or lack thereof — under the microscope. The truth is, Detroit’s story is not unique. Pittsburgh, for example, was on the brink of bankruptcy in 2004. Heavily in debt, the city borrowed $870 million, twice its annual budget at the time. The city teetered on the abyss but didn’t fall in. What happened?

Pittsburgh’s demographics parallel Detroit’s in many ways:

There’s good reason for America’s colleges and corporations to focus on millennials. The latest data indicate that approximately half the workforce in the United States will be millennial by 2020. At many accounting, finance and professional service firms, the average age of the workforce today is 27, which puts them squarely in the midst of the Millennial Movement. It’s also important to point out that the oldest millennials — who are nearing 35 — can be counted among the nation’s leading entrepreneurs, managers and executives.

Can today’s millennial women break through the barriers, stereotypes and inequities that have so plagued women in the past?

Of all the provisions found in the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, perhaps none is as controversial as Section 404(b). This section requires public company management and external auditors to independently test effectiveness of internal controls over financial reporting. The auditor issues an opinion on control effectiveness, identifying the most severe weaknesses detected.

Bentley University’s Millennial Preparedness research study raised a number of issues about millennials in the workplace. In the coming weeks, PreparedU, in a series entitled Generational Voices, will present opinions from millennials and non-millennials alike on a wide variety of these issues. These views may contrast or coincide, but each will provide perspective designed to enhance insights resulting from the PreparedU data.

Freedom. One word suggesting a more just, humane society. Freedom lets us pick our religion, friends, and political leaders without fear of retribution. Freedom allows us to move within and across national borders and to express ourselves freely. Freedom is largely considered the cornerstone for building a successful democratic nation-state.

Today, the question of “freedom” is ever more relevant and multifaceted when seeking to understand the pro-democracy movements in North Africa, a place where I have nurtured a longtime research interest.