Ethical implications of retiring Baby Boomers and the implications for the knowledge gap within organizations: An exploratory investigation

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the ethical implications of Baby Boomers' retiring and the effects of the knowledge gap within organizations. Baby Boomers are reaching retirement age at epoch proportions and the ethical implications of the number of Boomers retiring and the number of employees left to fill the void is staggering. This qualitative study examines the ethical implications of the Baby Boomers reaching retirement age and the influence of their ethical perspective providing resident knowledge to the organization prior to their departure. Interviews were conducted with 10 men and 10 women in organizations that maintain a code of ethics or values statement. For purposes of this study, data analysis was conducted based on the rich descriptions resulting from conversations with the Baby Boomers who are retiring within the next ten to twelve years. A survey of scholarly literature on baby boomers, ethics, and knowledge transfer vehicles was conducted revealing whether having a knowledge transfer vehicle would be beneficial to the organization.