Unintended consequence in implementation of work culture improvement program through peer-coaching in a sales and distribution center of a large multi-national high technology company

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the work culture improvement program (WCIP) by utilizing the peer-coaching method among sales supervisors in Sales and Distribution Center at a Large Multi-National High Technology company. The present study also investigates unintended consequences longitudinally using two stages of a qualitative approach. First, the WCIP, initiated and supported by senior management, was delivered by a Canadian-based consulting team was discussed as a case study. Next, an interview was administered among nineteen respondents with the use of ORID (objective questioning, reflective questioning, interpretative questioning, and decision-oriented questioning) framework. The R Statistics RQDA package analyzed the WCIP’s impact using the Echo method of interview. Findings revealed aside from the improvements in interactions, the peer-coaching circle has turned the peer-coaching circle into a social group, an unexpected beneficial result. Furthermore, the nature of the work of the group, being in Sales and Distributions, forced them to a network to gather additional help and information. It appears that the result of the peer-coaching approach might be a function of the following factors: questioning methodology, nature of work, the frequency of meeting, and management support.