Ethical issues

Qualitative research is providing descriptions of a social world that we live in. All descriptions of a social world are to some extent bound to a certain perspective. Hence, the reality in research is that the objectivity of research is at stake. (Silverman 1998, 201.) Ethical issues need to be considered when making any research. The issues need to be considered when making justified and legitimate knowledge. (Eriksson & Kovalainen 2016, 65.) Reliability and validity are important features in research making. Even though there are different ways on making qualitative research, objectivity is important in all. Reliability is the degree to which the research’s results are autonomous of the affection of the circumstances in the research setting. Reliability can be tested so that the researcher would investigate the same phenomenon again and receive the same or very similar findings. The quality of research data and transparently describing the research method and allowing access to research data is important in reliability. (Silverman 1998, 203.)

When considering validity, there is a threat that people experience meaning in differing ways. In addition, the connections between written storied text and the interpretations of those texts can differ. People look at the word through certain lenses and can interpret written text in differing way, than it was originally meant. (Polkinghorne 2007.)

Analyzing

Data

collection

Synthesizing

Qualitative research is often made to offer deep understanding. Often qualitative research is conducted with small number of participants and in a context. This was also the reality in the current thesis. The results cannot usually be generalized. However, other research projects may have similar experiences and the results may be similar. (Bold 2012, 4.)

As described above, collecting personal narratives will offer a truth about some phenomenon from the participant’s point of view. The data that is collected will not therefore be generalizable.

However, not every research has to be generalizable but can instead investigate for example certain company and the phenomenon inside of it. The research can be in great value even though the results are not applicable to other companies.

Research ethics in business settings involve important questions such as: Whose interest is served?

How to get access to credible information? What kind of information is available? Also, the research participants should voluntarily participate on the research, research should not harm the participants. (Eriksson & Kovalainen 2016, 69-73.) In this research, the interviewees participated voluntarily.

Well-formed and carefully considered research design leads to a successful and reliable study where as poor design leads the study to less successful outcome. However, for qualitative studies, the nature of the research design is more flexible than fixed. For example, the processes of collecting and analyzing data, developing and modifying theory, elaborating or refocusing the research questions, identifying and addressing validity are happening simultaneously. Qualitative research is not conducted linearly with before-decided steps but happens in cycles where all the components can effect on others. (Maxwell 2013, 2.)

The methodology, validity and research questions must also be closely linked in the research. The chosen methodology must enable to answer the chosen research question. In turn, the methodology must be chosen carefully and keep in mind that the results of the study are valid, and the researchers must strive to avoid any possible biases. (Maxwell 2013, 5). In this research, the narrative method was chosen because it was considered as the best qualitative method to investigate the research question.

Polkinghorne (2007) points out social science knowledge cannot often be measured with statistical analysis or numeric data. Social sciences and narrative research can however produce valid data,

even though it develops knowledge about areas of human experience and action, such as their experienced meanings of their life’s activities or events. Readers of the research must make judgement of the plausibility of the knowledge that is created in the research. The reader makes judgements of how the researcher has reported the study and what kind of evidence and arguments are offered. In narrative research, the reader should read carefully the evidence-based arguments that the writer presents. (Polkinghorne, 2007).

In the current thesis, anonymity was difficult to remain inside of the company, but in the thesis the participants are made anonymous. The participants were informed beforehand, what the research is going to be about. The research was based on a written contract. In the contract, it was agreed on who had access to the data and there is respect for confidentiality and privacy.

4 IDENTITY CONSTRUCTION AFTER ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE

This chapter will discuss the findings of the empirical study. The chapter offers some important insights into professionals’ identity development in a strategic change situation within the case company. The collected data is presented as two different narratives, one from the leaders’

perspective and the other from the team members’ perspective. Each narrative describes the experiences that are lived through when organizational change occurred.

This study provided an important opportunity to deepen the understanding of both the leaders’ and change recipients’ experiences to the occurred change. The first chapter describes generally the changes that were carried out in the organization. This draws an image for the reader to understand how the circumstances changed in the workplace and enables to understand better the change recipients’ identity development work.

The general change description is followed by the first narrative, which enlightens the leaders’

thoughts and experiences about the change. The second narrative offers reflection about the change from the customer service team members’ point of view. The second narrative describes both the easiness of change and the struggle that was experienced during the organizational change.

Picture 5. Identity development process (Schilling et al. 2013)

The results are discussed in the same order as the steps described in the picture. The framework of Schilling et al. (2013) is used to categorize the results from the narratives. The framework has been used when conducting the deductive content analysis. The narrative of the leaders consists of three managers’ experiences of the occurred change. All managers have led their teams during the organizational change and were involved in the planning process of the change.

The overall descriptions of the change were positive, and the change could also be described as a success story. One of the leaders was specifically hired to lead the change and build the customer service organization to its current form. Two other managers have worked for the company for several years also before this strategic change was carried out.

Nature of the strategic change

This chapter enlightens the reasons for the strategic change in the case company. The case company made a new strategy in 2016, which is called the “Customer first”-strategy. The strategy work started when a new CEO was hired. A new strategy was needed, as the company faced heavier competition in their market. The occupancy rate declined due to more intensive competition in the markets. Therefore, the new Customer first strategy was made to answer to the new competition. It was increasingly important to differentiate from competitors and this was going to be made by providing better service for the customers.

Picture 6. Identity development process (Schilling et al. 2013)

The management had to plan how to survive in the competing market and how to do things differently. The Customer first strategy means that the customer is kept as the driver of the operations. Services were improved and the interaction with customers was seen as highly important. From spring 2017 onwards, the company started to handle their customer relationships themselves.

Before the new strategy, most of the building management of the company’s housing was outsourced to a house managing agency. Due to the changed strategy and shifted mindset in the

company, they decided to take the building management back in the company, which meant that they hired around 30 building managers in-house.

Another major development was made in the customer service unit of the company. The customer service unit had to develop in order to serve the customers better. While the property managers were hired back in-house, all the customer contacts started to come in-house as well. As the building management was outsourced before the change, the customers would contact the house-managing agency if they had problems in their homes, for example broken domestic appliances or other possible faults in the apartment. After the change, all the calls and other contacting started to come directly to the case company.

Picture 7. The nature of the strategic change

The Customer first strategy started a great deal of changes within the organization. The organization structure was changed to enable the strategy better. To implement the changes, new roles were generated. Before the strategy was implemented, the strategy was carefully planned and the employees participated in training sessions that dealt with the upcoming changes. The change was discussed in events where the entire organization took part and the changes were introduced little by little.