An evaluation of the effect of coaching on the empowerment of middle managers in the retail sector : a lifelong learning perspective

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The modern business environment is characterised by uncertainty, rapid change and thecontinuous pursuit of competitiveness. This has placed a renewed emphasis on thecapacitation of managers operating in such environments and may be seen as a criticalmeans of ensuring a sustainable advantage. Within the South African food retailenvironment, learning and development activities do not seem to be capacitating managerseffectively, as well as taking too long to meet the changing demands of the retail sector.Lifelong learning has the potential to accelerate the development of individuals inmanagement positions.Lifelong learning can be seen as the facilitation of learning, growth and development ofindividuals, as well as a means for enabling individuals and organisations to meet thechallenges of an increasingly competitive world.Learning has the potential to empower individuals. In facilitating lifelong learning, a coachingmethodology was used to facilitate the learning of ten middle managers in a large food retailstore (part of one of the biggest retail organisations in South Africa). This research set out toevaluate the effect of coaching (as a method to facilitate learning) to empower middlemanagers in the food retail sector.The research was approached from a lifelong learning perspective and the focus of theresearch was the individual adult learner. Within the context of adult learning, the conceptsof andragogy, experiential learning and transformative learning were applied in thefacilitation of adult learning.Coaching (as a method to facilitate learning) allows for a uniquely individual and personalapproach to learning. The learning and development intervention (using a coachingmethodology) to facilitate learning was implemented over a period of 12 months and theparticipants were ten middle managers employed by the retail store.The case study (more specifically a multiple-case) design was used as research design. Thefindings of the research were discussed to place them within the context of the followingresearch questions:• What is the effect of coaching as a method of learning and development in thefacilitation of lifelong learning to empower middle managers in the food retailenvironment?• Is coaching (as only another way of facilitating learning) an effective method forfacilitating learning and the development of middle managers in the food retailsector?• Which dimensions should be taken into consideration when implementing a coachingmethodology (as a method of learning) in developing middle managers in the retailsector?The participants' empowerment status was measured with a standardised questionnaireusing a pre-test, post-test and post-post-test design. The research was conducted in threephases. Mixed methods research (using both qualitative and quantitative methods) was usedduring the research, which included interviews, field notes, questionnaires, observation, testsand official statistics.The first phase consisted of an evaluation, which included an evaluation of each individualmanager. Two learning style questionnaires were applied to each middle manager to gain abetter understanding of each middle manager and to assist the learning process on anindividual basis. Lastly, a pre-test on empowerment was done by means of a standardisedquestionnaire. Part of this phase involved a structured interview with each individualmanager. The second phase involved exposure to the coaching intervention and the processof coaching, followed by a post-test for measuring changes in the empowerment status. Thelast phase consisted of a post-post-test to measure changes in empowerment at the end ofthe coaching intervention.Five out of the ten middle managers showed sustained empowerment gains at the end of thecoaching intervention. An experiential approach (using Kolb's learning model) was used tofacilitate the learning, and the middle managers who completed the learning cycle (namelyconcrete experience, reflective observation, abstract conceptualisation and activeexperience) showed empowerment gains. The learners who showed empowerment alsodisplayed self-direction in their learning. Coaching (as a method to facilitate lifelong learning)was used as an effective method of learning in a busy retail environment. Statistical analysisshowed no statistically significant improvements in empowerment from pre-test to post-posttestof the total group. Based on the findings and conclusions of the research, a newcoaching framework (to facilitate lifelong learning), namely the New Coaching Retail Model,is proposed. This model consists of dimensions that facilitate individual lifelong learning,pointing to an empowered lifelong learner.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University