Coding of the Interview and Theme Analysis
In Chapter 8 of your Creswell text, you learn about the core elements of qualitative data analysis. Coding
the data is the first step. In this process, you reduce the data gathered into segments, assigning names
as you go along. Your assignment for this week is to code your interview transcript to find themes. Be
sure to consider your research question as you begin to code.
Your assignment should contain the following elements:
- Your research question for this interview
- A list of the codes you developed for your interview transcript
- A description of your thinking or working process, explaining how you developed your codes, including
any evolution of your coding system
- In-text coding for your interview. This means that you are to select chunks of data and apply the codes
to your interview transcript. Keep your interview transcript intact as a whole and show where you have
applied the codes to the text.
QUALITATIVE DATA ANALYSIS 2
Introduction
Over the last decade the workplace across the world either within startups or multinationals has
become significantly diverse, whereby for the initial time in history, four generations are present
in the workforce. This scenario has necessitated a re-evaluation of organizational policies by
leaders to motivate a multigenerational workforce. This is attributable to the fact that, conflict
between coworkers due to generational diversity can severely hinder productivity for the
organization or lead to the creation of an environment where employees feel disrespected and
unappreciated if appropriate motivation methods are not implemented by leaders. For instance,
there are considerable differences between the distinct generations within the contemporary
workplace which consist of a multigenerational workforce made up of four generations such as
Traditionalists, Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Generation Y/Millennials due to differences
among employees within these generations that may subsequently influence their preferences
and values in the workplace.
The reason why it is often challenging to devise effective methods for leaders to motivate a
multigenerational workforce is mainly the differences in demographics as well as values and
preferences between the employees within the four distinct generations in the workplace
nowadays. For example, Traditionalists and Baby Boomers are undoubtedly the generations
occupying most top level management positions in organizations and are nowadays living longer
and have healthier lifestyles which make organizations to undertake adjustments in order to
create job conditions that are suitable for them, especially because of their advanced age. These
two generations consists of Chief Executive Officers (CEOs), managers, and directors who have
the responsibility of managing new generations of employees (such as Generation X and
Generation Y/Millennials employees), and for organizations to be productive and effective, the
QUALITATIVE DATA ANALYSIS 3
mutigenerational workforce must be motivated by leaders. This implies that for a
multigenerational workforce to be motivated employees should be respected and they should feel
that their generational differences are valued. Hence, the need for leaders to be sensitive to
diverse generations is inevitable for peaceful coexistence and motivation of a multigenerational
workforce.
The differences between the upbringing backgrounds of these generations make them distinct,
and not possible to motivate using a universal method. Hence, the purpose of this qualitative
phenomenological study is to provide multigenerational employees’ leaders or managers the key
issues that ought to be addressed for motivation of employees in the workplace. Therefore, the
target population should include all the four generations employees from different levels in their
respective places of work. This means that coding of the interview responses and theme analysis
is vital (Creswell, 2003; Strauss & Corbin, 2010) This is due to the fact that coding interview
responses is a crucial qualitative research technique aimed at organizing interview data in order
to providing a way through which the data can be analyzed and interpreted (Lofland & Lofland,
1995; Denzin & Lincoln, 2011). Often developing codes and theme analysis requires thorough
evaluation of the data envisaged to be collected through the interview subsequent to categorizing
the data into distinct segments d with specific codes for easier identification (Lofland & Lofland,
1995; Strauss & Corbin, 2010).
Research Question for the Interview
Motivating a multigenerational workforce is highly challenging because of the respective
differences in generational behaviors, attitudes, values, preferences, and work ethics that
potentially create significant differences in the methods required to motivate employees in the
QUALITATIVE DATA ANALYSIS 4
workplace. The core research question is: What methods are necessary for leaders to motivate a
multigenerational workforce?
In this study the focal point will transcend division of race, gender, and religion, by
concentrating on cohorts such as Traditionalists, Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Generation
Y which integrally constitute the four generations of the multigenerational workforce.
Subsequently, three semi structured demographic questions listed below as well as subsequent
interviews questions also listed below shall be asked in order to address the main research
question.
- How many years have you been employed with your organization?
- State and describe your non-management or management positional responsibilities.
- In which generation do you fall in?
Traditionalists – (born between 1925-1945)
Baby Boomers – ( born between 1946-1964)
Generation X – (born between 1965-1979)
Generation Y – (born between 1980-1999)
In addition, the Interview Questions that shall be asked are listed below: - What do you think are the different core characteristics (values and motivations) of your
generation? - How are the leaders making sure that they recruit and reward the top talent in a
multigenerational workforce? - What kind of work environment and practices leaders have put in place to drive
retention?
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- How are leaders in a multigenerational workforce addressing the imbalance caused by
excessive and prolonged work hours? - What are some of the things I need to learn or change to manage leadership development
among coworkers? - Are my coworkers the right people with the right knowledge and skills in place for more
flexible management in the workplace? - How are leaders addressing the cultural change that needs to take place to support
and/motivate a multigenerational workforce? - What kinds of learning and development strategies leaders have put in place to support
the development of a multigenerational workforce? - Are there differences in how each generation perceives compensation?
- Why is understanding the multi-generational workforce so important for leaders today?
A List of the Developed Codes
The transcribed interview responses are to be coded and analyzed to generate the most
fundamental themes. The codes for the themes are then developed as shown below:
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE MULTI-GENERATIONAL WORKFORCE
What drives people engagement, you can clearly see differences in what each generation values
and what they look for in an employer
Seeking good paying jobs, recognition and status
Be part of a diverse team
Learn new things every day
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Have more flexibility to manage their lives
Interaction with people through social media
RECRUITMENT AND REWARDING
Connection to potential recruits through social media
Assessing talent by focusing on the candidates’ profiles the organization needs for the future
Focusing on leadership capabilities
Being able to adapt to change
Understanding and supporting a team and being flexible in a multi-generational workforce
Recruitment and rewarding techniques beyond the traditional interviews in order to get a full
picture of the potential recruits
RETENTION
Employees feel emotionally connected to their place of work
A flexible work environment
Engaging work and development opportunities
A sense of community and competitive pay
Control over career path
BALANCE AND WORKLOAD
Excessive and prolonged work hours predict higher turnover
Employees’ commitment to their work and influence their choice to leave a job
Offering flexible time off programs, flexible work hours, and supplementing the workforce
during peak periods with contingent workers
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LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT
Expectations of young generations on their employers to give them learning and development
opportunities engaging work and flexibility in how they work
Leaders’ adaptation to motivational style of working
PEOPLE AND TEAMS
Flexibility to all generations
Adopting more to virtual teams
Adopting technology to make work more productive, efficient, and flexible
Trust of leaders to their staff
CULTURAL CHANGE
Having leaders who are comfortable working within an environment that is flexible
Having leaders who support flexibility of organizational culture
Giving continuous appreciation and recognition for a job well done
Corporate culture which adapts to reflect the trend of appreciation and flexibility as major drivers
of commitment
LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT
Skill development in return for high quality work
Continuous learning and improvement of skill sets
Trend towards adoption technology in workplace
Formation of formal as well as informal mentoring programs
Introducing experiential learning opportunities
COMPENSATION
Perception of employees to their pay
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Retention and job satisfaction
Other reasons for employees to choose to stay in an organization other than pay
PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE
Top performing Generation Y/Millennials can and may go in other places where they perceive
will help them grow professionally
Improved work/life flexibility
Improvements in technology and increased mobility,
Competition for the top talent continues
Adapt to and support your changing workforce needs
Description and Explanation of the Working Process on how Codes were developed
The working process used to develop the codes specifically considered the key issues that
influence how various methods are used by leaders to motivate a multigenerational workforce
due to differences in the characteristics of these generations constituting workforce today. As a
result ten themes were identified as the most crucial subsequent to developing a list of codes
presented in the previous section. The identified themes are those which have direct impact on
the motivation of a multigenerational workforce which ought to be attributable to the leader of
the organization. This is due to the fact that motivating a multigenerational workforce is
challenging due to the differences inherent in their characteristics, particularly in terms of values,
perceptions, attitudes, and preferences in their places of work. Through that step by step process
main themes are their subsequent subthemes were identified to enable the development of the list
of codes provided.
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Conclusion
The development of appropriate codes is one of the fundamental steps towards an effective
qualitative study and the working process towards developing my codes involved making a
critical look at the similar facts as well as data that would come up during my interviews with
research participants. This was followed by breaking up of the identified topics into distinct
themes which would then be followed by the copying and pasting of the identified codes under
or alongside the theme that was best suited for the in-text code used.
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References
Bogdan R. B., & Biklin, S. K. (1998). Qualitative Research for Education: An Introduction to
Theory and Methods, (3 rd ed.). Needham Heights, MA: Allyn and Bacon.
Creswell, J. W. (2007). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five
approaches, (2 nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publishers.
Creswell, J. W. (2003). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed method
approaches. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Denzin, N. K., & Lincoln, Y. S. (2011). The SAGE Handbook of qualitative research, (4th ed.).
Los Angeles: Sage Publications.
Gibbs, G. (2007). Analyzing Qualitative Data. New York, NY: Prentice-Hall Publishers.
Holliday, A. R. (2007). Doing and Writing Qualitative Research, (2 nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA:
Sage Publications.
