Effects of operational factors on organizational performance in Kenyan insurance industry

Performance of insurance firms has largely been influenced by operational factors. Insurance firms have continually performed poorly in the Kenyan market since 1985. So far, there is still limited information as regards this trend. The objective of the study was to establish the extent to which operational factors affect the performance of insurance firms. The study adopted a descriptive census survey design. The study location was in Nairobi and the population consisted of 40 registered insurance companies as at August 2010. Reliability of the results was determined by the test-retest approach. Validity of the research instrument was established by using two firms outside the target population. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and inferential statistics. The hypothesis was tested using simple regression coefficient at 95% confidence level. The study revealed that operational factors have no relationship with organizational performance

Challenges to Implementation of Business Strategies: Implications on Business Sustainability of Transnational Tea Firms in Kenya.

The tea industry in Kenya, as in most other growing countries, is characterized by great unpredictability in terms of markets, growing conditions and cost of inputs. Strategy formulation and implementation, in these circumstances, cannot be a simple exercise, but getting it right is more important than for organizations in more predictable environments. This study seeks to establish the challenges facing successful implementation of the formulated business strategies by multinational tea companies in Kenya, their effect on business sustainability and how the negative effects of these challenges can be mitigated. The study aims to identify the challenges to successful implementation of business strategies in the   transnational tea firms; the effect of these challenges on business sustainability and finally to find out ways of mitigating the effects of these challenges on successful strategy implementation and business sustainability. The respondents were 30, comprising of Managers of the strategic Business units at these companies. Most of the data was collected by way of Questionnaires, personally administered to ensure clarification is offered where necessary. Data analysis was done using descriptive statistics (percentages, frequencies and averages) and Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation Coefficient (r) followed by data presentation on tables.The study established that the main challenge to successful implementation of business strategies is currency exchange rates, followed by changes in international tea prices and weather patterns. The study further found out that in order to mitigate the effect of these challenges to successful implementation of strategies, the firms need to use flexible strategies while ensuring that where more than one strategy is used, the strategies are integrated so that they support and justify one another. Key words: Business strategies, Strategy formulation, Strategy implementation, Business sustainabilit

Impact Of Organization Characteristics On Sustainable Competitive Advantage During Strategic Change In Airlines

Firms in the airline industry are using resources and capabilities to build sustainable competitive advantage and how these resources and capabilities are used are subject to change when the organization is responding to change from external forces. This leads to change of the whole organization as a system. This study focuses on organization characteristics which make up the organization including business processes, structure and culture and how these are managed during strategic change to build sustainable competitive advantage in airlines. With Porter’s five-force model and the value chain model, this study aims at analyzing the dynamic environment of airlines with forces that lead to strategic change and how these affect the three organization characteristics. The study employed survey research design with a sample of 173 drawn from executive directors, senior managers and managers and pilots through stratified sampling who were picked by simple random sampling from airlines. Self-administered questionnaires and personal interviews were used as well as data from books, journals, periodicals, company reports, press releases and the internet. Data analysis was done using descriptive analysis (percentages, frequencies and averages) and chi-statistic followed by data presentation on bar graphs and tables. The study concludes the three elements of organization characteristics namely business process, culture and structure are interlinked. They are disrupted during strategic change and require integration for consistency help build sustainable competitive advantage. It is recommended that managers and policy makers in airlines view organization characteristics as subsystems that depend on each other to build sustainable competitive advantage during strategic change. Further researchers should incorporate operational level employees and customers in the target influence to establish their role in organization characteristics during strategic change process. Keywords: Organization Characteristics, competitive advantage, strategic change, dynamic environment, organization, culture, structure, business proces

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BIOSECURITY PRINCIPLES AND CONSUMER ATTITUDES

Indigenous chicken abound in Kenya and are produced under minimal/very low levels of biosecurity principles resulting in low productivity. Consumers however exhibit high preferences indigenous chicken products. The aim of this research was to establish the relationship biosecurity principles and intentions to consume indigenous chicken in Kisumu City, Kenya. The subaim was to test the significance of this relationship, if any. Using a descriptive research design, a questionnaire was administered on 281 respondents (females=48%) in Kisumu City (78% response rate), and relationship established through Spearman rank correlation. Observed low and insignificant correlations for management of the flock = .064 (p=.296); control ofincoming animals = .080 (p=.185); and control of other animals =.094 (p=120). Only control of in- and out-going materia l=.127 (p=.035) had a significant correlation with intention to consume. Concluded there is no significant relationship between biosecurity principles and intention to consume indigenous chicken. Thus, the puzzle linking biosecurity and preferences for indigenous chicken still exists given this evidence. The role of the government in providing information on biosecurity cannot be gainsaid as it creates impetus to demand high quality indigenous chicken products. Market mechanisms cannot fully reveal the underlying relationships between biosecurity principles and intention to consume indigenous chicken. Hence need for further research on a wider area utilizing non-market methods like contingent valuation and/or choice experiments to unlock these relationships

Influence of Recruitment Practice on Lecturers’ Performance in Kenyan Public Universities

Public universities are key players in pursuit of Kenya Vision 2030’s mandate of providing globally competitive quality education, training and research to the citizenry. However, higher education stakeholders including the World Bank, Kenya’s Commission for University Education, employers and scholars have expressed misgivings regarding quality and relevance of these institution’s academic programmes. Declining quality is attributed to increased workload, reduced rigour in recruitment and promotion criteria, failure to attract and retain quality faculty, and alleged lecturers’ incompetence. Empirical studies relating recruitment practice (RP) to employee performance (EP) ignore both descriptors of RP like: examining vacancy; locating, making contact and attracting candidates as well as lecturers’ performance measures such as: quality of teaching and learning; research and publication; administration and other responsibilities; and community engagement and other contributions. The purpose of this study was to establish influence of recruitment on lecturers’ performance in Kenyan public universities. It was guided by Simon’s decision making theory and reinforced by Barney’s resource based view; Adam Smith’s human capital theory; and Herzberg’s two-factor theory. It adopted descriptive cross-sectional survey research design with a target population of 1,653 lecturers in 14 chartered public universities established between 2009 and 2019. Multi-stage purposeful sampling technique was used to finally take a census of 158 academic heads of departments (lecturers) from 13 out of the 14 universities, having used 20 in piloting. Public universities were targeted since they account for 72% of the teaching total university teaching faculty. Semi-structured questionnaires were used to collect primary data while secondary data were obtained from relevant secondary sources. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was used to examine the internal consistency at 0.796 (SD= 0.067). Whereas content validity was ascertained by reviewing literature within the domain of study concepts and corroborated by a panel of experts, construct validity was measured using Pearson’s r. Data were analyzed using Pearson’s r and regression analysis. The correlation between recruitment practice and lecturers’ performance was established to be positive and significant (r=.324, p=.000). Recruitment practice accounted for 11.6% (Adjusted R2=.116) of the variation in the lecturers’ performance in Kenyan public universities. The findings are useful to the management of public universities and HRM practitioners in formulating and implementing recruitment strategies; researchers as well as organizational behaviourists and theorists. Keywords: Recruitment, lecturers’ performance, candidates’ assessment, choice and employment. DOI: 10.7176/EJBM/13-20-16 Publication date:October 31st 202

Influence of Human Resource Planning Practices on Lecturers’ Performance in Kenyan Public Universities

Kenya Vision 2030 envisions provision of globally competitive quality education, training and research to citizens. Despite public universities’ contribution to this mandate, stakeholders such as World Bank, Commission for University Education, employers and scholars fault the quality and relevance of some academic programmes. The decline in quality is attributed to increased workload, reduced rigour in recruitment and promotion criteria, inability to attract and retain quality staff, and lecturers’ alleged incompetence. Previous studies relating human resource planning (HRP) practices to employee performance (EP) do not use descriptors of HRP like business plans, scenario planning, demand and supply forecasting, forecasting future requirements and action planning in entirety in addition to exhibiting mixed findings. This study intended to establish influence of HRP on lecturers’ performance in Kenyan public universities. It is anchored on Simon’s Decision Making Theory and supported by Barney’s Resource Based View; Adam Smith’s Human Capital Theory; and Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory and implemented using descriptive cross-sectional survey research design. Target population comprised 1,653 lecturers in 14 chartered public universities established between 2009 and 2019. Multi-stage purposeful sampling technique was adopted to finally take a census of 158 academic heads of departments (lecturers) from 13 out of the 14 universities, having used 20 in piloting. Public universities account for 72% of the total university teaching staff hence the interest. Primary data were collected using semi-structured questionnaires while secondary data obtained from relevant secondary sources. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was used to examine the internal consistency at 0.796 (SD= 0.067). While content validity was ascertained by reviewing literature within the domain of study concepts and corroborated by a panel of experts, Pearson’s r was used to measure construct validity. Data were analyzed using Pearson’s r and regression analysis. The correlation between human resource planning (HRP) practice and lecturers’ performance was established to be positive and significant (r=.528, p=.000) HRP practice accounted for 38.0% (Adjusted R2=.380) of the variation in the lecturers’ performance in Kenyan public universities implying that it can predict their performance. The findings are useful to the management of public universities, HRM practitioners, researchers, organizational behaviourists and theorists. Keywords: Business plans, scenario planning, demand forecasting, supply forecasting, forecasting future requirements. DOI: 10.7176/EJBM/13-18-13 Publication date:September 30th 202

Moderating Effect of Economic Growth on the Relationship Between Foreign Private Capital Flows and Securities Market Development: Evidence from Kenya

Over the last decade, Kenya witnessed a surge in foreign capital flows through Diaspora remittances. Locally, Diaspora remittances attraction is one of the dominant development strategies with the potential of contributing to financial development. The surge in such foreign capital flows raises important questions about their impact on the financial sector, specifically, the securities market. Understanding the linkages between foreign capital flows and the securities market is critical, especially in Kenya where these inflows are rapidly increasing even amidst the global financial crisis and the global economic slowdown which should have contracted them. Available evidence shows that foreign financial flows affects financial development, and that economic growth also influence operations in the financial sector. A research gap still exists as to how the effect of foreign financial flows on securities market development may be influenced by economic growth. Using data collected from the NSE and CBK, this study examined the relationship between foreign financial flows and securities market development, while attempting to answer the critical question of how economic growth influences this relationship in Kenya. The empirical results show that there is a distinct positive relationship between foreign capital flows and securities market development in Kenya. The results further show that this relationship is moderated by the level of economic growth within the economy. This study fronts for policies aimed at promoting cheaper flow of remittances and increasing growth rate of the Kenyan economy. Keywords: Foreign Private Capital Flows, Diaspora Remittances, Securities Market Development, Nairobi Securitas Exchange, Keny

EFFECT OF STRUCTURE OF THE BOARD ON PERFORMANCE OF PUBLIC TECHNICAL VOCATIONAL AND ENTREPRENUERSHIP TRAINING (TVET)T INSTITUTIONS IN NYANZA REGION, KENYA

The board has the responsibility to monitor, discipline, and remove ineffective management teams, and to ensure that managers pursue the interests of shareholders. The Bonn Resolution noted that TVET is the master key for alleviation of poverty, promotion of peace, creation of employment, food security and conservation of the environment, in order to improve the quality of Human Life and promote sustainable development. However, Kenya has continued to experience challenges of unemployment, poverty, food insecurity and environmental degradation. Although the structure of the board is very important for the success of an organization, the effect of structure of the board on performance of TVET Institutions is not clear. Prior studies show mixed relationships between structure of the board and performance. The main objective of this study was to establish the effect of the structure of the board on performance of public TVET institutions in Nyanza region, Kenya. The design used was correlation research design. Population of the study included the principals, deputy principals and heads of department of TVET Institutions in Nyanza region Kenya who were 99 in number. The study employed a census survey with response at 97.5 %. Reliability was measured using cronchbach’s alpha which revealed 0.872 consistency. Regarding the size of the coefficient, the study found that as the variable changes by 1 unit, performance too changes by a magnitude of 0.125. The results however showed that the probability of structure of the board is insignificant (p values = 0.164) at 5% level in determining performance. The study concludes that performance of TVET Institutions is determined by several factors which vary in their magnitude of influence. This study recommends that stakeholders employ the principles of corporate governance in appointing boards of management since they impact on performance positively. Findings of this study may be used for decision making by policy makers to improve governance of TVET Institutions and other stakeholders for further research

Board Effectiveness and Performance of Public TVET Institution in Nyanza Region, Kenya

Board effectiveness is about doing the right things to achieve the results (Triscott, 2004). Forbes and Daniel (1999) defined board effectiveness as the board’s ability to perform its control and service tasks effectively. TVET is a major initiative by the government that was envisaged as an occupational field to provide the foundation for productive and satisfying careers and offer specialized preparations for initial employment, including self-employment. However, Kenya has continued to experience challenges of unemployment, poverty, food insecurity and environmental degradation.  Although board effectiveness is very important for the success of an organization, the influence of board effectiveness on performance of TVET Institutions is not clear.  The main objective of this study was to establish the influence of board effectiveness on performance of public TVET institutions in Nyanza region, Kenya. The   Population of the study included the principals, deputy principals and heads of department of TVET Institutions in Nyanza region Kenya who were 99 in number.  The study employed a census survey with response at 97.5 %.  Reliability was measured using cronchbach’s alpha which revealed 0.872 consistency. Regarding the size of the coefficients, the study found that as the variables change by 1 unit, performance too changes by a magnitude of 0.501 respectively. The results also showed that the probability of effective performance of directors is significant (p values = 0.000). The study concludes that although performance of TVET Institutions can be determined by effectiveness of the board up to 62 percent of the variance in the respondents scale, several factors which vary in their magnitude would influence performance of TVET Institutions in Nyanza region, Kenya. This study recommends that stakeholders employ the principle of effectiveness of the board in appointing boards of management since it impacts on performance positively.  Findings of this study may be used for decision making by policy makers to improve governance of TVET Institutions and other stakeholders for further research. Keywords: Board Effectiveness, Performance, TVET Institutions, Corporate Governanc

EFFECT OF STRUCTURE OF THE BOARD ON PERFORMANCE OF PUBLIC TECHNICAL VOCATIONAL AND ENTREPRENUERSHIP TRAINING (TVET)T INSTITUTIONS IN NYANZA REGION, KENYA

The board has the responsibility to monitor, discipline, and remove ineffective management teams, and to ensure that managers pursue the interests of shareholders. The Bonn Resolution noted that TVET is the master key for alleviation of poverty, promotion of peace, creation of employment, food security and conservation of the environment, in order to improve the quality of Human Life and promote sustainable development. However, Kenya has continued to experience challenges of unemployment, poverty, food insecurity and environmental degradation. Although the structure of the board is very important for the success of an organization, the effect of structure of the board on performance of TVET Institutions is not clear. Prior studies show mixed relationships between structure of the board and performance. The main objective of this study was to establish the effect of the structure of the board on performance of public TVET institutions in Nyanza region, Kenya. The design used was correlation research design. Population of the study included the principals, deputy principals and heads of department of TVET Institutions in Nyanza region Kenya who were 99 in number. The study employed a census survey with response at 97.5 %. Reliability was measured using cronchbach’s alpha which revealed 0.872 consistency. Regarding the size of the coefficient, the study found that as the variable changes by 1 unit, performance too changes by a magnitude of 0.125. The results however showed that the probability of structure of the board is insignificant (p values = 0.164) at 5% level in determining performance. The study concludes that performance of TVET Institutions is determined by several factors which vary in their magnitude of influence. This study recommends that stakeholders employ the principles of corporate governance in appointing boards of management since they impact on performance positively. Findings of this study may be used for decision making by policy makers to improve governance of TVET Institutions and other stakeholders for further research