An Evaluation of Strategy Implementation on Organizational Performance: Case of Public Technical, Vocational, Education Training (TVET) Institutions In Kiambu County, Kenya

Since the early years of Kenya`s independence, TVET system of education has been recognised by the Government as the major sector that produces skilled workforce which are absorbed in the industries and life support skills for self employment. However, for the effective performance of this education system, Government strategies must have a viable roadmap for implementation as strategy implementation remains a dominant means of success in all organizations. The Purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of strategy implementation on the performance of public Technical Vocational Educational Training (TVET) institutions in Kiambu County, Kenya. The aim was to identify factors that impact on strategy implementation and hence affect the performance of these institutions. The research objectives elaborated the networks of association among independent variables (which are human resources, institutional management, financial allocations, curriculum, materials and facilities among others), that were assumed to have sufficient relationships with the dependent variable which is organizational performance. Theoretical framework focuses on the Fiedler`s situational contingency theory. The total population of the study comprised of 200 employees from public TVET institutions in Kiambu County: 30 managers, 30 assistant managers, 60 supervisors and 80 teachers or instructors. The study derived a sample size of sixty (60), arrived at by calculating 30% of the study population. The study`s sampling technique that was used was purposive sampling. The survey used both qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection methods and the Likert scale of self administered closed and open ended questionnaire was used. The questionnaire was tested before a refined one was administered to the respondents. The data was edited, coded, classified and then tabulated. The tabulated data was analysed quantitatively by calculating percentages and then was presented in the form of pie charts and bar graphs. Mean and standard deviation were also used in this analysis. Descriptive data was analysed qualitatively and the results were provided in the form of explanatory notes. Regression analysis was also done to determine the relationship between the relationship between the dependent and the independent variables. This was done using the statistical package for social studies software (SPSS).The study concluded that Technical and Vocational Education and Training in Kiambu County is an education sector ridden with challenges which include inadequate funding, lack of modern training equipment, lack of training materials, use of outdated technology, lack of exposure to new methods of training and poor image. The researcher therefore recommended that the government should adequately finance public technical and vocational training institutions to improve their performance, introduce the newest methods and technology for teaching and learning for both students and teachers, introduce performance standards and regularly evaluate the accomplishment of these standards. It is also recommended that the government should come up with way of supervising the implementation process of all its strategies for TVET to ensure effectiveness. Key Words: Strategy Implementation, Organization performance, TVET Kiambu, Keny

An Analysis of the Effect of Employee Recruitment Strategies on Employee Retention at Equity Bank, Kenya

The main goal of strategic recruitment and selection is about finding the best recruitment sources, hiring the best talents and keeping the organisation competitive on the job market and retain its best employees. This process helps to set and achieve the right limits. This study sought to analyze the effect of employee recruitment strategies on employee retention at Equity bank in Kenya. The general objective of this study is to analyse the effect of employee recruitment strategies on employee retention at Equity Bank, Kenya. The study adopted descriptive survey design and the target population consisted of all managers at the head office, and managers at branches (branch manager, operations manager, credit manager, customer service manager, agent manager, and relationship manager) recruited or promoted over 2 years ago, categorized according to the recruitment strategy applied, as tabulated in the sampling frame below. The questionnaire was pre-tested on a pilot respondent who are not part of the study respondents but knowledgeable in the study aspects in order to ensure their validity and relevance.  Secondary data was extracted from annual reports, publications and documentary analysis was used to gather background information by reviewing literatures relevant to the study.   Reviews of the measures used to measure the study variables were also be used to construct the questionnaire to ensure face and construct validity. The data collected was then analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was used to measure the reliability of the scale, which will be used to assess the interval consistency among the research instrument items. Employee recruitment strategies were found by this study to have a positive and significant effect on the employee retention at Equity bank in Kenya. Keywords: Employee Recruitment Strategies, Employee Retention, Equity Bank, Keny

An Assessment of the Cultural Constraints Affecting Women’s Performance in Small Scale Businesses: Case of Shiraqle Market in Hargeisa, Somaliland

Small scale businesses have been recognised by many Governments as a sector that boosts economic growth of a country and alleviates poverty of families. The Purpose of this study was to assess the cultural constraints which affect women carrying out small scale businesses in Shiraqle market, in Hargeisa, Somaliland. Social feminist theory was used to explain the relationship between the independent and the dependent variables. The total population of the study comprised of 500 small scale business women in Shiraqle market in Hargeisa, Somaliland and the study derived a sample size of fifty (50). The study`s sampling technique that was used was purposive sampling. Data collection was done by use of the Likert scale questionnaire and regression analysis was done to determine the relationship between the dependent and the independent variables by the aid of the SPSS. The study made the following conclusions: women carrying out small scale businesses in Shiraqle market in Hargeisa, Somaliland lack the capacity to make economic decisions at the family level and thus cannot decide to reinvest profits into their small businesses to expand the business without consulting their spouses or even freely spend their business profits without the knowledge of the husband. They are also hindered by their male relatives from travelling far and wide to look for stocks for their businesses, unless if they are accompanied by a male relative. The male dominant culture is an hindrance to the performance and growth of women`s small scale businesses in Hargeisa, Somaliland

Analysis of Contribution of Employees` Team Building Programs on Performance of Mobile Telephone Network Operators in Kenya

Team building is the process of causing a group of people to work together effectively as a team, especially by means of activities and events designed to increase motivation and promote cooperation. Effective teamwork allows teams to produce outcomes greater than the sum of individual members. The objective of the study was to determine contribution of employees` team building programs on performance of Mobile Telephone Network Operators (MTNOs) in Kenya. Variables used to analyze contribution of employees` team building programs on performance of Mobile Telephone Network Operators (MTNOs) in Kenya were team building workshops, team building seminars and team bonding meetings. Performance of Mobile Telephone Operators was analyzed in terms of profit margins and market share. Social identity theory was used to explain the contribution of employees` team building programs on performance. Study population was 6,167 which included all the employees in the Mobile Telephone Network Operators in Kenya and a total sample size of 361 employees was obtained although only 258 questionnaires were filled and returned. Proportionate stratification formula was used to allocate sample sizes to each department of the Mobile Telephone Operators. Data analysis was done using descriptive statistics and inferential statistics. The hypothesis was tested at 95% confidence interval and 0.05 α level of significance.  Study H0 stated that: employees` team building programs have no significant relationship with performance of MTNOs in Kenya. Goodness of fit model demonstrated that team building programs had a positive influence on performance of MTNOs accounting for 38.1% of the performance (R squared = .381). The study concluded that there was a statistically significant influence of team building programs on performance therefore rejecting the null hypothesis at β = .617, P = .000. Keywords: Team Building Programs, Performance, MTNOs in Kenya DOI: 10.7176/EJBM/13-11-07 Publication date:June 30th 202

Critical Analysis of Talent Management Strategies on Medical Employees Retention in Public Hospitals in Kenya: A Case of Kenyatta National Hospital

Hiring a qualified and talented workforce and implementing a program to retain these employees is a key component to successful workforce retention. However, one of the challenges of managers in today`s health sector in Kenya lies in building a workplace of choice where employees want to remain for a long time. Any employer`s foremost responsibility is retention of the best employees, and this can only be achieved by managing employee talent well to keep them satisfied and motivated. The purpose of this paper was to analyze various programs of managing medical personnel’s talent in the public hospitals in Kenya, a case of Kenyatta national hospital. The research objectives elaborated the independent variables which were: Availability of career development opportunities, nature of the workplace climate and learning, levels of training and development opportunities available, and attractiveness of compensation and benefits. These independent variables were assumed to have significant relationships with the dependent variable which was employee retention. Theoretical framework focused on the social exchange theory, cognitive career theory and Hertzberg`s motivation- hygiene theory. The total population of the study comprised of a total 800 medical doctors and nurses who have been in the service for less than five years and over five years at the Kenyatta national hospital Nairobi, Kenya. The study derived a sample size of eighty (80), arrived at by calculating 10% of the study population. The study`s sampling technique that was used was judgemental sampling. The study used mixed methods of data collection. Mean and standard deviation was calculated in data analysis. Regression analysis model was used to determine the relationship between the dependent and the independent variables. This was done using the statistical package for social studies software (SPSS) version 21. Keywords: Talent management, medical employee, employee retention, Kenyatta national hospita

Role of Social Media Networks in Penetration of International Markets by Small and Medium Enterprises in Kenya: a case of Small Businesses at Yaya Centre Nairobi County

By making use of electronic media and social networks, the ways of doing businesses by many SMEs in Kenya has rapidly changed and evolved. New business ventures are budding because of globalisation and this has lead to abolition of geographical barriers. Social media networks allow a business to be where the customers are. The sites rely on the habitual presence of millions of users. From the young to the elderly generations, most people spend many hours daily on sites like Face book and Twitter, watching videos on YouTube, sharing photos on Flicker and instagram among others. This helps most users to be informed about the products and services offered by a particular business online either in the same geographical position or overseas and means in which they can be able to access the products or services.  This study therefore sought to investigate whether the Kenyan Small and Medium Enterprises have followed suit to this globalization trend and whether there were tangible benefits attached to this new mode of doing business. This study used descriptive statistics and targeted a population of 65 respondents operating SMEs at Yaya centre in Nairobi. The study concluded that the  benefits of social media for internationalization include the huge exposure that company can generate, the relatively low costs associated with it, the possibilities for customer segmentation and targeting it provides and the market insight that can be gained from analyzing consumers’ online behaviour and interacting with them through social networks. For SMEs to full use social media networks in their business, the government needs to increase the diffusion of internet infrastructure and hardware required for accessing the internet. Diffusion could help SMEs in developing countries to gain access to social media networks, internationalize and this would ultimately lead to tremendous performance Keywords: social media, globalisation, SMEs, social media business strategy and Keny

An Investigation into the Challenges Facing SME’s Performance at Gobonimo Market in Hargeisa Somaliland

Small and medium enterprises are the major agents of economic growth and employment in Somaliland. 34 out of the 72 small and medium enterprises have closed down between 1996 and 2012 due to the many challenges they face (UNDP, 2012). The aim of this research was to establish the challenges facing SME’s performance at Gobanimo market in Hargeisa-Somaliland. The specific objectives of the study was to investigate the relationship between accounting skills and performance of SMEs, and to examine how accounting skills possessed by entrepreneurs influences the performance of SMEs. The research reviewed Contingency theory and Capital Theory. The empirical review centered on the accounting skills, government policies and strategies contributing to SME challenges. The research used descriptive research design. Sampling frame used was obtained from the local authority on which Gobanimo Market is operating. The research targeted the population of 1250 registered SMEs in Gobanimo market.  303 respondents formed the sample of the study which was picked by using simple random sampling technique. Both primary and secondary data were used in this research. Primary data was collected by aid of a questionnaire while secondary data was collected from already published sources. A pilot study of 3 respondents was used to test reliability of the instrument. Validity and reliability tests were executed on the data collected. Data was analyzed by use of regression model and SPSS. Analyzed data was presented in tables, pie charts, and graphs. Keywords: SMEs performance, Accounting skills, government policies, strategie

Analysis of the National Strategy Implementation on Kenya’s Global Competitiveness: A Case of Trade, Tourism and Investment Strategies

The study had the main objective of analyzing the national strategy implementation effect on Kenya’s global competitiveness: A case of trade, tourism & investment strategies. The target population was public institutions and the foreign missions. The respondents were staff both in management and non-management levels involved in implementation of strategy areas to be evaluated. The data type collected for the study was primary data. The research instrument used for primary data collection was a semi structured questionnaire that had both open ended and closed questions. The two predictor variable are said to be correlated if their coefficient of correlations is greater than 0.5. The correlation matrix also indicated high correlation between the response and predictor variables, that is, Product strategy with the highest correlation followed by International market strategy, Investment strategy and Strategic review respectively. The analysis in table shows that the coefficient of determination (the percentage variation in the dependent variable being explained by the changes in the independent variables) R2 equals 0.843, that is, Strategic review, International market strategy, Product strategy, Investment strategy  explain 84.3 percent of Kenya's global competitiveness leaving only 15.7 percent unexplained. The P- value of 0.000 (Less than 0.05) implies that the model of Kenya's global competitiveness is significant at the 5 percent significance. All the independent variables were also linearly related with the dependent variable thus a model of four predictor variables could be used to rate Kenya's global competitiveness. The study found out that there exist a significant relationship between Strategic review, International market strategy, Product strategy, Investment strategy and Kenya's global competitiveness

Strategic plan implementation and organizational performance: a case of Hargeisa Water Agency in Somaliland

I. Background Implementing your strategic plan is as important, or even more important, than your strategy. The critical actions move a strategic plan from a document that sits on the shelf to actions that drive business growth. Sadly, the majority of companies who have strategic plans fail to implement them. According to a Fortune cover story (1999), nine out of ten organizations fail to implement their strategic plan for many reasons. Approximately 60% of organizations do not link strategy to budgeting, 75% of organizations do not link employee incentives to strategy, 86% of business owners and managers spend less than one hour per month discussing strategy, 95% of a typical workforce doesn't understand their organization's strategy Implementation of strategy. According Bhasin (2009), implementation is the process through which a chosen strategy is put into action. It involves the design and management of systems to achieve the best integration of people, structure, processes and resources in achieving organizational objectives. A strategic plan provides a business with the roadmap it needs to pursue a specific strategic direction and set of performance goals, deliver customer value, and be successful. However, this is just a plan, it doesn't guarantee that the desired performance is reached any more than having a roadmap guarantees the traveler arrives at the desired destination. Hargeisa Water Agency was established in 1974, to operate the newly constructed bulk water supply which was built by the Chinese. In 1974 the city had an estimated population between 175,000 and 180,000 inhabitants. HWA is an independent water supply utility that is mandated with the supply of water for the city of Hargeisa. It enjoys fiscal and administrative autonomy. According to Hussein, (2014). the availability of sufficient water resources in Hargeisa has become critical. The capital city Hargeisa lies in the North Western part of Somaliland. It is the biggest and one of the most important in Somaliland. Even though the city was destroyed during the successive civil wars, it recovered and people are settling down. Construction is taking place and lives of people have turned to normal once again. The city contains five districts (dagmo): Ahmed dhagax, Ibrahim Kodbur, Mohamoud Haybe, 26 June and Gacanlibaax. The climate of Hargeisa is hot and dry and it receives rain twice a year. Since Somaliland claimed its independence back from the South of Somalia in 1991, Somalilanders came back home either from neighboring or overseas countries where they had lived as refugees. Hargeisa hosts the largest population in the country. The estimated number of people living in Hargeisa is approximately one million, which means that the city has doubled its inhabitants in the past ten years. As a consequence, the city has expanded tremendously towards all directions, and there are many new areas joining the city. As a result of increasing population and with the combination of inefficiency of the water management in the city, the availability of sufficient water resources has become critical. The demand for water has increased enormously, and water scarcity has become acute (Hussein, 2014)