Effect of Teachers’ Work-Life Balance on Performance of Secondary School Students in Kwale County, Kenya

The study examined the impact of teacher’s work-life balance and effective time management on students' academic performance in public secondary schools in Kwale county, Kenya. In the five years prior to the study, the county had a low mean score of a dismal 7% in 2016 which experienced a modest increase to only 10.5% in 2020. Teachers’ contribution in guiding students to good performance is not debatable and is well acknowledged the world over. The role of a teacher as a mentor, a guide, a role model, a parent, a vision carrier and all the good deeds attributable to a good teacher are what translates to a successful student. All people who have gone through school education attest to the fact that were it not for their teachers, they would not have made it to where they reached. However, when issues in life affect a teacher’s attention to their work, it inadvertently affects their efficiency in service delivery and consequently, their students’ performance.  The purpose of this study was to establish the effect of teachers' work-life balance and time management in enhancing students' academic performance in secondary schools in Kwale County, Kenya. Further, the study sought to establish students’ perception of their teachers planning and execution of teaching and identify any challenges facing teachers that would impact on poor performance of the students. The target population was 7,598 respondents comprising of 98 principals, 960 teachers and 6,540 form four students from public secondary schools in Kwale County. The sample size was determined using Krejcie and Morgan (1970) table where a sample of 274 teachers, 364 form four students and 29 principals was established. Data was collected using a structured questionnaire. Validity of the research instrument was established after being examined for logical content by university subject matter specialists. Internal reliability was estimated through Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of reliability at α= .83 while external reliability was estimated by using Pearsons’s correlation coefficient in which a coefficient of r = .81 was realized. Regression analysis was carried out on quantitative data and descriptive statistics used to establish relationships between the dependent and the independent variables. The findings were presented as proportions in tables and discussed. The study established a statistically significance relationship of effects of teachers’ work life balance on students’ performance (R2 =-0.172, F=50.773, p=0.000) as well as students’ perceptions of the teachers work planning on their performance at (R2=0.119, F=317.541, P=0.000).  This meant that about 17.2 percent of students performance could be attributed to teacher’s work-life balancing and 11.9% would be attributed to teachers’ ability to plan and manage their work according to their students, respectively, other factors constant. On the challenges affecting the teacher that would impact on a students’ academic performance, the study further found a statistically significant relationship (R2=0.238, F=53.305, P=0.000). This means that about 23.8 percent of students performance was impacted positively or negatively by challenges facing their teachers. The study concluded that teachers must balance the personal and work life well and manage their time if students’ performance was expected be high. The teachers would also need to sort out challenges facing them with a view of minimizing them to avoid the same affecting their students’ performance. The study recommended policy changes and retooling of teachers on their expectations in terms of work-life balance, their work planning and time management for performance of their students. Keywords: Work-life balance, time management, challenges, Academic Performance DOI: 10.7176/EJBM/15-8-04 Publication date: April 30th 202

Effects of Human Resource on Quality Service Delivery of Mission Hospitals in Mery County, Kenya

Prudent human resource management is at the core of every successful entity whether private, for profit, public, faith based and not-for-profit organizations. The human resource is the driver of other resources towards organizational development and harmonization of service delivery. This study endeavoured to explore the role of human resource in facilitating quality delivery of services in mission hospitals in Meru County of Kenya. The population were stakeholders of the mission hospitals, both internal and external clients including the chief executive officers (CEOs), Finance and Human Resource officers, public relations officers and other staff internally and, patients, suppliers and neighbours as external stakeholders. There were eight mission hospitals in the County and all of them were included in the survey. The design was a descriptive study with both purposive judgmental sampling at selection of top-level respondents and simple random sampling among the respondents at other levels. Piloting of the study instruments was carried out at Wamba hospital in the neighbouring Isiolo county which is also a mission hospital to test and improve them. Data collection was through structured questionnaires which were administered through drop and pick method or by research assistants on behalf of those who could not directly react to them like patients and some neighbours. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 23 and descriptive statistics used to interpret and describe the findings. Correlation analysis was done to establish the relationship between the dependent and the independent variables and significance established at 95 percent. The findings revealed that there was positive correlation between human resource and quality of service delivery in mission hospitals in Meru County (R=0.71, F=21.397, P=0.00). Human resource was critical to organizational success in determining customer royalty and repeat visits through the quality of services offered by competent, committed and skilled staff that lead to positive word of mouth marketing of hospitals.  The study recommended greater emphasis on customer care, improved human resource management for quality service to enable the hospitals retain and attract more clients.  Studies on the same in private and public hospitals were advocated. Keywords: Human Resource, Quality Service Delivery, Mission hospitals, DOI: 10.7176/EJBM/14-6-05 Publication date:March 31st 202

Determinants of sustainable competitive advantage within food and beverage firms in kenya

Urbanization is proceeding at a high pace with urban dwellers expected to outnumber rural population in the near future. The demand for processed foods with shorter preparation periods that offer convenience for the urban population is high and is set to increase. This calls for higher processing capacity in the food and beverage industries. Stiff competition is already being experienced in this industry in Kenya which calls for firms to position themselves strategically to survive. Investment in competitive strategies by companies in this industry is critical for their survival and will determine their success or collapse in future. This study aimed at empirically analyzing the nature of competitive strategies companies in the food and beverage sector engaged in to acquire sustainable competitive advantage, and the drivers underlying that competitiveness. Purposive sampling of 95 food and beverage firms located in Nairobi and Mombasa and their environs and registered with the Kenya Association of Manufacturers was done. The study was designed as a survey of all the firms targeting the chief executive, the finance/marketing manager or the human resource manager as respondents. The study design was descriptive. Data was collected using a standardized questionnaire. The data was then coded and analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). From the 95 firms surveyed, 32 successfully participated giving a response rate of 33.7 percent. Statistical analysis revealed that cost leadership generic strategy was significant as a predictor of sustainable competitive advantage while differentiation was not. On effects of firm resources on sustainable competitive advantage, the study found that effects of organizational structure were statistically significant and critical to success of firms in this industry. The use of human capital in innovative adaptation was found statistically significant for owner/chairman and executive management. Dynamic operational efficiency was found to be driven mostly by efficiency of production processes which was statistically significant while effects of selected macroeconomic factors of inflation, exchange rates and interest rates were not statistically significant. The failure at significance tests of macroeconomic factors meant that the factors were not critical at influencing the business environment of the food and beverage firms in Kenya. The findings of this study are important in academia, industry, and government by adding to the body of knowledge and enlightening on the competitive nature of the food and beverage industry in Kenya. The findings are enriching in the developing areas of resource capability configurations (resource based view of the firm) and the linkage with generic strategies in the Kenyan environment. The findings will be useful to investors especially in the food and beverage sector which is the leading one in Kenya in the background of devolved governments and development of counties as well as rapidly growing urban centers which are the new frontiers for industrialization. Use of perceptual performance data for sustainable competitive advantage was found appropriate and longitudinal or time series studies as well as use of secondary data on performance is recommended for future research on this subject