Influence of Strategic Leadership and Organization Culture on Strategy Execution in Shipping Companies in Kenya

A review of literature reveals that strategy execution is an important component of the strategic management process. However, it has been noted that there is a high failure rate in the execution of strategy as a result of the existence of many potential barriers to the effective execution of strategy. For successful strategy execution, an organization's various resources, systems, culture, structures and other variables must be expended. This paper evaluated how strategic leadership and organization culture influence strategy execution in shipping companies in Kenya. The study adopted a cross-sectional survey research design. The population of the research consisted of the 38 shipping companies in Kenya as at 2015. The unit of analysis were the employees in charge of strategic management matters in the shipping companies in Kenya. The study adopted purposive sampling and used primary data which was gathered using structured questionnaires which were pre-tested before being administered. The respondents comprised of the chief executive officer, chief operations officer, chief finance officer, chief information officer and the business development officer who were purposely selected due to their level involvement in strategy execution matters. Therefore the target population was 190 officers from the shipping companies in Kenya. Statistical Package for Social Sciences was used in data analysis where both descriptive and inferential statistics were applied. Regression results indicated that organization resources and organization culture was statistically significant in explaining strategy execution in shipping companies in Kenya. From the study, it is possible to conclude that the shipping companies have sound leadership practices that influence strategy execution. Further organizational culture contributes more to strategy execution than strategy leadership. The study findings led to the conclusion that the managers of these companies are committed to ensuring that strategy execution succeeds.  In any business company a willing and committed leader greatly influences the results of the business processes. It was also concluded that the shipping companies under study had sound company culture practices as this was evidenced on how culture influenced strategy execution results in the study findings. The shipping companies had sound cultural practices of rewarding best performance, embracement of sound business practices and behaviour towards business operations Keywords:  shipping, strategy execution practices, strategy, strategic leadership, culture

Influence of Organizational Resources on Strategy Execution in Shipping Companies in Kenya

Current research shows that more attention is given to strategy development but less to strategy execution. This study therefore sought to bridge this pertinent gap in literature by establishing the influence of organization resources on strategy execution in shipping companies in Kenya. The study reviewed relevant literature and theoretical underpinnings to identify the determinants of strategy execution. The study adopted a cross-sectional survey research design. The population of the research consisted of the 38 shipping companies in Kenya as at 2015. The unit of analysis were the employees in charge of strategic management matters in the shipping companies in Kenya. The study adopted purposive sampling and used primary data which was gathered using structured questionnaires which were pre-tested before being administered. The respondents comprised of the chief executive officer, chief operations officer, chief finance officer, chief information officer and the business development officer who were purposely selected due to their level involvement in strategy execution matters. Therefore the target population was 190 officers from the shipping companies in Kenya. Statistical Package for Social Sciences was used in data analysis where both descriptive and inferential statistics were applied. Regression results indicated that organization resources and organization culture was statistically significant in explaining strategy execution in shipping companies in Kenya. From the study, it is possible to conclude that the shipping companies in Kenya are not fully putting into maximum use the resources available in order to execute their strategies. The study recommends that the shipping companies should support all relevant strategy execution initiatives in their companies and the managers should efficiently use any combination of the available resources in order to execute strategy. Keywords:  Organization Resources, Shipping, Strategy Execution Practices, Strategy

Gendered and contextual factors in the design of integrated pest management (IPM) programs for tomato growers in East Africa

International Journal of Social Science Research ISSN 2327-5510 2015, Vol. 3, No. 2The Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Collaborative Research Support Program in East Africa has been using a farmer participatory IPM strategy with small-scale tomato growers at on-farm research sites in Kenya and Tanzania since 2004. Understanding local farmer knowledge of agricultural production, including both gendered and contextual factors, is a hallmark of participatory approaches, and important to the design and development of appropriate location-specific IPM technologies. The purpose of this study was to compare and contrast gender and contextual influences on tomato production farm-level decision-making and marketing practices. The results indicate that regardless of context, gender influenced access to resources and this influenced production quantity and decision-making. However, contextual differences predominated suggesting that “one-size does not fit all” and that planned interventions need to be tailored to specific contexts in which gender relations unfold. Contextual similarities in the production of higher value marketed horticultural crops, including female cash crop production and the prevalent use of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, provides evidence that the gender-specific nature of traditional African farming is transitioning. That extension agents were relatively minor sources of information suggests that horticultural cash crop production is an important contextual basis for differentiating the demand for IPM programs

Gendered and contextual factors in the design of integrated pest management (IPM) programs for tomato growers in East Africa

International Journal of Social Science Research ISSN 2327-5510 2015, Vol. 3, No. 2The Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Collaborative Research Support Program in East Africa has been using a farmer participatory IPM strategy with small-scale tomato growers at on-farm research sites in Kenya and Tanzania since 2004. Understanding local farmer knowledge of agricultural production, including both gendered and contextual factors, is a hallmark of participatory approaches, and important to the design and development of appropriate location-specific IPM technologies. The purpose of this study was to compare and contrast gender and contextual influences on tomato production farm-level decision-making and marketing practices. The results indicate that regardless of context, gender influenced access to resources and this influenced production quantity and decision-making. However, contextual differences predominated suggesting that “one-size does not fit all” and that planned interventions need to be tailored to specific contexts in which gender relations unfold. Contextual similarities in the production of higher value marketed horticultural crops, including female cash crop production and the prevalent use of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, provides evidence that the gender-specific nature of traditional African farming is transitioning. That extension agents were relatively minor sources of information suggests that horticultural cash crop production is an important contextual basis for differentiating the demand for IPM programs

Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour Patterns among Kenyan and Japanese Children: A Comprehensive Cross-Country Comparison

Health benefits of physical activity are well known, yet available physical activity data is limited from children living in African and Asian countries. The purpose of the cross-sectional study was to evaluate and compare physical activity and sedentary behavior patterns, particularly hourly variations, among children in Kenya and Japan. Participants included 298 primary school students (122 Kenyan, 176 Japanese) aged 9–12 years. Physical activity and sedentary behavior were measured with accelerometers. Domain-specific physical activity, screen time, and proportion of children using active transport to school were measured by questionnaire. A two-way ANOVA (countries × time) was used to examine the differences in the activity patterns between Kenyan and Japanese children. The results from the present study demonstrated that Kenyan children spent more time in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity compared to Japanese children (p < 0.05) with the greatest differences found for weekday evenings (for boys and girls) and weekend afternoons (for girls). This suggests that these were ‘critical periods’ to differentiate the physical activity levels between Kenyan and Japanese children. However, a higher proportion of the children from Japan used active transport to school and spent less time in television viewing and computer gaming. The results suggest that both countries have successes and challenges that can aid in developing effective and country-specific intervention strategies for promoting physical activity

Tri-trophic insecticidal effects of African plants against cabbage pests

Botanical insecticides are increasingly attracting research attention as they offer novel modes of action that may provide effective control of pests that have already developed resistance to conventional insecticides. They potentially offer cost-effective pest control to smallholder farmers in developing countries if highly active extracts can be prepared simply from readily available plants. Field cage and open field experiments were conducted to evaluate the insecticidal potential of nine common Ghanaian plants: goat weed, Ageratum conyzoides (Asteraceae), Siam weed, Chromolaena odorata (Asteraceae), Cinderella weed, Synedrella nodiflora (Asteraceae), chili pepper, Capsicum frutescens (Solanaceae), tobacco, Nicotiana tabacum (Solanaceae) cassia, Cassia sophera (Leguminosae), physic nut, Jatropha curcas (Euphorbiaceae), castor oil plant, Ricinus communis (Euphorbiaceae) and basil, Ocimum gratissimum (Lamiaceae). In field cage experiments, simple detergent and water extracts of all botanical treatments gave control of cabbage aphid, Brevicoryne brassicae and diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella, equivalent to the synthetic insecticide Attack® (emamectin benzoate) and superior to water or detergent solution. In open field experiments in the major and minor rainy seasons using a sub-set of plant extracts (A. conyzoides, C. odorata, S. nodiflora, N. tabacum and R. communis), all controlled B. brassicae and P. xylostella more effectively than water control and comparably with or better than Attack®. Botanical and water control treatments were more benign to third trophic level predators than Attack®. Effects cascaded to the first trophic level with all botanical treatments giving cabbage head weights, comparable to Attack® in the minor season. In the major season, R. communis and A conyzoides treatment gave lower head yields than Attack® but the remaining botanicals were equivalent or superior to this synthetic insecticide. Simply-prepared extracts from readily-available Ghanaian plants give beneficial, tri-trophic benefits and merit further research as an inexpensive plant protection strategy for smallholder farmers in West Africa