AN ASSESSMENT OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF STRATEGIC CHANGE IN TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS (A CASE OF GOVERNMENT INSTITUTIONS IN THE COAST REGION, KENYA)

An analysis of change implementation has often indicated that people tend to resist change especially if not effectively implemented. Major failures are associated with the implementation phase. The general objective of this study was to assess the implementation of strategic change in tertiary institutions; specifically to identify the change implementation pitfalls in tertiary institutions, determine the strategies adopted by tertiary institutions in strategic change implementation and determine the factors that influence the success of strategic change implementation in tertiary institutions.  The study adopted the force field theory of driving forces and restraining forces.  The population of the study was drawn from the staff and management of two government tertiary institutions in the coastal region of Kenya. A sample size of 102 was targeted; however the real analysis was based on 98 respondents. Data was analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Scientists version 12. The study revealed that strategic change implementation is a critical phase in change management and institutions should involve all stakeholders and work towards ensuring that the major pitfalls are mitigated and deliberate efforts to enhance the success factors. The realization of the anticipated goals of the implementation of strategic change in tertiary institutions is to a greater extend, however more capacity building on change management is necessary. Keywords: Change, Strategy, Implementation pitfall

Quality Assurance Strategy on Organizational Performance: Case of Kenyatta University

This study seeks to establish the effectiveness of ISO 9001:2008 certification on customer satisfaction, employee productivity, inflow of revenue and internal procedures and processes at Kenyatta University. Chapter one covers general background literature reviews on ISO 9001 certification. The background literature reviewed is from developed economies, emerging economies and also from Kenya. Other sections covered under chapter one  are; statement of the problem, purpose of the study, study objectives, research questions, scope of the study, justification, significance, limitations, delimitations, theoretical framework, conceptual framework and operationalization of variables. The external improvement theory has been reviewed under the theoretical framework. Chapter two has reviewed literature from recent studies relevant to the area of study while chapter three has described the various methodologies that were employed to assist in achieving the research objectives. In summary, the internal improvement theory suggests ISO 9001:2008 certification would improve internal business processes such that production becomes lean and reduce costs. The research findings indicate that the level of appreciation and participation in ISO certification as a means to quality assurance strategy has improved customer satisfaction, improved organizational outcomes and increased the revenue inflows for development. The internal processes have also been greatly enhanced by university management. Key Words: Quality, Strategy, Performanc

Adoption of Technological Innovations on Organizational Performance: Case of Commercial Banks in Kenya

Internet banking (IB) allows functional banking activities online. Adoption of IB varies significantly across commercial banks. Banks with large size tend to adopt IB earlier. In 2006, 96 percent of banks with assets over Kshs 24 billion had a website, compared to only 51 percent with assets under Kshs 8 billion. These observations raise important questions: what explains these variations of diffusion rates across banking groups?  This study reports the results of a descriptive survey on factors causing variations in adoption of IB.  A structured questionnaire was administered to all financial managers in all 46 commercial banks with a response rate of 70%. The SPSS was used to run simultaneous-equation regressions on data collected. Factors driving adoption of IB include increase average bank assets, non adopters imitating early adopters and loan specialisation in consumer lending. Factors hindering IB adoption include competition among banks and average age of a bank.  The study recommends that to enhance IB adoption, banks should; strive to increase their average assets size, non adaptors to carefully study early adaptors, specialize in consumer lending, feed off competition by forming strategic alliances finally new banks have the advantage of installing IB technology in a package with other computer facilities compared to old banks. The study is important because banks have been blamed for not initiating programmes that adequately satisfying demand for financial services. The research contributes to the debate on how to enhance access to financial services in Kenya. Key word: Adoption of Technological Innovation, Organizational performanc