STRATEGIC FACTORS AFFECTING SERVICE DELIVERY IN COUNTY GOVERNMENTS OF KENYA: A CASE OF NAIROBI COUNTY GOVERNMENT
Abstract
This study aimed at finding out the impacts of strategic factors on service delivery by county governments in Kenya. To derive the clear research problem home, the study adopted four independent variables which included; strategic planning, strategic orientation, strategic environmental scanning and strategic leadership. To bring out a clear understanding of the research problem, the study adopted specific theories that best describes the study variables. The theories included; the classic 4-step theory, transformational leadership theory, the trait theory of leadership, resource based theory, SWOT analysis model and SERVQUAL model. The study employed a descriptive survey research design which helped to get the deeper understanding of need for quality service delivery by the county governments. The target population comprised of employees in Nairobi County government. The county was considered appropriate due to its accessibility. Stratified random sampling was adopted to obtain respondents to be involved in the study. The data was collected by use of questionnaires which were delivered to the respondents’ point of work and collected at an agreed time. The data was then analysed by use of SPSS version 21. The study established that strategic planning, strategic leadership, strategic orientation and strategic environmental scanning were greatly related to service delivery at the county government. The study further established that the services delivered at the county level were not efficient and effective due to lack of adoption of strategic factors which increased unprofessionalism and thus encouraging mismanagement. The findings from the study will enable the county government managers to identify the key areas to focus on so as to enhance quality service delivery. The study concluded that service delivery at the county governments was poorly and inequitably done which affected the development of the county governments. The study recommended increased adoption of strategic factors and training to enhance efficiency and competency among the county workers.
Key terms: Strategic Planning, Strategic Leadership, Strategic Orientation, Strategic Environmental Scanning, Service Delivery
Full Text:
PDFReferences
Abdulkareem, A.Y. & Oyeniran, S. (2011). Managing the Performance of Nigerian Universities for Sustainable Development Using Data Envelopment Analysis International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences; vol (16);7.
Abdulkareem, M. A. & Oyeniran, Y. (2011). The Mission Statement is a Strategic Tool: When used Properly. Management Decision. London: 2011. Vol. 40, Issue. 5/6.
Al-Mohammad, S. (2010). Market orientation, new product development and new product performance: a model and test. Jordan Journal of Business and Administration, 6(4), 555-580.
Arasa, D., Aosa, W. & Machuki, J. (2011). Managing Change Through Employee Empowerment, Global Business and Organizational Excellence , DOI: 10.1002/joe , p19
Arasa, R. M.Aosa, E. O. & Machuki V. N. (2011). Participatory orientation to strategic Planning process: Does it pay?” Prime Journal of Business Administration and Management (BAM) Vol. 1(10).
Askarany, F. & Yazdifar, C. (2012). Strategic planning-financial performance in banks: A casual Examination. Strategic Manage Journal., 18: 635-6520.
Babakus, K. & Mangold, Z. (1989). University Education Deregulation: Pros and Cons. Jos, Nigeria: NAEAP Publications. M. P. Ginac Concept Ltd.
Bakar, K. Hoffman, V., & Zimbelman, M. (2011). Do strategic reasoning and brainstorming help auditors change their standard audit procedures in response to fraud risk. The Accounting Review, 84(3), 811-837.
Barney, J. (1991). Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage. Journal of Management, 17 (1), 99-120.
Bass, L. (1999). Strategic Awareness within Top Management Teams. Strategic Management Journal, 87(3) 48-34.
Bass, N. and Avolio, P. (1994). Maximum Leadership: Five Strategies for Success from the World's Leading CEOs. Perigee Book: London, UK.
Bass, P. & Steidlmeier, L. (1999). The next 20 years, Executive Upside, The future that has already happened. Harvard Business Review, 75(6):22.
Bateson, P. (1995). “Enhancing Organizational Performance through Strategic Management: Conceptual and Theoretical Approach”
Best, J. W. & Kahn, J. (1986). Research in Education, 5th ed., Prentice–Hall of India Pvt Ltd: New Delhi.
Blaxter, L., Hughes, C. & Tight, M. (2001). How to Research. Second Edition. Open University Press Buckingham . Philadelphia.
Blumberg, R., Cooper, D. R. & Schindler, P. S. (2011). Business Research Methods (11th ed.). Irwin: McGraw-Hill
Bryman, A. (2012). Social Research Methods.4th Edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Bryman, A. & Bell, E. (2011). Business Research Methods.3 rd edition. Cape Town: Oxford University Press.
Carpenter, B. (2006). High performing organizations. Unpublished document. Stellenbosch: University of Stellenbosch
Cesnovar, T. K. (2006). Managing Cultural Changes in YourOrganization, the journal of the Quality Assurance Institute , Originallypublished in CrossTalk, Volume 18,p4-p8
Chen, D., Gully, M., Whiteman, K. & Kilcullen, Z. (2000). The Market for Corporate Control and Firm Innovation. Academy of Management Journal, 39(5),1084-1119.
Christiansen, U. (2002). An analysis of effect of corporate governance on performance of commercial State Corporations in Kenya. International Journal of Business and Public Management, 1 (1), 90-101.
Creswell, J. W. (2013). Educational research: planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research + Video-enhanced Pearson Etext Access Card. Pearson College Div.
Daft, R, (2008). New Era of Management 2 nd Ed, China: Thomson South-Western.
Daft, T. (2008). Strategic Leadership for Effectiveness of Quality Managers in Medical Sciences Universities: WhatSkills Is Necessary, Australian Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences ,Vol 3(3): p2563-p2569
David, A. (2005). Effects Of Organizational Learning And Strategic Leadership On Competitive Advantage Of Electronics Businesses In Thailand Via Competitive Environment As A Moderator , Journal Of International Business And Economics, Volume 12, Number 1, p1-p 10
Davidsson P., Wiklund J., & Brown T. E., (2001). An operationalization of Stevenson's conceptualization of entrepreneurship as opportunity based firm behavior. Strategic Management Journal, 22, 953-968.
Dereli, D. (2015). Innovation management in global competition and competitive advantage, Social and Behavioral Sciences, 195, 1365–1370.
Dwallow, Y. (2007). The tenuous link between formal strategic planning and financial performance. Academic Management Review., 12: 658-675.
Ejdys, J. (2014). Strategic Orientation Of Small And Medium Size Enterprises; Economics And Management journal: 2014. 19 (4) Issn 2029-9338
Fabayo, R. (2009). Human Capital a Source of Competitive Advantage “Ideas for Strategic Leadership” , Australian Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences, Vol. 3, No. 4, p 4182- p4189.
Freeman, Q. (2010). The effects of strategic planning on conunon stock returns. Academic Management Journal., 23: 5-20.
Gamble, P. O. & Thompson, A. (2010). Falling off the Apple cart. Business Strategy Review, Autumn, pp. 34-38.
Gatignon & Xuereb, (1997). Where have the mediating variables in leadership performance research gone? Journal of Business and Economics Research, 6(10), 73-84.
Gellis, T. (2001). Going the distance: How the world’s best companies achieve high performance. The Journal of High- performance business No. 3.
Gichunge, W. M. (2010). Determinants of organizational performance: An interdisciplinary view. Strategic Management Journal., 2: 131-154.
Goll, I., & Sambharya, R. B. 1995. Corporate ideology, diversification and firm performance. Organization Studies, 16: 823
Hao, S. & Song, M. (2016). Technology-driven strategy and firm performance: Are strategic capabilities missing links?. Journal of Business Research, 69(2), 751-759.
Hitt, M. A., & Ireland, R. D. (2012). The essence of strategic leadership: Managing human and social capital. Journal of Leadership and Organizational studies, Summer, 9, 13-14.
Hough, J. H. and White, M. A. (2004). Scanning actions and environmental dynamism: gathering information for strategic decision making, Management Decision 42(6) (2004) 781–793.
Hult, G., Ketchen, D. & Slater, S. (2005). Market orientation and performance: an integration of disparate approaches. Strategic Management Journal, 26, 1173-1181.
Jassmy, B. A. K and Bhaya, Z. M. A. (2016). Strategic Orientation And Effects On Organizational Performance- Analytical Study In Real Estate Banks In Al–Dewaniya Province. Proceedings Of The 10th International Management Conference "Challenges Of Modern Management", November 3rd-4th, 2016, Bucharest, Romania
Jing, F. F., & Avery, G. C. (2008), Where have the mediating variables in leadership performance research gone? Journal of Business and Economics Research, 6(10), 73-84.
Johnson, L. (2009). Mergers and acquisitions and managerial conunitrnent to innovation in M-form firms. Acad. Manage. J., 8: 40-47.
Juma, S. (2008). Competitive strategy-techniques for analyzing industries and competitors. Strategic Manage. J., 4: 12-24.
Kahveci, A. and Meads, R. (2008). The impact of Performance Contracting on the performance of commercial State Owned Enterprises. Unpublished Thesis, University of Nairobi, Kenya.
Katee, E. N. (2013). Effect of Strategic Leadership on the Performance of Commercial and Financial State Corporations in Kenya: Unpublished MBA project; University of Nairobi.
Kelloway, O., Turner, P., Barling, C. & Loughlin, J. (2012). Prospering in Dynamically- Competitive Environments: Organizational Capability as Knowledge Integration. Organization Science, 7, 4375-387
Kellstedt, P. M., & Whitten, G. D. 2013. The fundamentals of political science research. Boston: Houghton Mufflin.
Kerlinger, F. N. (1973). Foundations of Behavioral Research, 2 nd ed., Holt, Reinhart and Wilson: New York.
Khalid, S. A. (2010). Improving the Service Delivery: A Case Study of a Local Authority in Malaysia. Global Business Review, Volume 11, Issue 1, pp. 65-77.
Kjelin (2009). Theory of the firm: Managerial behavior, agency costs, and ownership structure. Journal of Financial Economics, 3(4), 305-360.
Kjelin, E. (2009), A Concept Analysis for Strategic Leadership. EBS Review No. 26, 37-57.
Kongolo, M. (2010). Job Creation versus job shedding and the role of SMEs in economic development. African Journal of Business Management , 4 (11), 2288-2295
Kothari, C. R. (2014). Research methodology: methods & techniques. New Delhi, New Age International (P) Ltd.
Kumar, K., Subramanian, R. & Strandholm, K. (2011). Market orientation and performance:Does organizational strategy matter? Journal of Applied Business Research, 18(1).
Kumar, R. (2010). Research Methodology: A Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners. https://nls.ldls.org.uk/welcome.html?ark:/81055/vdc_100025410580.0x000001.
Lapin, J.D. (2010). Team Elko, Elko County strategic plan. [Internal report]. Elko, NV: Great Basin College.
Lau, C. (2011). Team and organizational resources, strategic orientations and firm performance in a transitional economy. Journal of Business Research, 64, 1344-1351.
Lear, L. W. (2012). The relationship between strategic leadership and strategic alignment in high-performing companies in South Africa. Doctoral theses; University of South Africa.
Leedy, P. D., & Ormrod, J. E. (2015). Practical research: planning and design. Pearson Education publishers: Harlow
Linda P., M. (2011). Environmental Scanning Is Vital to Strategic Planning. Educational Leadership. 48 (7):40
Liu, D. Manolova, M. & Edelman, P. (2009). Corporate Culture and Leadership. Crafting and Executing Strategy: Concepts and Cases (15th Edition). McGraw Hill.
Majid, S. and Kowtha, R. (2008). Utilizing environmental knowledge for competitive advantage, Proceedings of the International Conference on Information Resources Management (Association for Information Systems, Canada.
Mary, H. (2005). Strategic Leadership: Developing strategic leadership with lessons from the best. Graziadio Business Report 10(3): 7- 13.
McDonald, A. & Chenoweth, F. (2009). Strategic leadership: key driver for strategic implementation. Management Today.
McGrath, D. A. (2010). The impact of formalized strategic planning on financial performance in small organizations. Strategic Manage. J., 4: 197-207.
Mike C., Brooks M., David N., David W., & John G. (2014). Strategic Factors Driving Timberland Ownership Changes in the U.S. South; Retrieved from; http://www.iatp.org/files/181_2_78129.pdf
Mutemi, J., Maina, L. & Wanyoike, E. (2014). Strategic planning and firm performance: A synthesis of more than two decades or research. Academic Management. Journal., 37: 1649-1665.
Mutuku J. M. (2014). Strategic Responses to the Dynamic Business Environment in Kenya by Old Mutual Kenya Limited. Research Project, MBA, University of Nairobi
Nakola, J. O., Tarus B. K. & Kibet, B. (2014). Effect Of Strategic Orientation On Performance Of Small And Medium Enterprises: Evidence From Kenya; International Journal of Economics, Commerce and Management United Kingdom Vol. III, Issue 11, ISSN 2348 0386
Nasution, H., Mavondo, F., Matanda, M. & Ndubisi, N. (2011). Entrepreneurship :Its relationship with market orientation and learning orientation and as antecedents to innovation and customer value. Industrial marketing management, 40, 336-345.
Newbert, (2007). Handbook of leadership development. Second edition. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Newbert, S. L., Gopalakrishnan, S., & Kirchoff, B. A. (2007). Looking beyond resources: Exploring the importance of entrepreneurship to firm level competitive advantage in technologically intensive industries. Technovation, 28, 6-19. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.technovation.2007.07.002
Obeidat, B. Y. (2016). The Effect of Strategic Orientation on Organizational Performance: The Mediating Role of Innovation. International Journal of Communications, Network and System Sciences, 2016, 9, 478-505
Ojo, O. (2013). Appraisal of the impact of environmental scanning on corporate performance in selected Nigerian banks; Department of Business studies Covenant University, Ogun State Nigeria.
Olamade, O. E. & Adebowale, O. I. (2011). Environmental Scanning Strategy of Manufacturing Companies in Southwestern Nigeria. Journal of Technology Analysis and Strategic Management, 23 (40): 367-384.
Omollo, O. (2007). Leadership Effectiveness: Past Perspectives and Future Directions for Research. Cited in Greenberg, J. 2011. Behaviour in Organisations (10 Edition). Pearson
Ortuzar, P. and Willumsen, J. (2001). Planning perceptions and planning results. Strategic Manage. J., 1: 65-75.
Packard, W. (2004). Developing global managers integrating theory, behaviour, data and performance, Advances in Global Leadership. Oxford UK: Elsevier science, Ltd.
Pearce, C. & Robinson, K. (2005). Long range planning and organizational performance: A cross-validation study. Acad. Manage. J., 18: 91-102.
Pillay, V. (2010). White women speak, black women write: the politics of locution and location in the other researching the not other. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education 24(6): 657-672
Poku, D. K. (2012). The Effect of Strategic Planning on the Performance and Operations of the Agricultural Development Bank. Commonwealth Executive Masters Of Business Administration; Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology
Price et al.,(2003). Strategic Management and Business Policy: A pragmatic Approach, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ.
Ramseook, P., Lukea, S. D. & Naidoo, P. (2014). Service Quality in the private Sector. International Journal of Management and Marketing Research, Volume 3, Issue 1, pp. 37-50.
Rank, L. and Hutchison, K. (2000). Business Process Reengineering: Strategies Tool for ManagingOrganizational Change an Application in a Multinational Company “, International Journal of Business and Management . Vol. 7, No. 2; p 91
Rank. G. and Hutchison, A. (2000). Gaining and sustaining competitive advantage (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.
Sackett, Jones, and Erdley (2005). Kenya leads the way: NEPAD’S APRM Launched Reforms. The Planning Bulletin, 1(2), October, Ministry of planning and National Development publisher.
Saunders, M., Lewis, P. and Thornhill, A.(2007) Research Methods for Business Students 4 th ed. Prentice Hall.
Serfontein, J. J. (2010). The Impact of Strategic Leadership on the Operational Strategy and Performance of Business Organisations in South Africa. PhD Thesis; University Of Stellenbosch.
Sharma, K. and Mehta, J. (2004). “Firm Resources and Sustained Competitive Advantage”.Journal of Management, 17: p99-120.
Taiwo, A. S. and Idunnu, O. F. (2010). Impact of Strategic Planning on Organizational Performance and Survival. Research Journal of Business Management 4 (1): 73-82, 2010.
Taylor, S. (2007). Business Statistics for Non-Mathematicians. 2 nd edition. New York: Palgrave McMillan.
Teece, D. J. (2007). "Explicating dynamic capabilities: the nature and micro-foundations of (sustainable) enterprise performance." Strategic Management Journal 28(13): 1319-1350
Venkatraman, N. (1989). Strategic orientation of business enterprises: The construct dimensionality and measurement. Management Science, 35(8), 942-962. http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.35.8.942.
Wang, M., Courtright, Y. & Colbert, Z. (2011). Knowledge management’s social dimension: Lessons from Nucor Steel. MIT Sloan Management Review October 15.
Wright, O., Moynihan, C. & Pandey, P. (2012). The resource-based view: Origins and implications, Handbook of Strategic Management. Oxford, UK: Blackwell publishers.
Yang, Y., Wang, Q., Zhu, H. & Wu, G. (2012). What are the effective strategic orientation for new product success under different environment? An empirical study of Chinese businesses, 2, 166-179.
Yukl, Y. (2006). The essence of strategic leadership: Managing human and social capital. Journal of Leadership and Organizational studies, Summer, 9, 13-14.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.61426/sjbcm.v5i1.632
Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
PAST ISSUES:
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.