Organizations In Kenya Research Articles

Organizational Purpose and Performance of National Health Non-Governmental Organizations in Kenya

The purpose of this study was to assess the influence of defining organizational purpose on the organizational performance of national health non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Kenya. The study utilized positivism research philosophy and cross-sectional research design. The target population of the study was 564 chief executive officers (CEOs) and program directors of 282 national NGOs registered with the NGO coordination board. A sample size of 234 was selected using a random stratified sampling technique. Data collection was through a structured questionnaire while inferential and descriptive statistical techniques were used for data analysis. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was applied to test and explain the study hypothesis. Statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) Version 26 and Analysis of Moment Structures (AMOS) version 26 software were used for the analysis. The study findings determined that defining organizational purpose had a statistically significant positive influence on organizational performance of national health NGOs in Kenya (r squared = 0.41, beta = 0.642, CR = 7.534, p < 0.05). The study concludes that defining organizational purpose is vital for the organizational performance of national health NGOs in Kenya. The study hence recommends to the top management of national health NGOs in Kenya to clearly articulate the purpose of their organizations thus making employees and managers satisfied and committed to its achievement.

Economic empowerment of the pilot reintegration program for female genital fistula survivors in Kenya during the COVID-19 pandemic.

ObjectiveTo determine whether a pilot reintegration program for female genital fistula survivors that included a combination of financial support, psychosocial support, and mentoring would result in their long-term economic empowerment during the COVID-19 pandemic.ResultsNine fistula survivors participated in a 29-month pilot reintegration program offered by Kenya Quilts for Empowerment (KQFE), a registered Community Based Organization in Kenya. Originally, the program was intended to last for 18 months, but as a result of the pandemic, this was extended to achieve the long-term economic empowerment of women. The program was based on best practices for poverty alleviation that included multiple sources of income, psychosocial support, and mentoring, sustained over the entire 29-month period. All the women were severely impoverished at the baseline assessment, with one having some savings, and a few having productive assets, which were primarily chickens. Financial training and an initial non-refundable cash transfer provided start-up funds for small businesses; these initially flourished before floundering during the pandemic and eventually recovering. Funds were also used to buy livestock. A key component of the program was the provision of national health insurance for each woman and her family, which helped them stay healthy without having to sell any income-generating livestock. Other key components were the psychosocial support and mentoring provided within their support group. After 29 months, every woman had achieved long-term economic empowerment and “graduated” to become a KQFE ambassador, tasked with identifying fistula survivors within their communities, and referring them for surgery and participation in a reintegration support group.

The Nature of Gender Portrayal in Editorial Cartoons: Analysis of Kenya’s Daily Nation and Standard Newspapers

Visual images often have lasting memory with the capacity to reveal the anguish of a tormented soul. It can stimulate sexual passion as well as generate intense feelings and excitement to the level of driving people to the bravery and barbaric acts. These images evoke responses in people based on their interpretation of meanings informed by common beliefs and values. In most cases, the victims are subjected to gender-based humiliation in the public eye. This paper investigates the nature of gender portrayal through selected editorial cartoons. This study is anchored on the relativist/interpretivist philosophical paradigm in which a qualitative case study design is adopted. The case in reference is the Daily Nation and the Standard newspapers of Kenya’s Nation Media Group and Standard Group, respectively. Data was generated from sampled cartoons published by the two dailies. The data was complemented by semi-structured in-depth interviews targeting the cartoonists, human rights activists, and gender specialists from selected organizations in Kenya. In total, 252 cartoons out of 2184 which is 11.5 percent, were sampled systematically through a six-week purposive sampling mechanism. Each week represented a month amounting to three years in a row. The findings of the study revealed that men were negatively represented in most of the cartoons. Specifically, men were linked to greed, corruption, political violence, and land grabbing among other issues. On the other hand, women were mostly portrayed as weak, helpless, vulnerable, and most afflicted. In over 30 of the sampled cartoons, women were projected as sexual objects and agents of beauty. And yet in some though only a few, the very women were projected as the voice of reason and one that could be entrusted with leadership and integrity. This study reveals the bias and increased stereotypical overtones and the inability of the two newspapers to adequately embrace gender sensitivity in the way cartoons portray both men and women to their readers. Editors, reporters, and cartoonists should remove bias and stereotypes in their portrayal of both men and women. To this end, urgent retraining and sensitization on gender sensitivity cartooning are highly recommended for media practitioners. Specific editorial guidelines for cartoonists and mentoring of female journalists to become cartoonists are equally required to mitigate biased cartooning.

Strategy Implementation Practices and Performance of Insurance Companies in Kenya

Organizational performance has transformed into a hypothesis which relies on various facets within the company such as its top management and how strategies are implemented. It is however worth noting that what sets organizations apart depends upon their share in the market, corporate image, level of customer satisfaction and profit margins. Firms within developed and developing nations have encountered challenges in implementing their strategies. This has particularly been experienced by insurance companies in Kenya, through a decline in their performance. The study therefore aimed at investigating effects of strategies implementations methods on effectiveness of insurance firms in Kenya. The precise goals for the research were to: to determine the impact of resource allocation, staff training, organisation communication and organisation culture on performance of insurance firms in Kenya. Open systems theory and Transformative theory were used in the study together with Holistic strategy implementation theory. The survey was conducted using a descriptive research methodology. Forty one (41) insurance organizations in Kenya formed the target population with 123 respondents out of which a sample of 94 respondents was chosen at employing Israel’s formula. Structured questionnaires were the major data collection method for obtaining primary data. The findings revealed that resource allocation, staff training, organisation communication and organisation culture all had substantial impact on performance of Kenyan insurance companies. The survey indicates that strategies implementations methods have substantial impact on performance. This survey suggests that the finance managers of the insurance firms in Kenya must set aside sufficient funds to finance implementation of strategies. The human resource managers working in the insurance firms in Kenya should organize regular on-the-job and off-the-job training programs to enhance the skills of employees so that they can be able to implement formulated strategies. The communication managers and public relations officers working in the insurance firms in Kenya should work to improve on the existing communication channels to enhance the flow of information among employees as they implement strategies. Departmental heads working among insurance firms in Kenya should strengthening the corporate culture by communicating the organizations values to employees.

Hybridisation of institutional logics and civil society organisations' advocacy in Kenya

AbstractManagerialist logic has become dominant in development policy and practice. However, in recent years, the Dutch government is seeking to adopt social transformation approaches to development interventions. The implementation of social transformation ideas takes place in an environment dominated by managerialism. However, our understanding of how the logic of social transformation and managerialism collide or come into conflict and the pathways through which the managerialist principles dominate the social transformation principles is limited. Drawing on qualitative data from the Strategic Partnerships (SP) and Accountability Fund (AF) policy instruments for civil society organisations in Kenya, we find that in practice, the social transformation principles underpinning the SP and AF ‘vaporise’ or get lost during implementation due to the wider aid system within which they are embedded. We highlight the implications of the broader aid system on attempts by donor agencies to shift from managerialism towards a social transformation perspective on development.

Strategic Financial Practices and Funding Sustainability of Non-Governmental Organizations in Kenya: A Case of Islamic Relief Kenya

Sustainable funding assist various NGO's implements several programmatic interventions that not only assist the societies but will equally improve the living standard. But global funding has been in one way or the other affected by harsh economic times. A number of NGOs are stopping operations every day because they don't have sustainable funding. Many new NGOS are falling into the financial un-sustainability pitfall since they are in operation for a few years and then disappear. NGOS' failure to sustain their work arise from various inadequacies and majorly, the lack of financial resources. The general study objective was to establish the strategic financial practices and funding sustainability of Kenyan NGOs with specific reference to Islamic Relief Kenya. Descriptive research design was adapted. The target population was 224 staffs including the management both top and middle level and operational staff team of the Islamic Relief Kenya in Nairobi. Sixty-seven respondents were picked using stratified proportionate random sampling technique and data obtained by questionnaires. Inferential statistics included regression and correlation. The data variable was factored in the multiple regression model. The study found that own income generation contributed the least followed by income diversification and then financial planning while donor fund management contributed most to funding sustainability of nongovernmental. The study found that income diversification played a significant role as it fuels growth through corporate donor sourcing. The study also found that donor fund management played a significant role as evidenced by the information management which affects most and maintaining regular meaningful communications with their donors. The study further found that financial planning systems played a critical role mostly in preparation of budget control which contributed to financial planning as tool for enhancing sustainability. The study recommends that the NGO should hire skilled and competent staffs so that fair financial planning is achieved, the skilled staffs should have understanding in the areas of financial analysis, implementation of plan and budget control. The management team of NGO should find other ways to increase their income from their current source hence to increase income diversification. Through information management, the organization should ensure enhance communication and accountability to maintain a good relationship with the donors. The management should also participate more in income generating activities to enhance accountability.

Servant Leadership Attributes for Non-Profit Organizations in a Developing Country: An Exploratory Survey

The study was undertaken in response to calls in extant literature for extension of servant leadership empirical work into new contexts. The study was done as an exploratory research in a developing country context, Kenya using an integrated set of servant leadership attributes drawn from previous work on servant leadership with the aim of finding out which servant leadership attributes are applicable to the non-profit sector and how the NGO institutional characteristics condition the application of the servant leadership practices. Data was obtained from 365 respondents drawn from 72 religious non-profit organizations in Kenya and analysed using exploratory factor analysis. Ten attributes of servant leadership were extracted with their corresponding set of operational indicators. The institutional context was found to condition servant leadership practices among the non-profit organizations through institutional isomorphism. The extracted 10 factors indicate that servant leadership attributes are relevant for applications in the non-profit sector and require the conceptual and theoretical input of the contingency and institutional theories. Keywords: Institutional context, Non-profit organizations, Religious non-profit organizations, Servant leadership, Servant leadership components

EFFECT OF COMPETITIVE STRATEGIES ON THE PERFORMANCE OF SMEs IN KIAMBU COUNTY, KENYA

Purpose: The ever dynamic competitive business environment pose major challenges to SMEs like many other organizations in Kenya and managers have been struggling to compete favorably. According to Porter, superior performance can be realized through pursuit of a competitive generic Strategy. Hence identification and pursuit of the right competitive strategies as a source of superior performance has become a priority in many organizations. Be that as it may, the application of the right strategies is still a concern in many SMEs which have made little effort to comprehend how Generic Strategies can give them a performance advantage over their rivals. Thus, the objectives of this study included examining the effect of Cost leadership, Differentiation and Focus Strategies on the performance of SMEs in Kiambu County.
 Methodology: The study was guided by Porters Competitive Strategy Theory, Resource Based View Theory and Resource Dependence Theory. A descriptive research design will be used targeting 889 SMEs belonging to different sectors; manufacturing has 113, agricultural has 226, essential services that include private schools and health facilities have 217, general merchandise like shops and supermarkets have106, commercial services and other service industries are a total of 227. Proportionate sampling technique was used to select the sample size. Data was collected using questionnaires and then analyzed using correlational and regression analysis. Data was presented in form of means and standard deviation by means of tables.
 Findings: The findings of the study confirmed that Differentiation, Cost leadership and Focus strategy had a significant influence on the performance of Small and Medium Enterprises in Kiambu County.
 Unique contribution to theory, practice and policy: The study therefore recommends that the government comes in handy to support the SMEs by providing legislation aimed at providing a conducive environment to allow for full operationalization of Competitive strategies which would consequently translate to national economic growth.

Effect of Funding Diversification on the Financial Performance of Nongovernmental Organizations in Kenya: A Case of Kenya Red Cross Society

Financial performance has been a matter of an on-going concern for non-governmental organizations, with scarcity of resource and mounting societal needs. The enduring problem has been on how to attain financial sustainability and reduce over-dependency on donor funding. It is hypothesized that engaging in funding diversification will enhance financial performance of non-governmental organizations. The main aim of this research was to examine the effect of funding diversification on financial performance of non-governmental organizations in Kenya. Stakeholder theory and resource dependency theory were adopted to anchor the study. A descriptive research design was used in this research. The population of the study were the 10 Kenya Red Cross Society departments in Nairobi. The unit of observation was the 389 employees in these departments. Sample size was 198 employees stratified according to their departments. Primary data was collected using questionnaires. The questionnaires were administered through emailing as well as drop and pick later method. Upon collection of the data, it was coded in quantitative format so as to enable analysing through use of statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 24. Descriptive and inferential statistics generated were presented in tables and figures. The correlation findings showed that the relationship amongst funding diversification and financial performance was positive (r=0.429, p<0.001). The regression coefficient results indicated that funding diversification positively and significantly affected financial performance (β=0.558, p=0.000). This suggested that a unit increase in funding diversification would result in 0.558 increase in financial performance. This study concluded that funding diversification is an essential practice for NGOs to use in their endeavor to improve on their financial performance. The study recommends that management of NGOs should implement funding diversification in their operations to enhance financial performance.

Relationship Between Organisational Factors and Adoption of New Technology in Kenya: A Case of CEMASTEA

This research evaluated the relationship between organisational factors and adoption of new technology in education support organisations in Kenya based on the case of Centre for Mathematics, Science and Technology Education in Africa (CEMASTEA). The research design adopted for this study was descriptive correlational design. The study population was 214 employees of CEMASTEA. A stratified sample of 64 participants was drawn from the different departments within the institution. A structured questionnaire was developed for data collection. Data was analysed using descriptive statistics and regression analysis in SPSS. An R-Square of 0.749 with the standard error of estimate being 0.235 was found, implying that for any variation in adoption of new technology by one-unit, organisational factors explained 74.9% of such variation. This was a demonstration that organisational factors were a salient determinant of technology adoption success. Government and all relevant authorities should also formulate and implement policies that will assist organisations adopt and adapt to new technologies in a favourable and user-friendly environment.

Reward and Compensation Management Initiatives on Employee Performance: An Evidence of Organization Development Initiatives

Organisational development (OD) interventions are structured programs designed to solve a problem, which enables the organisation to attain its goals which are critical in an age where organisation performance and return on investors is important. Employee performance is how employees fulfil their duties and complete the tasks assigned at the workplace on time. Increased employee performance translates to higher output hence higher returns to factors of production. It is on this note the paper aims to determine the relationship between reward and compensation management and employee performance in not-for-profit organisations in Kenya using a case of select organisations within the South Rift region. The study adopted a quantitative research design where a target population of 500 respondents was used. The findings indicated that reward and compensation initiatives had a significant positive relationship with employee performance (β = 0.395; p = 0.000<0.05). The study recommends that there is a need for organisations to have proper rewards and compensation in place to enhance employee performance. More emphasis should be directed to reward and compensation because it is the main contributors to employee performance.

6 - We Are the Sons of Mau Mau! Re-Assessing the Historiography of Resistance in Kenya, 1924-2008

Mungiki is a politico-religious group and a banned criminal organization in Kenya. The organisation, which apparently originated in the late 1980s, is secretive and bears some similarity to mystery religions. Specifics of their origin and doctrines are unclear. What is clear is that they favour a return to indigenous African traditions and reject Westernisation and all trappings of colonialism. These include; rejection of Christianity, and the practice by the Mungiki of forced female genital cutting. The ideology of the group is characterised by revolutionary rhetoric, Kikuyu traditions, and a disdain for modernization, which is seen as immoral corruption. Their participation in recent ethnic wars in Kenya has evoked serious academic concerns on the group. What is interesting is that the followers of the so-called Mungiki youth sect, whose 500,000 members see themselves as ‘the true sons of the Mau Mau’. By using interdisciplinary approaches, I intend to show the myriad ways in which youth construct their own identity and how they derive power and inspirations from the past (Mau Mau). I not only introduce problems surrounding conceptions of Mungiki and the generation, but also show how conflicts between the young (Mungiki) and older (Mau Mau) generations reconfigure power in society.

An exploratory study of online internal communication within an employee relationship management approach: A Kenyan case study

The aim of this study was to explore the adoption of online communication tools (OCTs) by employees and managers of a public sector organisation in Kenya in a bid to build relationships in the workplace. Online internal communication (OIC) is gaining more prominence in public sector organisations in Kenya owing to the recognition of its positive effects on sound employee relationships. Strong employee relationships are essential to enhance not only the competitive advantage, but also the productivity of organisations. It is for this reason that public sector organisations in Kenya have increasingly adopted various OCTs and channels to enhance employees’ interactions and engagement. Consequently, a qualitative research approach was adopted. Primary data was collected through focus group discussions and in-depth interviews and analysed in accordance with a well-known qualitative data analysis approach. The key findings in this study identified the lack of training, open communication, involvement, motivation and trust as some of the factors affecting employee relationship management (ERM) in an online setting. The findings provide deeper insight into the degree to which employees are using OCTs for relationship building in a public sector organisation, which could be used as a heuristic for similar organisations.

IT Workforce Planning Practices in Kenya

With looming talent shortages and the mainframe era IT staff retirement, workforce planning is necessary in order to maintain business continuity. Without a dedicated workforce plan, CIOs and business leaders will be unable to meet the business requirements of the future. To 46% of business leaders, workforce planning is a top priority, yet only 13% do it effectively. The aim of the study is to provide a guidance on best practices in workforce planning to all the organizations in Kenya. The findings are that some organizations in Kenya have executed and implemented best practices in workforce planning. There is a positive relationship between good workforce planning practices and business performance.

Influence of Supply Chain Management Strategies on Performance of Medical Supply Chain Organisations in Kenya

Institutions within the medical supply sector have consistently faced substandard supply chain results because of failure of timely deliveries on the part of suppliers failing to quickly respond to deliver medical shipments. This indicates the procurement role having inadequacies as a key component of an organization since it does not deliver on maximized effectiveness and a reduction of costs based on poor supply chain management plans. A critical purpose of the study was the intention to identify influence of supply chain management strategies on performance of medical supply chain organisations in Kenya. More so, the analysis deals with the degree information integration impacts on Organization performance; to evaluate the impact of warehousing on performance; to examine the impact of outsourcing on performance; and to evaluate the influence of lean supply chain on performance of medical supply entities across Kenya. Direction will through be relying on the resource-based theory as well as the supply chain constraints principle. The analysis will adopt a descriptive study approach; with the targeted size comprising of 30 medical supply entities. The study participants included 2,529 staff of pharmaceutical supply chain entities within Kenya. Determination of the sample group was by Yamane’s concept that led to to a group of 345 participants. Accessing the participants was by stratified and simple random sampling approaches. Towards indicating dispersion and central tendency, standard deviation and respectively, with the inferential statistics being analysed by multiple regression and correlation analysis. The study findings reveal that performance of medical supply organizations in Kenya was significantly related with supply chain information integration (p < 0.05), warehousing (p < 0.05) and outsourcing. Despite this, the association among differentiation strategy and performance was insignificant at p > 0.05 but only significant at p <0.1). It was also found that while lean supply chain had a negative influence on performance (t = -.528, p >0.5) information integration, warehousing and outsourcing had positive influence on performance (information integration: t = 16.461, p <0.05; warehousing: t = 19.671, p <0.05; outsourcing: t = 15.528, p <0.05). The result of these outcomes is that the leadership across medical supply organizations in Kenya need to adopt information integration, warehousing, and outsourcing, which would positively contribute to performance. Medical supply organizations in Kenya should continue emphasizing on supply chain strategies. The outcomes of the study may assist organisations in drawing plans or improving existing strategies governing supply chain management across institutions.

Civil society legitimacy as a balancing act: competing priorities for land rights advocacy organisations working with local communities in Kenya

ABSTRACT While INGOs are known for having to balance competing demands in their quest for legitimacy, this article discusses a similar balancing act for local organisations working directly with communities in the field. Building on the social constructivist view that legitimacy is actor and context dependent, we examine how various parties perceive the legitimacy of three land rights advocacy organisations in Kenya. While regulatory and cognitive legitimacy have societal relevance, we found them to be of secondary importance to local communities, who primarily value pragmatic and political legitimacy sources such as adequate representation, demonstrable output, responsiveness, and visibility in the field.

Effect of Competitive Advantage on the Relationship between Strategic Leadership and Performance of International Non-Governmental Organizations in Kenya

In developing countries, International Non-Governmental Organizations (INGOs) have taken active and complementary roles in sustainable human development. Despite the role of INGOs in development, the issues of sustainability, availability of funds, and supportive leadership have remained a major challenge in developing countries. The concept of competitive advantage has been recognized as a central building block in strategic management and an important precedent to organizational performance. Competitive advantage is a deliberate effort by the organization to align its internal conditions and capabilities with changes in the external environment. This study sought to establish the mediating effect of competitive advantage on the relationship between strategic leadership and performance of international non-governmental organizations in Kenya The study was anchored on strategic leadership theory, upper echelons theory and resource-based view theories. For methodology, descriptive cross-sectional survey design covering 277 respondents was adopted. Semi structured questionnaires were used to collect data. The study findings indicated that data collection tool/questionnaire was reliable as Cronbach alpha was greater than 0.7 for all variables. The results indicated a significant mediating effect of competitive advantage on the relationship between strategic leadership and performance of international non-governmental organizations in Kenya. This means that the influence of strategic leadership on performance is indirect through competitive advantage. The study concluded that both competitive advantage and strategic leadership concurrently influence organizational performance positively. It is recommended that international non-governmental organization must be able to identify their competitive advantage. Keywords: Strategic Leadership, Competitive Advantage, Performance, International Non-Governmental Organizations & Kenya.

Effect of HRM Practices on the Performance of Companies Listed on NSE

The human resource function can make a crucial contribution in developing the key competencies in the institutions and individual employees that lead to high performance. The human resource configurations effectiveness is affected by the weak social capital among most organizations in Kenya, as evidenced by a lack of knowledge sharing and knowledge hoarding. The study's main objective was to see how HRM practices influenced the performance of firms listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE). The research was guided by the ability-motivation-opportunity theory. This research utilized a descriptive research design and applied the positivist approach. The population of the study included 65 companies listed on the Nairobi Stock Exchange (NSE), and it employed both primary and secondary data, with secondary data consisting of the financial indicator Return on Assets (ROA). Questionnaires were employed to gather primary data, and descriptive and inferential statistics were utilized to analyze the data. The method utilized was linear regression. According to the findings, human resource practices have a beneficial influence on the performance of companies listed on the NSE. This study recommends that the organizations should put mechanisms in place to ensure that all stakeholders are aware of the organizations culture, structure and human reward practices so as to attract the best applicants.

User Involvement and Performance of Enterprise Resource Planning System Implementation in Multi-national Organizations in Kenya. A Case of Un-Habitat in Kenya

Most multi-national organizations in Kenya are adopting an entire suite of enterprise resource planning Software and customize them to fit the business processes. Despite the continued review of the enterprise resource planning suite, the realization of a successful enterprise resource planning implementation for multi-national organizations is becoming difficult, owing to user involvement issues. This research, therefore, addressed this by assessing the effect of user involvement on enterprise resource planning implementation for multi-national organizations in Kenya. The study used a descriptive research design, where it obtained a sample size of 70 respondents and selected the respondents from 85 subjects using stratified proportionate sampling. The data for the study was gathered from primary sources using a questionnaire. Data was evaluated using quantitative analysis to provide descriptive statistics accompanied by inferential analysis to estimate the model. Guided by the study findings, it was concluded that; there is a positive and significant relationship between users’ functional requirements activities and enterprise resource planning implementation; users’ presentation requirement activities positively significantly influence enterprise resource planning implementation, users’ quality assurance activities has a significant moderate influence on its enterprise resource planning implementation, and users’ project management activities have a significant moderate influence on enterprise resource planning implementation. The study recommends that these organizations should; develop users’ functional requirements activities policy, review policies on business processes to accommodate different system implementation practices; review current quality assurance activities by consumers to satisfy the planned enterprise resource planning system demand of the provider, and acquire as well as retain the appropriate users’ project management.

Design of Blockchain Based Smart Contract for Tendering

Information technology is the backbone for all 21st century organizations that are looking forward to offer better customer service and gain competitive advantage. Today, blockchain technology is being adopted by a number of organizations such as financial services, healthcare, agriculture and even government. . However, the tendering sector have not been able to take advantage of the new blockchain technology, owing to the absence of blockchain based frameworks and a model for secure tendering. This study focuses on block-chain with its BYOE (Bring Your Own Encryption) concept in the procurement sector. The research comes up with a design of a blockchain based smart contract model for organizations in Kenya following ASD approach. In addition a discussion of challenges and opportunities of Blockchain based tendering is also presented.