Functional Level Strategies and the Effectiveness of Saape Ltd

Abstract

The aim of this study was to find out the functional level strategies and the factors that influence the efficiency of functional level strategies at Saape Ltd. Functional level strategies centers on the development and coordination of resources through which business level strategies can be accomplished effectively and efficiently, and thus a very important aspect of creating an effective organization. Most organizational decisions are implemented at the functional level in an organization and thus when an organization fails to define the functional levels and the role played by each function, then it compromises on the effectiveness of the organization as a whole. The characteristics of most restaurants in Kenya today is that the functional levels are not defined. There is an overlap of activities and roles performed at the functional level. Thus the first part of this study bring out the importance of having these functional level clearly defined and the roles that top management have in making sure that this is done. The various functional levels studied are the finance function, marketing function, the human resource function and lastly, the operational function. The second part outlines the factors that influence the efficiency of the above stated functional level strategies, and those discussed in this study includes; organizational structure, strategic leadership and organizational culture. This research had two objectives. The first one was to identify functional level strategies used by Saape Ltd and the second, to investigate the factors that influence the efficiency of functional level strategies. The researcher used a case study research design through the use of an interview guide as the data collection tool. The data was analyzed through a x report that was compiled after carrying out the interviews on the branch managers and the director of Saape Ltd. The study established that marketing function, finance function, the human resource function and the operational function were functional levels in Saape Ltd that used different strategies, like advertisement, pricing, management of cash flow, etc to enhance the overall effectiveness of the organization. Further, the study established that organizational structure, strategic leadership and organizational culture were factors that influenced the efficiency of the functional level strategies.