Integration Of Organizational Goals With Individual Goals As A Basis Of Competitive Advantage For Bata Shoe Company Limited, Kenya

Abstract

Over time, it has been argued that individual goals and therefore their interestdo not always match with company goals and consequently, there might appear to a strategic need to instead align the organizational goals to the individual goals. The need for organizations goal integration‟s with that of individual employee interest has assumed a prominent role due to its perceived role in increasing organizational performance. By aligning organizations goals with that of its employees helps them to contribute towards the overall company objectives and thus its strategic goal. Integration of organization and employee interest ensures that employee‟s undertakingshelp in achieving the set strategic goals, which brings forth the positive results. The research objective was to define the effects of integration of organizational goals with individual goals as a basis of competitive advantage for Bata Shoe Company Limited, Kenya. The study used descriptive survey research design. The study population was all the three hundred and five employees working in the company. The study adopted stratified sampling techniques in selection of respondents for the study. The study used primary data collection methods administered through questionnaires comprisingof open ended and closed questions and analyzed by descriptive statistics. The study found out that sharing of organizational goals in the company resulted in improved employee level of engagement at the work place as well increasing employee productivity and faster execution of the organization strategy which ensured that the company responds to market changes before competitors.. Individual interest was found to be important to the company it helps in fostering good relationship between the management and employees thus employees ought to be trained on programmes that improve employee-organization identification.By involving the employees in coming up with organizational goals they feel they are part of the company and this increases their level of satisfaction with the company thus creating a cordial relationship with the management. Integration of organizational and individual goals was found to have enabled the company achieve competitive advantage through improved innovation, creation of synergy between the two resources and reduces sub-optimization, genuine empowerment and enhancement of employees‟ sense of ownership to the organization. The study recommends that Bata Shoe Company should adapt and develop their organization goals with individual goals to overcome competition from other companies. The study further recommend that organizational and individual goals alignment in the company should be pursued as it helps the employees have an understanding of the company structure and how well they can participate to improve performance and thus achieve a competitive advantage.