Political Patronage on the Operationalisation of Public Procurement Law in Kenya

Abstract

With increased globalization, the business environment has continuously become competitive and organizations strive to be innovative and agile. Strategic leadership is among the innovations that organizations seek to enhance so as attain competitiveness. This study will therefore seek to assess strategic leadership and competitiveness of commercial banks in Kenya. The study measured three variables; human capital development, organizational style of leadership and strategic intent and vision articulation, and their influence on competitiveness of commercial banks in Kenya. The research was also founded on two theories; The Total Quality Management Theory and The Trait Theory. The findings of the study further other studies through providing a reference platform for other researchers, provide policyholders with the necessary information to facilitate the development of regulations and policies and also aid organizational leaders and various level decision makers in developing strategies relating to organizational leadership. The study adopted a descriptive research design. The study’ population of interest comprised of all managers from the various departments within the 40 commercial banks currently operational and not under statutory as at December 2015. The sample population was a census from all commercial banks in Kenya from which 2 managers were sampled as respondents. Questionnaires were be used to collect data from the respondents while data analysis was carried out mainly using SPSS. Correlation and regression analyses were used to describe the type of association between the study variables. The research concluded that the three strategic leadership aspects measured; human capital development, organizational style of leadership and organizational strategic intent and vision articulation positively impact competitiveness in the banking sector with Human capital development having the greatest influence while strategic intent and vision articulation registering the least influence of the three. Additionally, the study established that strategic leadership impacts competitiveness through improved profitability, enhanced productivity and increased market share. The researcher therefore recommends that the organizations should also enhance their ability to effectively manage their human and social capital which is a key resource in determining competitiveness. Besides, the individual institutions should be aggressive in seeking to become winners in the market place, efficiently execute their strategic vision and mission, clearly define the path followed by the organization in executing its vision and adopt an intent strategic leadership assessment of the organization’ business environment.