The State of Strategic Management Practices in Public Sector Organisations in Kenya.

Abstract

The knowledge of strategic management has increased greatly over the last fo ur decades. !vlo s t ol ' this kn.owledge has however been accumulated in the context of developed countries. Research on the strategic management processes in t he developing world is limited, but increasing. and concentrates on private sector enterprises. In both developed and developing nations the state sector remains large. In more deve loped economies however public sector enterprises follow a market model and have identities separate from the government. In contrast many developing nations, particularly those in Africa. have public sector enterprises tied to the political structure. Government bureaucracy rather than the aLttonomy of the market is responsible for decisions. The e nvironment in which Kenyan public sector organisations exist and with which they interact is increasing in complexity and the rate of change is accelerating. There is increasing pressure to perform from both the Kenyan public and from International financial institutions co ncerned with assisting development and suppm1ing structural adjustment efforts that require a reassessment of the role. s tructures , and performance of public sector organisations for improved management. divestiture. or privatisation. With these pressures to perform and increasing c hallenges in the business environment. public sector managers must have the capability to adapt a nd restructure the enterprise to challenge constraints and to regard organisational structures not as immutable. Hence the need for strategic management. This study aimed at documenting strategic management practices in public sector u rganisations and determining whether the envirom11em in which these organisations operate allects the practice strategic management. It also set out to determine whether the profit orienrntion of these organisations affected the practice of st rategic management.