Environmental Uncertainty and Strategy Implementation Within Private Chartered Universities in Kenya
Abstract
Strategy implementation contributes greatly to business success. However, when strategies are poorly implemented, managers spend more time re aligning these strategies to meet the objective of their business. Many strategies are not successful in the business operations this is due to improper study of the business environment. This paper is focused on the adoption of effective strategies and what needs to be considered in an uncertain business environment. Early scholars of management like Knight (1912), made initial efforts to understand uncertainty. They described this event as the instability and the dynamic nature of the business environment. The study objectives were to establish the impact of environmental uncertainty on the adoption of strategy in the Kenyan Private Chartered Universities and to determine the approaches that private universities employ to reduce the effects of environmental uncertainty. The inquiry employed a cross-sectional study design.
This study considered the Universities that are Private, Chartered and are registered and authorized by the Commission for University Education (CUE) to run education in Kenya. There are a total of seventeen (17) Universities. The study collected data from the top managers; these included the Vice Chancellors, their deputies, registrars and Heads of strategy management teams. Questionnaires were used in gathering primary facts for the study. Standard deviation, mean scores, percentages, and frequency distribution tables were used in data presentation. Then the results from questions that were open ended were coded. Mean and Standard deviation were applied for the Likert scale responses. Recommendations and conclusions concerning the study were extracted from the outcome of the research. The study established that environmental uncertainties greatly influence strategy implementation within private chartered universities in Kenya and that universities employ various strategies in dealing with the effect of environmental uncertainty, they include: coming up with a register of risks and mitigating measures; concentrate on co programs; controlling of costs; ensuring quality education is offered; ensuring a good student body; have less aggressive strategy; have the right information about the costumers; tailor products to suit the current market. The study recommends that private Universities should be encouraged to lean more on areas like research and other areas of activities that are income generating instead of highly depending on tuition fees. This can be done through seeking affiliations with research institutes like KEMRI and KARI. They should also seek bilateral agreements with the government seeking the introduction of subsidized programmes for low income qualified students. This can be done through grants and scholarships instead of loans from HELB which is questionable on how they deal with private university students. Universities should conduct continuous monitoring and evaluation of strategies adapted to ensure that their strategies are always at per with the dynamic and uncertain environments they operate in. it is also recommended that Private Universities should embrace strategic leadership as this helps these institutions to become more competitive. The study recommends replication of the study in public universities. The study also recommends a comparative analysis between Private and Public Universities performance in relation to the effects of environmental uncertainty on their strategies.
Publisher
University of Nairobi
Rights
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United StatesUsage Rights
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/Collections
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