Strategic Management Practices and the Effectiveness of Ngos Dealing With Food Security in Siaya County,kenya

Abstract

Organizations that formulate and implement strategy have a competitive advantage over their competitors in the same industry. The firm that has competitive advantage offers extraordinary values to its customers at a price that is competitive or a value that is worthy at a lower price. This is important as time has proven that strategic management practices are paramount in any organization. Strategic management practices influence the effectiveness of organizations which can be acknowledged by the production of desired outcomes or meeting of set objectives. The purpose of this study was to identify strategic management practices by NGOs addressing the food security challenges in Siaya County and also establish the effectiveness of strategic management practices adopted by the NGOs geared at improving food security situation in Siaya county. Siaya county is one of the counties in the former Nyanza Province in the southwest part of Kenya, it has a total population of 842,304 comprising of Female 443,652 and male 398,652 (KNBS, 2009). The major issues contributing to food insecurity in this county is the issue of extreme poverty and HIV/AIDS epidemic, which has left many poor and vulnerable. The study sought to answer the following research question: What is the effectiveness of strategic management practices applied by NGOs towards improving food security in Siaya county? The study covered 15 NGOs dealing in food security in Siaya County, data was collected through questionnaires and analysed through descriptive analysis. The results of the study indicate that the NGOs have strategic plans and practiced strategic management and that the practice led to effectiveness in the organizations. The research recommends that the NGOs should employee qualified staff who would implement their strategic plans and practice strategic management effectively, it also recommends training of the NGO staff on strategic management practices and their importance. The study concludes that the practice of strategic management plays a crucial role on the effectiveness of NGOs dealing in food security in Siaya County. It was established that NGOs have a strategic plan and practice strategic management practices such as scanning of internal and external environment, formulation of short and long term strategies, setting of specific objectives, implementation of strategies and evaluation and control. The study further established the effectiveness of the strategic management practices as adopted by the NGOs addressing the issue of food security in Siaya, the respondent majorly indicated that the NGOs were benefitting from the application of strategic management practices since it enables them achieve the desired outcomes and meet organization set objectives.