Strategic management practices at Barclays bank of Kenya

Abstract

Successful organizations recognize the importance of strategy as a tool in management and realize that their survival is dependent on how well they adopt new strategies or enhance existing strategies in an attempt to respond to the changes brought by the environment. While the quality of strategy is important, we cannot omit the importance of effectively executing the strategy. The current study, sought to contribute to a greater understanding of the strategic management practices in organizations. In an attempt to achieve the objective of the study, a case study research design was conducted at Barclays Bank of Kenya. Data was collected through face to face interviews of 10 respondents. The data collected from the interviewed was analyzed qualitatively using content analysis. The research revealed that a continuous scanning of the environment will not only assist the organization understand the changes in business needs but also which strategies to employ. To successfully implement strategies both short and long term strategic plans need to be in place. Adequate and early planning and an all inclusive process will prevent resistance by employees in the organization. In order to improve the level of employees‟ confidence in strategy implementation process, their level of competency and empowerment would be observed. The research further revealed that critical skills required for implementing strategy were dependent on the complexity and nature of the strategy, leadership skills, relationship management skills and financial skills were inevitable in all cases of strategy implementation. The research concluded that there is no one universal approach to strategic management and therefore its practices keep evolving from time to time depending with the changes in the environment. There were several limitations that I encountered while undertaking this study. For example it was a challenge scheduling the interview sessions with the managers as they were stationed in different offices in dispersed locations. There were also managers who had been in the organization during major strategy implementation phases who had since left and their experience could not be incorporated in the study.