Responsiveness to challenges of globalisation by Kenya Wine Agencies Limited

Abstract

Chapter one introduces the subject of the study and the importance of appreciating the concept of Globalization within the business concept. The Historical review of KWAL which is a company in beverage market specifically in wines and spirits is covered and also an overview of the global beverage market. The challenges of Globalization to KWAL are highlighted in the statement of the problem and the research question is to inquire into KWAL responsiveness to the challenges brought by Globalization since the early nineties after liberalization of Economy in Kenya. The importance of this study and how it adds to the existing knowledge is also underscored in this chapter. Chapter two is on literature review and focuses on environmental dependency of organizations. It looks at how the environment has changed overtime affecting the appropriateness of the strategies employed in different situations. The concept of strategic issue management in hypercompetitive conditions is brought up and how global trends are leading to increased business turbulence. The concept of external environment with its impact to the business is reviewed with a greater emphasis on industry environment. The concept of liberalization which accelerated Globalization in Kenya in the nineties is also reviewed. The Concept of Globalization is also reviewed from an economic and business perspective. Chapter three is about the methodologies used to collect and analyze the data. Qualitative content analysis ratio analysis and performance trending have been used to analyze the data which is from both primary and secondary sources. Chapter four presents data analysis and interpretations which includes the impact of Globalization to KWAL and the strategies used to respond to Globalization challenges have also been analyzed. The impact of Globalization and strategies employed is supported by way of statistical data from historical records in form of tables and appendices.. Graphs on the financial data are also provided in the appendix VI. Chapter five summarizes the findings and the effectiveness of the strategies that have been adopted by KWAL to respond to challenges of Globalization. Recommendations based on existing theories and practices on what would have been the most appropriate strategies are included in this chapter. The limitations of the of the study are also highlighted with suggestion for further studies made at the end.