Strategy Implementation and Performance at the Office of the Auditor General, Kenya

Abstract

Strategy implementation is the key to any strategic management. Strategy implementation converts laid down strategies into actions. The study’s purpose was to assert the effect of strategy implementation on organizational performance at the Office of the Auditor General (OAG). The study was guided by the Agency Theory, supported by System Theory and Resource Based View Theory. Case study design was adopted in the methodology. At the data collection stage, the study used an interview guide which involved an in-depth interview with the top managers. To analyze the research data, the study used content analysis. From the results, the top management, head of departments and head of committees were the personnel involved in strategy implementation. They assigned responsibilities and resources for the process of strategy implementation at the OAG. The results further indicated that implementation of strategies was carried out by the staff through activities and duties assigned to them by the management. From the study, the low level of employees’ involvement has had adverse effect on the process of strategy implementation. As such, there is need for close and in-depth involvement of the staff in the process of strategy implementation. The study further established that the management should ensure proper communication on strategy implementation. From the results, the OAG faces a number of challenges in the process of strategy implementation including; inadequate ICT infrastructure, inadequate funds, poor structures, lack of skills for implementation, lack of training among others. The research recommends inter-agency collaborations to ensure quality audits, trainings, adequate allocation of funds for implementation and entrenching proper communication of the strategies to the staff by the top management. The findings indicated a significant positive influence on organizational performance, citing quality of audits, profitability, customer retention, public image, timeliness in audit reports delivery due to the implementation of strategies. Further research needs to be done on the role of strategy implementation on performance and use a larger sample size to get better and wider application of the findings. In addition, the factors that are considered in strategy implementation need further and in-depth research. The study’s key limitation was tied to its subjective nature inherent of a case study and hence detailed responses could not be established. The study was also based on strategy implementation alone and hence findings are limited in scope.