| dc.description.abstract | The magnitude, speed and direction of environmental change is increasing at an unprecedented
rate. As Burnes (1996) notes, public bureaucracies and monopolies are changing hands to the
private sector or having the competitive market structure transferred into them. Firms that
enjoyed legislative protection have had to rise to the challenges of change. Evolution and reevolution
of change strategies is now the norm rather than the exception. The operating
environment is such that Makadok (1998) says that in today's faster-paced hyper-competition it
is becoming difficult to sustain competitive advantage for any length of time.
It is against the background of a chaotic environment and the struggle by public institutions to
stay afloat in the hyper-competitive scenario with their patently rigidly demarcated sets of dos
and don'ts that this study uniiertook to analyse the change at the National Cereals and Produce
Board (NCPB). It is acknowledged that a good strategy/plan may lead to fruition, a bad strategy
may be a try but no strategy is a disaster situation.
The focus of the study was the strategic management process ofNCPB with the main objectives
of the study being;
(i) To examine the operating business environment and it's influence on the changes at NCPB.
(ii) To establish how the changes at NCPB were arrived at
(iii) To establish the changes that occurred.
The main objective of the chsnge/resttucturing process at the NCPB was to transform it from a
government social service provider to a comrnercialised entity that does not rely on the treasury
for financing. Both primary and secondary data was used. Primary data was obtained from
thirty respondents who were involved in one way or another in the change. The consultants
who were hired to guide the change appear to have settled on the use of the four-phase change
model developed by Bullock and Batten in 1985. Cummings and Ruse (1989) hail this method
as having broad applicability to most change situations.
-...•
IV
The findings revealed that the highest rated force pressuring change was the need to plan
ahead; this was rated at 93.3% as being important The conclusion from this being that what
was needed was the adoption of strategic planning that would have focused the organization
on building a sound future. The next highly rated force was the customer focus. An
appreciation of the customer was sinking in and there was pressure to embrace the customer
more robustly.
From the research findings the external forces that were pressuring the change at the NCPB
can be summarised as; legislative, that is the abolition of the monopoly status of the NCPB
in 1993. There were consequent forces that resulted from the liberalization the main one
being competition. The findings show that the internal forces for change revolved around a
deficiency in the organizational structure, processes and systems that were incompatible with
the dictates of the existing business climate. The systems were both rigid and stagnant with
the change agent recommending a culture transformation. The GOK referred to the
management as weak. The change consultant summed the general management as deeply
lacking in commercial business orientation.
The vision of the NCPB that guided the restructuring was, "To be the leader in all aspects
of grain handling and marketing in Kenya and beyond". However, from the research
data it is noted that of the thirty respondents only seven representing 23.3% were able to get
the vision statement right None of the respondents from the field including senior field
managers were able to get the vision statement right The interviewees indicated that the
contents of the final report by the change agent were never directly communicated even to
key managers. This revelation was quite startling and revealing on the deficiency of the
communication process.
The research revealed that there was average support for the change at both the top
management and lower cadre staff levels. Both levels of staff were rated average in support
by 60% of the respondents. The lack of enthusiastic support from senior management was
thought to emanate from suspicion; this was especially so since the changes were being
pressured by foreign...•aid donors. According to the research findings 70.3% of the
respondents indicated that resources were availed reluctantly, 26% indicated that resources
were readily availed while only 3.7% indicated that resources were very readily availed. This
revelation bolstered the results that indicated that the support from the top management was
less than enthusiastic, it was a dull average.
Of the factors that influenced resistance, fear of demotion or retrenchment was rated highest
at 80% strong and above in contribution. The research revealed that to counter resistance,
there was greater preference in using communication at a rating of 60% followed by
education and training at 50% rating. However, the research also found that resistance was
not deliberately analysed and targeted for address.
The research found that culture change was rated as being very important, with 63.3% of the
respondents indicating an above average importance rating. The change consultant indicated
that prominence of the customer underlined the thrust of culture change.
Reinforcement of the change was found to have been very poor. The observation is further
amplified by the trading results that indicated successive improvement for three consecutive
years after the commencement of the change. Then there was a relapse that is demonstrated
by a reverse on the gains that had been made. Good reinforcement or achievement of
permanent learning would have yielded in the adoption of a strategic posture that would have
militated against the slide to under-performance.
The change process was rated by the respondents as being 51.3% successful. The findings
show that there was under-communication, this was clearly a draw back. Most respondents did
not even know the vision of the change. This position was so despite the use of knowledgeable
change experts who used a tested theoretical model and were reputed as having guided a similar
change in a grain handling organization in Australia. The competence of the change agent may
not be in doubt or question but the environmental context of the Kenyan scenario may have had
a profound negative impact. | en |
