| dc.description.abstract | The firm's competitive environment is the set of factors which include; the threat of new
entrants, suppliers, buyers, product substitutes and the intensity of rivalry among competitors
that directly influence a firm and its competitive actions and responses. In total, the
interactions among these five factors determine an industry's profit potential. The challenge
is to locate a position within an industry where a firm can favorably influence those factors or
where it can successfully defend against their influence. The greater a firm's capacity to
favorably influence its industry environment, the greater is the likelihood that the firm will
earn above-average returns. The objectives of this study were to determine the competitive
environmental challenges facing the Umash Funeral Service Limited (UFSL) and to identify
the strategic responses adopted by the company to these challenges.
The research design used for this study was a case study design as it enables the researcher to
have an in-depth understanding of the study. The researcher used an interview guide, as
primary data collection instrument, administered through personal interviews with the
directors and managers of UFSL. Data collected was purely qualitative and it was analyzed
by content analysis.
From the study, the researcher found that UFSL faced some challenges from external
environment and the major challenges included; rivalry and competition from other funeral
services providers such as Lona Funeral Services, Montenzuma and Monalisa and Lee-
Funeral Home, expensive and unreliable transport, lack of finance, lack of experience and
expertise/assistants which mismatched demands, poaching of experienced workers by
competitors, high taxation, lack of subsidies for cooling equipment, constitutionally and lack
of support recognition for private funeral homes. In order to deal with these challenges,
UFSL adopted some strategic responses such as enhancing better services which made a good
reputation for the company and covering regions all over Kenya and sometimes Uganda and
Tanzania. The study recommended that in order to remain competitive in the market, UFSL
should advertise itself appropriately and even consider online advertisement as an appropriate
advertisement media. It further recommended that the company should recruit workers who
have the necessary knowledge and skills in the business and the workers should also be
remunerated fairly so that they are not poached by competitors. | en |
