| dc.description.abstract | Companies require strategic thinking and only by evolving good business
strategies can they become strategically competitive (Ansoff and McDonnell
2009). Thomas and Wheelen (2002) stressed that strategy management is applied
for the purposes of moulding, directing and relating an organization effectively to
its environment. Organizations face significant constraints and contingencies from
their external environment and their competitiveness depends on their ability to
monitor the environments and adapt their strategies accordingly. Despite the level
of knowledge generated regarding the structure and dynamics of organizations,
there remains little appreciation about how managers perceive their competitive
environment and the impact of managerial cognitions on industry dynamics.
Organizations require guidance on the most effective functional areas in which to
invest in order to improve and sustain environmental performance. Organizations
large and small are environment-dependent. No organization can exist without the
environment. They depend on the environment for their survival and they have to
scan the environment in an effort to spot budding trends and conditions that could
eventually affect the industry and adapt to them (Thompson and Strickland,
2003). Failure to do this will lead to serious strategic problem characterized by the
maladjustment of the organization’s performance growth (Ansoff and McDonnell,
2000). The insurance industry has been under intense pressure to change for the
last few years. In addition, insurers have been troubled by an extensive crisis of
confidence regarding financial markets since financial crisis in 2008. The industry
had to deal with noticeable changes in client behavior. Thus, the changing
framework conditions confront insurers with increasing strategic challenges and
require a conceptual strength of strategy. The research objective of this study was
to establish the strategic response to changing business environment by GA
insurance limited in Kenya. This research was conducted through a case study.
The study used secondary data. Primary data was collected using an interview
guide which was administered to 10 Managers at GA Insurance Limited as the
respondents who includes the human resource, finance, reinsurance and
facultative, business development, legal, medical, risk and compliance, internal
audit claims and ICT. The qualitative data collected was analyzed using content
analysis technique. From the findings, there has been a lot of competition amongst
industry players and the dynamic business environment means that for a company
to do well financially, they had to outdo their rivals. From the findings, there is
evidence of an existing management committee which reviews response strategies
on monthly basis. From the findings, GA Insurance Limited considers
competition from other players in the industry while formulating business
strategies. In line with the findings the following conclusions are drawn; Financial
implications is a major consideration while formulating and implementing the
choice of strategies adopted by GA Insurance Limited while financial resources
are determinant in implementation of response strategies. The study also
recommends that all the stakeholders in the insurance industry should incorporate
the findings of this study, especially on strategic response to changing business
environment. | en |
