| dc.description.abstract | Historically, insurance companies targeted the middle and upper classes who could afford
to pay their premiums. However, the increasing cost of living has obligated insurance
companies operating in Kenya to alter their business models to maintain revenues. With
more people willing to take out insurance today, emerging risks are forcing the insurance
industry to constantly expand its range of products and change its management approach.
These changes in the operating environment have forced managers in insurance firms to
adopt change management strategies to mitigate disruption to their business processes.
The study had two objectives which sought to determine the challenges of managing
strategic change faced by insurance firms in Kenya and secondly to establish the
strategies adopted by insurance firms in Kenya in managing change. A survey research
design was used for this study to determine the industry practices and challenges in the
management of strategic change and the researcher used a structured questionnaire to
measure responses in the study. From the findings, the study concludes that the
importance of communication for change is not only informing, motivating and
coordinating but also managing employee expectations. The study also concludes that the
major obstacle to organizational growth is managers’ inability to change their attitudes
and behavior as rapidly as their organizations require. Even when managers intellectually
understand the need for changes in the way they operate, they sometimes are emotionally
unable to make the transition. The study further concludes that lack of change
management resources and planning also pose as challenges to effective change
management. These include insufficient resources available to conduct the necessary
planning and implementation, the lack of a formal change management approach and the
lack of change management knowledge within the team. The study recommends that
further research should be done on the policy measures that can be strategically
developed in order to enhance the success of insurance companies. Further study should
look at how to mitigate the challenges that insurance companies encounter. By so doing,
it will encourage and ensure the success of insurance companies. The study further
recommends that a similar study should be done to investigate the challenges facing
change management practices adoption by insurance firms in Kenya. The study also
recommends that managers should provide channels and opportunities for employees to
gather feedback about their own participation in change programs. In relation to this,
face-to-face communication in seeking employees’ views and concerns is highly
recommended. | en |
