Stakeholder involvement in change management at Kenya Ports Authority
Abstract
Organisations are embracing stakeholder management in their strategic operations in order to
gain competitive advantage in business. Stakeholders have become an integral part of KPA in
their different capacities as shareholders, customers, staff, government agents, the general
public, suppliers and business partners. Involvement of stakeholders raises the chances of
provision of better services and products that are more customer oriented. It has been
suggested that the stakeholders' involvement in change management is important for the
success of the change initiatives. The environment that organisations operate in is turbulent
and they require initiatives that can bring about incremental changes that can serve to propel
the organisation forward. Stakeholders need to be involved from the beginning of the change
process and kept updated throughout the process. This study delved into the intricacies of
stakeholder management particularly the aspect of extent of stakeholder involvement in
change management and the factors that influence this involvement. This research was
conducted through a case study by primarily employing interview guides and semi-structured
questionnaires as data collection tools. Data was collected from KPA management, its staff
and external stakeholders. Data collected from management and KPA staff with the aid of
interview guides was analysed using content analysis. Data collected using semi-structured
questionnaires was analysed using content analysis and descriptive analysis. The study
determined that KPA was involving its stakeholders in its initiatives though this was not being
done at all stages of the process. The organisation needs to involve its stakeholders more
especially in the planning phase of the changes in order to gain more from the stakeholders'
contributions which could be very vital in charting its way forward. Furthermore, the
organisation needs to do proper stakeholder management for it to gain from its benefits. This
can be achieved by putting proper policies in place and reinforcing them with constant
practice.
Citation
Master Of Business AdministrationPublisher
University of Nairobi