Challenges of Strategy Implementation at Teacher Service Commission in Kenya
Abstract
The main purpose of the study was to determine the challenges faced by TSC in their
strategic plan implementation and how such challenges are addressed by TSC. The
research was conducted through a case study design as it allows for in-depth
contextual analysis. The researcher collected both primary and secondary data.
Primary data was collected through interviews. An interview guide was used to guide
the researcher in collecting data on challenges of strategy implementation at TSC. The
respondents were drawn from the top level and middle level management based at
TSC headquarters Nairobi, comprising of ten (10) interviewees. Secondary data on
the other hand was obtained from the organization documents such as TSC strategic
plans, Annual reports and other relevant documentations. Content analysis was used
to analyze the data collected. The study findings were the strategic planning practices
which are normally reviewed after five years in the organization. The management
and processing of the TSC payroll has been one of the most challenging functions due
to the huge size of the workforce, manual processes, data corruption and geographical
distribution of teachers; Representatives of employees, a number of key stakeholders
are involved before arriving at strategies to be implemented; The means of
communication used to create awareness of change upon strategy implementation at
TSC were memos using top-down approach. The factors that affect the speed of
strategy implementation is timeframe for implementing strategic change, employee
training on information on strategic plans, employee participation in decision making,
employee involvement in the implementation of strategic plans, number of employees
involved ,political interference and availability of resources; The duration of strategy
formulation to a great extent influences the speed of implementation of strategy
change at TSC; the management of resources is unique to TSC in the sense that they
are valuable, rare, non-imitable and durable in the commitment to facilitate the
process of strategy implementation; the employee attitude toward organizational
change was positive but weak, which could elicit some supportive behaviors; At TSC,
the interviewees indicated that to manage the attitude of employees towards strategy
implementation the behavioral aspects of the employees is a determinant factor in the
success of strategy implementation; the employees are to a moderate extent involved
in the implementation of the strategies. However, all the staff interviewed confirmed
that TSC has not put in place any reward system to motivate employees towards
successful implementation of strategies. Management reaction to address the
challenges encountered at TSC included training of employees and creating awareness
before any strategic change, sourcing for more funds through collaboration with other
partners, involvement of representatives of all employees from inception stage to
implementation stage of new strategies. The study recommends the organization to
minimize political interference in implementation of strategic plans, educate the staff
on its policy documents, increase stakeholder collaboration and additional funds in
strategic plan implementation. The organization also needs to work on its resource
allocation which is managed poorly. The organization also needs to put a reward
system in place and creation of awareness and educational trainings that would enable
the teachers and other members involved in the implementation of strategies be aware
and have an understanding from the formulation process to the implementation stage.
Citation
Master of Business AdministrationPublisher
University of Nairobi