Strategic management practices adopted by the directorate of veterinary services, ministry of agriculture, livestock and fisheries, Kenya
Abstract
The Government of Kenya has made strategic planning mandatory for all government
organizations. Strategic planning is a new concept in public organizations. Strategic
planning without effective strategic management is unlikely to lead to success.
Strategic management is a continuous process that ensures effective implementation,
evaluation and control of strategic plans. Without execution, strategic plans are
useless. The current study looked at the strategic management practices adopted by
the Directorate of Veterinary Services (DVS) in the Ministry of Agriculture,
Livestock and Fisheries, of Kenya. The objective of the study was to establish
whether the DVS had fulfilled the government directive of strategic planning. The
study employed a descriptive qualitative case study research design. Primary data was
obtained through researcher administered interviews of senior managers at the level of
Deputy Director of Veterinary Services who were heads of Divisions/Sections /Units
based at the DVS headquarters, at Kabete. Four senior managers were interviewed.
Secondary data was obtained from the DVS Draft Strategic Plan 2013-2017 and the
Restructuring of National Offices in the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and
Fisheries report of 17th April 2014.The study found that DVS has embarked on the
strategic planning process and has a draft strategic plan 2013-2017 in place. The draft
strategic plan has the vision, mission, core values, Strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities, threats (SWOT) analysis, goal setting, strategic choices, budget plans,
and stakeholder analysis. The draft strategic plan indicates that DVS is grossly underfunded
by the National Treasury and therefore the resources for implementation
would have to be mobilised from elsewhere, including donors. The study also found
that, DVS had undergone major changes in its organizational structure and
management personnel, whereby, the Divisions have been reduced from 9 to 5, and
new managers put in place as heads of Divisions. The study concludes that, DVS has
embarked on strategic planning but requires strategic management of the process to
ensure that the process is effective. In addition, the study found that DVS has not
aligned its resource allocation, policies, structure and organizational culture with the
intended strategic plan or vision. In the absence of a finalized strategic plan, DVS
may not deliver its mandate effectively. The study recommends training of the senior
management staff of the DVS on the Strategic Management Process and its potential
benefits. The study also suggests further studies be carried out to establish the factors
impeding the finalization of the strategic plan document. Further studies are also
recommended, albeit at a later stage, to establish the impact of the current changes on
the performance of DVS. The findings of the study imply that government agencies,
like private organizations, are affected by external changes in their environment and
would therefore benefit from strategic management. Without strategic management,
the government of Kenya directive, that all its agencies embark on strategic planning,
may not achieve the intended purpose of improved service delivery.
Publisher
University of Nairobi