dc.description.abstract | The environment within which many businesses operate in the modern world is
characterized by rapid changes within the internal and external environment with
competition emerging to be one of the toughest challenges any business has to deal with.
Competition comes in several forms but the basic underlying factor is that the competitors
in any market are out to make profits through gaining market share and maintaining
customer loyalty. Businesses must come up with dynamic and effective ways to ensure
they stay afloat. Any typical business oriented organization is always either fighting for its
market share or growing its market share. It is in the process of fighting for and/or growing
the market share that a business faces challenges and seeks to have in place competitive
strategies that would assure success within its market. This study set out to address two
main objectives which were to determine the challenges of competition and to determine
the competitive strategies adopted by The Kenya Institute of Management to address these
challenges. The study took the form of a case study in which five senior managers who are
responsible for strategy development and implementation were interviewed and their
responses analyzed through content analysis. The study thus identified several challenges
of competition including intense rivalry resulting from several competitors within the
market, customer price sensitivity, financial constraints, legal challenges and product
imitation amongst others. The study found that The Kenya Institute of Management had in
place differentiation, product development and market development as their main
competitive strategies. The findings of this study this study contribute to theory and
knowledge by underlining the importance understanding the need to be aware of the
competitive environment. This study can also be of great interest to managers in the higher
education sector because it underscores the need for managers to understand their
competitive environment so as to enable them develop and implement timely and
appropriate competitive strategies that will ensure their survival within the industry. The
study concluded that for an organization to survive in fiercely competitive environment, it
must adapt dynamic competitive strategies suited to the prevailing market conditions in
order for it to remain afloat. | en_US |