| dc.description.abstract | The environment in which organizations operate is dynamic and highly unpredictable.
Due to the constant changes, organizations are required to continuously adapt so as
to strategically meet the evolving challenges and exploit emerging opportunities to
ensure survival and success.
It is recognized that employees of an organization are its greatest assets. Any
changes being implemented in an organization will have a marked impact on the
employees as individuals and collectively as groups, be it positive or negative, either in
the way they perform their duties or in the way they relate to each other and to the
organization‟s other stakeholders. Change starts with the perception of its need and
the change in individuals is influenced by the various perceptions each has on the
organizational changes being implemented. Managers of an organization undergoing
change must put themselves in their employees‟ shoes to understand how change
looks from that perspective so as to ensure complete support from the employees.
This study sought to determine the perception the employees of the Kenya National
Audit Office, a unique public sector organization, have on various change initiatives
that had been introduced and the factors influencing those perceptions. The study was
considered important as it would provide information on how to ensure employees are
fully engaged in the change process as well as provide feedback on the process itself
from the employees‟ perspective. Understanding the ways in which employees view
and react to change provides a basis for developing new change management
strategies that may bring employees perceptions into alignment with what is desired by
the leadership of an organization, thereby, influencing the desired reactions to change.
The findings of the study indicate that the employees of the Kenya National Audit
Office were highly aware of the changes taking place and the reasons for the changes.
They perceived themselves as having the ability and the desire to change, as well as
the awareness of why change was happening. The perception of the need for change
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was highly in favor of turning around the organization into a more effective and
professional office with increased level of efficiency, to ensure success in a changing
environment
The findings further indicate that the employees would prefer to play a greater
participative role or be more involved in the entire change process from identification
of the need and not just during implementation. They seek greater empowerment to
experiment and to make decisions as well as adequate and timely provision of the
requisite resources to implement the changes. The employees further perceive that
the culture of the organization is an impediment to implementation of change and are
of the view that the management of the office had not fully addressed this area.
The findings support documented theories on approaches to effective change
management as well as previous studies on organizational strategic change and
provides key information on how employees view change and how it impacts on them.
The key perceived elements were, the changing environment, need for effectiveness,
professionalism and concern for stakeholders, communication, clarity of vision, training
and development to reduce resistance, resource availability, top level management
support and realignment of culture to enable successful implementation of strategic
change. | en |
