| dc.description.abstract | The public service is gradually making efforts to implement strategic change management. This is intended to achieve quality services in a convenient and cost effective manner. Kenya Forest Service is a parastatal body in government that is charged with the responsibility of forestry development to cover all forests on state, local authority and private lands, which is major departure from the previous law which was only on matters of state forests. To effectively realize its strategic goals the organization should consider implementing change management. The study sought to determine the strategic change management practices adopted by Kenya Forest Service and to establish the challenges of implementing strategic change management At Kenya Forest Service. The used a caser study research design whereby primary data was collected using interview guides this was achieved by conducting interviews with four departmental heads who are senior director head of planning, head of monitoring and evaluation, deputy director finance, and deputy director human resource and all of the responded. Data was analyzed using content analysis. The study found that the change management practices implemented by Kenya Forest Service were adoption of new technology which has improved the operational efficiency of the organization and enhanced transparency. The organization underwent a fundamental change of its system from manual system of recording to the new system which is Integrated Financial Management Information Management System (IFIMIS). Also, change of leadership which has not necessarily had a significant impact on strategic change management. The study further concludes that with the current regime (Jubilee Administration) there were many attempts to change the ways of doing things from the previous government and restore public confidence and image through providing quality services to the public. The study concludes that some of the challenges facing Kenya Forest Service in implementation of change management were as follows: lack of adequate finances, organizational structure, resistance to change and political interference. It was concluded that lack of adequate financial resources created a major hindrance towards implementation of strategic change management making it difficult to realize set goals and objectives. This demotivates employees since they lack adequate facilities to support them in implementing strategic change management practices which eventually brings about poor performance and failure to achieve set targets. The organizational structure is very bureaucratic and thus does not accommodate changes in the external environment. The top management fails to involve its employees in key decision making this brings about resistance to change since employees fail to understand the importance of change and what to expect with the new change. The government should allocate adequate resources to invest in modern technologies like information communication technology (ICT). This is intended to achieve integration between the organization and its customers and Kenyan citizens. This will lead to improved sharing of information, reduced costs of operation and improved efficiency. The study was limited to scope which involved a case study of Kenya Forest Service. The findings and conclusion drawn in this study cannot however be used in making generalization in all the parastatal bodies in Kenya. The findings cannot however be used to make direct application in another sector since they are unique and specifically apply to Kenya Forest Service. A comparative study should be conducted to investigate the same topic in another parastatal body that is similar in size and areas of intervention. The findings can then be compared to assess whether there areas of commonalities and unique features. | en_US |
