Strategic Responses to Environmental Challenges by International Award Foundation in Kenya

Abstract

In the present day operating conditions, there has been a great interdependence between both business and non-profit oriented entities with the environment to which they operate in. The capacity for an organization to thrive in such an environment will be dependent upon their capacities to come up with appropriate strategies. Therefore, for organizations to remain competitive in the complex and unpredictable business environment, development of an appropriate strategy is crucial since the adaptation of an organizationis necessitated by continual interaction with the environment. Response strategies are essential due to the fact that organizations are open systems and have a continuous interface and interaction with the external environment and as such these strategies will be triggered by the changes. This is because one of the challenges facing business entities is choosing and implementing a good strategy. The objective of the study was to determine the response strategies to environmental changes by International Award Foundation in Kenya. The research design adopted was a case study. The study used primary data which was collected using an interview guide. Content analysis was used to analyze the collected data. The study established that the changes in IAF environment include economic, technological, political, legal and social changes. The changes emanating from operations of IAF were noted by the interviewees to be diversity of cultural backgrounds which affect team work, age differences as the younger are more ready and open to change than the old and varying linguistic zones that have affected the operations in terms of language barriers. In order to respond to the changes in the environment, IAF adopted information technology, organizational restructuring, differentiation strategy, strategic partnership, innovation strategy, organizational structure, resource mobilization, leadership and culture, and change management. It is recommended that IAF continually monitor its environment and swiftly modify its strategy in response to changes in the external environment.