| dc.description.abstract | This research project is titled strategic management practices and challenges at Tullow Kenya Business Venture Limited. Tullow Kenya Business Venture is located within the capital city of Kenya and it is a branch of Tullow Oil Plc which is a multinational oil and gas exploration company founded in Tullow, Ireland. It has its headquarters in London, United Kingdom. Tullow acquired significant acreage position of exploration in Kenya with the first well in 2012 making an important discovery at Ngamia-1 which was swiftly followed by the success at Twiga South-1. A significant number of exploration and appraisal wells will be drilled over the coming years as Tullow attempts to open an entirely new oil province. Other discoveries have also been made in Northern Kenya, Baringo and Kisumu. The objective of the research project was to determine the strategic management practices adopted by Tullow Kenya Business Venture and to establish the challenges of strategic management faced by Tullow Kenya Business venture. The research design was a case study. Interviewees were interviewed using an interview guide and the responses documented. The responses were analysed using content analysis. The study concluded that the organization has adopted strategic management practices as evidenced by the vision and mission of the organization. The strategic plan of Tullow Kenya Business Venture is formulated, implemented and evaluated by the management of the organization offering guidance on the annual revenue and expenditure budget of the organization. The researcher noted that input is received from all the staff during the process of formulation therefore making the implementation of strategy easier. The study also noted that the management of the organization meet at the end of each month and quarterly to evaluate the progress made in achieving the strategic plan. Corrective actions are approved in such meetings and the heads of the affected departments are assigned the responsibility of implementing the corrective actions. Due to such actions from the management, everyone working within the organization feels free to contribute their ideas and challenges during departmental meetings which have yielded constructive discussions therefore improving service delivery to stakeholders as well as suppliers. The study found that some of the challenges faced by the organization in formulation, implementation and evaluation of the strategic management practices included unpredictable oil and gas prices and the need to adhere to legal restrictions and government policy. Other challenges that were noted included technological factors, bribery and corruption and supplier and stakeholders’ relationship with the organization. The organization has responded to some of these challenges by inviting interested parties to partner with the organization in their exploration and production projects. In addition, the organization has undertaken cost cutting measures by adopting practices such as outsourcing. Organisations exist in an environment which is dynamic and demands properly crafted plans to ensure efficient use of available resources. They draw their input from the environment in form of raw materials, labour and capital. Organisations utilise their internal capabilities in form of management expertise to generate output which is aimed at making profit. The dynamic environment has exerted pressure on organisations to consistently review the environment to ensure the internal operations adapt to realities present in the external environment (Ansoff, 1999). | en_US |
