Change Management At Commercial Bank Of Africa

Abstract

Change takes place no matter what deters it. Today change is the only constant and an organisation‟s long term success is determined by its ability to manage change. Change management entails thoughtful planning sensitive implementation and above all consultation with and involvement of the people affected by the changes. There are two approaches to change i.e. planned approach and emergent approach. Planned approach was first coined by Kurt Lewin to distinguish change that was consciously embarked upon and that that is planned by the organisation. Emergent change came into being after there were a lot of criticisms levelled aganaist the planned change approach. Commercial Bank of Africa was first established in Tanzania in 1962 but reincorporated itself in Kenya in 1967. It has ten branches in Nairobi, four in Mombasa, one in Meru, Nakuru, Kisumu and Eldoret. This study seeks to investigate how CBA manages change. To achieve this objective, a case study research design was employed. The study focussed on the top level management and the departmental heads who deal with the day to day management of the bank. Interview guide was used to collect the data since it yields the highest level of corporation from the respondents. The data collected was qualitative in nature thus content analysis was used to analyze the data. It was observed that both internal and external factors made the bank change how it handles its activities. The internal factors that necessitated change include organisational structure change, change in procedures and processes of operation. The external factors that led to change include technology, competition and government regulations.

The bank has established a department that is expected to manage and implement change in the bank. This department is expected to work hand in hand with hired professionals and the human resource department to communicate on the changes expected to take place in the organisation. This department acts as a bridge between the employees and the top management of the bank. There were a number of limitations encountered during the study, example, due to the nature of their jobs; some respondents could not find humble time with the interviewer. Nevertheless, the number that responded was quite sufficient to warrant data analysis, hence the limitation did not affect the study that much. Based on the available literature, this study finds it necessary for further research to be done on the other financial institutions. The study also suggested that studies be done on the factors that hinder the implementation of change within organisations with a goal to present both negative and positive impacts of change management on organisations.