Response Strategies Adopted by Cheli and Peacock Limited to the Changing External Environment in Kenya
Abstract
Turbulence in the environment means organizations must develop response
strategies for them to remain in business. The more hostile the external
environment is, the more an organization needs to respond to it, the more
difficult it is to carry out work and the more defensive the organization must
become. The external environment can provide both facilitating and inhibiting
influence on organizational performance. Multiple influences in the immediate
or proximal environment form the boundaries within which an organization is
able to function; these influences likewise shape how the organization defines
itself and how it articulates what is good and appropriate to achieve.
This has been the situation in Kenya for companies operating in tourism industry
since year 2007. The global economic environment has been so unpredictable that
many firms are forced to always have contingency measures to avert the adverse
effects of the highly erratic environment. The tourism industry in particular has
been bedeviled by a images of post election violence, global economic crisis and
threat of terrorism combined with technological advancement. This research was
an attempt to understand how an organization responds to the influences of the
erratic external environment and how the forces outside the organizational
boundaries help to shape the organization. The specific objective of the study
was to establish the response strategies Cheli and Peacock limited has employed
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to cope with the turbulent external environment. The study used a case design
which was the most suitable in this situation where questions like where, how
and when are used to investigate on a certain phenomena to describe the real
position. An interview guide was used to collect primary data from the four
managers who formed the task force that developed strategies Cheli and Peacock
was to adopt. The qualitative data collected was then analyzed through
narratives. From the study, it was discovered that for the company to remain
competitive in the market, it adopted strategies which include; strategic
marketing, restructuring, investment in information technology and training of
staff.
Publisher
University of Nairobi
Rights
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United StatesUsage Rights
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/Collections
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