Effect Of Strategic Management Practices On Performance In Kenya Prisons Service

Abstract

In the last decade, there has been an acceleration of the magnitude and pace of change across the country. The Kenya Prisons Service (KPS) has not been left behind either. Strategic management practices focus on complex issues arising out of non-clarity and non-routine situations within the entire organization rather than a standalone challenge in a particular function. The operational regime in Kenya Prisons requires involvement in strategic management in order to execute its mandate. It is therefore necessary for the management to be involved in the strategic management process of the organization. Various studies have been done in the field of strategic management with the majority in the corporate organizations and private sectors while a few focused in the Public sector, what are the effects of strategic management practices on performance in Kenya Prisons Service? A case study research design was adopted. The study employed face to face interview as a primary data collection method. The data was analysed using content analysis. From the findings, it was established that the strategy formulation process in the organization projects follows a top-down approach while implementation process adopts a bottom up approach. The strategy implementation process cannot be free of any challenges and it is mandatory for the management to develop appropriate mechanism to reduce or eliminate the effect of these challenges by engaging the employees on corrective actions. Effective monitoring and evaluation of the strategies during implementation was found to be critical. The organization should be able to put in place measures for tracking down progress and facilitating learning and decision making in a quick manner and therefore increase the chances of achieving the same strategies. The study recommends that the management of KPS should consider changing the top bottom approach and embrace bottom top approach to enhance communication and ownership of the strategic plan. The study established that KPS don’t have a strategy for rewarding their employees. The study recommends that KPS should hire the services of an external monitoring and evaluation expert so as to increase credibility and trust within the organization.