dc.description.abstract | A myriad of factors can potentially affect the process by which strategic plans are turned
into organizational action (Noble 1999). Noble argues that it is not surprising that, after a
comprehensive strategy or single strategic decision has been formulated, significant
difficulties usually arise during the subsequent implementation process. The best
formulated strategies may fail to produce superior performance for the firm if they are not
successfully implemented. Following the promulgation of new Constitution in the year
2010, a devolved system of government was created, with two levels of government
(central Government and county governments) which are distinct and interdependent.
The new constitution 2010, categorizes Kenyan roads into the national trunk roads and
the county roads. To ensure a smooth process and continued service delivery to the
public, KeRRA needs to align their strategic plans in line with the new constitution as far
as practicable. This fundamentally raises institutional framework challenges as the
authority implements their strategic plans in managing the roads-sector. Thus this study
sought to determine the challenges of strategy implementation at Kenya Rural Roads
Authority in a devolved government system with a view to discern pattern. Data was
collected from the 35 out of the 47 KeRRA regional offices spread across the counties
representing 74%. Interviews were conducted amongst regional engineers who
implement the strategic plans within the ranks of KeRRA management. The study
established several challenges that face KeRRA during strategy implementation. These
include: inadequate capacity at KeRRA regional offices and the inadequate funding to
effectively complete all planned projects; inadequate operation management systems;
escalating cost of road construction materials amongst others. The recommendation is
that further research should be done in the area of strategy implementation among other
sectors in Kenya whose key activities have been devolved such as land and health
sectors. The study limitations were time and resources. We could not reach insecurity
prone KeRRA regional areas and this constrained the scope of the research. In addition, it did not include other important fields of strategic management such as strategy development. | en_US |