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Positive outlook key to successful office interactions
No full textA Newspaper article by Scott Bellows, an Assistant Professor in the Chandaria School of Business at USIU-AfricaMakena and Kibet both work in a parastatal with offices in the central business district of Nairobi. Both employees conduct similar duties as office supervisors, one over accounts payable and the other over accounts receivable.
Makena seems full of optimism. Almost every day she greets colleagues cheerfully and seems to see the proverbial glass as half full. No matter what occurs, she still smiles and proclaims that the day will go well.
On the other hand, Kibet sees the same glass as half empty. Fellow staff who greet him get an earful of “salaries are late this month” or “the office is not as efficient as usual” or “I think management is against us this month”.
As we see the contrast between the above two workers, which employee might one expect to hold greater longevity in the parastatal and enjoy the highest employment relationship stability? The overly positive Makena may come off as a bit irritating lacking sensible grounding. Meanwhile, some might argue that Kibet holds a more realistic worldview and can better withstand environmental shocks on his psychology
Picking a boss for career growth
No full textA Newspaper article by Scott Bellows, an Assistant Professor in the Chandaria School of Business at USIU-AfricaImagine that following a long job search, you finally land your ideal position. You drive to work winding through Nairobi traffic on your first day in the new post. Excitedly hurling up the stairs, you arrive at your new office.
Following your human resources orientation that morning, you finally meet your new department manager.
Now visualise the type of supervisor that you desire. Of course everyone desires a high integrity boss who will keep his or her promises, not embezzle, and not lie as well as one who holds high benevolence towards you by keeping your best interests at heart, promoting you where possible, and coaching you towards a better career.
However, Sub-Saharan Africa differs greatly compared to the rest of the world on another desirable salient leadership quality. On average, Africans from Zambia to Uganda to Tanzania to Kenya all prefer managers with low levels of ability. Our preferences in Africa stand in stark contrast to the rest of the world where the plurality of workers strongly desire highly competent bosses. Research released in 2016 by this author hypothesised the reason for the average African preference originates from a fear of receiving unattainable key performance indicators and being watched over too keenly in jobs from highly skilled superiors
Making the most of staff appraisal
No full textA Newspaper article by Scott Bellows, an Assistant Professor in the Chandaria School of Business at USIU-AfricaWhat if you learned that you could eliminate a time-intensive workplace process that causes harm to your business?
What if you also discovered that despite the process’ harm, nearly all professional firms in Kenya with more than 10 permanent staff utilise it?
So, ditching the common procedure could unlock a distinct competitive advantage for your firm. Such a scenario represents a plausible easy decision for you as the manager of your entity.
Now that the foundation for the corporate absurdity is formed, would you still be so brave to eliminate it once you find out that the harmful process is the employee-loathed but executive-loved performance review process
Disclosures that can wreck office relations
No full textWafula trudged into the office one morning over an hour late and tried to sneak over to his desk. Over the previous 24 hours, he had not slept. His uncle tragically got hit by a matatu (public service vehicle) and was clinging to life in an Eldoret hospital. The family waited tensely all night hoping and believing that the uncle would make it through surgery and intensive care and enjoy a full recovery.
When Wafula’s boss Amina strode over to his office, she immediately inquired about his tardy arrival. There and then, Wafula struggled with a typical employee dilemma felt the world over centering on how much to disclose to one’s supervisor.
Organisational behaviourists analyse employee willingness to disclose personal information to their managers as a key predictor of whether staff trust their superiors and, in turn, will perform better in their jobs.
In sub-Saharan Africa, research conducted on the amount of disclosure in interpersonal relationships found native South Africans less willing to disclose than European immigrants. Also, different research on microfinance loan officer disclosure to superiors done by this author show that sub-Saharan African citizens desire to disclose less personal information to superiors than their North American, European, and Asian counterparts. The lower overall trust environment in much of sub-Saharan Africa translates into less interpersonal information sharing in the workplace
The Effects of Personality Traits On Marital Satisfaction among Christians in Nairobi: A Case of Kilimani, Nairobi West, Kayole and Kitengela Wards
No full textA Dissertation presented to the School of Humanities and Social Sciences Of USIU-A Nairobi, Kenya In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctorate of Clinical PsychologyPersonality Traits have been found to be a major contributor in marital conflicts due to their effect on interpersonal interactions of a couple within marriage. However, few studies have been done in Kenya to examine the effect of personality traits on marital Satisfaction. In this study, two standardized self-report questionnaires, the Revised Dyadic Adjustment Scale (RDAS and The Big Five Personality Inventory (BFI) were used to assess Personality Traits and to measure marital satisfaction. The scores from the questionnaires were then correlated in order to determine the relationship between Personality Traits and Marital Satisfaction.
The findings show that there was a significant positive correlation between Agreeableness
r (78 ) = 0.201, p < 0.05) and Openness r (78 ) = 0.215, p< 0.05) and Marital satisfaction, while Neuroticism was found to be significantly negatively correlated with marital satisfaction r (78 ) = - .228, p= .029). The significance was at 0.05 level (1 tailed test).There was a non - significant correlation (p = n.s) between Extraversion, Conscientiousness and marital satisfaction. This implies that the two traits did not significantly influence marital satisfaction.
The study recommends clinicians incorporate the use of personality assessments during their work with couples so as to identify and reinforce the valuable traits identified in this study, and use them to enhance marriages of their clients. Another recommendation was to identify components of church enrichment programs for use in couple therapy
Effect of Mobile Banking Strategies on Customer Satisfaction in the Kenyan Banking Industry
No full textA Research Project Report Submitted to the Chandaria School of Business in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirement for the Degree of Masters in Business Administration (MBA)The objective of the study was to establish the impact mobile banking has on customer satisfaction in Kenyan banking industry. This study aimed at examining; the effect of ease of product use on customer satisfaction, the effect of mobile banking service quality on customer satisfaction, the effect of technology proficiency on customer satisfaction, and the effect of customer attitudes towards mobile banking on customer satisfaction in Kenyan banking industry.
This study employed descriptive research design techniques in gathering, analyzing, interpreting and presenting the information. The descriptive research design showed the relationship between mobile banking and customer satisfaction. The study focused on the United States International University student population. This study used simple random sampling technique. This study used questionnaires for data collection and use of the quantitative method of the descriptive method of data analysis. The study adopted descriptive and inferential statistics in data analysis and presentation. The research data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and Microsoft excel programs. Figures and tables were used in data presentation.
The study examined the effect of ease of product use on customer satisfaction in the Kenyan banking industry. The study found that mobile banking application user interface is clear and easy to understand. Each and every bank that has a mobile banking platform has made application unique to the bank hence it is easy for customers to recognize their bank’s mobile banking applications on their phones. Mobile banking applications allow users to confirm transactions in the process hence the design of the applications influence customer satisfaction when using the service.
The study revealed the effect of mobile banking service quality on customer satisfaction in Kenyan banking industry. The study found that mobile banking applications that are able to function as needed all the time ensure the high quality customers are looking for. The study revealed that the mobile banking applications are of good quality hence customers are able to complete their transaction in full when carrying out transactions on those platforms. The study found that the level of service quality determined the clients’ frequency of using a specific mobile banking application hence enhancing customer satisfaction.
The study examined the effect of technology proficiency when using mobile banking platforms on customer satisfaction in the Kenyan banking industry. The study revealed that most of the mobile banking users don’t have high technology proficiency hence they are more willing to learn how to use mobile banking technologies. It is confirmed from the study that the level of proficiency in using mobile banking application influences customer satisfaction.
The study concludes that mobile banking application user interface that is clear and easy to understand enhances customer satisfaction. Mobile banking application is able to function as needed all the time hence enhances customer satisfaction. Customers’ level of proficiency in using a mobile banking application influences customer satisfaction levels. From the study it is also concluded that most customers feel that mobile banking applications are susceptible to fraud hence affecting customer satisfaction.
The study recommends that the user interface of customers’ mobile banking application ought to be properly designed in a way that the buttons in the mobile banking application perform the same function always. The study also recommends banks to implement mobile banking application that are able to function as needed all the time in that when carrying out a transaction, the transaction is completed in full. Bank managements should initiate programs that will help customers to learn how to use mobile banking technologies and ensure that mobile banking applications should not be susceptible to fraud
Influence of Strategic Financial Management on Small and Medium Enterprises’ Performance in Nairobi Central District
No full textA Research Report Submitted to the Chandaria School of Business in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Degree of Master of Business Administration (MBA)This study was done to examine the influence of strategic financial management on small and medium enterprises’ performance in Nairobi Central Business District (CBD). The study was guided by the following specific objectives: to determine the influence of strategic financial management on SMEs’ performance in Kenya; to examine the strategic financial management challenges faced by SMEs’ performance in Kenya; and to determine the strategies available for SMEs with regards to strategic financial management performance.
Descriptive approach was used to examine the influence of strategic financial management on SMEs performance in Kenya. The target population of this study were all 534 SMEs, registered in Nairobi County Government as at 2016. The sampling frame for this study was a list of all registered SMEs within the CBD and was obtained from the Nairobi County Council register. To estimate the sample size, the study used the Yamane Formula which gave a study sample of 85 SMEs. Primary data was collected through self-administered questionnaires. Data was analyzed using quantitative methods of analysis. Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) was used to analyze the data. Inferential statistics was used to determine the existing relationships of the study variables.
The study showed that SME managers believed that inventory and cash management (working capital management) influenced their business’ profitability and risk. SME business owners in Nairobi used informed intuition in assessing the practicality of an investment opportunity, and most of them lacked capital to expand and grow their businesses. The study showed that SME owners weighed the various types of loans available and selected the most comfortable for their businesses, and they used their financial status to compare business trends and check on their competitors. From the study, it can be observed that SME business owners in Nairobi had not invested in long-term projects and investment opportunities since they lacked finances (access to capital) to apply technology usage in their businesses; and they did not take risks because they lacked enough finances to support the business in case of failure.
The study showed that very few SMEs planned for their capital and they did not use strategic financial management because they lacked financial strategy goals. The study showed that SME owners did not have a proper vision of where they were, where they wanted to be, and how to get there, nor did they know how to use environment analysis to establish a financial strategy. The study also showed that SME owners knew how to use the budget since they used budgeting to provide a standard for the day-to-day operations, but lacked careful budgeting and strict implementation strategies. The study also showed that most SME owners lacked the business management skills for running a business and they also faced great difficulty in accessing both short-term and long-term loans for business management and growth.
The study showed that effective SFM mitigation strategies for SMEs included: having proper goals, focusing on competitive edges to understand the benefits of strategic financial management, and implementing budget controls that could be used to convert SMEs’ financial goals to action plans. The study also showed that SMEs’ strategic environment impacted its financial strategy application and thus the government and other involved institutions needed to establish a financial system that was beneficial to SMEs’ development as well as ensuring the creation of a favorable SFM environment for SMEs and their owners to learn and apply simpler SFM applications.
The study recommends that SME owners should make a deliberate plan to employ strategic financial management approaches in their organizations. Elements of strategy formulation and control are practiced in lower levels, and thus these owners and managers should take the initiative and show a great deal of interest in the technical knowledge that is related to strategic financial planning, reporting, and control practices, which will eventually become significant factors for better performance and results for their businesses
Entrepreneurial Factors Influencing Performance of Youth Enterprises in Mathare Sub County, Kenya
No full textA Research Project Report Submitted in Partial Fulfillment for the Award of Master’s Degree of Bachelor of International Business Administration (MBA)Since entrepreneurship is the engine of economic growth and development. The purpose of this study was to assess the entrepreneurial factors influencing the performance of youth enterprises in Mathare Sub County, Kenya. The study was guided by four objectives; entrepreneurial skills, entrepreneurial competencies, proactive financial management and entrepreneurial training and their relationship to the performance of youth enterprises.
A descriptive survey research design was used in this research to describe the entrepreneurial factors influencing the performance of youth enterprises. The population of the study was the youth enterprises located in Mathare Sub County. The sampling frame was derived from a list of 2520 youth enterprises registered and captured in the statistics of Youth Development officer in Mathare Sub County. A multi stage sampling was used comprising of purposive sampling to select Mathare Sub-county, stratified sampling technique to select five strata of youth enterprises in the five wards of Mathare Sub County and also within the five clusters to ensure that all the youth enterprises in the sub county were included in the sample and to ensure representativeness. The sample size was 333 youth enterprises. Simple random sampling was finally used to select 67 youth enterprises from each of the five wards in Mathare Sub County. A questionnaire was the instrument used in collecting data. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used in data analysis.
The realized instruments response rate was 72.4% and the instrument was reliable and valid. The findings indicate that entrepreneurial competencies is significant to performance of youth enterprises in Mathare Sub County since majority of the respondents stated that education level was a barrier to successful execution of their entrepreneurial endeavours. They also stated that lack of financial management skills and family background hindered performance of their enterprises. On the significance of proactive financial management to performance of youth enterprises, majority of the respondents stated that they have never prepared financial statements to project performance of their enterprises. Similarly, majority of the respondents had never refreshed their financial management skills. Entrepreneurial training was the most significant predictor of performance of youth enterprises in Mathare Sub County. The results indicated that majority of the respondents disagreed that entrepreneurship training is not necessary for their enterprises while a significant population had never undergone any entrepreneurial training. Performance of youth enterprises in terms of sales margins over the last one year, showed that most of the youth enterprises had a marginal increase in sales, gross profit margins and employee’s numbers.
The study concluded that the most important entrepreneurial factor in enhancing the performance of youth enterprises in Mathare Sub County is entrepreneurial training followed by entrepreneurial skills. The study recommended that there is need for entrepreneurial training among the youth entrepreneurs in Mathare Sub County since a significant population has never been equipped with it. An area for further research was a comparative study on entrepreneurial aspects influencing performance should be undertaken in similar localities in Kenya for comparison needs
Investigation into the Risks Facing Mobile Banking: A Case of Commercial Banks in Kenya
No full textProject Report Submitted to the Chandaria School of Business in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Degree of Master of Business Administration (MBA) SPRINGThe objective of the study was to investigate the risks facing mobile banking among the
commercial banks in Kenya. The study seeks to answer three research questions. What
risks arise for commercial banks in Kenya as a result of mobile banking? What measures are adopted by commercial banks in Kenya to protect against future mobile banking risks? What strategies do Kenyan banks employ to mitigate mobile banking risks?
The current study adopted a descriptive research design. The design was appropriate for the current study since the study sought to express the situation exactly the way it is in the industry. The current study population consisted of 41 informational technology
managers in each of the 41 commercial banks registered in Kenya as at 30th June 2016.
However, only 37 response resulting into a 90% response rate. With regard to the first objective the study sought to determine risks arising as a result of malware and majority of the respondents agreed that there were no reported risks arising from malware virus attack on the mobile banking platform. In addition, majority of the respondents agreed that to some little extent of system hacking on radical programmers who steal mobile banking PINs and codes, hackers who secretly read the organization emails. Other issue was unauthorized access by former colleagues and unauthorized
persons gaining access to mobile banking systems when the users carelessly leaves their computers it logged on and theft in order to impersonate the customer for accessing mobile banking services.
The second objective established that challenges arising because of security and to some little extent security on third party intrusion, loss of privacy. Majority of the respondents agreed that to some moderate extent availability of alternative, mobile phone access and cost of service is a challenge exhibited. Respondents also agreed that there is limited social factors on customers trust, and limited extent of embracing new technology and awareness. The third objective established that there is a great use of one time SMS verification codes together with the normal PIN. Moreover, respondents agreed that there is little extent use of one time phone call verification codes together with the normal PIN, use of random numbers together with the normal PIN and use of card readers codes together with the normal PIN. To analyse level of encryption by commercial banks majority of the respondents agreed that a great extent there is use of data encryption to achieve a high level of security.
The study concluded that commercial banks have maintained their technology thus
ensuring risks related to malware are continuously avoided. There are however risks in
regard to system hacking by radical programmers as well as unauthorized access in banks.
In addition, the continuous competition in the sector has also contributed to availability of
alternative services, mobile phone access and related cost of service. There is a continued use of one time SMS verification codes together with the normal PIN. Moreover, respondents also enjoy one time phone call verification codes together with the normal PIN, use of random numbers together with the normal PIN and use of card readers codes together with the normal PIN. The banks also use data encryption to achieve a high level of security and use of data encryption also help avoid misuse of data.
The study recommended that the commercial banks need to maintain their technology to
ensure the related malware risks are continuously avoided. There also a need to beef up
the set up ensure cases of system hacking by radical programmers. The commercial banks need to analyze security and set up stringent measures to curb cases of third party intrusion, and loss of privacy. In addition, there is a need to inform the customers of the benefits associated with use of mobile banking service. It was also concluded that Banks need to enhance their use of one time SMS verification codes together with the normal PIN. The firms also need to continuously adopt PIN related features and use of data encryption to achieve a high level of security and avoid misuse of data. There is a need to undertake further studies to establish the effects of the risks established on the
profitability of commercial banks in Kenya
Factors Influencing the Adoption of the itax Online Among the Small and Medium - Sized Enterprises (SMEEs) In Westlands, Nairobi County
No full textA Research Project Submitted to the Chandaria School of Business in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Degree of Masters in Business Administration (MBA)Major revenue administration reforms have been spearheaded by revenue authorities around the world in a bid to strengthen revenue administration, especially for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs). SMEs pose challenges for tax administration due to their large numbers and the informal nature of their businesses. Consequently, the opportunities for tax evasion are high. A key feature of revenue administration reforms is the increasing use of information and communications technologies by the revenue authorities.
The general objective of this study was to establish the factors influencing the adoption of the iTax online system among SMEs in Westlands, Nairobi County. The study was guided by three specific objectives: (i) to determine the influence of SMEs’ perceptions towards the iTax online system, (ii) to establish how SMEs’ access to internet influences their adoption of the iTax online system, and (iii) to determine how the SMEs’ technical skills and knowledge of use of the iTax system influences their adoption of the iTax online system.
The study was designed as a descriptive study. The population was 120 SMEs located in Westlands from which a sample size of 73 SMEs was selected. Out of this sample, 62 respondents completed the questionnaires, translating to an 85% response rate. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20 was used to analyse the feedback and generate descriptive statistics used to make inferences on the population.
From the study’s findings, the SMEs felt the iTax online system was useful. They believed that the introduction of iTax was a beneficial idea. The study also found that the SMEs felt the usage of the online system would not infringe on their privacy. Additionally, that the online system would ease the process filing of tax returns.
The study also found that majority of the SMEs accessed internet at their business premises and found the monthly cost of internet to be affordable. However, the computer hardware acquisition and maintenance costs were found to be relatively high. Moreover, it was difficult to obtain finances to equip the business with the necessary Information Technology (IT) infrastructure.
With regard to the technical skills and knowledge of use of the iTax online system, the study found that the SMEs had good IT literacy levels and a commendable level of tax knowledge to be able to adopt the system. The SMEs were however challenged with regard to understanding the frequent tax law changes.
The study concludes that the SMEs perceive the iTax online system to be useful, credible and easy to use, positively influencing its adoption. Another conclusion was that significant gains had been made in Kenya’s broadband market to enhance internet penetration and make internet affordable. However, the SMEs are faced with the challenge of high IT infrastructure set up costs and difficulties in accessing finance to cover these costs. Consequently, this negatively influences the adoption of the iTax online system. The study also concludes that the commendable IT literacy skills and tax knowledge that SMEs have, positively influences adoption of iTax.
The study recommends that the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) conducts continuous training and sensitization of the iTax online system. There is also the need for policy interventions by the government and other financial stakeholders to facilitate financing for the SMEs who need to equip their businesses with the necessary IT infrastructure