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Significance of Multinational Corporations in Shaping Foreign Policy: Case of U.S Foreign Policy towards Kenya between 1989 And 2016
No full textA Thesis Submitted to the School of Humanities And Social sciences In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Award of the Masters Of Arts Degree in International Relationsplayers in international relations. The assets and financial wealth of the MNCs and their link with the power structures accord them great ability to influence the foreign policy of their home countries. The MNCs originating from the United States of America (USA) are some of the most significant shapers of the foreign policy of the USA. However, while some studies have investigated the effect of MNCs on US foreign policy few have investigated their influence on US foreign policy towards Kenya. The study sought to answer three questions; What is the connection between MNCs and the power structures in the US? What is the nature of US policy towards Kenya? And, in what ways have the US MNCs shaped US foreign policy towards Kenya?
The study applied an explanatory research design and used secondary data. Both qualitative and quantitative data were collected. The study found that American MNCs such as Del Monte, Pfizer, Coca Cola, Woolworths, General Textile, American Textile, Microsoft, Erin Energy Corporation, Anadarko Petroleum Corporation and EHRC Energy Inc have shaped U.S foreign policy towards Kenya in a number of instances. It found that these MNCs lobbied the U.S Congress and President to take certain foreign policy stands towards Kenya, which favor them. The study found that American MNCs operating in Kenya are linked with the power structures in the U.S owing to their possession of knowledge, security, production and financial resources. It found that the U.S has defined its foreign policy towards Kenya based on security, economic and political considerations.
The study makes the following recommendations; that the authorities concerned with economic and trade policy in Kenya need to understand the link between MNCs and the power structures in the U.S. Foreign policy decision-makers in Kenya including the executive need to understand that U.S foreign policy towards Kenya is in consistent flux and that MNCs are partly responsible for change in foreign policy. It further recommends that the GoK need to enact and promote policies which encourage U.S-based firms as well as MNCs from other countries to invest in the country
Impact Of Competition From Banks On Sacco Performance: A Case Study of United Nation’s Sacco
No full textA Project Report Submitted to the Chandaria School of Business in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Degree of Masters in Business Administration (MBA)The purpose of this research was to assess the impact of bank competition on the performance of the UN-Sacco. The study was guided by the following research questions: Does competition from the banks lead to negative change in profitability of the Sacco? Can the competition from the banks influence a change in member deposit’s to the UN-Sacco?
The researcher adopted quantitative methods to examine the relationship between variables with the primary goal being to analyze and represent that relationship mathematically through statistical analysis. The researcher further used a descriptive approach because the data that was collected was secondary data from UN-Sacco financial report and from central bank of Kenya. This was because the researcher wanted to establish the relationship between the variables. The survey study aimed at investigating the relationship between competition and the profitability and Members deposit of the UN-Sacco. The study analysed the asset base for the 40 listed banks and this will be compared to the profitability of the UN sacco and membership deposit. The period under scrutiny was from 2012 to 2016. This period is made on the basis that it covers the five years before after SASRA regulations came into effect.
To determine relationship between profitability of the Un Sacco i.e. the surplus of the entity and the completion i.e. the net asset of the commercial banks regression was done between Net assets of the commercial bank as a predictor variable against the surplus of the UN Sacco achieved in the period 2012- 2015. The R2 of the model was 0.437. This means that 43.7 percent of the variations in the net profits are explained by equity financing of the firms in the manufacturing and allied industry. The 56.3 percent difference is due to factors not predicted in this model symbolized by the error term. Given this model, the study tested whether there is a strong empirical ground to conclude that equity financing significantly enhances net profits.
Based on the findings, it was established that 99.14% of the variations in the members deposit are explained by the change in the competition i.e. Net assets of the commercial banks which is very significant. The small difference of 0.86% is what is due to factors not predicted in this model symbolized by the error term. Given this model, the study tested and concluded that member deposit is very significantly influenced by the
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competition from the commercial banks. The F-significance (P Value) for the study is 0.0002 therefore the relationship is statistically very significant. The study reveals that the relationship between member deposit and bank assets of the Sacco is strongly significant.
The study concluded that the variations in profitability of the UN Sacco can be explained by changes in the value of the Asset of the bank which in this case are the measure of the competition weight. It was also concluded that positive variations in the value of the assets of banks enhance the competition and hence negatively affect the growth of members’ deposit.
To exist in this industry it is recommendable that SACCOs should develop the depth and breadth of its market by carrying out the following marketing activities, market research, market fore casting, understand customer behavior, understand market segment and their needs, analyze the life cycle, promotion and proper pricing offer higher loan sizes and at the same time provide a longer repayment period and flexibility in the repayment period and flexibility in the repayment of the loans. UN Sacco needs to come up with a good strategy that will encourage member to deposit share with them rather than considering what the competition has. They should launch a good divided policy that will enhance the trust member have on them at the same time compete well with the banks. At the same time the UN Sacco should work closely with the members and using their expertise advise them on long term financial plans that include their investment strategy and work with them to ensure total success.
The study recommends that further research should be done on the effects of competition on the various variables influencing financial performance of UN Sacco. Further study should be carried out to determine the challenges facing Sacco in dealing with this competition and the relationship between competition and Sacco savings
Use Of WhatsApp As An Organizational Communication Platform: A Case of Kenya’s Safaricom Technology Division
No full textA Thesis Submitted to the School of Science and Technology in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements of the Degree of Master of Arts in CommunicationThe use of technology in communication has proliferated in the last decade, more so with the advancement of mobile technology which has made information dissemination and reception more instantaneous. With the advancement in mobile communication technology, platforms have come up and have been adopted by many who find them appealing. One of these platforms is WhatsApp, whose adoption rate has enormously grown from its inception in 2009, with the current number of users surpassing 1 billion in over 180 countries (WhatsApp, 2016). In Kenya, 49% of mobile users have WhatsApp (Adika, 2014). Its use has penetrated even into institutions and organizations. Therefore, with the current growth rate, the need to understand the usage and the satisfaction that users are getting from it cannot be overlooked. Based on the uses and gratifications theory (Katz, 1959), the current study examined the motivations for WhatsApp usage and the gratifications gained from using it within Safaricom’s technology division although it is not an official communication platform. Data were gathered through a survey that was carried out within the division, to collect data from the 461 respondents with a response rate of 66% (N=302). The findings revealed that the users were highly motivated to use the platform (M=3.52) to communicate internally and that the platform satisfies their cognitive, affective, tension-free, personal-integrative and social integrative needs, of which the latter were the most satisfied (Mean = 2.95). Additionally, the study revealed that the need to stay in touch with colleagues and collaborate with others were the pressing needs that the users had and are gratified with WhatsApp usage. However, the findings showed that there was no significant relationship between the various demographic characteristics and satisfaction level (p>0.05). From the study’s finding, the
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researcher concludes that WhatsApp usage brings gratification to the users therefore making it attractive for use by the employees. This gratification is attributed to the features that WhatsApp offers as a medium of communication, which include instantaneity, capability of sending messages in both graphics and texts and its boundary-less communication capability
Multi-Tiered Security Architecture for Information Infrastructure Protection in Selected Commercial Banks in Kenya.
No full textA Project Submitted to the School of Science and Technology in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Degree of Master of Science in Information Systems and Technology UNITED STATES INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY, AFRICAInformation technology evolution and the spread of internet connectivity have enabled globalization which allows communication and transaction of businesses across different countries. To ensure information infrastructure protection, understanding how the organizational, individual and technical aspects all together affect the outcome in information security is important. Having the necessary skill required to be able know how to react or what action to take in the event of a security incident is key. Information security incidents occur as a result of internal employee actions. In organizations, infrastructures that are considered critical are the physical infrastructure, information facilities and networks. This study endeavors to identify the weaknesses and strengths in the current information security architects being used by banks to protect information infrastructure and propose a multi-tiered security architecture to improve the protection of the information systems for the Kenyan banking sector. To realize this, an exploratory study was employed to develop a multi-layered security architecture by: Conducting a security assessment; Formulating the architecture design and Subjecting the proposed architecture to expert review to help improve the usability and effectiveness of the proposed architecture. The study findings indicate that the banking institutions security personnel do not have sufficient skills and knowledge that is important for them to be able to understand their duties and responsibilities. The institutions are working under the belief that a network firewall is sufficient for infrastructure protection. It was established form the study that there is lack of adequate security measures to protect information infrastructure. In its current design the proposed architecture incorporates the use of web application firewalls, database application firewalls, network firewalls, segmentation of networks and the dematerialized zone to restrict public access to bank resources. With the adoption of the proposed architecture protection of the banks information infrastructure is significantly improved
Effect of Strategic Planning On Growth of Middle Level Colleges: A Case of Nairobi County
No full textA Project Report submitted to the School of Business in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirement for the Degree of Masters in Business Administration (MBA)The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of strategic planning on growth of middle level colleges in Nairobi County. Specifically, the study evaluated the effect of strategy formulation, strategy implementation and strategic controls on institutional growth. The methodology was that of a correlational descriptive study. The sampling frame was the TIVET list of 110 accredited private middle level colleges in Nairobi County. The sample size of 86 was determined using the Krejcie and Morgan (1970) table. This research applied stratified random sampling based on the TIVET classification of colleges into two i.e. Technical Vocational Colleges and Vocational Training Centres.
Given the survey design of the study, questionnaires were the data collection instrument that was used. The questionnaire was structured to cover background information of the respondents, the three research objectives and the dependent variable. The data was gathered using various types of questions including yes/no questions, likert scales as well as open ended questions. Analysis was carried out using descriptive statistics to produce means and standard deviations. Regression analysis to determine the relationship between the individual independent variables (formulation, implementation and controls) and the dependent variable (growth) was done. An analysis of qualitative data was also covered. Data was analysed using SPSS and was presented in the form of tables, graphs and charts.
The findings of the study indicated that there was strong evidence of strategic planning in middle level colleges with 54 out of the 63 colleges that responded (90 %) confirming that they had a written strategic plan. The findings also revealed a positive correlation between all three aspects of strategic planning and growth. Although all three had a positive effect on growth, strategy implementation registered the greatest impact. When respondents were asked for factors in the individual strategic planning elements that affected growth, financial concerns, managerial challenges and staff related issues featured prominently for all three. Financial concerns included inadequacy and / or misuse of resources, cost of strategy implementation and unforeseen expenditure. Management challenges revolved around bureaucracy, communication, remuneration, lack of inclusiveness and complex organizational structures. Aspects of staff that were thought to affect growth included attitude, motivation, commitment, loyalty and lack of team work.
The study concluded that all the three aspects of strategic planning considered in this research, namely formulation, implementation and strategic controls, have a positive effect on growth in middle level colleges. The mission statement and the internal analysis, specifically the SWOT analysis were found to have the greatest influence on strategy formulation while it was deduced that annual planning was the most significant component of strategy implementation in middle level colleges. It was however concluded that despite evidence of implementation controls, identifying deviations from desired performance, and the reasons for these deviations were among the weaker elements of strategic control in the colleges.
Recommendations for improvement included greater focus on competitive and political environments in formulation, training for both managers and staff in the implementation phase and greater focus on deviations and policies in strategic controls. Future studies could replicate this study in other counties and industries, or focus on only one of the elements of strategic planning for greater depth in understanding specific issues
Integrity raises staff performance
No full textA Newspaper article by Scott Bellows, an Assistant Professor in the Chandaria School of Business at USIU-AfricaMany of us get caught in what researchers David Clark and Christine Purdon call a negativity spiral. We think of depressing news headlines for a few instances and then get wrapped up in thinking negatively about all aspects about Kenya.
Surely, we could specifically do better in fighting the scourge of corruption. Transparency International’s much cited and discussed Corruption Perception Index 2016 ranks Kenya 145th out of 177 nations. The result means that 144 countries are perceived as less corrupt, 26 more corrupt, and six nations just as corrupt. Given Kenya’s high levels of professional skills, metropolitan global hub status, high literacy rate, vast extent of news consumption, and considerably large diaspora, many ponder why we continue to fester down near the bottom of the ranking.
In our negativity spiral, we fail to look for inspiration from our ethical leaders like Uchumi’s Julius Kipng’etich, WYLDE Group’s Joram Mwinamo, Kijiji Entertainment’s Kanji Mbugua, human rights activist Timothy Njoya, and new EACC chairman Eliud Wabukala. Kenya retains much to be thankful for and celebrated. But does ethical leadership within organisations help or hinder performance? Know the facts and act with integrity, do not make excuses for your actions.
Social scientists Dianhan Zheng and team detail the extent to which employees work in dangerous jobs such as the military, police force, firefighters, etc
Short or tall? can looks hinder success
No full textA Newspaper article by Scott Bellows, an Assistant Professor in the Chandaria School of Business at USIU-AfricaHow others perceive us represents the foundation for our career success. Many attributes, such as our conscientiousness, hard work and innovation can lead to stronger career performance.
However, Business Talk continues on its series of how uncontrollable physical attributes can influence careers.
Social scientists know that physical attractiveness in an employee can get them better performance evaluations than their average looking colleagues and earn higher salaries.
Even in the academic world, university students rate attractive lecturers higher on course evaluations than average looking instructors whether the lecturer is a man or a woman
Building powerful corporate culture
No full textA Newspaper article by Scott Bellows, an Assistant Professor in the Chandaria School of Business at USIU-AfricaEnter into any management seminar or leadership forum and invariably the term organisational culture likely pops up. Organisational culture stands as an often amorphous misunderstood buzzword upon which to heap blame or praise for organisational achievements. However, not many management resources actually detail scientific components of organisational culture upon which to build a highly functional organisation.
Organisational culture broadly means a plethora of paradigms, assumptions, and norms expected within an entity. Organisational culture proves integral to corporate success since it influences the feelings, thoughts, interactions, and performance in organisations. Social scientists link a healthy organisational culture to such important corporate outcomes as better individual job performance by employees, stronger entity profits, higher employee job satisfaction, commitment to the organisation, less staff isolation and withdrawal, and lower staff turnover.
Therefore, Business Talk undertakes a weeks-long series to delve into building and maintaining powerful cultures within Kenya’s companies. Starting off, Turkish researcher Seçil Tastan highlights four critical aspects of organisational culture: training and development, teamwork, rewards and recognition, and communication.
Researchers Zahariah Zain, Razanita Ishak, and Erlane Ghani in Malaysia developed a tool for employees to judge the strength of their organisation’s culture. So now, please take a few moments and rate the following aspects of the four organisational culture constructs in your institution. Ascertain whether you 1 (strongly disagree), 2 (disagree), 3 (neither agree nor disagree), 4 (agree), or 5 (strongly agree) that a respective area represents a strong area within your firm
Turning kenya into global medical hub
No full textA Newspaper article by Scott Bellows, an Assistant Professor in the Chandaria School of Business at USIU-AfricaThe world watches in bewilderment as the US Senate fumbles all its attempts to revise the American healthcare system and erase former President Obama’s legislative legacy.
Make no mistake about it, American healthcare exists in a state of chaos. Where can one go for the best specialist care in the world? Where can one also see the some of the largest proportions of formal sector wage earners still unable to afford any healthcare at all? Which country subsides as the only “developed” nation that fails to guarantee medical care as a basic human right through socialised health coverage for its entire population? These contradictions sadly all point to the same nation: the US.
How can Kenya capitalise on the medical turmoil on the other side of the world? Enhance its medical innovation cluster focus on making Kenya, and Nairobi in particular, a global healthcare hub. While Kenyan healthcare is by no means perfect and the sector strikes highlight some of the major issues, we still dominate the region with the citizens of neighbouring nations and beyond flocking to our private hospitals, surgical units, and specialist consultants.
Various medical hubs exist in the world. Minneapolis, Cleveland, Chennai, and Bangkok all immensely benefit from specialised medical tourism. Up and coming medical hubs include our very own Nairobi as well as Dubai and Mauritius. Kenya carries most specialties of medicine and retains relatively high quality of medical education. Highly skilled doctors, nurses, lab technicians, and administrators fill our landscape. Drugs, specialised tests, and consultant visits in Kenya all stand at a fraction of the price of America