3673 research outputs found
Sort by
The Influence of Technology on Strategy and Organisational Success A Case of Kenya Power and Lighting Company.
No full textA Research Project Report Submitted to the School of Business in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Award of the Degree of Master in Strategic Management (MBA)The purpose of the study was to explain the relationship between technology and strategy. The explanation of this served to educate and guide management on the effect of technology on strategy and strategic management. Through this knowledge, the management team tasked with formulation of strategy was keener to keep in mind the latest technology and how it affected the final strategic plan both at the departmental level and at the organisational level. Good strategic plans at the departmental and organisational level considered all factors during their formulation and translated to departmental and organisational success.The research design for this study was a descriptive research design. Descriptive research describes the situations and seeks to establish whether a relationship exists between two variables, which in this case is technology vis-à-vis strategy. The target population of this study was the entire organisation of Kenya Power seeing that the strategy that was used in the research was that of a case study. The research used probability sampling and in particular complex random sampling technique. The data collection instrument that was used in the research was a structured questionnaire.The results and findings of this research was that technology has little effect on strategy in organisations or departments where technology is at the heart of the operations.However it influences the management of technology which in turn has a significant influence on strategy. Technology significantly affects the strategy of organisations or departments where it performs a support role. It makes the business processes more efficient with greater output but that does not mean that without technology the organisation or department cannot operate. Management of technology is very crucial in selecting the technology to put in place and evaluating whether the technology has had an impact. It greatly influences the strategy of departments where technology is at the core of operations.Therefore, technology can be seen to influence strategy both directly and indirectly through management of technology. It is therefore recommended that management pay close attention to technology and keep updated on the latest in order to harness the benefits of this tech for the success of the specific departments and organisation as a whole
Beyond Party colors:Where Jubilee meets Chinese Party
No full textA Newspaper article by Prof. Munene Macharia, assistant professor of History and International Relations at USIU-Afric
Factors Influencing Transfer of Training: A Case of the University of Nairobi Registry Staff
No full textA Project Report Submitted to the Chandaria School of Business in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Executive Master of Organizational DevelopmentThe purpose of this study was to establish the factors influencing transfer of training among employees of the University of Nairobi. The study was guided by three research questions. What is the influence of work environment on transfer of training at the University of Nairobi? To what extent does managerial support influence transfer of training at the University of Nairobi? What is the influence of reward structures on transfer of training at the University of Nairobi?
The research design was descriptive survey. The target population were the 129 registry staff. The study employed census sampling technique by selecting all the 129 staff members at the registry department to form the study sample. The study used primary data collected using questionnaires. The data was then entered into a computer system using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) for analysis. Descriptive and inferential analytical statistics such as frequency distribution, percentages and correlations were used to analyze the relationship of the variables. The analyzed data was then presented in form of tables and prose for interpretation.
The study findings showed that work environment significantly influenced employee transfer of training. Findings showed that there was a reasonable work environment in the organization. Employees were able to apply the learned skills. Cooperation and support from colleagues was reasonable. The main problem was lack of resources to apply the acquired skills.
The study found that there was a significant relationship between managerial support and transfer of training. Many respondents however disagreed that supervisors had interest in their training. Many also disagree that they received feedback on transfer of training. A number of respondents agreed that there were meetings to evaluate progress on transfer of training but many also disagreed so.
The study found that the university did not have reward structures for good performance after training. Many respondents said that there was no recognition for applying new skills. Many respondents were of the opinion that they did not get references for promotion after training. Some respondents seek challenging tasks to aid them in applying the newly acquired skills after training. However many observed that there was no opportunity for growth after training
The study concluded that the work environment was reasonable because of cooperation among employees. The study concluded that the greatest challenge that is facing effective transfer of training is lack of adequate resources at the University. Furthermore the management did not reward employees for their effort to put the skills learned into practice neither are staff rewarded for their initiative to transfer training to work.
Based on the findings, the study recommends that the management at the university should provide adequate resources to ensure that the staffs are well equipped. This will aid the staff in the effort to practice what they have learned during training. The management should formulate and implement policies to allow recognition of the staff whenever they put efforts in practicing the skills that they have acquired on their work. The management needs to come up with plans to reward the staff for demonstrating understanding of the new skills. They should be in a position to motivate their staff by providing opportunities for growth, promote verbal motivation and guidance on how to overcome the challenges facing the staff in applying the newly acquired skills
The Influence of Human Resource Information System Utilization on Employee Performance in Private Universities in Kenya: A Case of United States International University-Africa
No full textA Research Project Report Submitted to the Chandaria School of Business in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Degree of Executive Masters in Organizational Development (EMOD)The purpose of the study was to determine the effects of Human Resource Information System utilization on Employee performance in private universities in Kenya. The study was guided by the following research questions; To what extent does HRIS organization influence employee performance at USIU-A, To what extent do HRIS logistics affect employee performance USIU-A, To what extent does HRIS operation influence employee performance USIU-A?
A descriptive research design was adopted. The populations for the study was 507 employees of United States International University-Africa. Stratified random sampling technique was used to draw a sample size of 84 respondents. The data collection instrument was a tailor-made structured questionnaire developed by the researcher, specifically for this study. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics like frequencies, percentages. Pearson correlation and simple regression analysis were used to determine the influence of independent variables on the dependent variable. The Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS) version 22 tool was used to analyze data. The data was presented using figures and tables.
The study findings on HRIS organization and employee performance showed that majority of respondent agreed that there was useful information from HRIS system. It had increased their ability to disseminate information and in turn improved their performance. Most respondents were of the opinion that self-service portal of HRIS increased the flexibility of using the system. They agreed that it improved their performance. Also, most respondents indicated that the information generated by the HRIS has improved the strategic decision making in the organization which in turn has improved employee performance.
Findings on HRIS logistics and employee performance showed that the reduction of errors on HRIS improved the quality of service and thus it improves employee performance. Most respondents indicated that the use of HRIS, it had improved communication and awareness of employee about their jobs. Employees where up to date with information regarding their roles and activities with the organization. Furthermore, employee performance was improved because they were aware of the assigned tasks and roles at all times.
iv
The study findings on HRIS operation and employee performance showed that with implementation of HRIS system there were better planning by cutting down repetitive work and by managing each employee contribution to enable thorough performance tracking. Therefore, majority of respondents agreed that HRIS reduces work duplication and enabled employee roles to be clearly defined and tracked.
The study concludes that when HRIS component function is optimal, employee performance is significantly improved. HRIS self-service portal and accessibility from anywhere improves the employee ability to perform their tasks effectively. HRIS contributes in improving the communication of information within the organization.
The study recommends that HRIS organization should be optimized to improve employee performance. The organization should invest more in record keeping, managing data of employees to equip managers make better strategic decisions. Time should be invested in adoption of this system which translates to fulfillment of organization requirements that leads to the commitment of employee to organization goals. Also, there should be an effective performance feedback to employees because feedback enables the employees be aware of what exactly is expected from them
Challenges Affecting Youth Access to Youth Enterprise Fund: A Study Of Youth Empowerment Support Services-Kenya
No full textA Research Project Report submitted to the Chandaria School of Business in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Degree of Masters of Business Administration (MBA)The purpose of this study is to determine challenges affecting youth access to Youth Enterprise Fund. This study was guided by the following research questions: How do regulatory frameworks hinder youth access to the Youth Enterprise Fund? To what extent does lack of education hinder youth access to Youth Enterprise Fund? Finally, how do socio-cultural attitudes hinder youth entrepreneurs’ access to Youth Enterprise fund?
The population of the study was composed of 50 youth entrepreneurs under Youth Empowerment Support Services (YESS) Kenya youth program. This study was a census; therefore, all 50 youth entrepreneurs took part in the study. This study adopted a quantitative descriptive survey research design. The study used a closed ended questionnaire to collect primary data. Descriptive statistics was used to analyze frequencies, and percentages; while inferential statistics were analyzed for correlations and regression. Data analysis was conducted using Statistical Package for Social Services (SPSS). The study findings were presented using tables and figures.
The findings on how regulatory frameworks influences access to youth funds revealed the existence of a positive relationship between regulatory framework, and access to Youth Enterprise Development Fund (YEDF), r (0.738), p ≤ 0.05. This means that the relationship was statistically significant.
The findings on the extent to which lack of entrepreneurship training influences access to YEDF revealed the existence of a positive relationship between lack of entrepreneurship training and access to YEDF, r (0.775), p ≤ 0.05. This means that the relationship was statistically significant.
The findings on how socio-cultural factors influence access to YEDF revealed a strong positive relationship between socio-cultural factors and access to YEDF, r (0.742); p ≤ 0.05. This means that the relationship was meaning the relationship was statistically significant.
The study concluded that the relationship between regulatory framework and access to YEDF was statistically significant; the relationship between entrepreneurship education and access to YEDF was statistically significant; and the role of religion, cultural values, and role of family and friends/peers significantly influenced access to YEDF.
The study recommends that management at YESS Kenya and YEDF secretariat should develop mechanisms that to enhance youth access to YEDF by scrapping off business registration costs, and business licensing costs. Registration of youth business should be given priority in Huduma Centres, by developing dedicated counters that deal exclusively with youth business registrations and licensing. To enhance youth access to YEDF, concerted efforts made by YESS Kenya management to ensure that youth entrepreneurs under their program are adequately trained on business financial management, planning, and information technology platforms as a way of enhancing channels of accessing YEDF, and finally, it is important that managers at YESS Kenya develop programs that enhance youth attitude and behavior towards entrepreneurship.
The study also recommends that future studies should consider look at other factors not considered in this study, since access to Youth Enterprise Fund is not only limited to regulatory framework, entrepreneurship education and socio-cultural factors
Factors Influencing Online Purchasing Intention among College Students in Nairobi City
No full textA Research Project Report Submitted to the Chandaria School of Business in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Degree of Masters in Business Administration (MBA)Technology evolves at a very fast pace, sometimes faster than the users can accept and adopt it. With the rapid evolution of technology, online shopping has also evolved. This platform poses as a viable substitute for the traditional brick and mortar set up. But as mentioned above the uptake of online shopping has not been as fast as the evolution of the platform.
The purpose of this study was to determine the factors that influence online purchase intention among college students in Nairobi. The study sought to answer the following questions: how does Perceived Usefulness (PU) influence the intention to purchase online among college students in Nairobi; how does Perceived Ease of Use (PEoU) influence the intention to purchase online among college students in Nairobi; how does Transactional (TS) Security influence the intention to purchase online among college students in Nairobi.
A quantitative study was carried out with 120 respondents that included students from the University of Nairobi. A model based on the Technology Acceptance Model was used and the findings assessed by descriptive statistics and regression analysis. The findings reveal that Perceived Ease of Use (PEoU), Perceived Usefulness (PU) and Transactional Security (TS) are determinants of online purchase intention among college students in Nairobi. The model analysis of regression showed that there is a strong positive relationship between intention to purchase online and Transactional Security, Perceived Usefulness and Perceived Ease of Use. The factors shared a 68% variation of intention to shop online. Perceived Usefulness was the most important variable followed by Perceived Ease of Use and lastly by Transactional Security.
Based on the findings of the study the following recommendations were made: more online shops should be set up to increase competition, this in turn will increase Perceived Ease of Use. Those online shopping platforms already in the Kenyan market should always be on the creative edge to continue being useful to the consumer; online shops should be user friendly and very easy to use; shopping sites should not ask for excessive information from the customers, this creates a sense of insecurity in the consumer and hardens the shopping process; the government should formulate and enact policies that look into protecting end users as they use online shopping platforms. Further research should be done to establish why most of the students did not find Transactional Security to be more important than perceived Ease of Use (PEoU) and Perceived Usefulness (PU)
Review of Regulatory Framework for Micro-Insurance: A Survey of Insurance Companies in Kenya
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 main objective of the study was to review the regulatory framework for micro-insurance in Kenya. The study was guided by the following objectives; to determine the regulations governing micro-insurance provision by insurance companies, to determine the extent to which regulations limit provision of micro-insurance and to determine the policy changes required to enhance provision of micro-insurance.
The study utilised a mixed research design by applying the content analysis approach for the first objective and descriptive approach for the other objectives. The existing regulations were reviewed and reported based on the objective of regulations. Descriptive statistics was used to analyse the variables, parameters used included correlation, mean, frequencies, standard deviations and percentages.
The study established that there are various regulations are in existence that are governing provision of micro-insurance by insurance companies. These regulations are borrowed mainly from the regulations applied to the insurance industry and also those that apply to other financial services players. Since the regulations are not specifically for micro-insurance they have different effects on provision of micro-insurance which are reviewed by the study.
The study finds that some of the regulations in existence limit the provision of micro-insurance by insurance companies. The extent to which these regulations limit provision is to a great extent thus stifling the development of micro-insurance. The study also finds a positive relationship between some of the regulations.
Finally the study established that there are policy changes required to enhance provision of micro-insurance. This therefore calls for development of relevant policies and adaptation of existing polices to suit micro-insurance in order to encourage provision of micro-insurance.
The study recommends that specific regulations be developed for Micro-insurance this will ensure the development of Micro-insurance in a regulatory framework that is conducive and relevant. The study also recommends that in the absence of a suitable micro-insurance regulatory framework, special consideration should be made to allow for micro-insurance provision. Finally, the study recommends that policy changes be adopted to enhance provision of micro-insurance since the current regulatory framework is seen to inhibit its development
Factors Influencing Social Entrepreneurship in Kariobangi, Kenya
No full textA Research Project Report Submitted to the Chandaria School of Business in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Degree in Master of Business Administration (MBA)The main objective of this study was to evaluate factors influencing social entrepreneurship in Kariobangi, Kenya. The study was guided by the following research objectives: the relationship between personal attitude and social entrepreneurial intention; the relationship between subjective norm and social entrepreneurial intention; the relationship between perceived behavioural control and social entrepreneurial intention and finally examine the extent to which entrepreneurial environmental factors affects entrepreneurial intention. Descriptive research design, correlation and regression analysis wereused. The study targeted 11 Community Based Organizations under the umbrella of Raslimali Enterprises Limited in Kariobangi, where fiftyleaders were identified to be the respondents. Questionnaires were employed and data collection and Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software was used to analyse the data. The findings from the study revealed that the relationship between personal attitude and social entrepreneurial intention depicted some difference in mean ranking, with the variance being minimal and all the items were negatively skewed. This is an indicator that the respondents had positive personal attitude towards business. And on the relationship between each of the entrepreneur’s intention and personal attitudes, most respondents cited that they were ready to do anything to become entrepreneurs which had correlation with the challenge of not having adequate resources to start the business, therefore making most of them live with uncertainty.Looking at the relationship between subjective norm and social entrepreneurial intention, the findings revealed that the respondents view on subjective norm were ranked based on mean ranked from the highest to the lowest with family approval of the decision to start a business taking lead, followed by colleagues and mates approval of the decision and lastly friends approval of the decision.And looking at the relationship between perceived behavioural control and social entrepreneurial intention. The items ranked in order of priority were on the control to create a new business, probability of succeeding, capacity to start a business, how easy it was to start and maintain a business, and ability to develop entrepreneurial project. And the last research objective examined the extent to which the entrepreneurial environment affects the social entrepreneurial intention.The ranking of the items under entrepreneurial intention was based on the mean and this included; being determined to create a business in the future, followed by having the business intention to start a business someday, having a very serious thought of starting a business, making every effort to start and run their own business. In conclusion, the entrepreneurial environmental factors have a major effect on the social entrepreneurial intention, which if addressed can help in the growth of social entrepreneurship in a manner that will help alleviate poverty among communities besides enhancing their ownership and sustainability.
In future, further research should be carried out by scholars to determine how the social entrepreneurial intentions impacts on the lives of the beneficiaries in the informal settlements to determine ownership and sustainability
Effective Government Strategies for Enhancing the Private Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Sector in Kenya
No full textA Research Project Report Submitted to the School of Business in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Degree of Masters in Business Administration (MBA)The objective of the study is to determine effective government strategies to spur growth in the pharmaceutical manufacturing company. The gaps identified in the industry are high cost of production, unfavorable taxation policies, counterfeits, parallel importation and high cost of labor. The research objectives are to determine the steps government can take to promote research and development, to reduce the cost of production and enable favorable legal framework.
The research methodology used by the researcher in conducting the study was descriptive design. The population of the study are 400 industrial pharmacists in Nairobi, Kenya comprising of both distributors and manufacturers. Primary and Secondary data was used in the collection of data in this study.
The sampling frame for this study was 120 pharmacists who practice in the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry. Stratified random sampling technique was used in the study which is the probability sampling procedure was the target population is divided into a number of strata and a sample drawn from each stratum. The sample size was 40 pharmacists drawn from both multinational and local manufacturing companies. The analysis will done using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS).
The data collection was successful with 100% response rate through an online questionnaire. Market demand was the major driver of product portfolio for the companies with 90% of respondents working in companies that deal in tender business. The average annual sales turnover range was KES 500M to KES 1Bn. For the first research objective of steps by government to promote research indicates that only 2.5 % of the respondents work in a company that conducts only R&D of new products while 42.5% conducted product development. Thirty percent of the respondents work in companies that conduct both types of research while 10% conducted neither of the two; with only 5% having institutional collaboration. For the second research objective of government interventions to reduce production costs it was found the major contributors of high costs was materials, energy and taxes. For the third research objective on government interventions to create a favorable legal framework, a majority of the respondents pointed out parallel importation, counterfeits, insignificance of KIPI and taxation to be of concern.
From the study it can be concluded that there are incentives that the government can undertake both short term and long-term to enable the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry in Kenya targeting research, reduce costs on materials, energy and taxes.
Key recommendations to the government they are partnerships with NGO agencies such as WHO, UNIDO and both local and international universities that are centers of excellence on research to provide technical support. The government should allocate adequate land for manufacturing and zone them out accurately through ministry of lands and planning. The government should ensure that there is genuine public participation of all stakeholders while developing laws and to curb corrupt practices in government institutions in-depth audits should be conducted on both systems and finances
Strategic Role of Big Data Analytics on the Competitive Advantage of Supermarket Chains: A Case Study of Nakumatt Holdings Limited
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 main aim of this study was to establish the role of Big Data Analytics (BDA) on the competitive advantage of supermarket chains in Kenya. A case study was done on Nakumatt Holdings Limited. The study was guided by three research questions and these are; how BDA of customer trends and patterns impact differentiation within Nakumatt, how use of Nakumatt loyalty cards increase customer repetitive buying and lastly how use of Big Data Analytics creates cost leadership over Nakumatt’s competitors.
This research focussed on the population of Nakumatt managers, employees and customers in Nairobi. In this study, the sampling frame involved the management staff at Nakumatt as well as the customers that are loyalty card holders from all the 23 branches in Nairobi. Random sampling was used for customers as they exited the branches. Ultimately, we spoke to every 5th customer exiting the supermarket after completion of an interview.
This study adopted the Probability based technique for sampling. Under this, stratified random sampling Technique was adopted for the collection of data about the population from the entire population. The Strata was the Senior Management, Employees in Operations and the Nakumatt Loyalty Card Holders. The data collected through this method gave the researcher the opportunity for an intensive study about the problem area. To obtain the minimum population sample for this study, the researcher used the rule of thumb and therefore targetting all the 23 branches in Nairobi, and the top management at Nakumatt in charge of operations department. Questionnaires were used to collect data for this research and collected data was analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) program and analysis presented in tables, and figures in chapter four to give a clear picture of the research findings