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Behaviour Change Communication in Community-Based Organizations: A Case of Kibera Hamlets
No full textA Project Report Submitted to the Chandaria School of Business in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirement for the Degree of the Master of Science in Organizational Development (MOD)The main objective of this study was to examine Behavior Change Communication in Community-Based Organizations. The study was based on the following objectives: to assess steps taken by a Community-Based Organization called Kibera Hamlets to develop behavior change messages; to identify the channels used by Kibera Hamlets to disseminate behavior change messages, and to assess the benefits of the behavior change messages disseminated by Kibera Hamlets.
The target population for this study was 15,480 people who stay in Katwekera, which is a sub-division of Kibera, an informal settlement in Nairobi, Kenya. The population were members of the community that had been reached by Behavior Change Communication messages and were hence able to give necessary information concerning the study. Simple random sampling method was used to select a sample from the statistical population. The sample size was 420. Data was gathered using the primary data collection method by means of questionnaires. Four hundred and twenty questionnaires were distributed and 295 were duly filled and returned for analysis accounting for a 74% response rate. For ease of examination, the questionnaires were coded before analysis. The researcher used descriptive methods such as mean, standard deviation, percentages, tables and frequency distributions to analyze data.
The study found that staff demonstrated keenness in applying the various steps necessary for developing behavior change messages. Furthermore, staff involved stakeholders in developing messages, identifying key target populations and segmenting them appropriately to ascertain relevance of the behavior change program. The findings also established that the staff conduct studies in the community to identify the specific problems and define suitable behavior change objectives for the program. The staff also monitored BCC campaigns to evaluate the impact of the messages and revised BCC messages based on the feedback received, thus enhancing the success of the program.
Various channels were used to disseminate behavior change messages including; Sports, theater and other interactive forms of art. Interpersonal methods like peer-to-peer education, painting and drawing were also found to be resourceful in enhancing the Community Based Organization’s efforts. Traditional communication methods such as posters, leaflets, radio, bill boards, roadshows and television were used too, but not as frequently owing to the cost implications and rigidity in communication since they do not encourage as much feedback from the target audience as other interactive forms of communication. The findings reflected that the community of Katwekera benefited considerably from the BCC program. This included adults, children and civil servants. Some of the benefits were the reduced spread of Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD’s), improved healthcare, better nutrition for children, reduced incidents of rape, reduced cases of early marriage, and an increased number of children delayed the age at which they had sex. The Behavior Change Communication program in Kibera was generally seen to be successful. The messages were strategically developed and were in many ways beneficial to the community of Katwekera.
The study recommends that more effort be put on education, information sharing, equipping and empowering the community to own the idea of being change agents in enhancing behavior change. More effort needs to be channeled into assessing the qualitative benefits of Behavior Change Communication which are not easily quantifiable. More studies on Behavior Change Communication need to be conducted beyond the community level into vulnerable communities like students and staff in higher learning institutions in order to encourage more responsible behavioral choices
CTW - 6 July 2018
No full textA Campus Weekly Magazine by the Marketing and Communications Department of USIU- Afric
Effects of Organizational Culture on Corporate Rebranding-A case Study of UNAITAS Sacco
No full textA Research Project Report Submitted To The Chandaria School Of Business For Partial Fulfillment Of The Award Of Master Of Science Degree In Organizational Development And Management At United States International University (USIU)The study considered the effects of organizational culture when companies and organizations are undertaking the rebranding process. A case study of Unaitas Sacco was considered as the Sacco repositions towards a fully-fledged bank. The project considered the effects of internal communication, business environment, management practices and leadership styles in the rebranding process. To achieve the objective of the project, descriptive and explanatory research designs were used to identify the relationship between the organizational culture and the rebranding process. Simple random sampling was used to select the sample size from a population of 249 employees of Unaitas Sacco.
Out of the 249 employees, a sample size of 124 respondents was selected and questionnaires administered in data collection. Descriptive statistics was used to describe the features of the data in the study using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences. The presentations were majorly in form of tables, graphs and charts. The major findings of the study observed that organizational culture plays a significant role in the whole rebranding process of an organization.
In addition, internal communication, business environment, management practices and leadership styles plays a significant role in shaping the rebranding process. These factors were found to be paramount in shaping the organizational rebranding in every aspect. Finally, it was concluded that, regardless of the nature of organization, management practices and corporate governance plays a significant role in the rebranding process.
From the findings of the study, there were conclusions that, for a major rebranding in any organization to be a success, the organizational culture must be adhered to. In addition, internal communication and management practices must also be emphasized to ensure rebranding is successful.
Finally, the study recommended proper incorporation and recognition of culture as a key initiative in any company striving to achieve success not only in rebranding but also any other major change. In addition, management practices as well as communication must be improved and increased among staff for easier and success rebranding or any other major change
Family Chama For Alternative Empowerment And Socio-Economic Development
No full textA Thesis Submitted To The School Of Humanities And Social Sciences In Partial Fulfillment Of The Requirements For The Master Of Arts Degree In International RelationsThis paper examines the alternative development approach that has been established as people centred, participatory and endogenous, with cultural identity playing an important role. The Rotating Savings and Credit Associations have grown and developed over time and across the developing world as an alternative platform for credit and savings for a majority of marginalised people. This paper explores the family centred Rotating Savings and Credit Associations in Kenya as one example of a development approach that is an alternative to mainstream development that is promoting economic well-being and social welfare to individuals. Carried out in Nairobi County in Kenya, the study employed in-depth interviews which were analysed through thematic coding directed by the research questions. The results show that culture does play a significant role in the operations of a family chama and that this social institution has been essential in meeting social welfare needs while significantly interacting with the formal financial sector and promoting economic wellbeing among its members. It concludes by offering some recommendations to financial institutions and to the government on policy considerations relating to social welfare and socio economic empowerment. It is hoped that this study will also encourage development practitioners to inculcate alternative development approaches in their methodologies and theories of change
Justice boosts loyalty among co-op members
No full textA Newspaper article by Scott Bellows, an Assistant Professor in the Chandaria School of Business at USIU-AfricaHumans of all shapes, sizes, creeds, nationalities, orientations, religions, and positions yearn for fairness and equality for themselves and their families. Employees also want the same justice within organisations.
Prolific organisational behaviour researchers Jason Colquitt and Jessica Rodell delineate the social science studies over the past 35 years in the field of justice within institutions.
Organisational justice takes many forms, as detailed over the past several years in Business Talk here in the Business Daily. Fairness within firms can be procedural fairness in processes, fairness in how outcomes are distributed, interpersonal respect and propriety from superiors, and informational truthfulness and justification in communications from executives.
Exciting new research from the United States International University of Africa in collaboration with Durham University in the UK, Global Communities in Kenya and in Washington, D.C., and USAid, surveyed 580 individuals in 19 agricultural co-operatives in 12 Kenyan counties and is being showcased in the Business Daily this month. The study endeavoured to understand, among many other objectives, the role that informational and interpersonal justice plays in co-operatives to garnish favourable institutional and community outcomes. Unlike in employee situations which has been studied before in Kenya, no known research has ever looked at justice and fairness in member-based organisations in East Africa
Portfolio Optimization and Its Effect on Performance of Commercial Banks in Kenya
No full textA Research Project Report Submitted to the Chandaria School of Business in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Degree of Master in Business Administration (MBA)The purpose of this study was to examine portfolio optimization and its effect on performance of commercial banks in Kenya. The study sought to answer the following research questions: What is the influence of asset allocation on the performance of commercial banks in Kenya? What is the influence of diversification on the performance of commercial banks in Kenya? What is the influence of risk management on the performance of commercial banks in Kenya?
The target population consisted of Asset and liability committee (ALCO) members; portfolio managers, credit committee members, risk management, finance and treasury teams within commercial banks in Kenya. Stratified, simple random and purposive sampling techniques were used to select the study participants. Questionnaires and interview guides were used to collect data. The sample size was 139 for the questionnaires and 5 for interviews. The data presented were analyzed using descriptive statistical analysis and inferential analysis. The finding of this study is of benefit to commercial bank managers when making investment decisions for their firms. The decisions made on portfolio optimization impacts on the performance of commercial banks in Kenya.
The findings revealed that there was a significant positive relationship between asset allocation and performance in commercial banks in Kenya. An increase in asset allocation result to a rise in performance in commercial banks in Kenya. The study established that asset allocation had the greatest influence performance in commercial banks in Kenya. A unit increase in asset allocation index led to a significant increase in commercial banks’ performance.
The results indicated that there was a significant positive relationship between portfolio risk management and performance in commercial banks in Kenya. An increase in portfolio risk management led to an increase in performance in commercial banks in Kenya. Portfolio risk management had the second greatest influence on performance in commercial banks in Kenya.
The findings showed that there was a significant positive relationship between portfolio diversification and performance in commercial banks in Kenya. An increase in portfolio diversification leads to an increase in performance in commercial banks in Kenya. Portfolio diversification had the least influence on performance in commercial banks in Kenya.
Based on the findings the study concluded that asset allocation, portfolio risk management and portfolio diversification have significant influence on performance of commercial banks in Kenya.
The study recommends that commercial banks in Kenya should intensify their asset allocation strategies with the aim of enhancing performance. This is because asset allocation has the greatest influence on performance in relation to the other portfolio optimization strategies adopted by commercial banks in Kenya. Commercial banks should pursue investment options with moderate level of risk and the potential for occasional short-term losses. They should also pursue investment with higher returns over time that has occasional, large downturn in the value of their variable investment
The Impact of Credit Reference Bureaus on Credit Performance of Kenyan Banks
No full textA Research Project Report Submitted to the Chandaria School of Business in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Masters in Business Administration (MBA)The purpose of this study was to analyze the impact of credit reference bureaus on credit performance of banks in Kenya. The research was guided by the following research questions: what influence do credit reference bureaus have on credit access in Kenya? What influence do credit reference bureaus have on credit scoring in Kenya? What influence do credit reference bureaus have on credit rating in Kenya?
The study employed descriptive research design and targeted managers in finance and strategy within 44 banks. The study employed primary sources of data in the data collection process. With the primary sources, questionnaires were the most preferred method of collecting data. The researcher distributed 40 questionnaires and only 34 were filled and returned, this represented a response rate of 85%. Descriptive and inferential statistics was employed, and qualitative techniques thematic analysis was employed where responses from the interview schedules was discussed in themes that relate to the objectives of the study. Descriptive statistics such as mean, median, mode, and standard deviation to analyze the data was used and to analyze the relationship between the variables, regression analysis was used.
The respondents indicated that the presence of credit reference, enable financial institutions obtain credit information on the prospective borrowers which facilitates the evaluation of credit requests to mitigate the risks of credit default (mean score 4.68). The findings revealed that respondents indicated that the credit bureaus reduce the borrowing cost by forcing creditors to be more competitive for good borrowers (mean score 4.15).
The research established that according to most of the respondents (47%), the CRB report was not the first task in credit processing. The findings showed that respondents indicated that positive CRB report portends a shorter credit application process (mean score 3.28) out of 5.00 scale. According to the responses, the bank credit standards vary. Respondents stated the CRB report reduced the screening procedures in the banks and that the CRB report had reduced screening procedures for the banks.
The study findings revealed that most of the respondents (51%) indicated that their organizations used credit scoring as a credit screening procedure. The findings revealed that majority of the variables had a mean of 4.0 (a great extent), also an analysis of mode revealed that majority ranked 5.0 (a very great extent)
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The results showed that most respondents stated that the credit score had standardized the credit screening procedures (mean score 3.94). The respondents also indicated that the credit scoring was a risk based pricing model (mean score 3.79). The study also showed that, credit application and CRB report positively influence credit issued. The findings further implied that denial of credit negatively influences the credit issued. The findings showed that CRB had а significant effect on credit accessibility (β=0.973), credit rating (β=0.905) and credit scoring (β=0.965). The p values were smaller than 0.05, hence, significant. Furthermore, it was established that credit Reference Bureaus explained 94.6% access to credit (R2=0.946), 81.30% of credit rating and 93% of credit scoring.
The study concluded that access to credit referencing has played a major role in enabling financial institutions manage their credit information and mitigating the risks associated with credit default. Credit rating is vital in determining the credit facilities sought by the clients, therefore, reducing the screening procedures done by banks. The study also concluded that credit scoring utilized as a credit screening procedure towards the vetting of clients has enhanced credit approval procedures to be more automated and thus greatly increased access to the credit and the number of credit given.
The study recommended lending institutions need to enlighten their clients on the significance of meeting their credit obligations to avoid being blacklisted in the credit reference bureaus. In addition, all lending institutions should implement the use of the CRB report as a mechanism of evaluating the credit worthiness of the borrowers thereby curtailing the risk of credit default. The study also recommended that the government, the commercial banks, and the lending institutions ought to educate the borrowers of the importance of credit bureaus. To avoid mistakes in credit reporting, lending institutions, commercial banks and regulators ought to device a system of verifying credit scores.
Further research needs to be performed on other dynamics such as mobile banking, agency banking and customer service to determine their impact on credit performance of commercial banks. In addition, the current precedent set by clients suing the CRBs for wrongful listing and its influence upon the banking industry should equally be studied
Influence of Transformational Leadership on Employee Performance: A Case Study of Local Non-Governmental Organizations in Kenya
No full textA Research Project Report Submitted to the Chandaria School of Business in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirement for the Degree of Master of Science in Organizational Development (MOD)This study sought to determine the influence of transformational leadership on employee performance, the study focused on local Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in Kenya. The study was directed by specific objectives that sought to determine: the influence of idealized influence on employee performance, the influence of inspirational motivation on employee performance, the influence of intellectual stimulation on employee performance, and the influence of individualized consideration on employee performance.
To achieve this, the study adopted a quasi-experimental research design known as correlational research design. This design was deemed appropriate for the study because it enabled the researcher to measure the independent variable (transformational leadership) and the dependent variable (employee performance). The population of the study comprised a total of 79 employees from the five local NGOs. The sample frame for the study was the official list of employees as obtained from the head of each organization. Purposive sampling technique was used to select the targeted respondents from each organization. The researcher targeted at least 60% of respondents from each organization to give a sample size of 49 respondents.
The study showed that the organizations utilized available resources efficiently and employees were provided with feedback on their performance. The organizations set goals to define what they needed to achieve, and take into consideration available employee competencies to enable achievement of these goals. The study revealed that the organizations supported innovative efforts from employees and embraced two-way communication. The leaders in these organizations provided followers with an inspiring mission and vision, and they involved employees in achieving it. Leaders in these organizations encouraged employees to become part of the overall organizational culture, and acted as role models towards attainment of organizational goals.
The study found that leaders in these organizations permitted employees to "think outside the box", and encouraged them to try new ways of looking at a problem. The leaders also took into consideration the sentiments of employees - even if they did not conform to the views held by the leaders themselves. The leaders celebrated each employee’s contribution to the team, were sensitive to specific knowledge and capabilities that employees had when assigning them tasks, and were timely in resolving conflict.
The study concludes that leaders in these organizations influence employee performance by applying the transformational leadership style. The leaders provide an inspiring vision, support innovation and match employee competencies with organization goals and objectives. The leaders act as role models towards attainment of organizational goals and encourage employees to “think outside the box”. The leaders eliminate chances of conflict by making employees feel they are part of the solution and ensure timely resolution of conflict when it occurs.
The study recommends that the leaders of the local NGOs should continuously inspire their employees to enhance their performance and enable the organization achieve its goals and objectives. During times when organizations are going through organizational change, leaders should purpose to adopt a transformational leadership style to ensure that employee performance is not affected and employees stay motivated
Assessment of the Effects of Behavior Change on Efficient Resource Usage: A Case Study of United States International University-Africa.
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).ABSTRACT
The purpose of the study was to evaluate the factors that influenced the behavior of United States International University-Africa’s consumer resource usage, conservation and ways and means of motivating consumers towards embracing waste minimization and conservation measures as a good practice both for resource sustainability and operations cost cutting. The collected data was analyzed to determine the phenomenon: “how” does governance through behavior change strategy, “what” is the influence of Consumer Awareness (environmental consciousness) on effective resource management and conservation, “what” is the role and effect of behavioral factors on effective resource management and conservation and “what” strategies and behavior change technique that both educate and motivates (non-cash incentives) consumers to accept individual responsibility for the resource‐saving measures can be developed, that would help sustain that change while minimizing the need for repeated intervention.
Descriptive research design was adopted. Primary data collection was through semistructured questionnaire administered to a sample size of 34 respondents for quantitative survey and 2 respondents for qualitative questionnaire to the selected population in the various departments at USIU-Africa. The researcher adopted the descriptive and inferential statistics in data analysis and presentation. Data was analyzed using SPSS v24 and Atlas.ti v8 software to generate frequencies, cross tabulation, mean, percentages and standard deviation whereas for inferential statistics, the study engaged correlation and regression analysis with data being presented in tables.
Findings of the study show that a handful of the respondents acknowledge the influence of their behavior as consumers on effective resource management. This is attributed to lack of knowledge on their part with regards to the impact of their negative behavior. The study also confirms that behavior can be changed if the executives could lead by example in publicly championing the course setting forth the desired institutional culture leading in change of perception and attitude.
Findings on consumer behavior have been confirmed by the high affirmative response to the influence of consumer conservation awareness on effective resource management. Whereas many have agreed that effective resource use and conservation is vital for our existence with regards to carbon emission and climate change, very few do understand their individual contribution to air pollution and ultimately the global climate due to resource wastage. Therefore it is very important that awareness creation (the seed for tomorrow's changes) among users and decision makers be adopted to help in averting wastage due to ignorance and for proper planning and resource allocation for the conservation program. Behavior (perception and attitude) change is directly related to the degree of awareness which incentivizes institutional culture change for long term success thus if you can't measure it, you can't improve it.
Likewise, over half the respondents confirm that Consumer Behavior Change Governance Strategy greatly influences effective energy and water resource consumption and conservation measure as a best practice. Decisions to create awareness in order to steer institutional culture change for long term success require the assistance of a well formulated strategy in line with the overall institutional strategy so as to command financial and regulatory approaches which remain principal policy tools for driving change to the desired actions and outcomes. Strategic policy guide assist in sustaining the desired change while minimizing the need for repeated intervention due to the limited nature of resources at our disposal.
The research concludes that a well formulated consumption and conservation strategy through governance and regulations addressing both Consumer Behavior and Consumer Awareness (educate and motivates for acceptance) should be adopted to deliver an effective energy and water resource consumption and conservation measure as a best practice.
Finally the research recommends the immediate Executive’s support, empowerment of the Energy Management Committee, hiring of a designated facility Chief Energy Manager to coordinate the implementation of the energy investment plan’s recommendations from the General Energy Audit Report and who shall formulate action plans with priority for the necessary resources allocation
