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THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN INTERNAL AUDIT AND INTERNAL CONTROLS IN WATER SERVICE PROVIDERS IN KENYA
Full text linkThe aim of this study was to establish the association between internal audit and internal controls of Kenyan water service providers. To attain this objective, the researcher collected data on a population of 93 Water service providers. This cross sectional descriptive study that attained a response rate of 78% of the targeted 93 water service provider units was guided by a positivist research philosophy. Correlation analysis and regression analysis was then used to test the hypotheses. Correlation research analysis found a statistically significant positive relationship between internal audit and internal controls. The null hypothesis was rejected as the regression analysis found that a unit change in internal audit leads to a change of 0.505 in internal controls. . This infers that internal audit influences internal controls of Water service providers in Kenya. This study has provided an empirical foundation for investigating the relationship between internal audit and internal controls. Further, the study has made a unique contribution to policy formulation and development to benefit the understanding on how internal audit in the Kenyan context influences internal controls resulting to formulation of reforms in various public institutions to strengthen internal audit
Identification and characterization of potential drug interactions in hypertensive patients in a Kenyan tertiary hospital
Full text linkBackground: Hypertensive patients are particularly at risk of drug-drug interactions resulting from the concomitant use of multiple drugs to control their blood pressure. The presence of comorbidities and advancing age are also likely to contribute to the use of many drugs, further increasing this risk. Drug related problems such as drug interactions in the management of hypertension increase morbidity and mortality but there are limited published data to characterize them especially among the African population. Objective: To identify and characterize potential drug interactions among adult hypertensive patients attending Kenyatta National Hospital. Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study done among 313 adult patients between May to July 2016 at Kenyatta National Hospital. Ethical approval was sought from the institutional review board. Data on patient demographics, clinical characteristics and current prescriptions were extracted from patient records into predesigned data collection forms. Potential drug interactions were identified using an online Drug Interactions Checker. Results: There was female predominance at 60.7% and the mean age of the study population was 55.2 years (SD 15.9). The mean number of drugs per prescription was 5.93 (SD 2.24). The prevalence of potential drug interactions was 92.7%. There was an average of 3.5 drug interactions per prescription. Majority (79.2%) of the potential drug interactions were categorized as moderate while major and minor interactions accounted for 4.1% and 16.8%, respectively. The most prevalent interacting drug pair was enalapril and furosemide (15.3 %). The most frequent major interaction found was between enalapril and spironolactone, which is associated with hyperkalaemia. Conclusions: There was a high prevalence of potential drug interactions. Prescribers should be encouraged to be vigilant during the management of hypertensive patients to avoid overt drug interactions which may compromise treatment outcomes and increase the health care costs. Keywords: Drug interactions, hypertension, prescriptions, Keny
Firm-Level Strategy and Performance of Food and Beverage Manufacturing Companies in Kenya
Full text linkThe influence of firm-level strategy on organizational performance in manufacturingcompanies continues to be a dominant discussion in the recent past. The paper isdetermining firm-level strategy and performance connections in of food and beveragemanufacturing companies in Kenya. The results are built on a survey of top executive’sopinion on firm-level strategy and execution in their factories. The study used crosssectionaldesign of the sector that delivered data in a structured questionnaire. Thehypothesis was tested using simple regression analysis. The study showed thatcorporate-level strategy was statistically insignificant on financial performance.However, firm-level strategy on combined organizational performance was statisticallysignificant
Diversification Strategy and Factors Affecting Production of Sugar in Kenya
Full text linkThe project involved an investigation into the dimensions affecting production of sugar andits diversification in Kenya and how it’s pursued by different sugar processing andmarketing factories. An inquest in understanding competitiveness between industryplayers has primarily been pursued in accordance to economic, surrounding and marketconditions. This research integrated perspectives of strategic management on the resourcebased view of factory performance to formulate a theoretical model of factors affectingproduction of sugar and its diversification. The main objective of the paper was to analyzefactors affecting sugar production and its diversification in Kenya. The objective wasanchored on predetermined variables of dimensions for establishing a sugar factory. Thefactors included technological capability, materials capability and financial capability. Thepaper employed cross sectional survey methodology by applying factor analysis ofcomparison between different sugar factories in Kenya. A series of prepositions werepresented on the factors identified as influencers of production of sugar and itsdiversification in Kenya. The study results revealed that there exist a majorinterdependency between the variables of organization technological, material andfinancial capabilities on sugar production and its diversification in Kenya. The researchersconsidered the varied approaches of diversification for performance improvement andoutlined implications for further research, policy and practice
INFLUENCE OF WOMEN PARTICIPATION IN GROUP ACTIVITIES ON EMPOWERMENT OF COMMUNITIES: A CASE OF KAJIADO NORTH SUB COUNTY, KENYA.
Full text linkThe activities that women participate in through their groups influence the empowermentof communities. Women participation refers to the act of women getting involved in thevarious entrepreneurial processes or activities through their groups that would either bringeconomic, social and political changes to their lives, their families and ultimately theircommunities. This paper aimed at examining the Influence of women participation ingroup activities in Kajiado North Sub County, Kajiado County in Kenya. The studyobjectives were; To establish the influence of women participation in financial activities onthe economic empowerment of communities; to assess the influence of women participationin political activities on the empowerment of communities; to assess the influence of womengroups participation in environmental conservation activities on the empowerment ofcommunities and to establish the influence of women participation in trainings on theempowerment of communities. The target population consisted of women drawn from 378groups registered in Kajiado North Sub County; 5 Uwezo fund coordinators; 6 ministrystaff/government officials and 5 National Government Constituency Development Fund(CDF) and Women Enterprise Fund (WEF) officials. Data was gathered usingquestionnaire and interview guides and organized into themes according to studyobjectives. Findings indicated that; community empowerment is influenced by womengroup participation in income generating activities as indicated by 73.9% of therespondents, political activities as indicated by 60.8%, environmental conservationactivities as indicated by 58.7% as well as training activities as indicated by 48.5% of therespondents. Given that women play a major role in the family and communitydevelopment, this study recommends that the government should upscale womeninvolvement in entrepreneurial activities as this has a direct effect on communityempowerment and general development of the country.
The Influence of Process Innovation and Operational Performance on the Relationship between Adoption of Reverse Logistics and Competitive Advantage: A Critical Review of Literature
Full text linkThis paper examines the relationship between process innovation, operationalperformance, reverse logistics adoption and competitive advantage. According to theresource advantage theory of competition organizations gain competitive advantagethrough marshaling comparative advantage in resources. Empirical studies have shownthat marshaling comparative advantage through the adoption of reverse logistics can leadto sustainable competitive advantage for firms. However, these studies have notdemonstrated how various strategies to the adoption of reverse logistics impact on a firm’ssustainable competitive creating capabilities. Further studies have shown that processinnovations have the potential to reposition organizations’ current assets in a manner thatallows them to gain new capabilities that enable the achievement of higher operationalefficiency and ultimately generate sustainability creating processes in the short and longrun.Studies have also revealed that firms gain comparative advantage when resources intheir control facilitate them to generate and implement strategies that result in highlyefficient and effective operations. Keywords: Reverse Logistics, Competiti
Development of Dromedary Antibody-based Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay for Detecting Chikungunya virus Infections
Full text linkBackground: Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is an arthropod-borne Togavirus belonging to the genus Alphavirus that is responsible for sporadic worldwide outbreaks of Chikungunya fever, an acute febrile illness often associated with severe polyarthralgia. In Kenya, Chikungunya virus is of great epidemiological concern, with the last major outbreak occurring in 2016 in North Eastern Kenya. Reliable detection of CHIKV infections is key to controlling this re-emerging pathogen, for which no cure currently exists. Current diagnostic methods for CHIKV employ a combination of tests, particularly immunologic, serologic or virologic techniques. However, the independent scientific reviews on the validity and sensitivity of currently available commercial assays have been conflicting. Objective: This study aimed to develop and validate a dromedary antibody-based enzyme linked immunosorbent assay for detecting Chikungunya virus infections. Methods: To produce sufficient antigen for camel immunization, Chikungunya virus (strain Lamu 33) was propagated in confluent C6-36 E2 cells using Cytodex microcarrier system. Purified and inactivated CHIKV immunogen was used to inoculate two camels reared at the University of Nairobi farm in Kibwezi, Kenya. Camel serum samples collected over the entire immunization period were assayed for the presence of anti-Chikungunya IgG by indirect ELISA. Purification of camel Heavy Chain IgG antibodies was performed by lectin affinity chromatography on protein A and protein G-Sepharose columns; then conjugated with horse radish peroxidase (HRP). The HRP-conjugated camel Heavy Chain IgG2 and IgG3 were optimized for ELISA, with optical density measured using a microplate reader set at 492nm. A total of 188 human sera samples were assayed using the developed dromedary-based enzyme linked immunosorbent assay to determine Chikungunya virus infections. Results: The sensitivity of the dromedary HCAb IgG2 assay was 91.3% (95% CI: 0.831 - 0.994); while that for HCAb IgG3 assay was 95.7% (95% CI: 0.898 - 1.01). The specificity of HCAb IgG2 assay was 92.3% (95% CI: 0.879 - 0.967); while the specificity of HCAb IgG3 method was 90% (95% CI: 0.851 - 0.949). For HCAb IgG2 and IgG3 based assays, the positive predictive values were 79.2% and 75.8 % respectively; while the negative predictive values were 97% and 98.4% for HCAb IgG2 and IgG3 based assays respectively. Conclusion: The camel antibody based assay was found to be reliable assay with very good sensitivity and specificity, and can be deployed for detection of Chikungunya virus infections. Key words: Chikungunya, ELISA, camel antibodies, diagnosi
Effect of Monetary Policy on Credit Supply in Kenya
Full text linkPurpose- This paper sought to establish the effect of monetary policy on credit supply in Kenya. Methodology- This study adopted a descriptive research design. Descriptive statistics such as mean, median, minimum, maximum and standard deviation were used to describe the trend of the variables. Breusch Godfrey serial correlation LM test was used to test correlation of the study variables. Stationarity tests on time series data was conducted using augmented dickey fuller test statistic. Regression analysis was used to establish the influence of monetary policy on credit supply. Findings- The study concluded that CRR, OMO and Inflation are significant and have a negative effect on credit supply. The model was also fit to explain the relationship as 76% (R2= 0.761160) variation of the dependent variable (Credit supply) was explained by the independent variables (OMO, CRR, CBR and Inflation) in the long run. Adjusted R- square which provides adjustment to the R Square was73% (Adjusted R2= 0.736664) indicating 73% variation in credit supply was explained by independent variables (OMO, CRR, CBR and Inflation). F- Statistic 31.07233 was significant at 1% level P=0.0000. Implications – The study recommends that the Central Bank of Kenya should come up with monitoring and evaluation programmes of monitoring how credit supply is influenced by various monetary policy instruments and should streamline the economic environment in which banks operate by ensuring CRR, OMO and Inflation are maintained at a constant. Value –The study narrowed in scope to commercial banks and excluded the non-banking organizations. Additionally a study should be done on the impact of monetary policy on money supply to capture both banking and non-banking institutions. The research had a presumption that the relationship of the variables was linear therefore more studies should be carried out explore nonlinear relationship on the variables of study, Key Words: Credit Supply, Monetary polic
Financial Innovations development and its Impact on Financial Performance of Listed Banks in Kenya
Full text linkPurpose - This paper sought to investigate the relationship between the financialinnovativeness and performance of the banks, given the existence of very little empiricalwork in this area. Methodology - The study was modelled as a correlational survey. The primary datacollection instrument used was a questionnaire that was administered to top managementof the respective banks. The data collected was subjected to correlation and regressionanalysis. Findings - The study suggests a positive relationship between financial innovation andfinancial performance of listed banks in Kenya. Improvement in financial performance isattributed to the benefits of increased financial transactions accruing from continuousfinancial innovations (introduction of new products, financial linkages and developmentof systems to implement the innovation activities) by the banks. Worth noting is thepositive impact of intense innovation activities on financial performance. Implications - The extent of innovation (innovation effort) of banks has an impact ontheir financial performance as measured by ROE and ROA. Similarly, attributes such assystems to implement innovation activities as well as credit and deposit products have aninfluence on financial innovation and performance. Value - All banks (both listed and private) should embrace financial innovation in orderto boost their financial performance. For the banks that have already embraced financialinnovation, there is a need to re-evaluate the extent of innovativeness with the aim ofincreasing the level of innovation activities which have a significant intermediation effecton financial innovation and performance. Key words: Financial innovations, financial system deregulatio
The Relationship between Stock Market Performance and Economic Growth In the East African Community
Full text linkPurpose – This paper investigated the relationship between the stock market performance and the economic growth in the East African Community. The stock market variables considered in the study were stock market capitalization, market liquidity and share price volatility. The GDP growth was a used a measure for economic growth. Methodology – The quantitative research methods were employed to define the nature of relationship between the variables. The population of the study was the All-Share index in the 4 stock markets in the member countries. To fulfill the purposes under the research, the stock market performance of the EAC member countries was collected from the Capital markets, EASRA and the respective Stock Exchanges. Data for GDP growth was collected from the World Bank website. The study employed the Vector Autoregressive (VAR) model as well as the Granger test for causality to estimate as well as provide evidence regarding the nature and direction of relationship of the variables. Findings - The study established an existence of long term relationship between the stock market performance variables (market capitalization and liquidity) and economic growth in the East African community. The study established that there was no relationship between the share price volatility of the stock market and economic growth. Implications - These results depict that an increase in stock market capitalization and liquidity in the East African Community contributes to the economic growth in the long term. Policies, measures and efforts geared towards improving the efficiency of the stock markets through lowering transactional costs and improving equity turnover should be put in place by the East Africa Community to enhance economic development and growth of the region. Value – The study established the need for the East Africa Community to focus on developing strong and effective stock markets as well as policies to foster investments and economic growth in the region. Through the establishment of the East African Securities Regulatory Authority (EASRA), policies that encourage financial integration and deepening as well as listings and cross listings ought to be established to spur economic growth