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Application Of Project Design Tools ,managers’ Competencies And Performance Of Community Based Projects In Bungoma County,kenya
No full textProject design is an early phase of a project where its key features, structure, criteria for success, and major deliverables are all planned out. The objective of the study was to investigate the influence of selected project design tools on performance of community based projects. The project design tools under consideration were the application of logical framework, application of stakeholder analysis, application of problem tree analysis, application of gantt chart and the moderating effect of managers competencies. The theoretical orientation used in this study entailed: systems theory, stakeholder theory and resource-based view of the firm theory. The study employed the descriptive research design targeting 15 community based projects with 192 project employees excluding project managers. The sample size was 128 respondents obtained through stratified random sampling procedure from different community based organizations. An interview was carried out on 15 project managers who were purposefully sampled. Primary data was obtained through administration of a questionnaire and an interview guide. Qualitative data was analysed through checking data, developing codes, identifying themes and patterns and then summarizing the data and linking them to the hypothesis and objectives. Descriptive results were presented as frequency Tables, percentages, arithmetic means and standard deviation while inferential statistics were obtained using Pearson’s Product Moment correlation (r) and from both simple regression and multiple regression analysis. F-test was used to test the hypotheses. Tests of statistical assumptions were carried out before analysis. For objective one, the coefficient of determination R2=0.015, F (0.494) with p=0.688>0.05; therefore, the null hypothesis H0 failed to be rejected and it was concluded that logical framework has no statistically significant influence on the performance of community based projects. For objective two, R2=0.332, F (4.095) at p=0.004<0.05; therefore, H0 was rejected and it was concluded that application of stakeholder analysis has a statistically significant influence on the performance of community based projects. For objective three, R2=0.214; F (8.971) at p=0.000<0.05; therefore, H0 was rejected and it was concluded that the application of project tree analysis has statistically significant influence on the performance of community based projects. For objective four, R2= 0.112, F (4.177) at p=0.03<0.05; therefore, H0 was rejected and it was concluded that application of Gantt chart has a statistically significant influence on the performance of community based projects. For objective five, R2= 0.208, F (7.822)2 at p<0.001<0.05; therefore, H0 was rejected and concluded that combined project design tools has a statistically significant influence on the performance of community based projects. For objective six; R2 = 0.358 ΔR2= 0.150, F(8.832) at p=0.000<0.05; therefore, H0 was rejected and it was concluded that the strength of the relationship between project design tools and performance of community based projects depends on a manager`s competencies. In conclusion, the study findings provide evidence that for increased performance of community based projects in Bungoma County, aspects of project design tools should be comprehensively addressed. It is therefore recommended that organizations operating community based projects need to work on inclusion systems so as to enhance their relationship with the community and performance
Influence Of Globalization On Employee Resourcing Strategies Of International Technological Firms In Nairobi
No full textEmployee resourcing is an important human resource component that contributes to any organization’s well-being and when well-maintained it gives a firm competitive edge in the market. The rapid growth of international technological firms, the increase of environmental changes and degree of competition, has forced multinational tech organizations across Kenya to increase their aggression in the acquisition of the most competent employees. The movement by Kenyan international tech-firms to strategic management has inspired increasing interest on the relationship between globalization and employee resourcing approaches. The main aim of this research study was to determine the extent of globalization as an influence on employee resourcing strategies among international technological organizations in Nairobi. The study went further into breaking down some of the most significant aspects of employee resourcing, which are; reward management; recruitment and selection and retention strategies which technological firms have embraced as globalization changes how organizations conduct their business operations. The collected data was refined and organized for statistical evaluation and this entailed data coding and quality check to ensure that the researcher got accurate and consistent data. For quantitative data, it was reported with both descriptive (frequency distribution, mean, standard deviation, median and interquartile range) and inferential analysis. This study’s conclusion was that it was limited to the influence of globalization on international technological firms with the main focus being employee resourcing strategies within these organizations. Globalization and reward management; globalization and recruitment and selection; globalization and retention strategies and globalization and performance management were the key areas examined in this study. However, these variables were not exhaustive in explaining employee resourcing strategies. Future studies should consider how the attraction of talent impacts on employee resourcing strategies among international technological companies. This study recommends that the human resource department should place emphasis on the recruitment and selection process and work continuously to improve the processes and structures around it as an important employee resourcing strateg
Factors Influencing the Integration of Information Communication Technology in Teaching and Learning in Secondary Schools: a Case of Matungulu Sub County, Machakos County
No full textIn the present world, the use of information technology is inevitable in all sectors of development. All levels of teaching institutions have no option but to fit in the wave of using IT in their daily activities. The purpose of this study was to establish the factors that influence the integration of ICT in secondary schools in Matungulu Sub County, Machakos County. The study sought to determine the influence of infrastructure availability and accessibility; teachers’ ICT competence; teacher’s attitude; and teaching experience on integration of ICT in education in secondary schools. The research design for the study was descriptive survey design. The target population was 4912 respondents comprising of 11 principals, 168 teachers, 22 support staff and 4711 students. The sample size was 343. The sample comprised of 2 support staff, 328 students, 1 principal and 12 teachers in selected schools in Matungulu Sub County, Machakos County. Data was collected by use of questionnaires and interview guides. Statistical Package for Social Sciences was used to analyse the quantitative data which is presented in tables while qualitative data from interview guide is analysed by use of content analysis. The major findings are the existence of a large number of staff who have no prior training in ICT and could not help in the integration of ICTs, inadequate ICT infrastructure, principal leadership and ICT literacy that play significant role in ICT integration in teaching and learning. The ratio of learners to computers is 1:11 meaning that computers are inadequate. Both principals and teachers agreed that there were computer laboratories in schools but computers were inadequate for use in teaching and learning. In regards to teacher’s ICT competence and ICT integration, the study found that majority (58.3%) of respondents were able to use word processing and spread sheets in preparation of lesson, (33.3%) disagreed, (8.3%) strongly disagreed and (0.0%) strongly agreed to the statement. In respect to teacher’s attitude and ICT integration, (25.0%) of respondents agreed, (66.7%) disagreed, (8.3%) strongly disagreed and (0.0%) strongly agreed that ICT tools are difficult to use. This implied that there was no statistical significant relationship between the categorical variables since the Cramer’s V is 0.098 approximately 0.1 (Small effect), hence teachers’ attitude on ICT integration has a small effect size in this study. The study also established that, (58.3%) of the teachers had experience of less than 10 years in teaching, (33.3%) of teachers had experience in teaching between 15-24 years, while those with experience of 10-14 years were (8.3%) and there were no teachers with an experience of more than 24 years. The researcher recommends that the government through the Ministry of Education should ensure adequate ICT infrastructure in all public secondary schools. Teacher training should also involve compulsory ICT training to enable teachers to possess required ICT skills necessary for integration in teaching and learning
Institutional Factors Influencing Institutionalized Street Children’S Participation In Primary School Education In Southern Zone Kisumu East Sub-County, Kenya
No full textThe study aimed at establishing institutional factors influencing institutionalized street children’s participation in primary school education in Southern Zone, Kisumu East Sub-county, Kenya. Its four objectives were; to assess how feeding programmes, guidance and counseling, physical resources and teacher-pupil ratio affect participation rates of institutionalized street children in Southern zone, Kisumu East Sub-County, Kenya. The study adopted descriptive survey design whereby structured questionnaires were given to a random sampled population of 12 centre managers, 81 instructors and 2159 children out of a target population of 15 centre managers, 108 instructors and 2698 children. The questionnaire return rate was 80 percent indicating that the study would not reflect a major deviation from the true picture on the ground. Apart from questionnaires the study utilized two other sets of data collection instruments namely interview schedules and observation schedules. The questionnaires contained both open-ended and closed-ended questions. Instrument validity was determined through expert judgement from university supervisors while the reliability was determined using internal consistency. The three sets of questionnaires were considered reliable since they had a high coefficient value of 0.8. The study findings indicate that feeding programmes positively (80 percent) influenced children’s participation in rehabilitation centres since it contributed to a great extent enrolment retention and class attendance. Guidance and counseling also contributed positively (90 percent) to increased participation and from the interviews, it had direct bearing on retention and completion rates. Apart from guidance and counseling, other social and psychological support programmes existed in the sampled rehabilitation activities and cultural – based activities. These were particularly found to be helping the children shed trauma acquired from the streets hence increasing class size and class attendance. The availability of physical facilities was not found to be uniform across the sampled centres but the centres that had complete or nearly complete dining halls, kitchens, classrooms and latrines had higher enrolments hence confirming that physical facilities positively influence enrolment and retention. However, the use of teaching and learning resources was found to be poor across. Teacher – pupil ratio was found to be negatively influencing participation rates of the children since the centres that had few instructors had few children as well. The study therefore concluded that the four independent variables; feeding programme, guidance and counseling, physical resources and teacher-pupil ratio have a positive influence on children’s participation rates. The study recommended that the government should ensure that rehabilitation centres offering primary education operate within the guidance of Ministry of education. The study further recommended a similar study in the neighbouring sub-counties so that the findings are compared and improvements made
Analysis Of Errors That Influence The Performance Of English Language In Nakuru West Sub-county: A Case Study Of Form One And Two Students At Ronaka House Secondary School
No full textEnglish language occupies a pivotal position in Kenya’s education system especially
because it is the medium of instruction for all the subjects except Kiswahili and foreign
languages. English is also the language of commerce, legal procedures and official
communications in Kenya. Thus the purpose of this study was to analyse grammatical
errors made by secondary school learners in English language. The objectives of the
study were to identify the common grammatical errors made by students at Ronaka
House School, to diagnose the frequency of the grammatical errors made and to establish
the major causes of grammatical errors among form one and form two in written English
language. The study was informed by Error Analysis theory as the basis for data analysis.
30 learners at Ronaka House School participated by writing Essays which were analysed.
Two English teachers rated and classified the errors made while four other English
trainers participated in a survey interview. The findings of the study established that most
salient grammatical errors found in learners written language were subjective agreement
errors, article errors, tense errors, prepositional errors and Plurality errors. The finding of
the study revealed that learners at Ronaka House School make different grammatical
errors in English language and most of the errors are as a result of intralingual transfer.
The study further revealed that poor teaching methodology and exams based curriculum
are major causes of increased grammatical errors among learners in Ronaka House
Secondary School. The findings of this study will inform English teachers on the best
approach in helping learners to improve on written English language. The study has also
fill the gap by providing possible solution to address this problem and hence has
contribute globally to the field of English training as a second languag
Family connectedness and its association with sexual risk-taking among undergraduate students at the University of Nairobi
No full textBackground: Universities have a student population in the age range of 17 to 25 years, 75 % of whom are sexually active, with the median age of sexual debut at age 18 years. About half of all students are involved in risky sexual behaviour. Many interventions have decreased sexual risk behaviour in the short-term, but there is need for multilevel prevention, including targeting improvements in family relationships for sustained change. Perceived positive family connectedness has been found to be related to reduced sexual risk-taking among adolescents and young adults.Methods: This cross-sectional study evaluated the family connectedness and sexual behaviour of students aged 18 to 24 years at the University of Nairobi. There were 904 participants, both male and female, who were registered students of the University of Nairobi. After institutional and individual consent were granted, participants completed a self-administered questionnaire within their classes. The family subscale of the Hemingway Measure of Adolescent Connectedness was used to evaluate connectedness, and a sexual behaviour questionnaire was used to evaluate sexual risk-taking behaviour.Results: Six hundred forty (70.8%) of the respondents were sexually active – 372 males and 268 females. High-risk sex was reported by 203 male respondents (54.6%) and 117 females (43.7%). Reportedly abstinent participants had higher family connectedness scores than those who were sexually active (P<.001), and participants who reported less sexual risk-taking had higher mean family connectedness scores than those with higher sexual risk-taking (P<.001).Conclusion: Family connectedness had a significant influence on sexual risk-taking, and investment in family relationships could reduce risky sexual behaviour and potentially other risky behaviours among young adult university students
Innovation In Small Architectural And Civil Construction Firms In Kenya
No full textInnovations are acknowledged because of playing vital roles in value creation and also
maintenance of the construction firms' competitive gains. However, the innovation traits
vary from one industry to the other, and this creates external or internal challenges for
construction firms. Besides, new inventions are very risky, costly plus possibilities of
being successful deem to be very small, which dampened the ability of small construction
and architectural firms to adopt new technologies. Compared to large firms, small firms
in the construction sectors are characterized by low productivity with a lack of new
technologies being the fundamental cause of low outputs. This study, therefore, examined
the degree to which innovation practices were adopted by small architectural and civil
construction companies and the factors influencing the adoption of innovation in small
architectural and civil construction companies in Kenya. The research was anchored on
the technology adoption life cycle theory, diffusion of innovation model, and the
resource-based view. The research employed a cross-sectional descriptive study design,
and the population was made of 650 licensed civil construction firms and 80 architectural
firms in Nairobi County from which a sample of 73 companies was carefully chosen
through simple random sampling. The study entirely used primary data, which was
gathered using a semi-structured questionnaire. The collected data was sorted and keyed
into the SPSS then summarized using descriptive statistics and factor analysis to establish
the interconnection and decrease the various factors into small variables. The findings
revealed that the major innovation practice used by small construction and architectural
firms in Kenya included continuous research and development, internet adoption,
entering new markets, adoption of modern equipment and timely completion and delivery
of projects, engineering innovations, retraining of human resource and devolving to
counties respectively. The study also found that the major challenges included financial
resources, research and development funds, competition, and pressure from other
industries, equipment availability, available skill level, and project risks and insurance.
The other challenges included industry standards, leadership support, user desires, and
industry networks. The study recommended that management of small architectural and
civil construction firms should ensure that the adopted innovation practices are frequently
reviewed to ensure that they conform to the firms' goals and objectives and that they are
cost-effective in the long run
Role of Networks and Vendors’ Choice of Trading Location: a Study of Trade on Nairobi-Thika Superhighway
No full textStudies have observed that vending has been on the increase in developing countries particularly in urban areas and suburbs. The main contributing factors are rural-urban migration, lack of formal employment leading to self-employment as survival alternative, inability of companies to employ people on permanent basis due to economic challenges. For a greater percentage of urban residents who are not able to get absorbed in formal employment, small scale businesses are the main sources of their livelihood. Vendors have developed networks among themselves to help them do businesses in their trading location and increase daily income. This study aimed at understanding the role of networks in the vendors’ choice of business location along Nairobi-Thika highway. The study examined how networks helps vendors to identify locations conducive for their businesses. Data were collected through survey of sixty highway vendors and five key informant interviews. The findings showed that the number of vendors doing business along Nairobi to Thika superhighway is continuously increasing after the commissioning of the road and the trend is linked to increasing traffic congestion along the highway. This is linked to the fact that infrastructure development attracts population growth along the corridors and this in turn creates new and unplanned economic activities including market sand trading sites. The study revealed that vendors experienced harassment from county government and Kenya National Highway officials. Further, social networks among vendors played a key role in determining trading locations and their survival along the highway. Being a member of a social network helps in getting market information, source of goods and raw materials, where to sell particular type of goods and getting a space for business, and identifying existing market gaps in specific trading location. The study concludes that vendor-to-vendor networks have enabled vendors’ to overcome the challenge they faced while trading along the highway, created opportunities for earning livelihood for the vendors and thereby contributed to poverty alleviation among the vendors
External actors in State Reconstruction: a case study of Somalia (1991-2015)
No full textThis study examines state reconstruction in the context of external actors both state and nonstate
and Somali provides the case of study. The study makes use of Structural realism to
examine behavior of actors in the reconstruction process as well as acknowledging the
structure of world politics in explaining the dynamics of a state’s reconstruction process.
The study uses data from both primary and secondary sources with primary data mainly
generated from interviews with experts representing state officials and officials in Non-
Governmental Organizations as well as International organizations involved in Somalia
reconstruction process. The study establishes that there are both convergent and divergent
interests pursued by various external actors involved in the Somalia reconstruction. National
security and political interests are isolated as cross-cutting interests that motivate the direct
involvement of the state actors involved in Somalia such as Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, USA,
Eritrea, and by and large at the continental level, presently pursued by AMISOM while the
UN represents the wider global interest. However, besides the cross-cutting interests, state
actors have also fostered state-specific interests that have not always converged with the
interests of those other states involved in the reconstruction process. For instance, the US
interest on the war on terror in Somalia has not necessarily been the interest of the other
states involved in Somalia. The study further finds that the dynamics of the interests has
therefore been pivotal in guiding the process as the state actors jostle to influence the
reconstruction process in line with their interests. The place of internal domestic actors in
the reconstruction process comes in handy in this study in the determination of the direction
of the process. The study recommends for aggregation of the efforts by different actors
involved in the reconstruction process in order to have a common goal and approach rather
than each pursuing own interests at the expense of a successful reconstruction process. The
study also recommends a Somali-owned reconstruction process with full involvement of the
Somalis themselves as opposed to an externally led process if meaningful reconstruction is
to be realized
Determinants Of Loan Repayment Default Among Small And Medium Enterprises In Kisumu Central Sub County, Kenya
No full textLoan repayment default has been a challenge among SME`s in Kenya. This study checked determinants of loan repayment default among SME`s at Kisumu Central Sub-County, Kenya. The study adopted descriptive cross sectional survey design. Stratified random sampling and Yamane model were used to settle on sample size of 86 SME`s. Questionnaires were administered to owners/managers of SME`s that resulted in 65 successful responses. The Descriptive Statistics; mean, standard deviation, frequency cum percentages adopted to analyze the data. Factor analysis ascertained latent variables in the study. The study established that determinants of loan repayment default are grouped into Ownership, Borrower, Loan and Lender characteristics. The study revealed that ownership characteristics had an average mean of 3.5456, borrower characteristics had average mean of 3.7823, loan characteristics had an average mean of 3.7594, with lender characteristics having an average mean of 3.7594. Factor analysis shown KMO value of 0.473, thus not good as it was below standard threshold of 0.83 and Bartlett`s test significance at 0.000, implying all factors were taken into account. The study recommended stakeholders should establish policies that mitigate on the challenges of the Loan repayment default modeled around ownership, borrower, loan and lender characteristic