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Influence of Project Monitoring & Evaluation on Completion Time of Mwache Dam and Mukurumudzi Dam on Kwale County
No full textDam projects require extremely high technical requirements, human management capabilities and large budgets before starting their construction. Thus, time delivery to undertake project dam from problem identification, design, planning and actual construction is very important. Dam projects in Kenya are often not completed in the time scheduled at. This paper determined the influence of monitoring & evaluation on completion time of Mwache Dam and Mukurumudzi Dam in Kwale County. Descriptive research design was utilized in this study. The target population of the study was 212 comprising of 13 project managers, 45 project super indents, 22 site engineers, 17 financial consultants and 26 community representatives from Mwache Dam and 7 project managers, 39 project super indents, 16 site engineers, 9 financial consultants and 18 community representatives from Mukurumudzi Dam. Data was collected by administering structured questionnaires to dam project personnel. Quantitative data were analyzed with the help of the SPSS software Version 25.0 and both descriptive and inferential statistics were generated. Regression of coefficients showed that is a positive and significant relationship between project monitoring & evaluation and dam project completion for both Mwache Dam (β1=.892, p=0.000) and Mukurumudzi Dam (β2=.850, p=0.000). The study concludes that project monitoring & evaluation influences dam project completion time. The study recommends for the adherence of proper project monitoring and evaluation techniques to ensure timely completion of dam projects. Monitoring and evaluation of the dam need to periodic as it will help identify defects in the construction at the earliest time possible and corrective action taken.
Keywords: Monitoring & evaluation, completion time, Mwache dam, Mukurumudzi Dam, Kwale Count
Influence of Social Media Marketing on Student Enrolment among Private Universities in Kenya
No full textUniversity education has become a universal service and all countries devote efforts to ensure their citizens are adequately provided for because of the importance of education in the development of a country both socially and economically. The increase in population has continued to create more demand for University education. There is therefore a need to create more educational opportunities through the establishment of more tertiary institutions. The increase in the number of institutions of higher learning means that competition for student enrollment continues to grow because of the profit focus which is an inherent characteristic exhibited by most private universities. Consequently, private universities have adopted effective strategies in providing information about their educational programmes to potential students to increase enrollment intake. This is to avoid challenges brought about by the dwindling number of students on campuses. This study, therefore, examined the role of social media marketing and its influence on student enrollment in private universities in Kenya. The study used a descriptive design to ensure that the necessary data was gathered within the study period. The target population was 210 respondents with a sample size of 139 respondents. Self-administered questionnaires were used to collect primary data while a desk review was done to collect secondary data. To ensure the highest level of ethical standards was met, the universities were informed in advance that the study is for academic purposes and that any responses given were not to be used for any other purposes. Further, respondents were assured of utmost confidentiality and non-disclosure of their identities. The researcher also sought necessary approvals from the Ethical Review Committee and also the National Commission for Science, Technology and Innovation. Qualitative data were analyzed through content analysis while quantitative data was analysed with the aid of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) tool. Descriptive statistics included the mean while inferential statistics used a regression model. The results of the study were presented using frequencies and percentages to make it easy for interpretation and deductions to be made. This study will benefit stakeholders and shareholders, university management, the Government, other Universities and researchers interested in analyzing the role of social media marketing on student enrollment in private Universities. The study found out that private universities used social media marketing platforms to influence student enrolment. The respondents indicated that social media marketing enabled improved service delivery and thus enhanced effectiveness with some indicating that social media marketing was their preferred mode of communication. There was a general agreement that social media marketing led to reduced costs. The study concluded that private universities used Facebook and Quora both of which had a positive influence on student enrolment. The universities also used Snapchat and Youtube both of which influenced student enrolment. Further, the universities used Pinterest and Reddit to enhance student enrollment. The study noted a positive effect on the use of these platforms and therefore recommends that universities invest more resources due to its growing popularity among the younger population. Further, the literature reviewed during the study showed a growing awareness and perceived importance of social media marketing. However, despite the growing use of social media for student recruitment purposes, private universities could still employ other traditional methods of marketing such as fairs and direct mailings. The study recommends further research on policies regarding the use of private information for marketing purposes, the use of other systematic marketing strategies with larger target populations, and the investment of more resources into social media marketing to leverage the full potential of these tools offer.
Keywords: Social Media, Marketing, Students, Enrollment, Private Universities, Kenya, Social Networks
 
An Examination of how Pricing Strategy Affects Performance of Oil Marketing Companies in Kenya
No full textPricing continues to remain popular as a critical aspect that determines the performance of firms across the globe. However, the extent of influence on performance is contingent upon the level of price sensitivity of a product under consideration. The oil marketing companies in Kenya are facing challenges such as reduced profit margins, inadequate infrastructure, increased competition with the entrance of small independent dealers, price caps and lowering quality standards and these as a result forces the big oil marketers out of the continent for they shift the attention to productive activities and lucrative exploration. Performance in the aforementioned aspects can be investigated from the viewpoint of competitive strategies such as positioning strategies, differentiation strategies, focus strategies and pricing strategies. This study sought to investigate the effect of pricing strategy on the performance of oil marketing companies in Kenya. A descriptive research design was used in this study. The five main oil marketers in Kenya were the target population. The companies were selected since they have the highest market share. The study used qualitative and quantitative techniques in analysing the data. Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) software was used to generate descriptive and inferential statistics which were interpreted using mean, standard deviation, percentages, frequencies and coefficients. The study revealed that there is a statistically significant relationship between pricing strategy and the performance of oil marketing companies in Kenya (p=0.02; p<0.05). It was recommended that oil companies should frequently analyse their cost structures to ensure that they work towards reducing their operational costs by putting in place effective cost structures.
Keywords: Pricing, Strategy, Marketing, oil, Performance, Kenya
 
Effect of Interest Payments on External Debt on Economic Growth in Kenya
No full textIn Kenya, Interest on payment on external debt (% of exports of goods, services and primary income) has been on the increase since 2010 to 2015 while GDP growth experienced a slight decline from the year 2010 to 2015. There is concern among policymakers that the rapid increase in external debt in developing countries such as Kenya has the potential of eroding the country‘s sovereign rating, particularly if it is not supported by proportionate growth in the size of the economy. The purpose of this study was to investigate on the effect of interest payments on external debt on economic growth in Kenya. The study utilized secondary data for 25 years, that is, period 1991-2015 for GDP growth (annual %) and Interest payments on external debt (% of exports of goods, services and primary income). Data analysis was done using Eviews version 9 Software. A critical p value of 0.05 was used to determine whether the model was significant or not. The results on the analysis of the variance (ANOVA)-F statistics indicate that the model was statistically significant. This implies that interest payment on external debt is a good predictors of GDP growth. This was supported by an F statistic of 14.808 and the reported p value (0.0008) which was less than the conventional probability of 0.05 significance level. Regression of coefficient results shows GDP growth (annual %) and LOG Interest payment on external debt (% of exports of goods, services and primary income) are negatively and significantly related. Based on the findings above, the study concluded that when the country decide to service Interest payment as a result of external debt, might disturb the economic growth of the country. Based on the findings and conclusion above, the study recommends for government that future plans should ensure to take external borrowings which its rate is not higher than the interest rate payment. Also for policy implication, the government should not let interests on payment to accrue so much that it can compromise the growth of the economy.
Keywords: Interest on payment, external debt, GDP growth, Keny
Catastrophic Health Expenditure, Insurance Coverage and Household Poverty in Vietnam: A Literature Based Review
No full textIn Vietnam, troubles of high out-of-pocket expenses on health, bring about disastrous health and wellness expense as well as resulting impoverishment for prone groups, has actually been at focus in the past years. Since OOP payment can result in impoverishment, it has no risk merging advantages and as a result brings about injustice in health care usage. Home direct out-of-pocket (OOP) health expense as a share of the total health and wellness expenditure has actually been always high, varying from 50% to 70%. The high share of OOP expense has actually been linked to different injustice problems such as disastrous health and wellness expenditure (homes need to decrease their expense on other needs) and impoverishment. The purpose of this study was to undertake an empirical review on catastrophic health expenditure, insurance coverage and household poverty in Vietnam. Literature based review was adopted in this paper. The results showed that there are several problem of economic protection in Vietnam. Lots of households, specifically those coming from deprived teams, encountered catastrophic health expenditure and/or were pushed right into poverty due to health care repayments. It was likewise concluded that economic security influence of the nationwide health insurance schemes was still moderate. Offered the findings, to achieve global insurance coverage via efficient health funding, the federal government of Vietnam should commit to both keeping the state budget for health and wellness and also to increase the protection of health insurance with promoting the execution of the Regulation on Medical Insurance. Significantly, there is a strong demand to reinforce financial defense offered through the medical insurance. Additionally, company payment approaches ought to be reformed as well as administration capability of health insurance mechanism need to be strengthened. There should be continuous health and wellness policy reform must think about making use of WHO-recommended actions like the justness in economic payment index, along with considering the behavior elements of health care investing. Hardship relief plans ought to help in reducing the dependence on OOP to fund health care. Moving toward global health and wellness protection could likewise be a promising option to protect homes from the tragic economic impacts of health care settlements.
Key words: Catastrophic Health Expenditure, Insurance Coverage, Household Poverty, Vietna
Oil Price Pass-Through on Food and Non-Food Inflation in Ethiopia
No full textThis study sought to investigate the inflationary impact of international oil price on inflation in Ethiopia. It mainly focused on the impact of fluctuations in international oil prices on food and non-food inflation, to estimate the degree of international oil price pass through into inflation and lastly to draw policy implications for controlling domestic inflation. The study was based on the Cost Push Inflation theory. The study tested for cointegration and employed VECM for food CPI and OLS for non-food CPI. The study found a negative and significant relations for changes in food CPI and changes in lag (2) and (3). Further, the study established a positive and significant relationship between change in food CPI and change in oil prices lag (1) and (2). In addition, oil prices positively and significantly affect non-food CPI from the study findings. The study observed the existence of partial pass- through effect of oil prices on food and non-food CPI. Based on the findings, fluctuations in international oil prices have a direct and significant impact on food and non-food CPI in Ethiopia in the short run. This implies that there is need for the Ethiopian government to formulate policies aimed at controlling inflation for both food and non-food CPI since it has a direct impact on people. Majority of the existing studies have focused on only food but leaving out non-food CPI. This study filled the gap by identifying the magnitude of the oil prices pass-through to domestic price for both food and non-food CPI.
Keywords: Oil Price, Food and Non-Food Inflation & Ethiopia
Tax Incentives and Growth of Small and Medium Sized Enterprises in Nairobi County
No full textIn a low income country such as Kenya, the role of SMEs is crucial in pushing the country’s social economic development agenda. SMEs are highly perceived to be the accelerators of growth and innovation in the economy. However, SMEs face challenges with regard to financing, disproportionate regulatory burdens and competition failures compared to large entities. An attractive business environment is therefore important to minimize the impact of these obstacles and provide a level playing ground for firms of all sizes. Reduction of the tax burden for SMEs through issuing incentives frees up funds to be used in innovation and efforts to access global markets which ultimately steer business growth. The study’s objective was to determine the effect of tax incentives on growth of SMEs in Nairobi City County Kenya. This study was guided by the normative theory and the political systems theory. The research employed the descriptive research design. The collected data was edited and coded and fed into the SPSS computer package to generate both inferential and descriptive statistics. The inferential statistics was undertaken by performing two regressions on each of the independent variable against growth. The study found p values of 0.000 at 95% level of confidence on the association between each of the independent variables (tax exemptions and investment allowances) on growth of SMEs in Nairobi, County. This shows that the model adopted for this study was significant and that tax incentives affect the growth of SMEs. From the data analysis, it was concluded there are various tax incentives that have been formulated to accelerate the growth of SMEs in Kenya although their practical implementation has not been fully realized. The study recommends that the development of policies by Kenyan government geared to accelerate the growth of SMEs should have the target beneficiaries input before implementation to prevent the formulation of impractical and undesirable policies. The government should also provide frequent trainings to SMES on the available incentives which they could leverage on to boost their growth
Key words: Firm growth, investment allowances, tax exemption
English National Examination Skills Tested and English Proficiency in Public Secondary Schools in Muhanga District, Rwanda
No full textLanguage transition policy where Rwanda education shifted from French to English was aimed at earning Rwanda a place in global business, diplomacy, media and entertainment thus bringing Rwanda substantial funds and developing the middle class as a goal of Vision 2020. The implementation of language transition policy should enable learners to proficiently use English in communication. The study aimed at establishing the relationship between English national examinations tested skills and English proficiency in Rwandan Public secondary schools. The correlational research design was employed. Solvin’s formula was used to select the sample of size of 393 respondents including students and English teachers from the population of 19, 837. Structured questionnaires and interview guide were used to collect the data. Collected data was coded, interpreted and analyzed with the help of SPSS version 21. The qualitative data was analyzed using thematic approach and Karl Person Correlational Coefficient were employed to analyze the association. Graphs, tables and textual models were used to present the collected data. The study findings revealed that 88.9% of the respondents agreed that writing skills, reading skills and language grammar were always tested while 85.8% of the respondents agreed that speaking skills and listening skills were never tested in English national examinations. The findings also showed that 33.8% of the learners were rarely exposed to listening activities to improve oral communication In addition, the study found that 47.8% answered that oral communication was rarely given more time in teaching. Likewise, 64.5% answered that learners were always exposed to more writing activities to improve written communication.54.2% answered that written communication was usually given more time in teaching. Moreover, 52.8% reported that learners were always exposed to more exercises related to grammar to improve language structure knowledge as it had more marks in national examination. Finally, 57.5% revealed that language structure was always given more time in learning. The computed Karle Pearson product moment correlation coefficient showed that there was a negative correlation of -467 and –012between testing writing and reading skills respectively and focusing on oral communication respectively. There was also a positive correlation of .158 and .264between not testing speaking and listening skills respectively and focusing on written communication respectively. Lastly, .151 was found to exist between testing grammar and focusing on language structure. The study concluded that writing skills, reading skills and language grammar were always tested while listening and speaking skills were not tested at all in English national examination. The study recommended that English teachers focus on all language skills during their teaching and to reinforce language clubs and language competition in their respective schools to help learners acquire English language proficiency in all skills. Secondary students are recommended to focus on all language skills because they need proficiency in all English language skills during communication.
Key words: Language proficiency, tested skills, national examinatio
Teachers Instructional Supervision and Students Academic Performance in Rwanda: A Case of Core Sciences Subjects in Lower Secondary Schools in Kayonza District
No full textThe effective instructional supervision performed by teachers in school setting, play a significant role based on improvement of students academic performance.. Therefore, the objective of this paper was established the relationship between teachers instructional supervision and students academic performance in core science subjects in lower secondary schools. A correlational research design was applied. The target population was 1023 from whom a sample of 288 was chosen using simple random and purposive sampling techniques. Data collection tools used were interview, questionnaire. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22.0 was adopted for analyzing information. The findings revealed that 69.4% argue that always teachers are required to show evidences of the direct relationship between their teaching and their student progress; 53.1% reiterate that always teachers are requested to demonstrated the proper feedback they gave to students by showing how student have done, what they need to improve their learning and success; and 52.2% were asked to show their plan of actions. The findings also showed that81.1% agreed that they participate in chemistry lesson, 70.0% agreed that they understand chemistry subject and 60.4% attend chemistry lesson. A Pearson correlation coefficient presented the relationship between observation of lessons and students performance r=0.493, visiting classrooms and students performance r = 0.518 and checking records and students performance r = 0.360. This paper recommends that teachers must be equipped with skills that can help the students learn other than cram concepts. MINEDUC must provide funding and networking opportunity for schools and teachers in access modern training and materials for school management.
Key words: Instruction supervision, Learning, School Performance, Students academic performance, Supervision, Teaching
Nehemiah the Governor: An Exemplary Strategic Leader
No full textNehemiah is renowned as one of the greatest strategic leaders of old. Faced with political opposition, enemies threatening to attack and a handful of soldiers to fight against them, Nehemiah had to use various strategies in order to win the battle ahead of him as well as rebuild and secure the great city of Jerusalem. Upon receiving a blessing from the King, Nehemiah set out to rebuild the great walls and gates of the city of Jerusalem (Holy Bible, 2018). Against all odds, holding his sword with one hand and using the other to work, Nehemiah led his troops to accomplish the work and got the wall up and standing in a matter of days. To achieve this great success, Nehemiah engaged various leadership strategies which included prayer, providing vision and foresight, adaptability, perseverance and leveraging on power and influence. This paper reviews the strategies Nehemiah employed so as to lead his team, the children of Israel to successfully rebuild the wall and repair Jerusalem's gates as recorded in the Holy Bible (Nehemiah 1-5). Nehemiah's leadership in light of strategic leadership schools as well as application of his leadership approaches to today's 21st century organization are also highlighted.
Keywords: Strategy, Strategic leadership & Nehemia