EFFECTS OF STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT PRACTICES ON ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE OF CONSTRUCTION COMPANIES IN NAIROBI CITY COUNTY, KENYA
Wambugu W. Catherine - Masters Student, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Kenya
Dr. Waiganjo E. W. - Lecturer, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Kenya
ABSTRACT
The adoption of a clear strategic perspective in organizations is one of the factors that affect the performance of these organizations (Henry, 2004). The general objective of the study was to establish the effect of strategic management practices on organizational performance of construction companies in Nairobi City County, Kenya. The dependent variable was organizational performance and the independent variable was strategic customer relationship management (CRM), strategic technical skills, strategic planning and strategic financial management. Cross sectional research design was chosen because it can enable the researcher to generalise the findings to a larger population. Surveys allow the collection of large amount of data from a sizable population in a highly economical way. It allows one to collect quantitative data which can be analyzed quantitatively using descriptive and inferential statistics. Therefore, the cross sectional survey was deemed the best strategy to fulfill the objectives of this study (Creswell 2008). The study established that there are a total of 67 registered construction companies in Nairobi as indicated in the National Construction Authority (NCA, 2015). The researcher sampled 5 managers from each company who include the project manager, operations manager, customer relationship manager, finance officer and technical department manager. This means the total target population was 335 managers from the 67 companies. The study used questionnaires to collect data. The questionnaire had both open and close ended questions. The closed ended questions made use of a five point Likert scale where respondents were required to fill according to their level of agreement with the statements. The questionnaire was framed in accordance with the objectives of the study. Qualitative data was collected from open ended items while quantitative data was collected from closed ended items in the questionnaire. On strategic Customer Relationship Management, majority of the respondents agreed that high quality service helps generate good CRM. The study also found that majority of the respondents agreed that high quality service enables growth of market share. On quality service, majority of the respondents agreed that high quality service improves productivity. On Strategic technical skills, the study found that all the companies offered technical training programmes to their employees. The study concludes that high quality service is vital in order to offer strategic customer relationship in the construction companies. The study also concludes that high quality service enables growth of market share for the construction companies. The study recommends that the construction companies should focus more on customer services and offer high quality products. This should be made possible by investing resources on strategic customer relationship management.
