STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT PRACTICES AND PERFORMANCE OF CONSTITUENCIES DEVELOPMENT FUND IN NAIROBI CITY COUNTY, KENYA
Caroline Keror - Master of Business Administration in Strategic Management, Kenyatta University, Kenya
Dr. James Kilika - Department of Business Administration, Kenyatta University, Kenya
ABSTRACT
The government of Kenya is spending considerable resources at the constituency level. In 2009/ 2010 at least Kshs. 73 billion went towards decentralized fund spending. Despite ongoing reforms and the passage of the Constitution of Kenya (2010) which seeks to promote transparency, local development funds have failed to adopt transparent practices in key areas. There is absence of an overall strategic development framework to guide these expenditures which is giving citizens a raw deal in development. This study was guided by the following objectives; to determine the role of strategic planning, strategy formulation, monitoring and evaluation and strategy implementation on management of constituency development in Nairobi City County. The target population for the study was 114 respondents. Stratified random sampling technique was used to select the sample. This generated a sample of 58 respondents which the researcher sought information from. The study used a questionnaire administered to each member of the sample population. The researcher administered the questionnaire individually to all respondents of the study. Quantitative data collected was analyzed by the use of descriptive statistics using SPSS (Version 22) and presented through percentages, means, standard deviations and frequencies. The information was displayed by use of bar charts, graphs and pie charts and in prose-form. The analysed data was presented in graphs, frequencies, charts and tables for interpretation and to enable draw conclusions and recommendations thereof. From the study it is evident that for the organization to survive it has to actively embrace strategic planning for long term survival and achievement of its mandate. There is also need for all stakeholders to be involved in the strategic planning process and there should be adequate sensitization on the strategic plans that are in place through adequate communication. It is also evident from the study there are challenges to the strategic planning process and the organization has to find ways of dealing with the same in order to implement the strategic plan. The researcher recommended that the managers of the fund should encourage a participatory, transparent and accountable public policy framework that considers all the stakeholders so that the strategic plans are implemented effectively. The managers has to liaise with all the stakeholders with a view of coming up with a framework to address the challenges facing it as they try to undertake strategic planning. The study also recommended that for effective strategic plans, there ought to be a clear division between the strategic planning process and the strategic implementation process.
