Strategic Change Management Practices at Abdul Mullick Associates Limited Consulting Engineers, Kenya

Abstract

The turbulence in the external environment in this fast changing world forces organizations to engage in strategic changes in a bid to align itself with the external environment. Organizations alter their business practices, strategies, structure and culture for competitive advantage through strategy and environmental fit. This research project sought to determine the strategic change management practices at Abdul Mullick Associates Limited Consulting Engineers as the main objective. The research design was a case study that enabled up - close, in – depth and detailed examination of the study as well as its context. Primary data was mainly gathered through interview of the top and middle–level management. Data was analyzed using content analysis. The study findings were that AMA Ltd underwent several strategic changes such as diversification, technological, people changes respectively, restructuring, change in the board of directors by including more board members and joint ownership of the company. AMA Ltd adopted strategic planning, communication, mentorship, edict, training and education, leadership commitment and involvement to manage the strategic changes. The research concluded that strategic change management practices are critical for firms undergoing strategic changes in Kenya’s infrastructural sector because of intense competition from foreign and local firms and changes in the legal framework. There should be flexibility in the implementation process to make room for the changes due to the environmental turbulence. The study recommends that in order to remain competitive in the industry, the organization should improve its communication strategy to ensure that all the stakeholders have relevant information during the change process. They should also train their employees on how to implement strategies effectively. The government should come up with effective policy of managing funds for infrastructural projects to avoid delayed funding and payments to engineering firms. On suggestions for further research, the researcher proposes a similar study through cross sectional survey design of all the firms in the infrastructure sector in Kenya in order to validly generalize the key findings.