Leveraging on Corporate Culture as a Strategy in Driving the Competitive Advantage of Safaricom Limited

Abstract

Motivating culture helps develop a working environment that will help ensure that individuals deliver results in accordance with the expectations of management. Organizations, everywhere, function within a specific culture, and it is becoming more widely recognized in contemporary discussions of organizational performance that managers and other organizational practitioners have to develop an understanding of their cultural settings if their organizations are to perform and compete effectively. This paper specifically sought to find the impact that organizational culture has as part of the prompting answers to the question: What is the influence of culture as a strategy in driving the competitive performance of a Mobile Telephony firm – Safaricom Limited. The researcher used primary data which was collected using self-administered drop and pick interview guides while secondary data was collected by use of desk search techniques from published reports and other documents. The respondents of the study were five (5) senior level managers at the company. These respondents were better placed in providing required data because they play a leading role in ensuring that they position the company favorably within the changing environment through instituting appropriate and timely strategic responses. Additionally, personal interviews with the respondents were conducted to allow for further probing. The secondary data was obtained from the company’s documented strategies and any other relevant information about the company. The data was obtained through review of relevant documents, key among them Safaricom’s strategic plan and other relevant documentations. The study established that the importance of the various factors in influencing corporate culture were communication, work environment, and the employees; and each influenced corporate culture in organizations. The respondent agreed that company policies, manager’s style, company’s values and company goals are of great importance in influencing corporate culture in organizations. The respondent also affirmed that office space & design, parent company, and dress code is of less importance in influencing corporate culture in organizations.The study concludes that culture as a strategy has a great influence in driving the competitive advantage of a company. The various elements of culture that affected Safaricom as an organization were attitudes, element of corporate culture and rules, norms, ethical codes and values. The study concludes that culture is aligned to the response strategies adopted by Safaricom Limited. Aligning organizational culture with strategy is a powerful means of gaining and sustaining competitive advantage in industry or sector leadership. Organizations that seek leadership and sustainability make the choice for culture by design, not default.