Challenges of strategic decision making in natural disaster risk management in the public sector in Kenya

Abstract

Strategy formulation and implementation involves the development of long term plans by an organization for the effective management of both internal factors in the form of strengths and weaknesses and factors of external nature in the form of opportunities and threats to success of the organization, as well as monitoring the behaviour of the macro-environment. Strategic management is practiced in Kenya both in the private sector and, for a number of years now, in the public sector including the civil Service itself. The role of government is, among others, to create an enabling environment for the various players in the socioeconomic development of a country to operate conveniently and profitably. The challenges posed by demands from the private sector, and the increasingly sophisticated public, for efficient service delivery have over time forced the public sector institutions to reorganize their management structures with the aim of delivering services in an efficient manner. As a result, public sector institutions have adopted strategic management practice, albeit in many different forms. This includes the mainstream Civil Service itself. It is therefore necessary to scrutinize their management structures and practice, through research and other methods, with a view to better understanding them and also to help improve their performance. There is scientific evidence that owing to climate change, the problem of natural disasters is set to worsen. It is therefore necessary to put systems in place that will help deal with this problem effectively. This research was undertaken to examine the challenges of strategic decision-making in natural disaster risk management in the public sector. It also investigated how the management of a multi-institutional service like disaster risk management can be carried out to the satisfaction of all the stakeholders. The research was in the form of a survey of the institutions, in the public sector, responsible for Natural Disaster Risk Management at policy formulation and implementation levels. The data was collected through the administration of a structured questionnaire, after which the information gathered was analyzed using content analysis technique. The study found out that although each of the institutions studied included natural disaster management in their strategic plans, the process is not harmonized as different institutions implemented their strategies independently. The net effect was a reduction in the overall efficiency and effectiveness of disaster risk management as a function. The study therefore concludes that there is need to reorganize the natural disaster risk management structure in order to enable the institutions deliver their mandate in a manner that satisfies all their stakeholders. In this respect, the research recommends both policy and operational reorganization by, among others, putting in place a National Disaster Management Policy and the establishment of a single institution that will be responsible for natural disaster risk management. The study had a number of limitations, starting with time constraints that could only allow data collection to be confined to Nairobi area only. It also targeted the public sector, although natural disaster management covers a wide spectrum of players both public and private sectors. The results may not, therefore, be representative of all the challenges facing disaster risk management in general. Finally, the study recommends further research covering the entire disaster management function in general. Keywords: Strategic Management, Natural Disasters, Public Sector Management