Responses of Sameer Africa limited to changes in the external environment

Abstract

The external environment has undergone various changes that have tremendously affected the operations of many businesses. Sameer Africa Limited is one such company that has gone through various changes due to the turbulent nature of the external environment. Many of these changes came in after the opening of the Kenyan market to other international players. The study sought to determine how SAL had responded to these environmental challenges. The study was carried out through a case study of Sameer Africa Limited. Personal interviews using an interview guide were conducted on the CEO and the head of the Sales and Export department who were the representatives of SAL. Content analysis technique was used to analyze the data. The study revealed that there are several environmental changes that have affected the operations of the business. These include globalization, liberalization, competition mainly from the Far East countries, changing technologies and government regulations. The biggest challenge has been the increasing competition and the changing technology. The company has employed a number of strategies to counter the effects of these environmental changes and they have been successful. A few recommendations have been suggested to enable the firm maintain and sustain a competitive advantage