Implementation of strategic plans in the public sector: A case study of directorate of personnel management of the Government of Kenya

Abstract

The research was carried out to establish the extent to which DPM has implemented its strategic plan and the challenges faced in the process of implementation. This was made possible by the use of questionnaires which were given to the respondents, who completed them and the information was analyzed. The study established that DPM practiced strategic planning and that they used this to clarify and establish their mission and vision. That their mission and vision was greatly communicated to the stakeholders. In addition to this, the researcher established that, the DPM has broken its strategic plan to functional and operational plans, which are used on a daily basis in the various departments and this is noted as very crucial as it is geared towards the achieving of the large strategic plan. Further the study observed the implementation of the strategic plan was average and the reasons observed for such average extent of implementation include, slow acceptability of the strategic plan by some. stakeholders and hence lack of commitment in the implementation exercise and that those who were expected to implement the strategic plan were never involved in the formulation of the same. This is why basically they were not even ready to own it. The implementation process was never without challenges. The major ones included lack of financial resources, political interference, poor communication among the implementers, inadequate training among others. From the finding it is recommended that further research in strategy implementation in the public sector be carried out. This should be a cross-sectional study so that comparison can be made between many public organizations. Another area recommended for further research is on the effectiveness of strategy implementation in the public sector.