Strategic planning by tea manufacturing companies in kenya

Abstract

Organizations generally depend on the environment for their inputs and outputs. The nature of this dependency is crucial for the survival of the organization, particularly in the long-term. In an environment, which is continually changing, it is imperative that organizations interact with the environment in a way, which establishes a fit between itself and the environment through corresponding changes in organizational capability and the strategies adopted. This research is aimed at studying and documenting strategic planning practices by all the 15 tea-manufacturing companies, existing at the time of the study, in Kenya. The data collection instrument used was a structured questionnaire, which was dispatched to all the organizations participating in the study, with the target respondents being the Chief Executive Officers of these companies. From the population of 15 companies, 9 responded to the questionnaire. The data collected was first checked for consistency, coded and then analyzed to arrive at various conclusions. The study concluded that the tea manufacturing companies in Kenya practice strategic planning. Generally, 89% of these companies have been in existence in the country for over 40 years. Substantial foreign interest is present in a majority of these organizations. Mission statements were implemented, in 56% of these organizations, less than two years ago and a majority of them place a lot of importance on the use of long-term goals, analysis of key success factors and annual goals. Ongoing evaluation, shortterm action plans and competitor analysis follow in that order in terms of importance in strategic planning in these organizations. These indicate that the changes in the operating environment particularly in relation to climatic conditions, exchange rates and fluctuating tea auction prices have led to a situation where these companies are tending towards the use of strategic planning for their future survival. From the fmdings of the study, it is recommended that further research be carried out in the area of strategic planning practices for other players in the tea industry for instance, tea blenders, packers, marketers and brokers in Kenya.