A survey of strategic issue management practices by classified hotels in Kenya

Abstract

The objective of this study was to establish strategic issue management practices by classified hotels in Kenya while identifying factors influencing strategic issue management practices in the hotel industry. The study is fundamental because strategic issue management has continued to evolve and in less than three decades (after 1970s) issue management has become an established as a distinct business discipline with proven capacity to add strategic value to organizations. The study will be of benefit to the managers and practitioners in the hotel industry, the government and policy makers and the scholars. A descriptive survey method was used to collect data from the entire population. However out of the 47 hotels, only 35 responded by returning the questionnaire. The primary data was collected using "the drop and pick method". In each hotel the general manager was requested to fill the questionnaire. However, if absent, a suitable replacement such as the deputy general manager was requested to fill on his-behalf From the survey, it was clear that the three star hotels responded better than the other cluster at 40 %. Due to the changes in the global arena, it has been noted that the hotels have started realising the importance of strategic issue management as a tool to maximizing their profitability margins. They are not only applying strategic planning tools in their scope of operations but also incorporating the strategic issue management concept to resolve urgent and critical issues. However, there seem to be lack of clarity in this area of management due to lack of proper training. The results of the survey indicated that issue management has more to offer in this industry. The

current rating is oscillating in the range of 51 % to 55% on the importance attached on strategic issue management. For strategic issue management to take have a firm ground, resource mobilisation is inevitable. This match allows the company to align itself strategically as the environment changes. The top management will have to take a more proactive role in issue resolution, work hand in hand with the shareholders in the provision of resources and offer guidance to the issue teams. This is expected to push strategic issue management a notch higher.