A survey of the operations strategy practices in the private security firms in Kenya

Abstract

This exploratory study sought to establish the various competitive priorities and operations' competitive challenges that face the private security firms in Kenya. Primary data was collected with the aid of a semi- structured questionnaire. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and factor analysis. Cross tabulation was used to determine the relationship between the variables and the demographic data. The study found out that the competitive priorities on which private security firms compete, in their order of rank are: (1) Good quality, (2) Flexibility, (3) Low cost and (4) Speed! time. These were the operations competitive priorities listed in the questionnaire. However, the respondents security firms also added other competitive priorities on which they compete and that they felt were also crucial in their nature of business. These include: quality personnel, good customer care, excellent suppliers of materials, for example security guards' uniforms, training and development of personnel and technology. These competitive priorities were also analyzed and ranked.