Change management at Kenya Association of Manufacturers

Abstract

Strategic change within an organisation has been described as the process of progression aimed at assisting it better respond to changes in the environment in order to make it more competitive. Change can be induced by a number of factors including responding to environmental changes, leadership, organisational structure, politics and culture. Organisations choose to manage change differently, some do that through a deliberate planning process while others react to the factors inducing changes as and when they occur. Some organisations choose to manage change incrementally while others do so in an abrupt manner. Business Membership Associations are becoming an integral part of the economies all over the world in that they play a pivotal role in building a foundation for sustainable economic development. The Associations bring together the business community to push for common issues and to dialogue with the Government. They contribute in bringing about a better business environment. The Associations has evolved as the voice of businesses in the entire Globe and they have further improved on opening up the markets and breaking up of trade barriers. They have also been instrumental in establishing networks of business people in the different countries. The case study sought to establish the approach used by the Kenya Association of Manufacturers, a leading business membership organisation in the country in managing change. It also tried to identify challenges to change management and how they were handled. The researcher conducted interviews with members of the three boards, one committee member, ten members of staff starting with the Chief Executive, those in management and others in support and one staff from the regional offices. Those interviewed were involved in the change process including the development and implementation of the various business plans and making decisions that led to the change. The research established that KAM used a planned and incremental approach to managing change. From the evidence available the process was mostly driven by the Board and senior management. Since the year 2000, the Association has developed and been implementing three business plans. It has also gone through other changes including bringing in a new chief Executive. The main contributing factor to the change process at the Association was identified as the leadership. The major challenges to the change management at the Association has been noted as communication and involvement of all especially the staff and other organs in the Association. It was also noted that there was inadequate financial and human resources to implement the changes as planned. The study has limitations in that those interviewed were those involved in running the Association namely the staff, board and committee members. It did not involve members of the Association, Government ministries and other BMOs who could have a different opinion on the change process. In addition, detailed information on how the Association operated before the year 2000 was not available yet such could have provided good comparisons on the operations then and after that. It is suggested that further research be carried out on the Association on how effective the process of strategic planning and implementation has been. It is also recommended a research be done specifically on the how the leadership contributed to the Association's success. The findings of the study can be used by other business membership organisations in the region as they manage Change and seek to become relevant in the changing business environment. The study will also contribute to existing literature on strategic change management.