Strategic responses by zain Kenya to external environment

Abstract

The telecommunication industry plays a significant role in the growth of economies all over the world and is seen as the next frontier in the creation of wealth and economic wealth. The objective of this study was to determine the strategic responses adopted by Zain Kenya towards external environment and determine environmental changes facing Zain Kenya. The study is a case based and utilizes both primary and secondary data collected from the Zain's staff and documents respectively. The study targeted senior managers in the in the various departments and heads of departments to undertake feasibility studies. The primary data was collected using a structured questionnaire that was administered to the target respondent. The data was analyzed using statistical package for social scientist with the help of descriptive statistics and content analysis. The research revealed that Zain surveys external environment to help make business decisions. All the factors were found to be highly considered when making plan and decisions except for social and cultural trends. Zain managers make arrangements to mitigate the consequences of the challenges •c.aused by economic environment It was found that strategies adopted by Zain Kenya are reactive and that Zain highly considers the factors before engaging in responses to the external environment. Tendency to centralize decisions to top management is used as the mode of making critical decisions in responding to external environment. The Chief executive OfficerlManaging Director was found to be the champion of identification and implementation of responses to external environment. 76% of the respondents said the business have been turbulent in the last 5 years, 19% said it has been irregular while 5% said it has been relatively stable. When the respondents were asked to state the extent to which the approach to business has impacted on the performance, 67% v said greater extent, 19% said on average, 10% said to small impact while 5% said to no impact Challenges encountered in the pursuit of the growth strategy were mentioned as: stiff competition and unfair pricing tactics from one dominant player, huge initial capital requirement, frequent change of shareholders and the Chief executivelManaging Director, rapid technological changes, political turmoil, lack of consumer acceptance of the product and services offering, legislation changes, price wars in the industry and frequent staff lay offs affecting productivity and staff motivation. The findings have implications for the company and policy makers in the telecommunication industry.