Challenges of strategy implementation faced by sacco societies regulatory authority in Kenya

Abstract

In the 21stcentury business landscape, firms compete in a complex and challenging context that is being transformed by many factors from globalization, frequent and uncertain changes to the growing use of information technologies. Thus, achieving the desired performance is a major pre-occupation of senior managers in many firms today.The objective of the study was to determine the challenges of strategy implementation faced by Sacco Societies Regulatory Authority (SASRA). The research design adopted was a case study. The study used primary data which was collected using an interview guide. Content analysis was used to analyze the collected data. The respondents were two chief managers and two senior managers representing the four core departments of the Authority. The findings of the study is that the organization communicates its strategic plans to the implementers in form of monthly andquarterly reports as well as the balance score card which forms the basis of annual performance management during performance reporting. The challenges that were found to affect implementation of strategies at SASRA include; inflexible organization structure,slow communication process, inadequate resources (financial, human resource and technology), un-adaptive organizational culture, unrealistic targets, lack of ownership of strategic implementation plans through staff participation and communication, capacity limitations in terms of equipment and varied needs of stakeholders. It was found thatthe top management encouraged teamwork in all areas of operations and had put in place a dispute resolution committee for fast conflict resolution. It was concluded that organization structure, resource allocation and organizational culture were hindrances to strategy implementation in the Authority. The study recommends that the organization structure should be restructured to facilitate quicker response than currently being witnessed while strategy implementation plans should be clearly communicated to all the employees