Management of Strategic Change At The Telkom Kenya Limited

Abstract

The importance of managing strategic change is to harnesses people, process and technology to achieve a competitive edge. Therefore the management of strategic change should be based on the understanding of the processes so that the system design reflects real work practices and delivers user-focused outcomes. It also makes sure that people understand and accept changes more readily since they understand where changes may take place in current practice, and the benefits from the change being implemented. Similarly managing strategic change helps an organization to develop an innovative vision for where the company needs to be, and in coming up with an innovative path for achieving excellence in their operations. Telkom Kenya Limited has been implementing various strategic changes in order to increase efficiency and remain competitive in the telecommunication sector. The changes that have occurred at Telkom Kenya Ltd. Include downsizing, acquisition, structural changes, strategic changes and restructuring among others. The company has been managing the changes through use of consultants, change planning, communication and buy in. The company has changed its organization structure, its strategic focus, its employee size and composition and also its management orientation. The changes have been brought about by competition, market liberalization, technological advancements and changing customer demands. It is therefore important to find out the strategic change management practices at Telkom Kenya Limited. The study sought to find out; what are the strategic change management practices adopted by Telkom Kenya Limited? What are the challenges of managing strategic change faced by Telkom Kenya Limited? The study used a case study research design. The target population was the management employees of Telkom Kenya Limited. The study used purposive sampling technique to select the sample. Primary data collected using interview guides was analysed using content analysis. From the findings, the strategic change management practices adopted by Telkom Kenya Limited included: scientific methodology for managing planned change; diagnosis, analysis, feedback, action and evaluation; unfreezing the status quo, movement to a new state and refreezing the new change to make it permanent; systematic collection of data and selection of a change action based on analysis. Therefore, Telkom Kenya Limited has adopted diverse strategic change management practices. This would ensure that they managed change in the company systematically and ensure a smooth transition of the company would be achieved. The company faced diverse challenges that slowed down the strategic change management process. The study recommends that the management of Telkom Kenya Limited should address the major challenges facing the management of strategic change to streamline the change process and enhance the success of the strategic change management in the company. The management of Telkom Kenya Limited should continuously evaluate the strategic change management initiatives being implemented in order to undertake the necessary correctional measures in the change process. The management of Telkom Kenya Limited should conduct a research and pretest the different strategic change management practices to ensure that only the best practices are implemented.