Management of Change at Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Kenya

Abstract

Change is something organization must adopt if they are to survive and compete in today’s business world. When change in an organization is taking place, it is important that the change is managed so as to ensure its smooth and timely implementation of change, reduce uncertainty, increase an organization’s productivity and enable it anticipate future change. The Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAF), a German Political Foundation based in Nairobi has over the years undergone several changes which include a change in its project financial management system, introduction of an additional program, and project as well as change in culture. The objectives of this study were to determine the change management approaches that the organization had adopted as well as the factors that influenced the management of change in the organization. The research design adopted for this study was a case study. To meet the objectives of the study, primary data was collected using an interview guide was that administered to the head of HR and a Program Officer and responses captured on a tape recorder. The data collected was then analyzed using content analysis. The key findings of the study are that changes in KAF were initiated by top-management and were mainly characterized by minimal behavioral resistance which was managed through coercion, inadequate communication, limited staff awareness of and involvement in change. The findings further established that the change management process was positively influenced by factors such as leadership commitment, employee training, availability of resources and a favorable organizational structure while they were negatively impacted by mild behavioral resistance, the individualistic organizational culture, inadequate employee involvement in the changes as well as insufficient communication. The study concludes that change in KAF was mainly planned and involved top-down implementation and recommends that the organization should enhance the capacity of employees and leaders to enable them deal with change as well as retain its current organization structure, enhance communication and employee involvement during change processes.