Management of Strategic Change at Consolidated Bank Kenya Limited

Abstract

The business environment has become extremely competitive and complex. Organizations must be flexible in order to adapt to changes, to compete effectively and thus prosper and grow. In other words, companies should be willing to change, to renew their vision, their strategy and structure, to develop the abilities to sense changes, to become innovative and incorporate their work force in the change process, so as to take advantage of the challenges presented. Success of the banks‟ strategic change depends on decisions regarding the appropriate organisation structure, change of core business, management of human resource, organisation culture and strategy. The research objective of the study was to determine strategic change management at Consolidated Bank Kenya Limited. The research design adopted was a case study. The study used primary data which was collected using an interview guide and the data analyzed using content analysis. The study found out that strategic change management in the bank was as a result of political, economic, social, legal and technological changes with the acceleration of globalization, competition, innovation, international trade relations, and the removal of borders between countries. The bank strategies used by the bank to manage change were the formulation of a corporate strategic plan, a human resource development plan and information, communication and technology development plan, re-branding of its culture, values, mission and vision, agency banking and partnership with other financial agencies. The challenges which were encountered by the bank emanated from the culture, the bank core values which were not fully understood by all the staff, lack of support from the government as the majority shareholder, resistance to change from staff and financial resource challenges, and an organization structure that resulted in slow decision making,. The study found that the bank management adopted a corporate strategic plan whose key pillars were, a human resource strategy that incorporated a job evaluation process, cultural change and empowerment and an information, communication and technology (ICT) development plan.