Change Management Practices at Senaca East Africa Limited

Abstract

Effective organizations are organic entities that have to constantly change in response to their environment to ensure their survival. A firm's ability to seek and maintain competitive advantage rests on its ability to not only understand, but also manage the change strategically. The purpose of this study was to determine the change management practices at Senaca EA in Kenya by establishing the changes that have taken place in the company, the factors that have influenced that change and the challenges faced by the company during the implementation of change management process. Literature was reviewed to cover various scholars' views on the common approaches of change management, successful practices and the common challenges during the planning, implementation and evaluation of change management. The research adopted case study as its research design, primary data was collected through an interview guide and the data analyzed through content analysis. The respondents were comprised of six senior management officials of Senaca EA. The research found out that Senaca EA is affected by the external and internal environment and in response, has practiced change management structurally, financially, technologically and culturally. Most of the change process is planned but there are instances that emergent change is undertaken during unforeseen circumstances like the global recession that split it from the parent company in Europe. The study established that Senaca EA has changed its strategies over time and this has resulted in increased total revenue from Kshs. 6 Million in the year 2011 to a current monthly turnover of Kshs. 36 million. Limitations of the study included lack of time and resources for extensive study and the use of a case study is not sufficient grounds for generalization in the area of study and cross sectional survey research design was recommended for future studies. The findings of this research project will provide useful information for decision making in change management to the various stakeholders in policy, theory and practice. The research recommends further study into the strategic planning process in Senaca EA. The study provides insight on the change management practices adopted by various firms in Kenya. The researcher concludes that there is no best approach to strategically manage change and organizations have developed different approaches to managing change that they found suitable for their context. Keywords: change management, planned approach, emergent approach, environmental forces and security. v