Strategic Management Practices in Law Firms in Nairobi, Kenya

Abstract

Strategic management is the process by which a business enterprise determines its overall direction and what is important in conducting its business, what must be done to achieve that defined direction and how those strategies will be implemented. In doing so, the enterprise must be concerned with its vision, purpose and values, the specific strategies to be employed and the actions to be undertaken to inform the implementation plan. It is a continuous process that evaluates and controls the business an organization is involved in; evaluates its competitors and sets goals and strategies to excel over competitors; and then re-evaluates strategies on a regular basis to determine how they have been implemented and whether they were successful or need replacement. This study is set to assess the strategic management practices in the legal profession. This was achieved through employing the research design technique of a cross-sectional survey with convenience sampling as the sample design technique chosen. Primary data was collected by use of a questionnaire administered to the 53 law firms that made up the sample size. The study concludes that majority of the law firms in Nairobi have not adopted strategic management practices in their operations, but however understand the importance and benefits of these practices. It could however be argued that the identification and implementation of strategic management practices in law firms in Nairobi has not gained a complete foot-hold as it is evident that not all firms in operation in Nairobi are engaging in these practices. Fear of disclosing material information and unavailability of key respondents were identified as the limitations of this study. Future research studies can be designed on a higher level to investigate the relationships between adoption of strategic management practices and performance of law firms. Noting that the respondents recognize that strategic management practices are beneficial to the operations of law firms, there is therefore a need for emphasis to be placed on a shift from mere recognition of its importance to actual implementation of strategic management practices. Law firms should therefore actualize and implement these practices for the effective and efficient functioning of their operations.