Factors Influencing Strategy Implementation at the Institute of Advanced Technology (Iat) Kenya

Abstract

The environment in which organizations exist is that which is complex and very turbulent. For some organizations, the environment is more turbulent than for others. It is possible, though not easy, for organizations to turn strategies and plans into specific actions that are necessary to produce great business performance. Most organizations both in the private and public sectors know their businesses, and the strategies required for success. However, most of them struggle to translate the theory into action plans that will enable the strategy to be successfully implemented and sustained. The ability to implement strategies successfully is important to any organization. Despite the importance of the implementation process within strategic management, this is an area of study often overshadowed by a focus on the strategy formulation process. This project concentrates on the strategy implementation process, investigating the factors that influence strategy implementation. To identify the factors that influence strategy implementation, a case study of Institute Of Advanced Technology was conducted. This involved focused interviews with five participants from various departments and the General Manager which was a source of primary data. Secondary data was gotten from other sources such as company data. The findings of this study revealed that like other organizations, IAT undertakes strategic management practices. Of interest in this study is the implementation process. From the data gathered, IAT is among the few organizations that have succeeded in the implementation of the set plans. The organizations has managed to accomplish approximately all the plans they have in the strategic plan. The process is influenced by a number of factors. The factors are the same like those discussed in the literature review in chapter two of this project. These factors are, training of the people who implement the strategies. This ensures that they are educated on their roles in the process. The other factor is effective communication whereby everyone is informed of what is happening and the level at which the process is at, organizational structure, organizational culture, Information Technology and commitment of the management to provide the needed resources to ensure for success in the implementation process. The study has revealed another factor that is crucial if the implementation of strategy is to success. This factor is team work. It is important for the people to work as a team is they are to succeed in achieving the objectives of the organization. Strategy implementation results into benefits to organization. Some of these benefits include expansion in terms of number of growth in the number of branches, number of customers, increased revenue and number of products offered within the organization among other factors. It is therefore possible to implement strategies successfully and harvest the benefits mentioned above.