Strategic Change Management in the Youth Enterprise Development Fund of Kenya

Abstract

Strategic management IS a concept that concerns with making decisions and taking corrective actions to achieve long term targets and goals of an organization. Successful strategy implementation is the major determinant of an organization's wellbeing III today's turbulent and unpredictable environment.The purpose of this study was to establish strategic change management practices adopted by The Youth Enterprise Development Fund of Kenya and to determine the challenges faced in managing strategic change. The study employed a case study approach as its research design method, in which eight (8) departmental heads were interviewed by use of an interview guide, information which formed the primary data of the study. Secondary data comprised of internal memos, reports and newsletters and information from the Youth Enterprise Development Fund of Kenya's website. Data was analyzed using content analysis. The study established that in preparation for change, YEDF management had a team constituted of managers from across the management levels and incorporated all the functional departments. This pointed to the fact that the change management process was highly inclusive and that every manager was engaged in the process.It also established that poor leadership also played a negative role to the management of strategic change at YEDF. There was lack of strategic leadership role to the management who were meant to spearhead the change process. Teamwork contributed positively to the change process where there was formation of a team constituted of regional coordinators who oversaw service delivery from various regions across the country. The study further observed that the management failed to get the required support of the stakeholders, especially from the parent ministry. The study recommended that to achieve meaningful strides towards curbing youth unemployment, sustained trainings will be necessary for YEDF staff for them to stay relevant in meeting the needs of the Youth. The study also recommended that stakeholders like the youth and sports departments, gender and social services department will need to be engaged meaningfully for them to embrace change. The study further recommended that more resources will need to be committed into the fund for it to be able to carry out its mandates effectively.