Factors Influencing Change Management Practices In The Telecommunication Industry In Kenya

Abstract

It is now a fact that change is a necessity in private as well as public sector and every organization must change with the environment, otherwise it will become irrelevant. There is a fundamental similarity of the change process across organizations, industries, structures in different countries, continents and globally that makes change management a task, a process, and an area of professional practice. The telecommunication industry in Kenya, just like the rest of the world, is going through profound changes, resulting in new markets, new players, and new challenges. The objective of this study was to investigate the factors influencing change management practices in the telecommunication industry in Kenya. For purposes of this study, a cross-sectional survey design was applied and data was collected from various firms of different demographics, and comparisons made. The study targeted all the telecommunication companies in Kenya. Currently there are four namely Safaricom, Airtel Kenya, Orange and Yu Mobile. Majority of the respondents described change in relation to a company’s growth and survival as good to business while few of the respondents termed it as a threat and irrelevant to business. The results of the research show that generally in the telecommunication industry, changes in management practices have been taken positively and have positively spurred the growth of the industry. This has led to better service delivery to the consumers and lower cost of the services. In conclusion, the study found that the telecommunication industry provides many services to businesses and consumers, and therefore any changes in its management practices affect not only the telecommunication industry but a wide variety of businesses as well. This research study recommends therefore that any changes in change management practice should be done cautiously and with utmost care. Effective communication was found to be extremely useful in any change management implementation efforts and this is in agreement with previous studies in this area. Also legislation needs to be put in place to not only promote an enabling business environment for the telecommunication firms in the country, but also to protect consumers from exploitation.