Management Perception of the Influence of Organizational Learning on Strategy Development at Sarova Hotels Limited, Kenya

Abstract

Many organizations are faced with the challenge of remaining relevant in a highly competitive business environment. It is becoming increasingly important to be able to keep up with the current trends in strategy development or risk becoming irrelevant. One of the key interventions being explored is organizational learning and many key organizations, Sarova Hotels Limited included, have found the importance of developing a learning culture to be able to keep up with the demands of their trade. The study purposed to bring to light the management perception of the influence of strategy development at Sarova Hotels Limited and was guided by two key objectives. These being, to establish the Management Perception on the influence of Organizational Learning on Strategy development and to determine the factors that influences Management Perception of Organizational Learning at Sarova Hotels Limited. The study adopted a cross-sectional census survey. The target population comprised of 143 managers in total and was spread out across the various hotels. The data collected was primary and quantitative in nature that was collected using a self-administered questionnaire. The findings were that, the management team of Sarova Hotels Limited perceive organizational learning to be consciously structured as a learning process; management systems for accounting assist learning from the consequences of decisions made needed during strategy development; employees with external contact function as environmental scanners, collecting information to pass on to other staff; information collected externally is used by the organization as a platform for strategy development; information is deliberately shared so as to learn and benchmark with others giving a base for strategy development; high standards are maintained in line with the strategic development needs of the company and resources and facilities are accessible to everyone in order to encourage self-development. The external factors that influenced management perception involved the amount of work and time it takes for results to materialize, the benefits of strategic direction of the company; recognition of input; action by competitors and continuous training and development for staff regarding the process. The conclusions made from the study were The study made recommendations based on the study findings that the aim of the management team in organizations should be to encourage processes that unlock the knowledge and potential of individuals, encouraging them to share information and knowledge they have learnt so that every individual can become aware of the various changes that are occurring around them. All employees and managers should be involved in the process of finding new ways of attracting clients, launching new marketing campaigns and ensuring their presence is felt. Organizational learning should be brought out to influence strategy development and the policies should be put in place in the organization as guiding principles to enable the learning culture thrive