Strategic planning and organization performance at Nairobi city water and sewerage company limited

Abstract

Strategic planning is a concept that concerns with decision making and taking corrective actions to achieve long term targets and goals of an organization. The purpose of the study was to establish strategic planning practices at Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company and its effects of firm‟s performance. The study adopted a case study design and it targeted ten management staff from different departments. The study used both primary and secondary data to gather the information. Primary data was collected using interview guides and in-depth interviews while Secondary data was collected from existing documentation reviews at Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company. The data was analyzed using content analysis. The study established that strategic planning was mainly done with the guidance of an external consultant in consultation with top management and Planning, Monitoring & Evaluation Department (PMED). The leadership of the organization had a clear vision to be a world class provider of water and sewerage services and a clear Mission of providing reliable quality water and sewerage services in an environmentally friendly manner that delights customers within Nairobi City County (NCC).The study established that the challenges facing the organization included lack of synchronization between the strategic plan, performance contracting, departmental and individual work plans, also departments not working well together and slow decision making process partly due to political interference and changes in the constitution and water governance. The study concluded that Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company strategic plan reaffirmed NCWSCs commitment to be a world class provider of water and sewerage services.The Company‟s high level of performance was largely depended on a higher degree of emphasis on strategic planning. The study also concluded that there was a difference between the results and approaches to measuring strategic planning effectiveness and organization performance The study recommended that the process should be inclusive of all the employees, all the departments should develop and apply their strategic plans, departments should review those plans to ensure the success of the implementation, there should be frequent horizontal meetings to enhance cohesion and congruence between departments, management should increase the budgetary allocation to be in line with the strategic plan for the successful implementation of strategies.