Perceived effectiveness of employee empowerment strategies adopted by Chinese owned building & construction firms in Kenya

Abstract

Employee empowerment strategies are being implemented around the globe by small firms and big organizations. This is true for all economic sectors, including construction. A higher need for organizations to achieve business excellence makes employee empowerment a significant move in keeping a competitive edge. Employees have the most direct influence on customers’ perception of quality services and feeling of satisfaction. Training should be provided in order to improve upon the service quality of the employee and therefore enhance customer satisfaction. Traditional literature research tends to be in agreement that service quality is a measure of how well the level of service so delivered matches with the expectation of target customers so as to enhance their satisfaction. The main objective of the study was to establish the perceived effectiveness of employee empowerment strategies adopted by Chinese Building and Construction firms in Kenya. The research design adopted was a descriptive survey design of all the 17 Chinese owned building and construction firms in Kenya. The study used primary data which was collected through self-administered structured questionnaires. The data was analysed using mean, standard deviation and percentages. The study targeted 75 respondents. 70 questionnaires were filled and returned representing a 93.3% response rate. In order to simplify the discussions, the researcher provided tables and figures that summarized the collective reactions and views of the respondents. The study findings established that various empowerment strategies are constantly adopted by Chinese owned building and construction firms and thus explains why service delivery by these firms remains effective. However, the unique characteristics of the construction sectors hinder efficient integration of high levels of training to build on employee competencies. Empowering employees through use of extrinsic and intrinsic rewards, efficient leadership, high trust culture in the organization, imitativeness and creativity among the employees and sharing of the organization’s vison and goals were some of the empowerment strategies adopted by the firms. It was however noted that the rendering of efficient quality services is one of the most vital and phenomenal tasks that confronts any service oriented organization in its objective of achieving customer satisfaction.