Challenges of implementing strategic plans in access Kenya group ltd

Abstract

Strategic planning involves articulating the direction, objectives and clear actions required to realize the desired strategic vision of an organization (Balanced Scorecard Institute, 2013). A strategic plan is a document that sets the organization's vision, mission, strategic objectives, strategies and activities. It further defines structures, staffing levels and financial resources required to carry out the functions and mandate. strategic plan serves as a roadmap and is used to prioritize initiatives, resources, goals, and department operations and projects. It enhances operational effectiveness of organizations through addressing human resource capacity and management, enhances financial management and also aligns the organizational structure with its strategies. Strategic planning is the cornerstone of every organization. Without strategic planning, the organization will never know where its going much less know if it ever got there. An important concept of strategic planning is an understanding that in order for the organization to flourish everyone needs to work to ensure the organization goals are met. The aim of this research project was to investigate on strategic planning processes in AccessKenya Group Ltd. The study was a case study and used primary data collected by using self administered interview guides. The unit of the study was the AccessKenya Group Ltd to find out the challenges of implementing the strategic plan. Case study was appropriate where an indepth analysis and understanding of a single unit of study was desired. Case studies place more emphasis on a full contextual analysis of fewer events or conditions and their interrelations. Primary data was collected through an interview guide. An interview guide was a set of questions an interviewer asks and focuses on a list of topics or areas that the researcher desires to cover in an interview. The interview was semi-structured in that it was controlled by the interviewer and allowed the respondent to have flexibility in answering questions. The merit for using semi-structured interviews in this study was because it will allow the interview to accommodate new and useful information that may crop up during the interview process. The data collected through the interview guides was qualitative and was analyzed thematically using content analysis method. From the findings, the study concluded that strategic planning was formal and that the vision and mission statement, and strategic plans were formally documented. The study also concluded that the organization carried out an extensive situational analysis to analyze its stakeholders, and review its internal and external environment. The study also established that financial constraints, time constraints, and consensus building were the major challenges faced during strategic planning. This study focused on strategic planning practices at AccessKenya Group Ltd. This study had two objectives: to determine strategic planning practices adopted by the organization and to determine the challenges encountered in strategic planning by the organization. The study confirms the theory that ownership of strategic plans by stakeholders of an organization is key to successful implementation. The vision and mission statements and all strategic plans formulated are documented into the official policy document. This further confirms that the organization has adopted modern strategic planning practices through formalization of the strategic planning process. Based on the findings of the study, the researcher recommends that further research should be done on how policy and practice aspects such as corporate governance, corporate culture and organizational structure affect strategic plans.