Challenges of the implementation of strategic plans and performance of university of Nairobi, Kenya

Abstract

Strategies are a critical element in organizational functioning, but whereas most organizations have good strategies, successful implementation remains a major challenge. The notion of strategy implementation might seem quite straightforward; a strategy is formulated and then implemented. The objective of the study was to establish how the challenges of the implementation of Strategic Plans influence Performance of the University of Nairobi. The organization should maintain a balance between ongoing business activities and working on new strategic initiatives. That is, that problems with implementation often occur when companies concentrate on new strategy development and in the process forget their main line of business that underlie within previously formulated business strategies. The University of Nairobi however is today faced with quite some major challenges; these include: dwindling financial resources from the Exchequer, academic programmes whose quality and relevance are ever being put to question, a management system that has been criticised for being too conservative and non-responsive, a relatively poor learning facilities and environment. Performance of the university and therefore link strategic plans to performance. the strategic plan is concerned with creating a strategy to drive future direction, building in cause and effect linkages while simultaneously taking into account both financial and intangible resources that can determine success or failure of an institution. The objective of the study was to establish how the Challenges of the implementation of Strategic Plans influence Performance of the University of Nairobi. Towards this end, the concepts of Challenges of the implementation of Strategic Plans and its influence to the Performance were identified. Interviewees comprised of senior managers, middle level managers. In total, 17 interviewees were interviewed. From the results of the study, it can be concluded that the University of Nairobi.has successfully applied the strategic planning effectively to implement strategy. The major factor that emerged is that the strategic planning has been used as a tool to communicate and clarify strategy and directions within the business, gain consensus and therefore rally the organizational members in the same direction. This is evident at University of Nairobi. Universities should put up policies on the training and development of its human resources. This will enhance the adoption of any planned change in the institution; the ministry of education in Kenya should increase its allocation to Universities to curb the problem of budgetary constraints impeding strategy implementation in the schools.