Change Management Implementation Practices And Performance Of Public Universities In Kenya: A Case Of Kenyatta University

The performance of public universities in Kenya has been on the spotlight for several years now. Public universities have been faced with challenges of insufficient resources yet the number of students enrolled increases every year. These institutions have thus been accused of offering low quality of education leading to increased rates of unemployment among their graduates. To deal with these challenges, these institutions have implemented changes in their systems, processes and people. While various studies have focused on investigating how these institutions enforce change, there is insufficient research on the various implementation practices adopted by these organizations. This research aimed at determining how four practices which include change management planning, change management communication, change management leadership, and change management monitoring affect the performance of public universities in Kenya. The research adopted both qualitative and quantitative research methods, specifically descriptive explanatory design. The target population for the study was 129 subjects sampled through stratified random sampling inclusive of Deans, departmental Chairpersons, administrative staff and teaching staff from the School of Business, the School of Economics and the School of Education in Kenyatta University. The response rate for the study was 74%, an equivalent of 95 respondents. The study used primary data collected using a survey questionnaire which was distributed by the researcher to the respondents. The quantitative data was analyzed for descriptive and inferential statistics using SPSS software. The reliability of the research instrument was measured through a Cronbach’s Alpha reliability test and was determined to be 0.855 which demonstrates highly reliable data. Multicollinearity and Normality diagnostic test were carried out and the data was determined to be normally distributed and multicollinearity was ruled out thereby declaring the data fit for further analysis. A correlation analysis showed that the research variables had statistically significant relationships with each other. The regression analysis results confirmed three hypotheses set for the study by determining that change management planning, communication and monitoring have a significant effect on performance of public universities with Beta coefficients of 0.136, 0.776, and 0.349 respectively at P= 0.05. One hypothesis was disapproved by concluding that change management leadership does not have a significant effect on performance of public universities in Kenya with a Beta coefficient of 0.124. The study recommends that the management in Kenyatta University put more emphasis on change management communication and monitoring as implementation practices.  The study also recommends that future research should focus on investigating the role of change management planning as an implementation practice in the process of change management. Additionally, focusing on a larger sample from different public universities in order to enhance generalizability of the research findings