Human Resource, Marketing And Environmental Management On Financial Performance Of Manufacturing Firms Listed At The Nairobi Securities Exchange, Kenya

ABSTRACT

Manufacturing is an important sector as it contributes to the country’s economic development and growth. It has the potential to generate foreign exchange earnings through exports and diversify the country’s economy. It is the platform through which Kenya intends to achieve its development goals of Vision 2030. The problem in the sector is huge untapped potential resources which if not checked can lead to economic crisis and also the high cost of production. Other than financial factors, financial performance of manufacturing listed firms can be affected by issues concerning selection and recruitment, training and development, succession and career path, marketing planning, market analysis and evaluation, marketing control, laws and regulation compliance, recycling of wastes and environmental planning. The study specifically determined the extent to which human resource management, marketing management, and environmental management affected the financial performance in manufacturing companies listed in the NSE in Kenya. The study was a descriptive research survey and it covered a period of the past five years from 2011 to 2015. The target population was staff in various departments like accounts, human resources, marketing and production in ten listed manufacturing firms at the NSE. Since the population was small and variable, census was conducted to gather information. From a population of ten manufacturing firms, a sample size of one hundred and two respondents was chosen from ten firms. The primary data was collected using a questionnaire which had both open and closed ended questions. Secondary data was also used in the research. Secondary data was collected from Management accounts of the companies and other parameters were collected from Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, Nairobi Securities Exchange and Central Bank of Kenya records. The collected data was analyzed through descriptive and inferential statistics. Descriptive analysis included measures of association like Chi-Square test which was used to find out the relationship between the independent and dependent variables. The analyzed data was presented in form of tables and charts for easy understanding and interpretation. The results from the Chi-Test indicated that there was positive and significant relationship between human resource, marketing and environmental management components and financial performance given positive P-Values tabulated. The analysis was done using SPSS 22.0. The study concluded that human resource, marketing and environmental management positively and significantly affected financial performance of manufacturing companies listed at Nairobi Securities Exchange market in Kenya. The study further concluded that manufacturing companies listed at Nairobi Securities Exchange market in Kenya should consider Environmental, Human Resource and Marketing Management for their good financial performance. The study recommended that Environmental, Human Resource and Marketing Management should be employed by manufacturing companies listed at Nairobi Securities Exchange market in Kenya since the results showed positive and significant effect on the financial performance of manufacturing firms. The study also recommended that Environmental, Human Resource and Marketing Management were strong variables and with a positive significance level thus they should be employed also in public sectors corporate institutions and NGOs.