Strategy Implementation And Organizational Performance Of Private Security Companies Nairobi, Kenya

ABSTRACT

Strategic management is one of the major steps that private security companies can take to address the challenges they face in enhancing their competitive position. There still exists a gap as far as strategy implementation in the private security industry in Kenya is concerned. This therefore arouses more critical academic thinking within this subject area. The general objective of this study was to assess strategy implementation components and organizational performance of private security companies in Kenya. The specific objectives guiding this study were to; establish the effect of structure on organizational performance; find out the effect of resources on organizational performance; determine the effect of leadership on organizational performance and to examine the effect of information and communications technology on organizational performance of private security companies in Kenya. The study guided by two theories: Agency Theory and Resource-Based View. Moreover, empirical literature has been brought ought to exemplify the need for this study. The study adopted a descriptive survey. The population for this study consisted of the all private security companies in Kenya which were 216. Since this number is big a sample of 25% will be taken which represents 54 respondents. Primary data was used exclusively in this research. The data analysis will include qualitative and quantitative techniques. The qualitative data was summarized and categorized according to common themes and was presented using frequency distribution tables, graphs and charts. Content analysis was used mostly to arrive at inferences through a systematic and objective identification of the specific messages. The quantitative data collected was analyzed using descriptive statistics, correlations, and linear regression analysis. The output was presented in form of tables and figures. In terms of managerial practice in the sector the study hopes to bring to light the commonalities in strategies adopted by PSFs in addressing growing crime. This knowledge is useful to the industry associations in the creation of frameworks to guide member security firms. The findings of the study show that organizational structure was majorly local, with very few security firms operating internationally. Moreover, almost half of them were operating around Nairobi City County only, at a small-scale level of up to 500 personnel deployment. Majority of the respondents agreed that there is need for a fit between strategy and organizational architecture. Respondents attributed organizational structure with inclusivity or lack of inclusivity in decision making, hence depending on which side it favours, organizational performance could be better or worse. The findings of the study show that majority of the respondents admitted that management was actually mobilizing resources from different stakeholders. However, through interviews and opinion responses, the researcher learned that mobilization of resources was not commensurate to the performance per se.The findings show that though most firms rated their leadership as good, most security firms lacked the right leadership as revealed from the respondents. This could partly be contributed by the fact that a considerable proportion of leaders were not selected through a democratic process. On average, majority of the respondents agreed that ICT was being employed. However, respondents argued that the process lacked seriousness from the management.The study recommends the security firms to adopt an organizational structure that is simple, efficient and one that is universally acceptable by the organizational members. The study further recommends the county government and the financial institutions to consider funding security firms so that they can effectively help the government in reducing the rate of crime in the country.