Organizational Factors and Implementation of Strategies in Public Water Service Providers in Kitui County, Kenya

Abstract

Successful strategy implementation is key to the survival of organizations. Literature suggests that strategy implementation is usually curtailed by inefficiencies. The study lookED into the organizational aspects and their influence in implementation of strategy in public water service providers in Kitui County. The study objectives were: establish organizational leadership effect on implementation of strategies, determine organizational structure effect on implementation of strategies and examine the organizational culture effect on implementation of strategies public water service providers in Kitui County. The study was anchored by resource based view, institutional and contingency theories. The two public water service providers in Kitui County, KITWASCO and KIMWASCO were the target population for this study. The study used descriptive research approach and apply content validity. Cronbach alpha test was run to check on reliability of the research instruments. The study was adopted descriptive research design, used content validity and Cronbach Alpha Test for reliability. Since the target population was small, a census review was done. Data was collected using questionnaires and analyzed using a computer program called Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). ANOVA test, multiple regression and correlation analysis was done to ascertain variable relationships. The established that organizational leadership, organizational structure and organizational culture had a positive and significant effect on the implementation of strategies in public water service providers in Kitui County. The study concludes that organizational leadership enables employee toward fulfilling an organization’s mission by making them to understand an organization’s mission in alignment with one’s strengths, creating a strategic plan in line with that mission, implementing goals and holding teams accountable for accomplishing those goals within an established timeline, and in alignment with the strategic plan. Organizational structure is often important in gaining consensus for a strategy because it will determine who has to be appeased in management and how power is aligned and organizational structure organizational culture enables an organization to have aligned goals by focusing on productivity and getting the organization’s primary mission accomplished. The study recommends that the leadership in public water service providers in Kitui County should ensure that they understand better their employees so as to be able to help them improve their personal and professional effectiveness, accountability, and most of all effectively implement strategies formulated by the organization. The public water service providers in Kitui County should have a good structure that provides the right blend of command and control plus employee independence without feeling of resentment that hinders organization pursuit of its mission and that public water service providers in Kitui County should make strategic vision and goals clear and inspirational, translate strategy into a living execution plan that matters to people, capitalize on existing beneficial behaviors, and take action to adjust undesired or obsolete behaviors as needed and change organizational processes to reinforce desired behaviors for the long term and enable alignment with an organization’s culture.