Influence of Strategic Change Management on the Performance of County Development Projects in Meru County, Kenya

Abstract

Strategic management is the study area that deals with the big planned and unplanned efforts made by management teams on behalf of the company to improve the efficiency of companies in their external environments by using capital. Strategic management change has become a perpetual phenomenon that should be addressed and handled appropriately if an institution is to survive, according to public organizational managers. Transformational changes in Kenya's public sector have necessitated strategic management adjustments. The purpose of this research was to see how strategic change management affected the performance of county development initiatives in Meru County, Kenya. The study sought to achieve the following specific objectives; to determine the influence of leadership on the performance of County Governments Development Projects in Meru County, Kenya; to establish the influence of availability of financial resources on the performance of County Governments Development Projects in Meru County, Kenya; to Assess the influence of employee’s commitment on the performance of County Governments Development Projects in Meru County, Kenya and to evaluate the influence organizational policies on the performance of County Governments Development Projects in Meru County, Kenya. The research was done descriptively. The research targeted total of 139 respondents from nine Sub-counties in Meru County. They included members of county assemblies (MCAs), sub-county departmental heads, project management committee members and county chief officers. A sample of 103 people was selected from the population to take part in the survey. Questionnaires were employed as the primary research tool in this study. The data were gathered from the population using structured questionnaires. The responses were coded so that they could be divided into different categories. The information gathered was quantitative. Descriptive and inferential analysis techniques were used to examine quantitative data. To assist the researcher in describing the data and presenting using charts, tabulations, means, tables, and percentages, as well as other central tendencies, the statistical package for social sciences (SPPS) was utilized. The research utilized Karl Pearson's coefficient of correlation to evaluate the intensity of the association between variables. This makes it easier to predict the strength of the link among the factors in this study. The study found a positive and significant relationship between leadership (r = 0.339, p 0.05), financial resources (r = 0.490, p 0.05), employee commitment (r = 0.224, p > 0.05), organizational policies (r = 0.430, p 0.05), and the performance of the County Government Development Project in Meru County, Kenya. As per the report, the county administration should hire skilled managers to increase the county development projects performance. The employees should be encouraged to participate in the decision-making of the county government projects. There should be there’s a high level of financial accountability in the county government for better performance. Employees should be motivated to remain committed to their organization for improved performance of county government. The policies under which the county government operates should support its project performance. The county government is performance policy-driven for improved service delivery. The projects in the county should be guided by the policies laid down and this improves performance.