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Determinants of Financial Literacy Level among Residents of Meru Municipality, in Meru County, Kenya
(KeMU, 2019-09) Njehia, Milcah Wanjiru
In recent years, financial literacy has come to play an important role in financial reforms across the world. Modem technological developments and market liberalization have resulted in complicated financial products. There is the perception of inadequate and even total lack of financial literacy, hence to solve this many organizations have invested resources to financial education programs, targeting to access majority of the population in future. The objective of the research was to examine and analyze the determinants of financial literacy level among residents in North Imenti Sub County in Meru County, Kenya. The determinants studied were; Level of education, Demographic characteristics of Gender and Age, Socio-economic factors of Occupation status and Income level, Sources of Financial information and advice of informal tools and formal tools. The research problem was analyzed using Descriptive research design where Primary data was collected using closed-ended questionnaires while secondary data was collected from the relevant books and journals. The target population for the study was 30,804 people in Meru Municipality. The Sampled size form this accessible population using Mohamed, (2014) formula gets 400 people, which finds that for population above 10,000 people the sample size would be 400 people. The sample design involved individuals from the nine Meru municipality locations with a population response rate of 75%, male being 167 and female 133. Descriptive statistics included frequencies and percentages presented in tables which summarized and categorized data based on their similar themes and Statistical Package for Social Sciences Version 20 was used for further processing. In determining the relationship between the dependent and the independent variables, Regression analysis was used and recommendations made based on the findings. The study revealed that the relationship between financial literacy level and Level of Education was the most significant, followed by Demographic Characteristic of Age and Gender. Level of education and demographic factors have significant relationship in the financial literacy level in Meru Municipality. Socioeconomic factors and source of information did not have a significant influence on Financial literacy level. In Conclusion, emphasis was made to focus on better ways to implement the best methods of learning to enhance the Level of Education of the population. It was identified that the manner of learning played a vital role on retention rate. It recommended that all stakeholders should be encouraged to support availed digital literacy programs for the population. These would play a vital role in increasing literacy level since it incorporates technology in learning and multimedia teaching methods. The study further recommended establishment of Money management programs that would enhance public participation in financial management matters by all stakeholders.
Relationship between Employees Occupational Stress and Performance in Kenya Prisons Service (A Survey of Prisons in Meru Region of Kenya)
(KeMU, 2019-09) Muigai, Patrick Mwangi
The Kenyan Government acknowledges that over the years there has been poor performance in the public sector, especially in the management of public resources which has hindered the realization of sustainable economic growth. Work-place stress has received a great deal of attention in social psychological research. Significant research findings have documented that prolonged stress has negative effects on individual health as well as on employee attitudes towards the organization. Employees work in a unique environment, subjecting themselves to potentially traumatic events in conditions that impact their emotional and physical well-being. Several measures of employee performance were analyzed which included environmental conditions, organizational demands, personal background and individual differences. Today Kenya Prison is a department in the Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government with a total of 110 prisons, two Borstal Institutions and one Youth Correctional Training Center. The study was carried out in the prisons department in Meru Region of Kenya. Meru Region has got six Prisons; Chuka, Kangeta, Maara, Marimanti, Meru and Uruku Prisons.. Using stratified random sampling technique the study selected a total of 134 respondents comprising of members of staff from the three levels Senior Officers, NCOs and Junior Officers where each of the 3 levels was treated as a stratum (group) from where the respondents were selected using simple random method from each of the 3 stratum. Data was collected through use of questionnaires and analysed using descriptive statistics. Multiple linear regression aided by SPSS (Version 20) was used to link the relationship between the independent variables and the dependent variable. The data was presented in frequency distribution tables, graphs and charts. The study found that politics, economy and technology significantly affects the performance of employees in Kenya Prison Service albeit negatively while holding other factors constant and that individual differences such as social support, self-efficacy and job experience had significant positive influence on employee performance while holding other factors constant. The study concluded that all the variables had statistically significant contributions. It therefore recommend that environmental conditions and individual differences activities must exist in the organizational environment while the organization and management in particular should motivate employees by tracking their targets and recognizing the milestones achieved.
Influence of Porter`S Five on the Competitiveness of Small and Medium-Sized Hardware Business in Imenti South Sub County Meru County Kenya
(KeMU, 2019-06) Kinoti, Geoffrey
Kenya aims to create internationally competitive and prosperous country’s economy by supporting industrialization under the economic pillar as spelt out in vision 2030. Small and medium hardware enterprises play a critical role in this endeavor. However, the competitiveness in small enterprises hardware shops in Imenti South sub-county has continued to intensify to an extent of threatening their growth. This curtails the creation of a stable employment and can be a deterrent to affordable housing which is envisaged in Kenyan National Agenda 4. The purpose of this study was to assess the influence of porter’s five forces on the competitiveness of hardware stores in South Imenti sub-county. It hypothesized that business rivalry, threat of new entrants, bargaining power of buyers, bargaining power of suppliers, and threat of substitute product have no significant influence on the competitiveness of hardware sector in South Imenti sub-county. The porters five competitive model was significant in guiding this study. Descriptive survey design was adopted. Data was collected from registered hardware stores in South Imenti using a structured questionnaire. Census sampling technique was used since population was small, 83. Content and construct validity ensured data quality, while Cronbach's alpha value was 0.767 which was used to test the reliability of the research instrument. Mean, standard deviation, and regression analysis were used in analyzing data which was presented using tables. Results indicate that all the five forces; threat of new entrants, competitive rivalry, bargaining power of buyers, bargaining power of suppliers and threat of substitute product were jointly statistically significant in influencing competitiveness of small and medium hardware enterprises in South Imenti Sub-county, Meru County. However, when examining these forces separately, only competitive rivalry and threat of substitute products were found to be statistically significant in influencing competitiveness of hardware SMEs in South Imenti Sub-county, Meru County. It is concluded that the competitiveness of small and medium hardware enterprises in South Imenti Sub-county, Meru County is real and is largely influenced by competitive rivalry and threat of substitute products. The study recommends need for diverse innovative hardware products that are highly differentiated in terms quality and value addition. The hardware owners should utilize their economies of scale, foster collaborations and solidarity among themselves in order to push for quality products and better prices. This will also help to scale down business rivalry among traders. Manufacturers and major suppliers should embark on consumer awareness and education as well as on foster intensive promotion and advertising of various hardware products. Manufacturers should also control the quality of products to ensure value for money. The government should support the hardware sector by providing tax incentives in order to encourage local production/manufacture of quality hardware products. The findings of this study have enormous implications on business practices, pricing strategies, collaborations and poses challenge to the manufacturing companies to differentiate their hardware products in terms of the value they add.
Relationship between Entrepreneurial Marketing Mix and Growth of Jua Kali Enterprises in North Imenti Sub County
(KeMU, 2019-07) Gatobu, Jackline Kanana
Small and Medium Enterprises are the key drivers of the country’s economy. The government is tasked with spurring growth of SME’s through provision of supportive legal structure and conducive policy environment. However, growth of these small and medium enterprises predominantly depends on proper configuration of entrepreneurial marketing mix practices. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of entrepreneurial marketing mix on the growth of jua kali Enterprise in North Imenti Sub County, Meru County. Specifically, the study assessed the relationship between pricing, promotion, distribution, product and growth of jua kali enterprises in North Imenti sub-county, Meru County. The study employed the resource based view theory, Kirzner’s “alert” theory of entrepreneurship and the 4P’s Marketing Model. The population comprised of one hundred and twenty eight (128) owner managers of jua kali enterprises operating within North Imenti Sub County, Meru County and registered by Micro and Small Enterprises Authority Kenya (MSEA-K). A stratified random sampling technique was used to select a sample of ninety seven (97) jua kali Enterprises from the target population. A structured questionnaire was administered after which data was entered and analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22. The questionnaire was tested for validity and reliability. A pre- test was carried out to test for reliability. The results were analyzed using both descriptive (frequencies and percentage) and inferential statistics (Pearson Correlation, One Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and Regression analysis). The study established that product strategy affects growth of jua kali enterprises hence rejecting the hypothesis concluding that product strategy significantly affects SME’s growth. The study found a strong positive relationship between distribution strategy and SME’ growth. The null hypothesis was rejected hence concluding that distribution strategy has significant linear relationship to growth of jua kali SMEs. The study found an intermediate positive relationship between promotion strategy on growth of jua kali sector and rejected the null hypothesis hence concluding that promotion strategy affect growth of jua kali SMEs. The study found that pricing affects the growth of jua kali enterprises to a moderate extent in North Imenti constituency. Therefore, rejecting the null hypothesis and concluding that pricing strategy has a significant linear relationship with growth of jua kali SMEs. The objectives of the study were achieved. The study recommends need for SMEs to invest in research and development for products innovations, define clearly distribution channels as well as public, private and NGO’s partnerships dedicated to sourcing for sustainable market for products and services. Finally, more research for identification of customer specific needs. The study is valuable to entrepreneurs as they seek for better strategies to grow their enterprises.
Determinants of Integrated Financial Management Information System Implementation, in the National Government Departments in Meru County
(KeMU, 2019-04) Maina, Patrick Wambugu
The government of Kenya has for a long time been very much concerned over the persistent poor performance in financial management due to lack of reliable and timely information for decision making. It took an initiative to address the shortcomings of the financial reporting system and to ensure good governance. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) carried out a survey in government accounting in early 1993 followed by a diagnostic study sponsored by the World Bank; this led to introduction of IFMIS. The main objective of this project was to computerize the whole accounting and auditing system in all the national government departments (Kinyua, 2011).The national government has endeavored to implement a fiscal management system at both to the national and county government to enhance prudent and accountable management of resources, putting in place the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) that ensures budgeting and execution of finance commitments of the government bodies. The general objective of this study was to establish the determinants of IFMIS implementation in the national government departments in Meru County. In order to address this aim, the study was guided by the following objectives, namely to: -establish the influence of staff competence on IFMIS implementation in national government departments; assess the influence of government policies on IFMIS implementation in national government departments; determine the influence of top management support on IFMIS implementation in national government departments; and find out the influence of technological infrastructure in IFMIS implementation in national government departments. The study aimed at bridging the gap in knowledge on factors impeding the implementation of IFMIS in national government department in Meru County with the aim of suggesting strategies and approaches that can aid in promoting the implementation and use of the system. A target population of 68 employees of the national government departments in Meru County was used and a census was conducted. Descriptive and advanced inferential statistics were used to analyze data specifically by use of multiple logistic regression and p-value was used to test hypothesis. Frequency distribution tables, pie charts and bar graphs were used to represent the data more easily. The study established that government has created adequate policies in regards to IFMIS implementation; however, the presence of policies is not sufficient to enable its implementation. This was confirmed by hypotheses tests which showed that staff competency, technological infrastructure and most importantly, management support is vital for the effective implementation of the IFMIS system in national government departments. The study concluded that policies without appropriate implementation interventions is not effective in promoting IFMIS implementation. The study recommended that government to work on staff competency, right from recruiting the right personnel, and embracing on on-job training.
Relationship between Information, Communication and Technology Strategy and Competitive Advantage among Commercial Banks in Nairobi County
(KeMU, 2019-09) Laiyan, George Benjamin
Commercial banks have continued to implement Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) in order to keep up with the competition and changing consumer needs and wants in the competitive business environment with the aim of gaining competitive advantage. Integration of ICT with the organization’s strategies has become a driving force of competition among financial institutions in Kenya towards achieving improved service efficiency and effectiveness. The study aimed to evaluate the relationship between ICT strategy and competitive advantage among commercial banks in Nairobi County. The study identified four research variables IT-Business alignment, IT-driven innovation, business intelligence and IT-Business process re-engineering that have significant influence on competitive advantage. The research design used in this study was descriptive survey where qualitative analysis was put into use by use of closed-ended questionnaires. The research study employed purposive sampling a subset on the the target population in this study that comprised the 43 registered commercial banks in Nairobi County. Data analysis was done using a multivariate regression model in the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). From the findings, IT-business alignment, IT-driven innovation, business intelligence and IT-business process re-engineering significantly influenced competitive advantage. ICT strategies were developed with employee competence in mind and aimed at supporting the overall organizations goals. ICT strategy promoted innovations besides focusing on meeting the changing customer needs and facilitating creation of new applications that provided direct strategic advantage. Business intelligence systems enhanced accuracy on strategic reporting besides improving speed and accuracy of strategic decision making. The study recommends that commercial banks knowledge management ought to be promoted by ICT strategy embracement, ICT strategy ought to promote human resource response to business strategy and commercial banks ought to recognize ICT related opportunities that supported business strategy. The study further recommends that IT innovation strategy ought to provide room for persuasions of new clients to the organization and IT innovation strategy ought to allow for timely commercialization of innovations. The business intelligence systems ought to enhance accuracy on strategic reporting, commercial banks business intelligence systems ought to improve speed and accuracy of strategic decision making.
Influence of Entrepreneurial Management Practices on Performance of Small and Medium Enterprises in Juba, South Sudan
(KeMU, 2019-09) Akoy, William Akoy
Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) sector development is one of the recent key issues in developing countries. As a developing country, the development of the SME sector in South Sudan is essential. The growth of SME as a support industry helps to strengthen the large industries. SME development is a foundation of large industries because every large enterprise, has had the experience of starting their businesses as an SME. Thus, the future of the large enterprise is dependent on the development of SME. SME development is also an important aspect for the labour market because it employs the labour force and offers wages to workers. There has been ongoing debate on whether entrepreneurial management practices would have effect on performance of small and medium enterprises. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between entrepreneurial management practices and performance of small and medium enterprises in juba, South Sudan. The objectives of the study were to establish the effect of strategic orientation, entrepreneur’s commitment, and management structure and business appraisal on the performance of SMEs. This study adopted descriptive research designs. The target population was 10,000 SMEs operating in Juba, South Sudan. Fisher, Laing and Stoeckel formula was used to obtain a sample size of 95. The data collection instruments were questionnaires. Descriptive analysis was used to analyse quantitative data obtained from closed ended and likert scale questions. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) computer software was used for data analysis. The study found that strategic orientation effects performance of SMEs in Juba. The SMEs continually monitor customers and competitors to find new ways to improve customer satisfaction. Entrepreneurs’ commitment and performance have a significant positive relationship. The entrepreneurs’ commitment increases their positive attitude towards the business and ultimately increases the productivity of the business. Management structure was also found to have effect on performance of SMEs in Juba. The SMEs owners emphasise getting things done by following formal processes and procedures. Business appraisal and performance were found to have a significant positive relationship. Business appraisal helps determining the worth of their business and in planning where the business is going to be in the future. The study recommends that SMEs need to identify and acquire new customers. They should encourage customers to give feedback about the products and services to be informed on customers’ future needs. Entrepreneurs need to be committed, ambitious and confident in their abilities. The commitment will increase the entrepreneurs’ positive attitude towards the business and ultimately increase the productivity of the business. The SMEs should continue designing the management structure as well as ensure that the effective communication is maintained. The entrepreneurs need to continue performing business appraisals to help determining the worth of their business and in planning where the business is going to be in the future. Assessing the value of the business is expected to motivate to achieve their targets. The researcher recommends further studies which can include investigation of external factors which may have influence on performance of SMEs in Juba, South Sudan.
Effect of International Market Entry Strategies on Growth of Local Horticulture Firms in Nairobi County, Kenya
(KeMU, 2019-09) Waithera, Victoria
The general purpose of the study was to investigate the effect of international market entry strategies on growth of local horticulture firms in Kenya with special focus on firms operating in Nairobi County. The study was guided by the following objectives: To establish the effect of export strategy on growth of local horticulture firms in Kenya; To establish the effect of franchising strategy on growth of local horticulture firms in Kenya; To establish the effect of strategic alliance on growth of local horticulture firms in Kenya and lastly to establish the effect of joint venture on growth of local horticulture firms in Kenya. The study was informed by four theories namely: Absolute advantage theory, International product lifecycle theory and transaction cost theory. This study will use descriptive survey research design. The population of the research was the local horticultural firms in Kenya which were mainly drawn from Nairobi and other parts of the country. According to the Kenya Bureau of Standards, there are 187 firms registered with diamond mark label as of October 2017 from which populations of 123 firms were selected. Primary data were collected through a questionnaire. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to evaluate respondents’ data. The researcher used the most common internal consistency measure known as Cronbach’s alpha (α). The recommended value of 0.7 was used as a cut-off of reliabilities and used descriptive statistical tool SPSS and MS excel tools were used to analyze and present the data. The results indicated that exporting strategy, franchising strategy, strategic alliances, joint venture were positively and highly correlated with growth of local horticulture firms in Kenya. Based on the findings it was recommended examination of more market entry strategies into the foreign market for the exploration of the market opportunities. Local Horticulture firms should critically analyze the various strategies at their disposal in entering a new market before making decisions on how to enter the selected market. Market entry strategy plays a very important role in determining the successfulness of the firms. Export strategy should be exercised by a firm who primarily view international markets as a means of disposing excess production, or a firm with limited resources available for international expansion. The study concludes that export strategy, franchising strategy, strategic alliances and joint venture strategy affected growth of local horticulture firms in Kenya. The study also concludes different strategies affected growth of local horticulture firms in Kenya. Joint ventures is seen as more favorable when the partners’ strategic goals converge while other competitive goals diverge and lastly joint venture partnership gives business better control over operations and also access to host market knowledge.
Relationship between Monetary Policies and Financial Performance of Banking Institutions in Kenya: A Case Study of Commercial Banks in Nairobi City
(KeMU, 2019-09) Thuc, Dabora Yar
The main purpose of this study was to determine if central bank rate relate with financial performance, to establish whether central bank open market operations associate with financial performance, to evaluate relationship between cash reserve ratio and financial performance and finally to determine the moderating influence of banks size on the relationship between monetary policies and financial performance. A case study of commercial banks in Nairobi city had a sample size of 42 commercial banks. The study adopted descriptive research design. Data was collected using secondary data collection sheet. The collected data was analyzed through quantitative methods of descriptive and inferential statistics such as correlation and multiple regression models. The tool used was Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 20.0. The findings established were represented in form of Tables and Figures. The study established that central bank rate has a positive and significant influence on financial performance of commercial banks in Kenya; central bank open market operations also has a positive and significant influence on financial performance of commercial banks in Kenya; cash reserve ratio has a negative and insignificant influence on financial performance of commercial banks in Kenya and bank size as a moderating variable has positive significant moderating effect on the relationship between monetary policies and financial performance of commercial banks in Kenya. The study recommends commercial banks to put more emphasis on both internal and external factors; the study recommends that the financial regulatory authorities such as the central bank of Kenya should formulate policies that can foster commercial banks involvement in investing in treasury bills and treasury bonds; the central bank of Kenya should be flexible when changing the cash reserve ratio and finally the banks management should embark on activities that will lead to high assets volume such as lowering of interest rate to attract borrowers and better customer relationship to retain customers.
Financial Determinants of Dividend Policy Payout among Commercial Banks in Kenya
(KeMU, 2019-09) Tut, Angelina Nyachol
Dividend payout policy for commercial banks differ as each company decides on what, how and when to pay dividend to its shareholders. Some banks pay higher and other pay less dividend despite the fact that they operate under same business environment. The questions how do the commercial banks set their dividend and why do banks pay dividend, impose the problem in dividend payout in Kenyan context. These reveal that there is no unified picture regarding dividend payout policy and therefore remain one of the most contested disputes within the field of corporate finance. The general aim of the study was to investigate the financial determinants of dividend payout policy among commercial banks in Kenya. Specifically, the study sought to achieve the following objectives: To establish the influence of levels of profits on dividend payout policy among commercial banks in Kenya; To establish the influence of liquidity on dividend payout policy among commercial banks in Kenya; To establish the influence of bank size on dividend payout policy among commercial banks in Kenya and lastly to establish the influence of leverage on dividend payout policy among commercial banks in Kenya. This study used descriptive research design. The researcher targeted all the 42 commercial banks in Kenya. Secondary quantitative data was collected using secondary data collection sheet. The data was analyzed by descriptive and inferential analysis that involved multiple linear regression and correlation analysis. The results indicated that levels of profits had significant influence on dividend payout policy of commercial banks in Kenya (p-value < 0.05), liquidity had significant influence on dividend payout policy of commercial banks in Kenya (p-value < 0.05), bank size had significant influence on dividend payout policy of commercial banks in Kenya (p-value < 0.05) and leverage has no significant influence on dividend payout policy of commercial banks in Kenya (p-value < 0.05). The study recommended that banks should work towards improving their profit levels to facilitate dividend payout policy. The study in addition recommended that, bank managers should ensure they are able to fulfill both expected and unexpected demands of cash on an ongoing basis. Further the study recommended that bank managers should work towards the growth of the banks, when a firm becomes larger, and its operational activities are more efficient.

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