Influence of internal factors on strategy implementation in Machakos County Government, Kenya

Abstract

The study's goal was to determine the influence of internal factors on strategy implementation in Machakos County Government. The following four objectives guided the research: to determine the impact of leadership skills on strategy implementation, to determine the impact of employee training on strategy implementation, to determine the impact of resource allocation on strategy implementation, and to investigate the impact of employee involvement on strategy implementation. The literature review was divided into theoretical framework and empirical framework. The contingency theory of leadership and resource-based view theory influenced the theoretical framework. Empirical literature was reviewed on leadership skills, resource allocation, employee training and employee involvement all against strategy implementation. The research project used a descriptive approach, allowing the researcher to conduct an in-depth investigation into the methods that influence ethical behavior. The study was done at Machakos County with the target population being employees of Machakos County government and a sample size of 196 employees. SPSS was used to analyze the data received from the respondents, and the results were presented in the form of tables and figures in percentages for easy interpretation and observation. The findings on the impact of leadership abilities on strategy implementation revealed that there was a strong association between in-place leadership and subordinates, with a p-value of 0.000. The study also discovered that: Employee training is critical to strategy implementation (p-0.025); Resource allocation is critical to strategy execution (p-0.031). The majority of those polled agreed that management should always include them in strategy execution (p-0.00). Management played a crucial role in strategy execution, according to the findings on the impact of leadership abilities on strategy implementation. The study discovered that county governments are not guided by any explicit federal policy requirements when it comes to strategic implementation, and that most individuals in charge of strategy implementation lack strategic formulation skills and knowledge making them unable to provide effective leadership to the process. As a result, the study suggests the following: county governments should ensure that the human resources aspects of selection, training, performance appraisal and compensation by the county government are done well. County governments should look for ways of getting finances and not just relying on the allocation from the national government. Instead of having a top- bottom decision making as indicated by most respondents the county governments should adopt a multi-dimensional way of communicating strategy. A similar analysis in Kenya's devolved governments should be conducted using other parameters not included in this study.