Zachary Bolo Awino

Competitive Repertoire Complexity: A Potential Mediator in the Upper Echelons Propositions?

This study sought to evaluate the relationships between top management team (TMT) heterogeneity, competitive repertoire complexity and firm performance. The study was grounded on the upper echelons theory which argues that the TMT characteristics affect the organization’s performance through their influence on strategic choices. This study sought to investigate this relationship using the complete array of strategies deployed by heterogeneous TMTs. The study was conducted through a cross sectional descriptive survey of 53 large food and beverage manufacturers in Kenya. Primary data and secondary data was collected through a structured questionnaire and checklist respectively and analyzed by descriptive and inferential statistics. The study established that TMT heterogeneity had a significant negative effect on financial, internal processes and social performance in line with the upper echelons theory. Competitive repertoire complexity was not associated with TMT heterogeneity and did not significantly mediate the relationship between TMT heterogeneity and firm performance as expected from the information processing theory. This study contributed to the strategic management field by providing empirical evidence to the upper echelons and resource based view. Managers would benefit by careful consideration of how their TMTs were designed. Policy makers would also be aware about the competitive actions they adopted and their effect on their organizations performance.

Work Culture: Stress Management in Reducing Stress and Improving Organizational Performance

Stress at work is an ever increasing problem in contemporary societies resulting in enormous cost both for the corporate organizations involved and the individual employees. These realities have led to employers looking into stress management techniques that can help reduce stress levels among employees and in turn enhance corporate performance. Data were collected from managers 52 corporations listed at the Nairobi Securities Exchange and were analyzed using multivariate techniques. The empirical results found that use of certain stress management techniques stress had a positive influence on corporate performance. These findings can provide gers with the necessary strategies that can help implement the most effective stress management techniques in their organizations.

The Effect of Diversification Strategy on Performance of Companies Listed In the Nairobi Securities Exchange

A fundamental question in corporate strategy is the choice of horizontal scope – the set of industries and market segments in which a firm competes. Governing this choice is a trade-off between the threat of losing focus and the opportunity to grow and exploit synergies. This trade-off raises the question of whether and when diversification is profitable. Diversification has been inconclusively linked to organizational performance and no consensus has yet emerged. The objective of this study was to establish the effect of diversification strategy on performance of companies listed at the Nairobi Securities Exchange in Kenya. A census survey was carried out on all the 59 publicly quoted companies out of which 35 responded indicating a response rate of approximately 60%. The study reveals statistically significant results for the influence of diversification strategy on non-financial measures of organizational performance and statistically not significant results on financial performance. Specifically, diversification relatedness had a statistically significant effect on organizational performance whereas mode of entry into diversification did not have a statistically significant effect. This study has contributed to the general body of knowledge by providing empirical findings for the context of companies listed at the NSE a context which is largely unexplored in literature with regard to diversification strategies. For policy makers, the study implies that diversification is an effective strategy for improving firm performance. The results of this study can be used in policy development in the areas of business growth strategies and priority diversification areas for business firms. Managers can use the findings of this study to identify performance drivers in their respective organizations. More importantly, managers should establish which diversification strategy will lead to a sustainable competitive advantage. One of the main drawbacks of this study was that the financial performance indicators (Earnings per Share and Profit before Tax) yielded statistically not significant results when they were regressed with diversification strategy. The study therefore considered only non-financial measures of firm performance. Secondly, the study employed a cross sectional approach whereas a longitudinal approach would provide for a longer time of study to observe relationships among study variables. Future research studies can use organizational characteristics as moderators to gain further insights into the relationship between diversification strategy and organizational performance.

Diversity Management Strategies and Quality Decisions in the Banking Sector

The Top Management Team diversity discussed in the study is the extent to which the executive team is heterogeneous with respect to gender, age, academic qualifications, tenure, professional qualifications and functional backgrounds and how this aids quality decisions in the banking sector. Furthermore the study suggests that top management characteristics, specifically their demographic configuration could impair decision making which is the main objective and focus. Other researchers have shown that workforce diversity can provide positive organizational outcomes such as increased morale, higher satisfaction, greater commitment and improved performance. The questionnaire was the main tool of data collection. Cross sectional survey was adapted as the methodology of research where the target respondents were Heads of Human Resources in 43 banks. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and regression analysis. The TMT diversity attributes under study were age, gender, academic qualifications, tenure in the bank and at the top, professional and functional background diversity. These variables were used to determine the existing gaps in knowledge, whether these attributes were crucial in making quality decisions. The study also used secondary data obtained from the Banking sector to measure performance in terms of increase in customer deposits, increase in average assets and profit before tax. The study established that tenure in the banking sector has a major implication in the quality of decisions made within the Top Management Teams of organizations. Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE AR-SA