The influence of communication in strategy implementation at Kenya commercial bank limited

This study set out to explore the influence of communication in strategic implementation \nat Kenya Commercial Bank Group Ltd. Kenya Commercial Bank is one among the major \nplayers of commercial banks in Kenya that form a subset in the set of Financial \nInstitutions. The emphasis of this study was laid on its effects in the overall strategic \nimplantation of the bank. It also shows what factors lead to the process of change if they \nwere planned or emergent and also resistance to change and its challenges. The business \nenvironment is so dynamic that is forces organizations to be on the lookout for sudden \nchanges which can have adverse effects on their operations and business. These changes \ncan be political, economic, social and technological. The paper used the approach of a \ncase study to have an in-depth analysis of how the various factors attributed to strategic \nchange. Primary data was collected through the use of an interview guide and data \ncollected analyzed through content analysis. Key findings of the study revealed that KCB \nunderwent a number of effects in the strategic implementation process. The study details \nthe use of communication, leadership, training as ways in which the organization used to \nprepare for the whole process of the change and the factors that helped mitigate the \ninfluence were as cost cutting, creation of effective and efficient systems and processes \nand reduction of duplication of work. These are detailed to show specifically as key \nfactors, KCB used them to prepare and train the staff and other key stakeholders that \nwere deemed important for the change. The study also presents the competitive \nenvironment and how other competing financial institutions played a part in shaping key \ndecisions that would help in the transformation process. The study’s major limitation was \nthe unavailability of the senior management of KCB Group Ltd and to reveal more \ninformation citing the strict rules that govern such information with the banks. This \nexplains why KCB Group has undergone structural changes within a very short period of \ntime that in five years. The challenges of change management are evident in the \nreorganization and resistance to change, changing of the organization structure, balance \nbetween planned and emergent change and restructuring especially downsizing. The \nstudy concluded that management of strategic change had a number of challenges during \nits implementation stage such as resistance to change by employees and the cost \nimplication of the process and it recommends that a similar study be carried out to cover \nother financial institutions that have embraced change as a strategy. The study \nrecommended that there is need for the management to take a more proactive approach to \nmanaging change within the organization. Employee involvement throughout the process \nwill ensure that those who have major responsibilities to carry out the plan understand the \nplan and the reason behind the change and thus create a great sense of organization unity