MBA Theses and Dissertations (2015)
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Browsing MBA Theses and Dissertations (2015) by Subject "Business"
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- ItemExamining the factors that contributed to the turnaround of Chase Bank (Kenya) Ltd(Strathmore University, 2015) Waweru, M. GitauThe main objective of this study was to examine the factors that contributed to the turnaround of Chase Bank (Kenya) Ltd from insolvency in 1995 to a vibrant solid 2nd tier bank by 2010. The study sought to establish the factors that contributed to the bank’s turnaround. The study adopted a case study methodology. Primary data was collected through interviews with 10 employees, a longstanding customer and a representative of the industry association. The study results suggest that leadership, focus on stakeholder needs and strategy would explain the bank’s successful turnaround more than focus on process improvement does. With respect to leadership, the study found that openness with stakeholders, including openly admitting mistakes, discussing the bank’s vision, getting commitment from the employees and building confidence in the institution were some of the leadership factors that contributed to the turnaround. With respect to strategy, the study found that identifying and developing expertise in a niche market, nurturing relationships with customers in the niche, evolving this strategy by converting to an SME bank assisted the bank in generating profitability necessary for the turnaround. Further, by involving every one of its employees, directly and indirectly in the strategy development, employing the balanced scorecard, linked to the performance management system to monitor strategy implementation, the bank ensured that its employees understood and implemented the strategy. The bank also used various means to gain the support from its main stakeholders. In terms of process improvement, the bank’s IT systems did not play a major part in the turnaround, but the bank tried to ensure that it provided first class services to its customers even though they had a system that was largely manual. The study concludes that leadership, strategic focus and stakeholder focus contributed the most in the turnaround of Chase Bank. Process improvement focus may not have made significant contribution to the turnaround, but this shortcoming was compensated for by first class customer service. This research adopted a qualitative approach. Further research using a quantitative approach may throw more light into how leadership, strategic focus, stakeholder focus and process improvement focus interacted with each other.
- ItemExamining the role of social entrepreneurship in water resources users associations in enhancing the management and conservation of water resources(Strathmore University, 2015) Ogut, Petronilla A.It is expected that as the world population continues to soar, there will be an increased pressure on the available water resources. This study sought to examine the role of social entrepreneurship in water resources users associations (WRUAs) in enhancing the management and conservation of water resources in Kenya. Specifically, the study explored the motivation behind the formation of WRUAs, the sustainability of their social mission and their economic sustainability while at the same time unraveling the opportunities available to them and which were capable of enhancing them to attain their mandate. The study further explored the challenges faced by WRUAs. All this was carried out with the aim of establishing a clear inter-linkage of WRUAs and the concept of social entrepreneurship in order to establish a sustainable social entrepreneurship framework in the management and conservation of water resources. The study was carried out in two catchment areas; Tana and Athi Catchment Basins. It was qualitative in nature and was able to draw the participation of one hundred and thirty five (135) members drawn from fifty three (53) WRUAs and six (6) key informants from institutions that were key players in water management and conservation. While focus group discussion was used to gain insights from the members of the WRUAs, interview schedules were used to gather information from the key informants. Observations in the form of transect walk enabled the study to capture more insights into the operations of the WRUAs. In total, twelve (12) focus group discussions were carried out. The data gathered was analyzed through content analysis and descriptive inferences made out it. The findings of the study reveal that the motivating factors leading to the formation of WRUAs are centered on the conservation and management of water resources at the sub-catchment zones. Such factors include; the need to address environmental degradation, create a sustainable solution to water related conflicts, curb pollution of water resources, address the issues of water scarcity, quality and quantity among others. The WRUAs address these issues by relying on member contribution, annual subscriptions and from funding from Water Resources Management Authority, Water Services Trust Fund and other stakeholders. At the same time, most of the WRUAs in this study had been able to engage in commercial activities in order to raise revenue to sustain their administrative, operation and maintenance expenses. Nevertheless, most of these associations had not been able to realize economic sustainability by the time of this study. The main challenges facing the WRUAs were those of lack of adequate financial capacity leading them to be over reliant on the membership contributions and annual subscriptions as well as funding from government agencies and donations from well wishers, NGOs and other stakeholders. Weak institutional structures and the existence of many overlapping role of government agencies was also another challenge that affected the ability of the WRUAs to be economically sustainable and successful in many of their ventures. The study was able to find out that WRUAs were a valuable component in many sectors of the economy such as agriculture, tourism, energy and were a source of employment to many. Nevertheless, the non-existence of tools to measure the performance and impact of WRUAs was a challenge that negatively impacted on the ability of the value proposition of WRUAs to be clearly articulated. The respondents were of the view that more needs to be done if WRUAs were to become a sustainable venture both economically and socially. To achieve this, the study found the social entrepreneurship concept as one of the best tools of addressing the economic sustainability of the WRUAs.