Strategic Planning and Its Impact on Performance in the Manufacturing Sector in Kenya

The dissertation aimed to identify the strategic planning dimensions that have an impact on the performance of manufacturing companies in Kenya. The dissertation also aimed to support the fact that there exists a relationship between strategic planning and manufacturing performance by evaluating the five strategic planning dimensions of planning formality, functional coverage, internal and external orientation, centralisation process and planning benefits with manufacturing performance unlike in previous studies where strategic planning was addressed as a whole. Quantitative research via a web-based survey was conducted to get responses from different manufacturing companies in Kenya to gather evidence that these five dimensions do impact on performance and evaluate their responses using different appropriate methods. The results of the study found that the five strategic planning dimensions have an impact on performance though the study could be limited due to a lacking reliable representative of the entire sector as the response rate was very low. The study was able to show that the managers are keen on the following components that have a direct impact on the decisions made by management and which stem from the five strategic planning dimensions under study. These components are; a regular monitoring of the business environment which changes regularly, the push for a participative planning process which allows the empowerment of employees and therefore prepare them for new challenges and developments within the organisation, a consistent planning process and documentation of the strategic plans which are useful for reference purposes. The limitations sited in the study necessitate a more comprehensive study of the manufacturing sector in Kenya in future to gather more reliable results. There is need for the Kenyan population to be sensitised on the need to take surveys as it’s the only best and reliable means to gather information for future use. In today’s business world, an organisation requires striving to remain competitive and this can be achieved through embracing new ways of doing business. The 'triple bottom line' is rapidly gaining recognition as a framework for measuring business performance. In this concept an organisation not only focuses on the single bottom line of profits but also the social and environmental aspect of doing business. In the open ended questions, managers in Kenya listed a number of indicators of performance that could be used to support this concept and its impact on manufacturing performance. The manager listed the following as indicators of measuring performance; staff training, ability to respond to changing environment, employee benefits, outcome of policies, staff and customer satisfaction, safety and morale and staff engagement. From these responses, one is able to appreciate the effort from manufacturing companies in Kenya in embracing new developments in the current business world.