Effect of Human Capital Investment on Organizational Performance of Pharmaceutical Companies in Kenya (Published)
Provision of adequate health care services to their population remains a major challenge for governments in Africa. In Kenya, the number of trained Pharmacists is increasing with time but still insufficient relative to the population in need (one pharmacist for every 8,710 persons, or approximately 0.1 per 1000 persons. Kenya had about 8 pharmacists for every 100,000 people). It was estimated that for the country to meet its health related Millennium Development Goals, the pharmacy workforce needed to grow by 28 per cent annually between 2010 and 2015. Whereas, Kenya’s population is estimated to be 43 million (provisional) in 2014, the number of registered pharmacist in 2013 was 2,202 and rose to 2,355 with a ratio of 5 pharmacists per 100,000 persons. In summary we have approximately 5:100,000, meaning 5 pharmacists to 100,000 persons, while the requirement is approximately 1:10000, meaning 1 pharmacist to 10000 persons. The current numbers of pharmacists are not adequate for achievement of the post-2015 Sustainable Development Goal 3. The study sought to establish the effect of Human Capital Investment on Organizational Performance of Pharmaceutical Companies in Kenya. The independent variables include: training, education, knowledge management and skills development. The main underpinning theories in this study include: Human Capital, Skill Acquisition and Sustainable Resource Theory. 200 observations were used in the study. Study used questionnaires in data collection, descriptive and inferential statistics used in the analysis. The found a positive significant relationship between human capital investment and organizational performance. The study recommends provision of quality education, relevant training linked to industry requirement, the study suggest adoption of German Dual Vocational Education and Training system to facilitate and strengthen linkage between education sector and the industry. Promotion of knowledge management through teamwork, social networks and knowledge management systems; training on employability and transferability skills to enhance Skills Development. The enterprises to go beyond traditional apprenticeship, Soft skills assessment in schools, embrace technology and promote intrapreneurship. The study also suggest introduction of Skill Development Fund to equip the communities and businesses with relevant skills required in the dynamic global market place.
Keywords: : Human Capital, Education, Human Capital Investment, Knowledge Management, Skills Development, Soft Skills and Organizational Performance, Training