Effects of Quality Management Practices on Performance of Kenyan Universities (Published)
The university education sector in Kenya has become very attractive due to changes in the environment. Quality has become an essential business strategy for all sectors and the implementation of quality management practices has become popular. In actual fact, quality management is an integrative management strategy aimed at the continuous improvement of universities performance. The purpose of this study is to establish the effects of quality management practices on performance of Kenyan universities. Deming’s theory of quality management provided a theoretical basis for the study. The study adopted explanatory survey research design. The target population was the employees of public and private universities from which 321 respondents were selected using stratified random sampling techniques. Data was analysed using descriptive statistics Pearson correlations and structural equation modelling. The study unveiled that employee involvement in the university activities, leadership commitment and continuous improvement and customer focus have a significant effect on the university performance. Top management should facilitate employees for any successful implementation of quality management practices. The study recommended that universities operating in Kenya should embrace quality management system to improve their performance.
Keywords: Customer Focus, Employee Involvement, Leadership Commitment, Performance, Quality Management Practices, Universities
Managing Behind the Scenes: A View Point on Corporate Culture and Organization Performance (Published)
Corporate culture has become a tool for organizational effectiveness in the 21st century. Corporate culture is said to have benefited many organizations if managed and nurtured properly. In this era of globalization there is need for corporate culture in order to enable organizations respond quickly to changes in the environment. The paper reviews literature on the effect of corporate culture on organizational performance. The paper concludes that the success of organizations to a very large extent depends on their cultures. The paper recommends that managers should put in place an adaptive culture that encourages the involvement of employees as this could enhance their responsiveness and commitment to the achievement of the organizational goals. The paper also recommends that the managers should share the mission of the organization with employees as it could increase their involvement. Finally the paper recommends that the values of the organization be shared as well to serve as an informal control measure that can be very effective.
Keywords: Corporate culture, Employee Involvement, Organizational Performance