International Journal of Arts and Humanities

Management of Strategic Change at National Crime Research Centre in Kenya

Abstract: The environment is constantly evolving; this has forced organizations to find ways of coping in order to survive. This study was set out to determine strategic change management practices and the challenges that face the implementation of strategic change management at the National Crime Research Centre. The study implemented a case study research design where raw data was collected with the help of an interview guide. Data collected was analyzed using content analysis. It was found that among the stakeholders, the employees play a significant role in implementing strategic change management practices. Failure to involve employees in strategic change management planning contributed to resistance to change. Lack of public involvement in decisions contributed to their failure to participate in giving information about crime. The lack of confidence in their skills is also a factor that may lead the employees to resist change. To eliminate resistance to change, organizations may consider involving employees in strategic change management planning and equipping them with the skills needed to successfully complete their tasks. Apart from employee resistance, the success of strategic change management practices was affected by organisational politics, resulting in conflicts in the organisation. Other factors that hindered effective implementation of change strategies included financial constraints and inadequate employees. The recommendation put forward is that more funds should be channeled to support the organization's implementation of strategic changes and improve the quality of its services. This will assist in conducting elaborate crime investigations while taking into account the nature of crimes and the way they manifest themselves. Constraints on time and cost limited the scope of this study. The research's findings cannot be generalized to other organizations or semi-autonomous agencies within the Attorney General's office. In the future, it would be worthwhile for researchers to do a duplicate of this study in the private sector in order to make a comparison of findings on key areas, for instance, the commonly used strategic change management practices and the challenges that they face. This will inform a better way of handling these challenges and borrowing some of the best practices in strategic change management.

Keywords: Management, Change, National Crime Research Centre, Kenya