Competitive Strategies and Organizational Competencies Adopted By the Middle Level Colleges in Nairobi Central Business District to Enhance Performance

Abstract

The mam objective of this study was to investigate the competitive strategies and organizational competencies adopted by middle level colleges. This study aimed at to identify competitive strategies adopted by middle level colleges in Nairobi Business Central District, to identify organizational competencies adopted by middle level colleges i n Nairobi Business Central District and, to analyze the effect of competitive strategics and organizational competencies on performance of middle level colleges in Nairobi Business Central District. This study adopted a descriptive cross-sectional research design. A descriptive research desi gn was used to describe characteristics of variables; analyze their frequency, distribution , features and observable phenomena of the study population. The population of this study comprised of 175 Private Middle Level Colleges in Nairobi Central I Business District registered and accredited by the Ministry of Higher Education. In this study the main data collection instruments were questionnaires. The respondents comprised of directors/managers/administrator i n each college's top management team. The findings on the competiti ve strategics adopted by midd le level colleges revealed that most colleges were keen on maintai ning cost leadership. differentiation and focus strategies in order to maintain their competitiveness. The findings on the organizational competencies adopted by middle level colleges in Nairobi business central district revealed that most colleges arc keen on development of skills to continually improve performance , information sharing across departments; innovation on better ways of operation is encouraged and rewarded and; decision mak ing is first. The findings on the effect of competitive strategies and organizational competencies on performance of middle level colleges revealed that there is a l ink between competitive strategies to strengths withi n the college. Colleges' strengths are used to exploit emerging opportunities in the market. Additionally it was revealed that capital investment has i nfl uence on college performance to a greater extent also profit has been increasi ng over the years to a smal l extent. In light of the findings, the study concluded that, most of the colleges the colleges surveyed employ both cost leadershi p and differentiation strategies. Similarly these colleges have aligned their organizational competencies with the strategies they have adopted to gain a competitive edge. Most of the colleges in Kenya have emphasized on development of skills to continually improve performance; information sharing across departments: innovation on better ways of operation is encouraged and rewarded and; decision making is fast. However some of the colleges were coming up with new courses and this had reduced over the past one year. The colleges surveyed were able to retain competent and committed lecturers and; regularly launches new courses not offered in other colleges. Further they were able to recognize and accept new business opportunities ahead of others. This study conclud es that college performance in Kenya is influenced by differentiation strategy, cost leadership and organizational competencies. Most of the colleges the colleges surveyed employ both cost leadership and differentiation strategies. Similarly these colleges have aligned their organizational C(lmpetencies with the strategies they have adopted to gain a competitive edge. Add itionally it is concl uded that most colleges manifests vanous competencies and to a very large extent some of the competencies have statistically significant independent effect on some indicators of performance. Similarly most colleges in Kenya emphasized on development of ski lls to continually improve performance: information sharing across departments: innovation on better ways of operation is encouraged and rewarded and; decision making is fast. Finally the study concludes that competitive strategies and organizational competencies had an effect on col lege performance. The study therefore recommends that strategists adopt both cost leadership and differentiation. The best strategy for a given firm is ultimately a uniq ue construction reflecting its particular circumstance. I Iowever, to make these strategies tru l y successful. managers must interpose their own originality and creativity. This is because most managers. including rivals, expect these strategies, and thus. to catch rivals unaware, a somewhat new approach must be taken. Consequentl y, i t is necessary for managers to develop strategies having unique details and deviations from the studied approaches to obtain superior performance. Additionally, there is need to undertake similar studies in different higher learning institutions to ascertain how different sectors deal with the competitive strategies and organizational competencies. It is also recom mended that private middle level colleges should take advantage of the recent East African community integration and begin by researching those markets, customizing their courses, especially those that are curriculum based for the region.