STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT PRACTICES AND PERFORMANCE OF PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES IN KENYA: CASE OF MULTIMEDIA UNIVERSITY OF KENYA.

The model of strategic management practices is becoming a vital component of enactment in higher education learning institutions. Over the past years, the sector has witnessed tremendous development all over the world. Due to this development most of the public universities are facing numerous changes and challenges in the course of their operations. The general objective of this study was to examine the influences of strategic management practices on performance of public universities, case study of Multimedia University of Kenya. The specific objectives for the study were to establish the influence of strategic leadership, human resources strategy, technology strategy, innovation strategy and strategic financial management on performance of Multimedia University of Kenya. The findings in this study will be of great significance to government agencies, researchers and academicians in laying a foundation for strategic management and as a reservoir for future references. Resource – based theory, Blue ocean theory and Knowledge – based theory are the theories the researcher used to explain and describe the research problem. The study adopted a purely quantitative research approach aided by case study research designs. The target population was 450 staff in the University. The sample size for the study was 82 respondents. This was achieved through stratified random sampling technique. Primary data was collected using structured questionnaires. The data generation instrument was administered to the respondents using drop and pick method. Descriptive statistics tools were used to summarize, organize, interpret and present data. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software was used to analyze data. Data was presented using graphs, pie charts and tables. The regression model was used to find the relationship between the study dependent and independent variables. The findings on the study indicated that from the sample size of 82 participants who were issued with questionnaires; 60 participants filled their questionnaires and returned them. This indicated a 73.2 % response rate which was excellent for data analysis and reporting. This study established that the university leadership to a greater extent played a very key role in providing the strategic direction towards achieving the vision of the institution. Findings indicate that leaders have provided clear guidelines on organizational control and budgetary matters. Further, the study found that there are strategic leadership factors that have influenced performance of the university. These include: - competence and skills, team performance, empowering of employees, excellent coordination and commanding, recruitment of highly qualified and experienced employees and on – going training programs aimed at improving the employees‟ skills and knowledge. In addition, the study established that there is an increased access to technology. This is seen in the university‟s integration of technology in its operations, that is, in teaching, research and marketing leading to improved strategic performance of the university. Moreover, the study indicated that strategic innovation influenced the institution‟s performance by producing improved market position which signifies competitive advantage and improved performance. The researcher recommends that universities should put up mechanisms to improve their current leadership skills, that is, they should strive and embark on the formulation and enactment of strategic management practices in all areas of their operations that they remain relevant and remain in a competitive advantageous position.