Assessment of Participatory Management in Strategy Implementation: Case of Mabati Rolling Mills Company Limited, Mombasa

Abstract

Most studies on reasons for good and poor performance in companies in Kenya and the world over have been done and findings and recommendations made whose adoption have not aided in enhancement of the profit margins of the said companies. Most of the recommendations have been focusing on methods like retrenchment, diversification and concentration strategies which have not been effective in improving the companies’ performance as envisaged in their strategic plans. These studies have failed to consider the management styles whose adoption could lead to improved output by all employees. This study looked into the detailed relationship between participatory management and employee commitment towards strategy implementation with an aim of resolving the question that “Does participatory management payoff in terms of employee performance in strategy implementation?” Research results in this area clarified the relationship. This, it achieved through an analytic study of the employee participation in management as well as the level of strategy implementation at the company. The study used cross sectional descriptive involving systematic collection and presentation of data to give a clear picture of the situation with participative management as the independent variable and strategy implementation as the dependent variable. The design was preferred because it allowed deep analysis of the units under study. Data was collected at two levels namely; management staff and junior staff levels in MRM. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 21 to determine the relationship between the two main variable namely extent of participatory management and performance. The study established a positive and significant relationship between employee participation in management and strategy implementation and formulation at the company. This implies that, the more satisfying the employee involvement in the management of the affairs of the company the greater the extent of strategy implementation in a company. Overall, employee participation in management influences significantly strategy formulation and implementation at MRM. It would be of interest to consider how the company involves other stakeholders such as suppliers in its strategic plans’ formulation and implementation as well as find out the effect of the risk of not involving employees in the management process with an aim of assessing the costs and benefits of implementing stakeholder focused strategic plans for the company.

Key Words: Participatory Management, Strategy Implementation, Mabati Rolling Mills Company Limited, Mombasa.