The Influence of Organizational Structure on Implementation of Strategy Among Vocational Training Centres in Bungoma County, Kenya

Abstract

With the current governments focus on skills development, Vocational Education is the future of social economic growth of any economy. However, the Vocational Training Centers have not been embraced as one would think making it a potential issue of research. The purpose of the study was to examine determinants of implementation of strategy in vocational training centers (VTCs) in Bungoma County, Kenya. The specific objectives were to evaluate the influence of organizational structure on implementation of strategy among VTCs in Bungoma County, Kenya. This research was anchored on contingency theory of leadership. A descriptive study design was employed. The study population was principals and departmental heads of the 36 registered government VTCs in Bungoma County, totaling to 193 respondents. Since the study population was homogenous it was sampled using Yamane’s sampling formula to get 130 respondents. Data was collected by help of questionnaires. A pre-study was done to measure how valid and reliable the study tools were. Validity tested content, functional and criterion validity by help of experts while reliability was measured by Cronbach alpha test, at a threshold of 0.7. Descriptive statistics was measured using frequencies and percentages and inferential statistics was measured using correlation as well as regression coefficients. The analyzed data was presented using APA tables. There is evidence that the relationship between Organizational structure and Strategy implementation in VTCs which was linear; the correlation coefficient (R) of 0.813 indicated a strong positive linear relationship. This implied that Organizational structure has a significant and strong relationship with the strategy implementation. It came out clearly in this research work that Strategy implementation is determined and influenced by several factors which are dependent on the type of determinants a firm has. Therefore, there is a significant relationship between determinants and Strategy implementation. The study recommended that, Vocational training centers should prioritize establishing perquisite management, technical and operational structures for effective service delivery. Secondly, county governments should establish and build the capacity of leadership in vocational training centers for enhanced performance. Thirdly, every vocational training center should develop and cultivate their organizational culture to enhance branding and competitive advantage.