The Role of Strategic Leadership in Effective Strategy Implementation: A Case Study of UNICEF Somalia

A Research Project Report Submitted to the Chandaria School of Business in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Master of Business Administration (MBA)The main purpose of the study was to establish the role of strategic leadership in effective strategy implementation at UNICEF Somalia. The study sought to answer the following research questions: What is the role of strategic leadership in strategy implementation at UNICEF Somalia; what is the role of organizational culture in strategy implementation at UNICEF Somalia; and what is the role of organizational structure in strategy implementation at UNICEF Somalia? This study adopted the descriptive research design. The descriptive study was used to examine the relationship between the roles of strategic leadership (independent variable) in effective strategy implementation (dependent variable). The population for this study was the staff working at UNICEF Somalia whose total was 294. For this study, the sampling frame came from the official list of employees that worked at UNICEF Somalia in 2016 and was obtained from the organization’s human resource department. The study used stratified sampling technique. The sample size of the study was 50% of the total number of managers at different levels and that of regular staff which brought the total sample size to 148. Data analysis was done using means and standard deviations to show the strength and the degree in response differences. The study also employed the use of correlation and regression analysis to test the existing relationships between the study variables. Presentations of these findings were done by use of figures and tables. The study showed that there was need for an organization to have valued-servant champions like in UNICEF who built trusting relationships which encouraged collaboration within the organization, as well as a powered-team champion who was accountable for cascading goals and team management. The study showed that UNICEF was successful in implementing strategy within the organization through linking of team members and different work processes that implanted self-confidence and autonomy in the various existing teams, and also through value addition in the resource management process, and employee development processes. The study showed that an organizational culture was crucial in facilitating effective strategy implementation and it was used as a form of control and as a means of increasing productivity within the organization. The organizational culture at UNICEF helped employees to understand the disconnectedness of the organization that fostered collaboration in achieving strategy implementation and it had a purposeful communication capable of conveying circular relationships and exposing the interdependency of individual units within the organization. The study showed that the organizational structure helped UNICEF to implement its strategies effectively. The organization’s structure served as a basis for orchestrating the organizational activities and it promoted specialization of labor to encourage efficiency and minimize the need for an elaborate control system. The study showed that UNICEF’s structure had the ability to promote full utilization of the most up-to-date technical skills and facilitate the capitalization of efficiency gained from specialized manpower, faculties, and equipment. The study concludes that strategy implementation is not possible without stability between strategy and all organizational dimensions. The study concludes that an organizational culture is crucial in facilitating effective strategy implementation and it is used as a form of control and as a means of increasing productivity within the organization. From the study, it can be concluded that the organizational structure helped UNICEF to implement its strategies effectively. The organization’s structure served as a basis for orchestrating the organizational activities and it promoted specialization of labor to encourage efficiency and minimize the need for an elaborate control system. The study recommends UNICEF leaders that are interested in changing the way the organization does things to take a step back from the process-based activities of strategic planning and focus on the value-based forces underlying the organization’s behaviors. These leaders need to carry out a culture assessments that will reveal what strategic culture characteristics exist and they can promote the strengths they find to motivate personnel and identify possibilities for immediate successes in their cultural reshaping endeavors