An Evaluation of Change Management and Its Implications on Competitiveness of Public Universities in Kenya

A plethora of theory, research and practice in change management has evolved considerably over many years, and experienced a major transformation in form and function amid a rapidly changing environment. The pressure for change comes from all sides, government initiatives, the need for efficiency, improving the quality of student learning, intense competition and ever-changing environment make change a permanent condition in all organizations and the pace of change is ever increasing. The purpose of this study was to evaluate change management and its implications on competitiveness of public Universities in Kenya. The population of the study was teaching and non-teaching staff in public universities in Kenya. Key informants drawn from both teaching and non-teaching staff were purposively sampled to respond to the data collection instruments since they had information that was significant to the objectives of the study. A total of 381 respondents were purposively selected to participate in the study as respondents. Both questionnaire and interview guide were used to collect data. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used in data analysis and presentation. The results revealed that management of change significantly influences competitiveness of public universities in Kenya. Organizational factors were found to significantly influence the relationship between management of change and competitiveness of public universities. Organizational factors were also found to influence competitiveness of public universities. The findings of this study are useful to the administrators and stakeholders of public Universities as well as other institutions of higher learning in Kenya and beyond who are increasingly becoming challenged by inadequate change management practices. It is important for all those involved in change management initiatives to be well versed with aspects of management of change including an assessment of the need for change, determination of the adequacy of human as well as financial resources to roll out change programmes, how to conduct periodic and step by step monitoring and evaluation of the change management activities to determine and correct any challenges in the change management progress and the need to involve employees in the change management process to enhance acceptance and support for the change programme. Keywords: Change Management, organizational factors, competitiveness of public Universities