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Abstract This study sought to shed light on the relationship between employee perception on performance management and employee performance in the hotel industry in Kenya and sought to achieve three objectives. These were to establish employees‟ perception on performance management initiatives in the Hotel Industry in Kenya, to evaluate the extent to which employees view their performance as satisfactory and to determine the relationship between employee perception on performance management and employee performance. The study employed the descriptive design that employed stratified quota sampling and used questionnaires to collect primary data. The questionnaires were distributed to 90 staff members involved in customer service points across 10 hotels classified in the three, four and five star categories in Nairobi. The data collected was analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. SPSS version 17 was used to analyze the data. The Findings indicated that employees appreciate performance management initiatives in the hotel industry. Quality and safety were key drivers in managing performance in the hotel industry. Easy exchange of information within and between departments was also important in ensuring that the quality of customer service was maintained. There was agreement that the management of performance had aided in fostering good working relations. The study concluded that managing performance aided employees in performing their duties but did not significantly influence their individual performance. The study recommended a re-evaluation of the contribution of employee performance in the industry with a view of establishing its main drivers/ predictors. This would enable managers to focus on the issues that positively influence both individual and organizational performance.

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Changes from natural forests and bush lands to various land use types has been shown to have great influence on soil structure and carbon storage. However, little is still known about how these changes affect soil aggregate stability and C storage over the long-term, especially in Africa. A study was conducted in central highlands of Kenya to evaluate the influence of four land use types on soil aggregation and aggregates C content, as affected by the abundance of earthworms and termites. The four land use types included: (1) an undisturbed natural bush land dotted with Lantana camara L. shrubs and Croton macrostachyus Hochst. ex Delile. trees, (2) over 50 years old grazed pasture dominated by a mixture of Bermuda grass (Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers.) and Kikuyu grass (Pennisetum clandestinum Hochst. ex Chiov.), (3) over 80 years old coffee plantation with Coffea arabica L. cv. SL 28, and (4) a maize field that had been cultivated continuously for the last 3 years. Sampling for soil aggregates and soil macrofauna was done using monolith method to a depth of 0.3 m. Separation of stable soil aggregates was done through wet sieving process, where seven aggregate fractions were obtained; large macroaggregates (LM), small macroaggregates (SM), microaggregates (m), silt and clay (s+c), coarse particulate organic matter (cPOM), microaggregates-within-macroaggregates (mM) and silt and clay within macroaggregates (s+cM). The aggregate C content was analyzed using wet oxidation method. Soil macrofauna were handpicked from the monolith soil and preserved in 75% ethanol and identified to genera or species where possible, using morpho-anatomical keys and comparison with reference collections. It was hypothesized that soil aggregates and aggregate C would decrease with increasing level of soil disturbance, with the magnitude of these effects being reduced by the abundance of earthworms and termites. Generalized linear models (GLM) were used to test the effects of land use types on aggregate fractions and aggregate-associated C using R statistical x software However, to test the effects of the two factors on soil macrofauna data, negative binomial regression was chosen as an extension of the Poisson distribution. When analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed significant effects, Tukey’s post-hoc tests were performed at α = 0.05. Results showed that land use types had significant influence on soil aggregation. Notable differences were observed in large macroaggregates (LM) fraction, with higher weight in bush land (14.4 g 100 g-1 soil) and grazed pasture (12.4 g100 g-1 soil) compared to coffee plantation (3.9 g 100 g-1 soil) and maize field (0.6 g100 g-1 soil). On the contrary, microaggregate fraction weight was higher in maize field (41.2 g 100 g-1 soil) and lowest in bush land (18.8 g 100 g-1 soil). Land use type also had significant effects on soil aggregate-associated C, with the differences similar to those of the aggregate fractions. Among the soil macrofauna recovered, myriapods was the only group that showed significant differences, where Spirostreptidae sp. showed the highest abundance in bush land (149.3 individuals m2 ) compared to grazed pasture (42.7 individuals m2 ) coffee plantation (53.3 individuals m2 ) and maize field (5.3 individuals m2 ). Soil macrofauna considered ‘ecosystem engineers’ (earthworms and termites), and have been suggested to have significant effects on soil aggregation also showed no significant differences. Their abundance also showed weak or no correlation with soil aggregates and aggregate-associated C content across the land use types. This study shows the significance of land use change in shaping soil aggregation process and soil C content which could have far-reaching implications on the long-term C storage in the soil. This could be important especially in the tropics where mitigation and adaptation to climate change are ideally closely linked due to the critical importance of soil C for crop production

Abstract In the formulation of an organization corporate strategy, researchers have emphasized the importance of fitting or aligning the organizations strategy with an appraisal of the organization‟s internal and external environmental opportunities and threats. The objective of this study was to determine the competitive strategies adopted by the mainstream Churches in Nairobi County. The descriptive and research adopted the descriptive and cross sectional design. The population of the study was all the seven mainstream Churches in Nairobi County. Primary data was collected using structured questionnaire. The data was analyzed by the use of descriptive statistics to summarize and relate variables which were attained from the administered questionnaires. A multiple regression model was developed to describe the relationship between the strategies adopted and the extent at which they are adopted by the mainstream Church. The findings of the study were that differentiation, Low cost leadership, Focus differentiation, diversification and clears strategic direction were used as the competitive strategies within the mainstream Churches. The studies found that the base for member‟s choice of one Church against the others is the clear specific direction, wide range of programs that are customized to meet the diverse needs of the members. Engagement of well-trained pastors and other qualified professionals in the operation of the Churches contribute greatly to the competitive positioning of most of the mainstream Churches. Future research could therefore investigate extent to which these findings can be generalized to other Churches, evangelical, Pentecostal and charismatic Churches, and other Church related institutions. The sample used focused on mainstream Churches only. Further research is recommended on all the Churches using a larger sample for the purposes of generalizations. A cross sectional study across of a number of denominations within the sector can also be done to make comparative analysis. This being a cross sectional survey design, the researcher responses were limited to the 7 mainstream Churches. A generalization of the findings to represent a wider and more diverse sample of Church sector would have provided a broader insight on the subject and especially reveal any industry specific differences.

Integrated Soil Fertility Management (ISFM) has been recommended to address challenges of low soil fertility, by incorporating locally available organic resources (ORs) together with inorganic nitrogen (N) fertilizers. Despite ISFM success in field trials, there is limited information on ORs contribution to atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations through nitrous oxide (N2O) emission. A short-term field study was conducted at two sites with different soil types; silt loam (Aludeka) and silty-clay soil (Sidada), to determine the effects of selected ORs (Calliandra carothyrsus (CL), farmyard manure (FYM) and maize stover (MS)) and their combination with inorganic N fertilizer on soil N2O emissions, available soil nitrogen and maize yields. The study also evaluated the relationship between N2O emissions and soil organic carbon (SOC), total nitrogen (TN), soil temperature, moisture content, soil nitrate (NO3 - ) and ammonium (NH4 + ). Static manual chambers were set up in the field to collect gas samples to quantify soil N2O emission. Relative to the control (0.19±0.1 Kg N2O-N ha-1 ), cumulative N2O emissions were significantly (P= 0.01) higher by 6, 9 and 13 fold under MS +N (1.05±0.8 Kg N2O-N ha-1 ), FYM +N (1.74±0.8 Kg N2O-N ha-1 ) and CL +N (2.54±1.2 Kg N2O-N ha-1 ), respectively at the Aludeka. At Sidada, cumulative N2O emissions were similar across all the treatments (P = 0.149). Approximately 240% and 411% of increase in cumulative N2O emissions across treatments at Sidada and Aludeka, respectively, was related to inorganic N fertilizer application. At Aludeka, cumulative N2O emissions exhibited significant positive relationship with SOC (r = 760, P = 0.029), TN (r = 0.820, P = 0.013), NO3 - (r = 0.905, P = 0.002) and NH4 + (r = 0.738, P = 0.036), and negatively correlated with soil C:N ratio (r = -0.710, P = 0.049), soil pH (r = -0.739, P=0.036). At Sidada only NO3- (r = 0.711, P =0.048) exhibited a significant positive correlation with cumulative N2O emissions. In terms of grain yield at Aludeka, there was a significant (P < 0.001) effect of treatments on maize grain yield, with no observed significant effect at Sidada (P>0.05). FYM +N treatment recorded the highest mean maize grain yield at both Aludeka (10.63 t ha−1 ) and Sidada (9.23 t ha−1 ). In Aludeka site, treatments with ORs in combination with inorganic N fertilizers increased maize grain yield in comparison with those without. The study suggests that influence of OR on N2O emissions in maize based-cropping system vary depending on the type of soil and increases when OR are applied in combination with inorganic N fertilizers. A more understanding of the prevailing environmental soil conditions especially on soil texture is necessary for finding the best treatment combination in terms of yield and N2O emission reduction under the ISFM approach.

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