Strategy formulation and development is the development of long term plans for the effective management of opportunities and threats in light of the organization’s strengths and weaknesses. On the other hand, strategy implementation is the process that turns the formulated strategies and plans into actions to accomplish the intended objectives. For successful strategy implementation, the strategy must be supported by decisions regarding the appropriate organization structure, reward system, organization culture, resource and leadership. The objectives of this study were to establish challenges facing KCB in the implementation of the micro financing strategy and to determine measures that have been put in place by KCB to overcome challenges. This was a case study since the unit of analysis is one organization. Primary data was used for the study through use of interview guides that were administered to senior managers at Kenya Commercial Bank. Content analysis was used in analyzing the collected data. The findings of the study indicate that KCB encountered challenges in the process of implementing the micro financing strategy. These challenges included internal conflicts between sectors, inadequate human resource, monitoring, control and coordination, feedback mechanism, the organization structure and non-performing loans. The study also found out that the organization has come up with ways to counter these challenges. They include monthly evaluations through the dashboard tool and encouraging feedback through “your voice” program. As part of the recommendation, the researcher suggests the need to review the organization micro structure so that more supervision is put at the grassroots level. This will go a long way in cementing the processes of monitoring and coordination so that deviations from the original strategy are minimized. The researcher has also recommended the need to increase the human resource directly dealing with micro banking especially at the branch levels.

In the intricate relationship between history and fiction, it is often assumed that a body of fiction represents the values of a particular epoch This sometimes ignores the inherent complexities when such literature attempts to portray the specifics with reference to historical characters or events The Active and factual vie for supremacy as the artist tries to balance the demands of art, history and purpose, providing unique challenges in art's creative reflection of history The fiction on the emergency period in the 1950's in Kenya is a case in point, more so the works on Dedan Kimathi. Kenyan historians do not agree on the significance of Mau Mau. Interpretations are highly subjective in favour of conflicting perspectives on Kimathi's role in the Mau Mau struggle The conflicting images of Kimathi in fictional works published texts provide the justification of the present thesis Three major texts - two plays and a novel, some songs and poetic compositions - portray Kimathi and the Mau Mau movement in different and conflicting images The study examines the nature of these images and linkages in the various interpretations of Kimathi and the movement. The research methodology has two components, library centred and a limited fieldwork component. The library component examines historical and literary critics' perspectives on Kimathi's portrayal and their insights into the subject. The limited fieldwork focuses on songs and some written poems and views from sources acquainted with Kimathi and the freedom struggle to supplement the analysis of published fictional works. In the process, a comparative perspective becomes inevitable between earlier and later works. The generic commonalties or diversities are noted and given due recognition. The plays, the historical novel and the poetic compositions are, respectively, examined in different chapters. The study uses the sociological approach to literary criticism as the analytical theoretical framework. The analysis reveals conflicting images as ideological statements of the economic and social forces contending for supremacy in colonial and post-colonial Kenya, with the artists as mouthpieces for these forces. In the artist's sensibilities towards both Kimathi and the movement, one sees either unequivocal acceptance of cause or varying degrees of emotional/intellectual distance Among the artists, Waiene puts the greatest possible distance between himself and the "misguided" Mau Mau leader he perceives in Kimathi, while Ngugi and Micere applaud altruistic human and heroic virtue in Kimathi. In an attempt to settle the contentiousness of these extremes Kahiga chooses as his springboard the liberal accommodation ideology which Maughan-Brown sums up as balance’.freedom of speech' and the need to present all sides of the argument' (175). Kahiga extols Kimathi's heroism but paradoxically distances himself from the excesses of Mau Mau thereby v alidating the colonial and post-colonial order of things in Kenya. In the final analysis, the study suggests that the debate about the images of Kimathi in the fiction of history of Kenya's independence struggle remains a gold-mine for further intellectual excavation.

Change is something organization must adopt if they are to survive and compete in today’s business world. When change in an organization is taking place, it is important that the change is managed so as to ensure its smooth and timely implementation of change, reduce uncertainty, increase an organization’s productivity and enable it anticipate future change. The Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAF), a German Political Foundation based in Nairobi has over the years undergone several changes which include a change in its project financial management system, introduction of an additional program, and project as well as change in culture. The objectives of this study were to determine the change management approaches that the organization had adopted as well as the factors that influenced the management of change in the organization. The research design adopted for this study was a case study. To meet the objectives of the study, primary data was collected using an interview guide was that administered to the head of HR and a Program Officer and responses captured on a tape recorder. The data collected was then analyzed using content analysis. The key findings of the study are that changes in KAF were initiated by top-management and were mainly characterized by minimal behavioral resistance which was managed through coercion, inadequate communication, limited staff awareness of and involvement in change. The findings further established that the change management process was positively influenced by factors such as leadership commitment, employee training, availability of resources and a favorable organizational structure while they were negatively impacted by mild behavioral resistance, the individualistic organizational culture, inadequate employee involvement in the changes as well as insufficient communication. The study concludes that change in KAF was mainly planned and involved top-down implementation and recommends that the organization should enhance the capacity of employees and leaders to enable them deal with change as well as retain its current organization structure, enhance communication and employee involvement during change processes.

In Eastern and Southern African region maize grain prices is recorded highest in Kenya. There has been a reduction of prices of agricultural commodity from their recorded peak in 2008, but, this has not been the case in Kenyan maize prices. This then necessitates a study on transmission of world prices into Kenyan maize prices. By broadly examining the level of price transmission between the global and domestic maize markets in Kenya. Thus, this study assessed the integration of maize markets in Kenya, and evaluated the international maize prices transmission into domestic markets in Kenya. The deflated wholesale monthly price data spanning January 2002 to December 2020 was used. The data for maize prices data for Nairobi, Nakuru, Eldoret, Kisumu and Mombasa was sourced from Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Cooperatives Kenya, while the international wholesale maize prices was obtained from the FAO, GIEWS database. Co-integration, Granger Causality and Error Correction models were employed to test for market integration and price transmission. A strong integration was found between world and domestic maize markets as indicated by a high long-run elasticity of 0.60. The speed of price adjustment is relatively fast implying that 60 percent of the maize prices variations of the world are transmitted to Kenyan markets in long-run, on average it takes a month to correct 13 percent of the deviations from equilibrium. Hence, the improvement of rural areas infrastructure to accelerate movement of goods and services should be done by government of Kenya. The government should not engage in Maize trade as this distorts competitive functioning of maize markets. These results provide evidence on the need for policy makers to formulate policies which avoids market exploitations and reduce distortions. This will help in enhancing efficiency of the maize marketing system.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of teachers’ reflective teaching approach on children’s social emotional competences in Molo Sub-County, Kenya. A review of related literature focused on the nature and the importance of reflective teaching approach and children’s social emotional competences in the implementation and delivery of the competence-based curriculum. This was done for teachers, through reflective teaching approach/features of reflective teaching approach, to provide preschool children with explicit lessons on social emotional competences. They were also to find opportunities for learners to reinforce their use in course of the day. Six objectives guided the study and dealt on whether the features of reflective teaching approach namely, action research, reflective journals, peer review, theoretical literature, and use of learners’ feedback would have an effect on children’s social emotional competences either separately or when combined. The study methodology was a quasi-experimental design with a pretest-posttest model. Stratified random sampling and simple random sampling procedures were used to obtain the study sample. The sample comprised 16 preschools with 32 teachers and 558 children from a population of 167 preschools. Sixteen teachers with 269 children were in the intervention groups while 16 teachers with 289 children were in the control groups. Data was collected using a training module for preschool teachers, Devereux Student Strengths Assessment (DESSA) for preschool children, preschool teachers’ semi-structured interview schedule, and a documentary analysis form for preschool teachers. Training on reflective teaching approach/features of reflective teaching approach was done in the treatment groups. The training on each feature of reflective teaching was done in 5 preschools paired with 5 control preschools while training on combined features of reflective teaching approach was done in 3 preschools paired with 3 control preschools. DESSA pre-test and post-test were administered to preschool children in the treatment and control groups to obtain children’s scores in social emotional competences before and 3 months after teachers’ training. The scores were converted to Standard T-score for data analysis in the statistical package for social sciences version 25.0 for Windows. ANCOVA test at alpha=0.05 level of significance was used to determine whether statistically significant differences existed between the treatment groups and control groups mean scores. Data from semi-structured interview schedules and documentary analysis forms were analysed by hand and made meaning of statistical differences obtained from the DESSA mean scores. There were statistically significant differences in children’s mean scores between the treatment groups and control groups. DESSA domains mean strengths were also tabulated based on reflective teaching approach/features of reflective teaching approach. The findings indicated that reflective teaching approach could be effective on teaching preschool children’s social emotional competences in CBC. This would happen through the professional growth and development of teachers and children’s social emotional cognitive schema. It is recommended that preschool teachers in Molo Sub-County should be trained on reflective teaching approach/features of reflective teaching approach for preschool children’s social emotional competences. This would be done through regular in-service courses, workshops and seminars through the Departments of Basic Education and Early Learning in the Ministries of Education both in the Central and Nakuru County Governments. Further, the Molo Sub-County local resource centers should be stocked with recent research findings on reflective teaching approach, preschool children’s social emotional competences, and related literature. Further research studies should also be conducted on: the effectiveness of reflective teaching approach for children’s social emotional competences using larger samples to enable results generalization in Kenya, other preschool learning areas, and vulnerable/at risk preschool children.

This project paper discusses the impact of conflict on the development activities of the Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) working in Isiolo district. The document provides a typical case of what relations there are between the development initiatives by the NGOs and the process of conflict. The paper focuses on activities of NGOs and how they have been influenced by the conflicts. The general perception is that conflicts have posed a major challenge to the provision of development in general and initiatives by the NGOs in particular. Therefore, its major thrust is on the impact of conflict on the development provided by the NGOs in this region. Its overall goal is to establish the extent to which ethnic conflicts impact the development efforts made by the NGOs in Northern Kenya. The study is based on the fact that the low development process is an issue influenced by the insecurity status. The study used the conflict theory as a theoretical basis for the study, and it adapted literature review and field interview methodologies for data collections. Its findings have provided evidence of the relation of the two variables, that is conflict and development. It had linked the two issues in as far as provision of development to the Northern region of Kenya and Isiolo in particular is concerned. The impact is therefore indisputable. The study recommends land resource tenure, security sector reforms, development of relevant economic policy frameworks for the area and proper establishment of mechanisms for managing drought. The Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) also need to develop a clear and relevant stand on their level of programmatic and geographical coverage as well as their relevance in certain areas and involvement of International organisations at grass-root levels.

Accessibility is one of the Key Performance Indicators (KPI) that is used by Long Term Evolution Mobile Networks to check on the quality of the services offered to mobile users. A number of techniques have been used to allocate resources to users. These methods have experienced challenges in terms of allocating multiple resources at high data rates due to the ever growing demands for mobile users within existing resources. This has prompted continuous research in optimization of resource allocation on the existing systems. Due to this, improving resource allocation techniques is a viable area of research in Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) networks. This is with reference to power levels, Signal to Interference plus Noise ratio (SINR) and limited resource availability to multiple users requesting for resources in a femtocell. A combinational resource allocation scheme is hereby presented in which the available resource blocks are taken into account alongside the users’ resource requests. Signal to Interference plus Noise Ratio computation is then done per user. In addition, all possible arrangements of all users are evaluated to determine the highest SINR levels hence, the best combination of users in comparison to resource requests to allocate the resource blocks at the femtocell. Fairness is also utilized in situations where low SINR valued users have been left out of the femtocell resource allocation. In this case, a resource is reallocated from the next lowest SINR valued user to the user who has been left out to enable the user to communicate. The proposed combinational algorithm is tested in four scenarios. The first scenario tests the algorithm in a femtocell where six users need to only connect and synchronize to the femtocell. In this case, only one resource is required per user and there are only four available resources. The algorithm prioritizes the users with high SINR values and allocates each one of them a resource. The second scenario considers six users who are requesting for more than one resource for data transmission. When the users are allocated resources, one user is found to be left out.

Vitamin A deficiency and xerophthalmia is a well identified public health problem among pre-school children in the southern part of rural Ethiopia, Arssi region. This has been associated with the low frequency of consumption of vitamin A rich foods and a variety of interfering food habits and beliefs. A cross sectional study was carried out in two rural villages of Arssi region in Southern Ethiopia in the period between January - March 1993. The objective of this study was to determine the severity of vitamin A deficiency and its dietary associations among pre-school children. For the purpose of this study, two clusters of villages in a rural setting were randomly selected. The total number of households included in the study was 130, of which 54 households were from village Hate tulu and 66 households from village Andode. A total of 229 children under five years of age were examined and clinical diagnosis conducted. A questionnaire on food frequency, breastfeeding and weaning and food habits and beliefs was administered in all the households. Out of 229 children examined, 33 had at least one recognizable I sign of vitamin A deficiency giving an overall vitamin A deficiency and xerophthalmia prevalence 14.4 percent.

This study sought to establish how Kenya Premier League football clubs responds to changes in the external environment which is political, economic, social, technological, legal and ecological factors. Factors that led to choice of some strategies and not others were also established. The study was anchored on Game Theory which assesses strategic interactions in which the outcome of one’s choices depends on the choices of the others. The study adopted an exploratory research design since not much is researched on KPL management at the Kenyan scholarly level. Qualitative data was collected through interviews which were administered face to face by the interviewer to the purposively sampled respondents. The targeted respondents were secretaries, CEO’s and chairmen of seven clubs in the Kenya Premier League. Data collected from the seven club officials was analyzed using content analysis by putting it into context and presenting it in prose form. The study found that the league is affected by all macro environmental factors except ecological changes. Economic changes were top of list in affecting the clubs negatively in operations followed by political changes. Further, the study established that a club sponsorship structure greatly affects the response strategy adopted to changes in the external environment. During the course of this study, limitation was experienced in getting the key respondents for the interview due to the high intensity of football matches around the time of research, making the club secretaries and chairmen extremely busy. Additional studies in the Kenya Premier League and the sports industry in general, on its responses to internal environment would be viable in future. The researcher recommends a fully planned, organized and controlled strategic layout for Kenya Premier League. This will be perfectly achieved once the clubs abide to the recently introduced Sports Act, signed into Law in January 2013. Further, the community clubs should be managed independently as a legal entity which will leave them off their tribal kins who manipulate the club’s management hindering their growth. Also, KPL clubs should initiate more organizations to nurture young talents for continuity purposes and better coaching of players. What is coming up now is that the government has finally appreciated that sports is a business, which when professionally managed, the society will benefit more from this recreational game.

The prime concern of this project is to give critical attention to the portrayal of the doctor character in Yusuf Dawood's Off Mv Chest and No Strings Attached. The works are a depiction of the world of the doctor within the environment he understands best: the hospital. There is a great difference between how people live and how people ought to live. In cognition of this the study delves into the explicit and implicit world of the doctor as revealed in the autobiographical work. The assumption is that the emerging portrait is that of a profession whose nobility and glamour has been tainted by forces beyond an individual's control. The study recognizes Dawood's attempts to create a better world and a better physician through whom the nobility of medicine is upheld, who escapes the drudgery of everyday existence to a glamorous life within and as a result of the profession. A profound belief in men's potential to do good contributes significantly to the positive portrayal of the characters. Adopting a thematic approach the sociological theory is found relevant since the individual and the society remain at the core of the study. Writing within an African context, the study is further enriched by the postcolonial literary theory.