Strategy implementation is often called the action phase of the strategic management process which is the most challenging. Executing the strategy is a difficult and more consuming management challenge than crafting the strategy because of the wide array of managerial activities that have to be attended to. The demanding peoplemanagement skills required, initiatives that need to be launched and moving, the bedevilling issues that need to be worked out, the resistance to change and the difficulties of integrating the efforts of work groups into functioning whole. For effective implementation of strategy an organization must achieve congruency between structure, leadership, culture and the capability of the organization. This study focused on strategy implementation challenges and measures used to address the challenges at Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital. To achieve these objectives a case study was carried out to gain an in-depth understanding of the challenges. Both primary and secondary data were used. Primary data was collected using a self-administered interview guide while the secondary data was collected from organizations documents such as annual reports, website and the strategic plan document. A Total of eight respondents were interviewed by use of an interview guide. The respondents included the senior, middle and lower level managers. Content analysis was used to analyse the data after it was checked for consistency and then coded. There was an alignment between the research findings and the literature review carried out. The major challenges as revealed in the study highlighted inadequate resources which made it difficult for the organization to execute the strategies, employee commitment to strategy that was limited to implementation of specific activities in the operational plan, the policies and procedures practiced and resistance from the staff. The researcher recommends that a similar study be carried out on organizations that are of the same size and operate in areas of intervention that are close to JOOTRH so as to establish if the challenges of strategy implementation encountered are similar to those of JOOTRH or unique. There is need to examine how the process can impact on institutional commitment, narrow organizational vision, discourage change, and breed an atmosphere of politics. Also the ever increasing importance of knowledge and the general recognition of knowledge as the strategic asset in most organizations .Most institutional strategies are time bound thus organizational discontinuity and easily are predicted and these strategies are developed by external strategist who is most at times detached from the operations of the organization. These two strategic planning practices may result to effective strategy implementations.

show more