Strategy implementation in local authorities in Mashonaland west, Zimbabwe
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Date
2020-04
Authors
Mutandwa, Tawanda
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of the Free State
Abstract
Local authorities are the mainstay of economies and societies of many countries around the world, and they are critical to the economy because of the way in which they contribute to the gross domestic product, innovation, the provision of goods and services, the creation of employment opportunities, social stability and improvement of economic welfare. Strategy implementation has become the subject of debate in many organizations today. It remains practically of central concern in contemporary management, and its successful implementation is a central challenge for virtually any organization. The success of strategy implementation is hindered by barriers where the organization’s environment keeps changing. Consequently, organizations themselves are faced with a need to change. Local authorities in Zimbabwe operate within an economic environment characterized by volatility, dynamism and competitive markets that may seriously threaten their survival. Therefore, to remain viable, local authorities must strive to formulate strategies and successfully implement them. However, the process of strategy implementation is faced with implementation barriers, which this research sought to investigate further. While strategic implementation research in large organizations has been studied extensively, little attention has been paid to strategy implementation barriers in local authorities. Strategy implementation has not significantly filtered down to the public sector. There is little evidence of empirical research that has sought to analyse strategy implementation barriers within the sphere of local authorities research. Therefore, despite the widespread recognition of the important and significant contributions of local authorities, research about them remains scarce. The study sought to determine the challenges faced by Zimbabwean local authorities in their endeavour to implement Government formulated strategies. The study analysed service provision levels, identified barriers to strategy implementation and assumed that there was no rational approach to strategy implementation by local authorities in Zimbabwe and that this resulted in poor performance, as evidenced by poor service delivery. The major research objective of the study was to determine the strategy implementation barriers and challenges faced by local councils of Mashonaland West in implementation. The study further examined strategy implementation models and approaches, and suggests the best strategy implementation model and approach for local authorities in Zimbabwe based on the situation of Mashonaland West Province. The literature review revealed that the commonly cited reasons for failure by local authorities in strategy implementation include a lack of resources (including inadequate funding from central government), bureaucracy in decision-making and implementation of strategies, political interference, organizational structure and culture, strategy leadership, communication, accountability problems, shortage of skills, poor relationships between elected representatives and administrators as well as a lack of cooperation from central and/or local government. A mixed research methodology was employed to carry out the study. The quantitative approach involved the use of 288 questionnaires to collect data, and 220 questionnaires were returned and used. The qualitative data for the study were collected through an in-depth interview guide distributed to selected staff of four local authorities, using the purposive sampling method. Descriptive, factor, correlation and regression analyses were performed, and the findings were discussed. This research has identified the major barriers hindering the local authorities’ efforts to provide acceptable service. The study provides answers to all research questions, and the objectives of the study were achieved. The research concludes that strategy implementation variables are positively and significantly related to performance variables of local authorities, and that they have an impact on the performance of the local authorities. The study also provides policy and managerial recommendations that the researcher deemed useful for the local authorities.
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Keywords
Thesis (Ph.D. (Business Administration))--University of the Free State, 2020, Strategic plans, Strategy implementation, Management, Governance, Zimbabwean -- Local authorities