This study aims to find the efficiency of selected Kenyan sample commercial banks. As the banking industry is the main sector that contributes significantly to the development of the national economy and hence the efficiency of commercial banks gains significantly. The analysis of the study, using intermediation approach, reveals the efficiency of Kenyan commercial banks. However, the efficiency of sample banks showed inefficiency in some areas during the study period. But small banks showed better efficiency scores during the study period.

This paper was set to examine the approaches to training and development in the banking sector. In line with the assertion made by the literature and the evidences gathered in the process of the study, the following recommendations were made: It is an established fact that the Kirkpatrick approach is widely used, it’s the systematic training and development of personnel on continuous basis that can harness the totality of human resources in the organization, banks should ensure that any training and development approach which takes place is based on proper analysis of its contribution to the effectiveness and efficiency of banking industry. The data collected from different sources was cross checked. Different statistical tools and techniques were used like mean, mode, median, averages, t-test and chi-square. The paper concluded that most of training and development approaches used in the banking industry are that of Kirkpatrick. Each employer who invests seriously in the area of Training and Development needs to understand the approach to use in order to reap the benefits of an enriched working environment with higher levels of staff retention as well as increased productivity and performance. New entrants into organizations have various skills, though not all are relevant to organizational needs, hence the right approach to T&D is crucial. Right approaches to T and D are required for Human Resources to enable them work towards taking the organization to its expected destination. It is against this backdrop of the relative importance of approaches to evaluation of training and development in banks that this paper addressed

This paper analyses the role of remittances in poverty reduction in developing world in particular Kenya. Due to globalization there has been great movement of persons from one country to another in search of green pastures. The opening up of the economies leads to increase of immigrants who leave their home countries and stay in the host countries. Kenya has experienced large movement of its residents to developing countries to look for greener pastures. These immigrants have led to the increase of remittances to their home countries. It is on this foundation this paper sought to establish the relationship remittances and poverty reduction in developing economies in particular Kenya. In this paper data from Africa development indicators from World Bank and central bank of Kenya for a period of ten years are considered for graphical analysis to study the trend and annual pattern of behavior which supports the hypothesis of the paper that remittances growth is important in achieving the goals. It is expected that this study will benefit the government and the parties concern to ensure that the millennium goals are achieved and more so the improving of living standards of Kenyans and academicians in filling the knowledge gap and lay foundation for further research. The study provides insights into the role of diaspora remittances in poverty reduction in Kenya. It provides evidence that attracting diaspora remittances for emerging economies could as well help in mobilizing the much-needed loan able funds for private investment.

Using panel data from firms listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange during the period 2004-2014, this paper examines the effect of board diversity and firm performance. Specifically the study investigates the effect of independent directors, board size, gender and financial expertise of directors and firm performance. The study finds, steadily with trends in most countries, the representation of women on the corporate board remains low. Regression results indicate that board independence has a negative and significant relationship on firm performance. The study also finds that gender diverse boards perform better as measured by Return on Assets (ROA

Zimbabwe is host to one of the natural wonders of the world; the Victoria Falls, thus tourism is one of the four pillars anchoring the revival of the economy of Zimbabwe. Tourism has played a very significant role in the development of the national economy taking advantage of its most diversified tourism resource base. Focus of this study is on Micro, Small and Medium enterprises (MSMEs) lodges in Victoria Falls. The crux of this paper is to stimulate demand for hotel services from both international and local tourists in line with social services and poverty eradication for MSME lodges, which in turn may reduce joblessness in the country’s MSME lodges. Hotel services are perishable therefore inevitably lead to demand and supply challenges for managers. The study seeks to encompass demand management strategies from a marketing and economics perspective. The researchers therefore propose a demand generation model for stimulating tourist purchase intent

This paper was set to examine training and development in the banking sector and reaffirm the investment in training and development. In line with the assertion made by the literature and the evidences gathered in the process of the study, the following recommendations were made: It is an established fact that no serious minded organization like banks can be staffed by people with expertise and potentials in the various disciplines needed for its total functioning simply by recruitment and selection, it’s the systematic training and development of personnel on continuous basis that can harness the totality of human resources in the organization, banks should ensure that any training and development which takes place is based on proper analysis of its contribution to the effectiveness and efficiency of banking industry. The data collected from different sources was cross checked. Different statistical tools and techniques were used like mean, mode, median, averages, t-test and chi-square. The paper concluded that investment in the area of training and development in the human resources will bear the fruits much fold for the banking industry of the two countries. For the Indian banks have established their training institutes for the purpose of training its staff which was lacking with their counterparts. Each employer who invests seriously in the area of Training and Development will reap the benefits of an enriched working environment with higher levels of staff retention as well as increased productivity and performance. In the modern computer era training has gained the reputation of dynamic concept which needs to be understood in that perspective most of the modern banks which do not respond to the dynamic change that are seen in changed environment may fail to respond to the needs of customers. Training is one of most important and effective means of bringing about change in banking sector. Hence, the study is carried with the aim of studying training implementation in these selected banks.

pertaining to strategic-issue processing. It comprises of directors from various backgrounds hence face interaction difficulties that can prevent them from fulfilling their tasks. This study, will investigate whether the board diversity influences CSR and firm reputation in Kenya. This will capture the boards’ monitoring and resource provision abilities; and it will be in line with Agency and resource dependency theories. The general objective to the study is to establish whether board diversity influences firm’s CSR and corporate reputation in Kenya. There have been studies on how board diversity on firm performance and CSR but no paper has been published looking at the corporate reputation and more over concerning gender diversity on boards in developing countries.The number of women in the board has a significant impact on corporate social responsibility and corporate reputation. Women bring a number of strengths to the board including an increased sensitivity to CSR and participative decision-making styles and these benefits contribute to enhanced corporate responsibility strength ratings.This study makes a theoretical contribution to the corporate governance literature by analysing board diversity within the framework of two major theories Agency and Resource. This study also makes a theoretical contribution to the diversity and governance literature by providing a better understanding of the relationships between board gender, professional and experience diversity andfirm’s CSR and reputation.This study will be beneficial to the management of corporations and top management in decision making especially on the issue of SCR and the firm’s reputation. It will also lay ground for more studies to be conducted in Kenya and other developing nations

With banks being the major avenue that the CBK relies on to execute monetary policy, the paper sought to investigate whether commercial banks are actually responsive to monetary policy. The study used an Error Correctional Model to estimate a relationship where lending rates were treated as the dependent variable while the independent variables were monetary policy, specifically CBR. The model was also expanded to include additional independent variables specifically monetary policy transmission channels. These include the credit channel which is represented by credit to the private sector, exchange rate channel represented as nominal exchange rate and asset price channel. For consistency, inflation and economic growth were included in the model because these are the targets of monetary policy.The study findings showed that there was a long run relationship between lending rates and Central Bank Rate, Exchange Rates, Asset Price, Credit to the Private Sector, Economic growth and Inflation Rates. The results also indicated that CBRand Inflation cause lending rates to increase in the short run while credit to the private sector causes lending rates to decrease in the short run. A statistically significant relationship was also established between lending rates and CBR, credit to the private sector. The study concludes that commercial banks’ lending rates are indeed positively responsive to CBR and that in order to spur economic growth; commercial banks’ lending rates should be stabilized by streamlining the economic environment in which commercial banks operate, therefore ensuring stable rates of borrowing.

Farmers in Bunyala sub-county depend on rain fed agriculture and over the years frequent floods and droughts, crop failures and water shortages have become common. Research has shown that small-scale farmers in the developing countries are more vulnerable to rainfall variability due to their reliance on rainfed agriculture and poor adaptive capacity. However, most studies so far have concentrated on climate-driven coping capacity in flood prone areas and arid and semi-arid areas and have not considered the challenges experienced by small scale farmers in the wake of these coping strategies and opportunities and innovations that can be explored to enhance the coping capacity to rainfall variability. The objective of this study was to establish the coping challenges and identify viable solutions through opportunities and innovations to enhance small scale farmers’ resilience to rainfall variability. Data was collected through use of questionnaire, interviews, focus group discussion and field observation. Bunyala Sub-County has about 15,245 households in six locations. Proportionate stratified sampling was used to select the required number of respondents. The stratification was based on the populations of six locations. A total of 384 households were randomly selected and sampled from the selected locations together with 11 key informants. Qualitative and quantitative data analysis techniques were used while the results were presented in tables, figures and charts. Findings of the study indicate several challenges stand in their way like lack of technical support and financial constraints. The study recommends that adaptive practices must be promoted while simultaneously strengthening long-term, sustainable institutional responses to help households adapt to rainfall variations. The farmers should be sensitized on the need to engage in sustainable adaptation strategies such as planting drought tolerant crops and use of agricultural technology. Small-scale farmers’ should focus on information gathering, enhance social networks to improve on their financial capability. Local communities be empowered through trainings/skills programs (new technology for farming) to improve small-scale agricultural productivity. Women, as important contributors to food production and income generation, should be empowered to access resources such as finances and land, and trained to develop decision-making skills

Improving fiscal performance by reducing budget deficits has for long been at the heart of many governments in developing countries. Budget deficit in all cases whether monetized or not, tends to generate inflationary pressures triggering uncertain crisis in an economic system. Majority of the developing nations, Kenya inclusive have had a dismal performance by attracting negative budget balances over the years. To contain fiscal vulnerabilities, there is need to understand factors behind fiscal performance in Kenya. The objectives of this study are to establish the trends and extent to which these factors determine fiscal performance in Kenya. The study employed unrestricted Vector Autoregressive (VAR) model in estimating how macro-economic, political and institutional factors affect fiscal balance using longitudinal data collected, consolidated and analysed for the period 1963 to 2013. In the short run, both the first and the second lags of fiscal balance, Treasury bill, Tax revenue and inflation significantly influenced fiscal balance. On the other hand, only the first lags of real gross domestic product per capita growth rate, the first differences of the Total Debt service and the Gross Government Investment affected fiscal balance significantly whereas only the second lags of the first differences of both the current account and the ratio of broad money to GDP were found to significantly determine fiscal balance. The study suggests therefore that the government should intervene through refocusing on the existing fiscal policies to mitigate the anticipated future problems likely to be associated with the existence of unchecked behaviors of these determinants. Finally, the government and the relevant agencies need to consider adjusting Treasury bill rates downwards to increase fiscal balance. As well, the government should be able to encourage internal investment by the local and encourage internal borrowing at affordable interest rates. This may ultimately spur economic growth through varied sectors of the economy. The study emphasises on sound fiscal policy which is a critical determinant of long-term economic success and recommends Kenyan government to balance her financial affairs and avoid imposing a tax burden. Tax burden becomes a disincentive for people to work hard, save, invest, and be entrepreneurial, while still ensuring adequate and efficient public services

The desire by governments all over the world to improve the standard of living of their citizens has led to growth in the number of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). In Kenya, economic growth forms one of the pillars to attaining vision 2030 whose aim is to enhance the quality of living standards of Kenyans. However, the success of the SMEs is dependent upon a number of factors. A key ingredient in ensuring sound performance of SMEs is the level of financial literacy of the business people. The study aimed at assessing the influence of financial literacy on performance of small and medium enterprises. The objectives of the study were to evaluate the influence of budgeting skills, record keeping skills, credit management skills and tax compliance skills on performance of small and medium enterprises. The target population of the study was 3,916 consisting of the SMEs business community in Butere sub county, Kakamega County, Kenya. A sample of 390 was used in the study. The study employed a descriptive research design. Stratified random sampling was used in identifying the respondents. Data was collected using structured questionnaire. Regression equation was used to analyze the collected data. The study found out that financial literacy has a significant impact on the performance of SMEs. The study recommends that the government and non-governmental organizations should facilitate training of business people in the sector of SMEs so as to equip them with the necessary financial literacy skills in order to spur economic growth.

In the recent years, the health sector has experienced escalating health care costs which have made the health care service providers seek for ways of continuously staying competitive to provide quality services to its customers. Traditionally, this is a sector that requires high level of professionalism, sophisticated equipments and advanced technology in order to stay ahead of others. Catholic mission hospitals have not been an exception to this experience. Despite the efforts, several draw backs have been noticed in the hospitals. It’s against this background that this study specifically aimed to establish the effect of investigate whether establishing whether human resource alignment had any effect on competitiveness of Catholic Mission Hospitals in Nyeri County. The target population for the study was 226 staff and a sample size of 68 was selected. The researcher used descriptive survey research design. Data was collected using questionnaires. The data collected was both qualitative and quantitative in nature. The qualitative data was analyzed using content analysis and presented in form of narratives, while quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics. The findings of the study were: lack of changes in HR alignment, (ß=.313, t=4.363, p<0.004) had a significant negative influence on competitive advantage in catholic mission hospitals in Nyeri County. The study therefore recommends: the Catholic Mission Hospitals management should employ integration organizational structure where staff are involved in decision making as this will harness the staff expert capabilities and improve performance

Farmers in Bunyala sub-county depend on rain fed agriculture and over the years frequent floods and droughts, crop failures and water shortages have become common. Research has shown that small-scale farmers in the developing countries are more vulnerable to rainfall variability due to their high reliance on rainfed agriculture and poor coping capacity. However most studies so far have concentrated on climate-driven adaptive capacity in flood prone areas and arid and semi-arid areas and have not considered the effects on livelihoods and coping strategies to this climate driven changes, especially in areas with both floods and drought regimes like Bunyala sub-county. It is against this background that this study sought to examine the environmental effects of coping strategies employed by smallscale farmers to mitigate for rainfall variability in Bunyala sub-county, Kenya. Specifically, the study sought to identify the environmental effects resulting from the coping strategies employed by small scale farmers in Bunyala sub-county to counter the effects of rainfall variability. Household survey, key informant interviews and focused group discussions was used to obtain data on coping strategies and the environmental effects of such coping strategies. The study used questionnaire, interviews, focus group discussion and field observation as data collection tools. Bunyala Sub-County has about 15,245 households in six locations. Proportionate stratified sampling was used to select the required number of respondents. The stratification was based on the populations of six locations. A total of 384 households were randomly selected and sampled from the selected locations together with 11 key informants. Qualitative and quantitative data analysis techniques were used while the results were presented in tables, figures and charts. Findings of the study indicate that strategies adopted occasionally tend to have negative impacts on the environment thereby compounding farmer’s problems further. The study recommends that coping practices must be promoted while simultaneously strengthening long-term, sustainable institutional responses to help households adapt to rainfall variations. There is need to promote livelihood diversification initiatives that enhance improved income generation at the same time ensuring they have minimal negative impacts on the environment.

The growth and success of all organizations, depend on the health of their workers; both the physical and mental health. The counselor plays a great role in ensuring that workers enjoy good mental health through facilitation of their self awareness and life skill acquisition. However, counselor may sometimes be overwhelmed with his/her own personal concerns to the extent his/her functioning is curtailed. By becoming clients themselves, counselors gain an inner steadiness that increases their ability to help others. In learning self-acceptance and patience through personal therapy, counselors will find it easier to be patient with clients and to respect each individual’s unique process and pacing. Personal therapy helps counselors learn patience and calmness in the unpredictable waters of an organization. Without personal therapy, counselors are more susceptible to acting prematurely and subverting the difficult and fallow periods so crucial to therapeutic progress. Personal therapy is a core component of counselor self-care, which is another means of preventing client harm and enhancing his/her personal sustainability and capacity building. The study adopted the content analysis research design. Content analysis is a research technique used to make replicable and valid inferences by interpreting and coding textual material. By systematically evaluating texts qualitative data can be converted into quantitative data. Content analysis is valuable in organizational research because it allows researchers to recover and examine the nuances of organizational behaviors, stakeholder perceptions, and societal trends. It is also an important bridge between purely quantitative and purely qualitative research methods. Research findings showed that workers who are mentally health are dedicated to work, highly motivated and have high stamina for work. This status facilitates high organizational returns. The three major determinants of organizational behavior are the people, the organizational structure, and the technology involved. People come to the workplace with social, physiological as well as psychological needs which the organization must fulfill in order to avoid being demoralized. When workers lack motivation they tend to resort to anti-work behaviors which impact negatively on the work performance and credibility of an organization. Personal therapy prepares the counselor to effectively tackle these workplace challenges

The study sought to determine the relationships between board of directors’ age, gender and financial growth of companies listed in Kenya. The study was guided by the agency theory, contingency theory and stewardship theory. The study used correlational research design and the target population for this study was board of directors of 60 listed companies in the Nairobi Securities Exchange and the sample size of 18 boards of directors of listed companies was used being representative of all the sectors. Data was sourced from NSE annual reports and annually published financial statements of listed companies. In order to answer the research questions the study used cross tabulation and to determine the strength of relationship between board directors’ age, gender and firm’s financial growth, coefficient of correlation was computed. Correlation was used to test the hypothesis. The study found that there is a negative relationship between the age and the financial growth of companies listed in NSE. Gender has a positive association with profits and a negative association with EPS and DPS. The study established that there is a positive relationship between gender and profits though not significant at 0.056, EPS and DPS is negative and not significant. Correlation was used to test the hypothesis and all were rejected since there wasn’t a significant relationship. The study recommends that the appointment and retirement of directors need to be done carefully because of directors’ characteristics relationship with financial growth of the listed companies in NSE although not significant

A company’s strategy is a management game plan for growing the business, starting out a market position, attracting customers, competing successfully, conducting operations and achieving targeted objectives. The main purpose of the study was to find out the strategies adopted by commercial banks in Kenya for competitive advantage, a case study of Equity bank. Thus the study sought to achieve the following objectives; to establish the strategies adopted by Equity bank for its quest for competitive advantage and to establish the role played by competitive strategies in the growth of Equity bank. The study employed survey research design and the target population comprised 28 employees of Equity bank. Face to face interviews and structured questionnaires was applied to the management and general staff to collect primary data. The generated data comprised of primary (field survey) and secondary (period survey) sources. The data was analyzed through use of quantitive and qualitative methods and the obtained findings were presented in tables and figures. The study identified the strategies adopted by Equity bank as ; provision of variety of products, high level of technology in place ,competent employees, attractive interest rates , competent customer care and giving back to the society through schemes such as sports and scholarships for students. These strategies were adopted for survival, coping up with competition, profit making and growth. The study recommends that there should be an inclusion of other forms of competitive strategies for instance offering and that the bank to adopt competitive strategies that benefit the clients also

The requirement by the Kenyan government to have equity in provision of education services has led to a paradigm shift towards inclusive education. Existing evidence however tends to suggest that children with HI, on average are not socially or emotionally comfortable in mainstream settings. Besides, although progress in the teaching and learning of children with HI exist, other evidence still emerges of the relative lack of academic improvement among this group of children. This study therefore aimed at establishing the effect of support services offered to children with HI in the inclusive context on their academic progress. It specifically sought to establish the effect of technical support and use of visual aids on academic progress of this category of learners. The study was conducted in Turbo Sub-county of Uasin Gishu County in Kenya and adopted casual comparative research design. Both stratified random and simple random sampling techniques were used to select a sample of 117 ECDE teachers and 59 head-teachers from the 76 ECDE centers in the sub-county. Mean response scores together with associated standard deviations were used to examine prevailing levels of identified support services in the centers. Multiple regressions were used to determine contributions of the support services on academic progress of children with HI. The study established that support services offered to children with HI in the regular classroom, positively and significantly affects their academic progress. The study however revealed that inclusion of children with HI in regular classroom contexts was a major challenge to teachers who were not trained to handle this category of learners and lack equipment to support them technically

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of the county government on service provision in Early Childhood development Education Centres in Elgeyo Marakwet County: Keiyo South Sub-County Kenya. To achieve this study sought to establish the extent to which devolution has enhanced availability of instructional materials in ECDE centres and to examine the influence of devolved government on infrastructural development. The study used an exploratory descriptive survey design. The entire Sub-County has 136 public ECDE centers thus the population comprised of 1 DICECE Program Officer, 136 head teachers and 408 ECDE teachers. The sample size population was 151respondents. The sample size comprised of 1 DICECE Program Officer, 14 Head teachers, and 136 ECDE1 parent representatives. Data was collected using questionnaires and analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistical method. Data collected was both quantitative and qualitative. Descriptive statistics was used to analyze the quantitative data obtained. Qualitative data was analyzed by arranging the responses thematically in line with the objectives of the study. Based on the study findings it was noted that sub-county government of Keiyo South has not provided adequate instructional material, though the Sub-county government has provided funds which have been used in classroom construction of ECDE centres, however little has been done in providing teachers with teaching materials as well as equipping and developing new libraries. It was also noted that the Sub-county has not provided enough funds to procure text books and outdoor play materials in the centres. Based on the findings it was recommended that the county government and TSC should provide proper housing, providing medical allowances and ensure that the school working conditions is safe. There is also need for all stakeholders to contribute financially and materially in the provision of instructional materials and resources as well as infrastructural development in Keiyo Sub-County. Based on the results of the study it is suggested that a comparative study be done between the role of the central government and the county government on provision of service in ECDE centres.

The purpose of the study was to examine the extent to which University Education contributes to youth empowerment in Kenya. What motivates the researcher is the increasing number of youths pursuing a second degree, thinking that what they lack is education to get a job. What remains predicament is the fact that quite a number of youths still possess a mindset of permanent and pensionable job. Unemployment rate in Kenya has been increasing from 12.7% (2006) to 40% (2011). The research analyses three scenarios: university programmes, pedagogy and business attitudes of graduates. The study employed descriptive survey research design to explore the business attitudes and skills of graduates. The target population was university graduates who engage in business with a total of 75 respondents. Purposive and Snowball sampling were used to obtain 25 respondents from each county of Kericho, Bomet and Narok. The graduates who engaged in business in towns were identified and ask to identify others in turn, until the required sample was obtained. Primary data was collected using observation, interview guide and questionnaires. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) result , P= 0.05,(P=0.00), revealed a positive and significant relationship between youth empowerment and the role of university education. The regression coefficient of determination representing youth empowerment indicates that University education contributes 62.8% (a value of R=0.628) youth empowerment. Respondents pointed rare opportunities in their areas of specialization making them to resort to other areas for survival. The university programmes should be tailored to the modern reality in the job market to gain competitive career market

In this study it shows that female directors have a significant impact on board inputs and educational institution’s outcomes. From the literature, we find that female directors have better attendance records than male directors, male directors have fewer attendance problems the more gender-diverse the board is, and women are more likely to join monitoring committees. In this paper we open the “black box” of board behavior by drawing upon theories of gender differences and group effectiveness. The results suggest that gender-diverse boards allocate more effort to monitoring, women directors is positively associated with board strategic control. In addition, there are positive effects of women directors on board effectiveness as mediated through increased board development activities and decreased level of conflict. Policy Implications: Women’s ability to make a contribution to the board may be attributable to their different leadership styles. Their presence seems to increase board effectiveness through reducing the level of conflict and ensuring high quality of board development activities

Most enterprises are struggling with risky surroundings and constant technological changes in order to achieve the highly expected results. ICT governance considers many types of technologies touching on various areas of interest in enterprises. A number of times we hear of negative and positive happenings in organisations due to failure or success of ICT of which the blame or praises go to ICT management or system being used and not the governance of the ICT in place. The key agenda of ICT governance include the assurance that there are positive returns on ICT investments, tone down the risks that are associated with ICT among others; Governance plays the big role and not the management. Governance being about who makes decisions unlike management which is about making and implementing the decisions. This presentation about the ICT governance; what contributes to the success of ICT governance and its possible failures that make the system in the enterprise not to achieve its objectives. It looks at the issues that contribute to effective / sustainable and ineffective / non-sustainable ICT governance in an enterprise. It identifies the areas that need to be focused on and the best practices to make it a success and not a failure. The importance of stakeholders and the role some of them play to make it a success and what happens if they do not participate since ICT governance is not something that occurs in IT department of an organisation but rather defines governance of ICT as a responsibility of directors of the entire organisation among others. This will enable enterprises to assess their ICT structures and directing the plans for its use and prioritize IT areas that need improvement what in the end can lead to increase in their effectiveness and results

Purpose – The purpose of this paper was to examine the interaction effect of employee engagement on the relationship between knowledge implementation and employee performance in Technical Institutions in Kenya. The study therefore, sought to establish the relationship between knowledge implementation and employee performance and the moderating effect of employee engagement on the relationship between knowledge implementation and employee performance. Methodology– The paper adopts regression model and Baron and Kenny approach to test for moderation effects. Findings –The study findings revealed that there is a positive and significant relationship between knowledge implementation and employee performance (ß =.083, p<.05). The study further revealed that employee engagement moderates the relationship between knowledge implementation and employee performance (ß =-.142, p<.01). Research Limitations/implications– Given that the study looked at knowledge implementation, employee engagement and employee performance at one point in time, longitudinal time span research is recommended to provide more insights on these variables. A longitudinal approach may also help in improving the models ability to make causal statements Theoretical implications - The study contributes to theory by not only examining knowledge attributes but by analyzing empirically the extent of the relationship between knowledge implementation, employee engagement and employee performance. Originality/value – This is the first study that focuses on testing the moderating effect of employee engagement on the relationship between knowledge implementation and employee performance in Technical Institutions in Kenya.

This study sought to discover the extent of internal stakeholder collaboration in private higher education (PHE) institutions in Botswana by determining the existence or absence of engagement of academic staff associations and Student Representative Councils (SRCs). The study adopted a multimethod research approach leading to methodological triangulation whereby quantitative and qualitative data were obtained through a questionnaire and face-to-face interviews respectively. The research participants comprised 132 members of academic staff from five PHE institutions covered in this study. The probabilistic sampling procedure was used to select respondents to the questionnaire, while purposeful sampling was used to select respondents to the in-depth interviews. The results of the study revealed the absence of effective stakeholder engagement in the selected PHE institutions as virtually all the institutions did not have academic staff associations, while SRCs were not afforded freedom of operation. In order to enhance KM practices in PHE institutions, it is recommended that the institutions adopt a systematic approach to collaboration with both internal and external stakeholders such as students, parents, government, staff associations, and industry

The purpose of this study was to evaluate HRM practices affecting employees in the Agricultural Sector. The study specifically sought to establish how HRM practices are integrated in Kenya Agriculture Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) – Katumani in Machakos County. It also examined the benefits of HRM practices in the agriculture sector as well as the challenges facing the managers when employing HRM practices. The study was guided by the theory of HRM as proposed.The target population was 220 employees and the management staff drawn from the four departments namely; Human resource, ICT, Research and production and field services. To obtain employees who participated in the study from each department, simple random sampling was applied to select 80 employees out of 220 Purposive sampling was used in order to include the managers or Heads of Departments while simple random sampling was applied to select the employees who participated in the research study. The researcher used questionnaire, and interview methods to collect data. Further, data analysis was done using descriptive statistical techniques such as calculations of means, frequencies, percentages and tables. Information collected through interview schedules was analyzed qualitatively. The study established that majority of the respondents were issued with letters of appointments to occupy their current positions in the organization. Many respondents said that the organization practiced free and fair recruitment and selection process. There were chances of promotion to higher positions in the organization. The organization carried out orientation and induction to its newly recruited staff. The study findings revealed that the organization indeed value employee training. The institution did not in any way carter for the cost of training of the employees. The management created open and comfortable working conditions. The study established that most employees have never been rewarded whatsoever since joining the institution. The respondents rated the reward system in the organization as ineffective. The study findings revealed that the organization did not provide any form of motivation to its employees in order to enhance their performance. The study further recommended that the organization should invest on providing training to its employees to enhance their performance. It also recommended that the organization should develop recognition and reward system for its employees. Finally, the study recommended that the organization should adopt employee motivation as a strategy to enhance their performance

Although some few studies have been done on the relationship between product differentiation strategies for competitive advantage, information on the strategies used in Kenya is ostensibly missing in the literature. This study therefore sought to determine the role of product differentiation strategy in New Kenya Corporative Creameries for competitive advantage. Specifically the study sought to determine effect of product support service, branding, packaging and labeling on competitive advantage of KCC. The study employed a descriptive research design. The study targeted a total population of 10822, comprising of 2 Marketing managers, 10 regional managers and 10 route managers from New KCC and 10800 customers buying New KCC products. The sample size was 407. Questionnaires and interviews were used to collect data from the participants. The study established that the major product differentiation strategies used at New KCC include branding, labeling, packaging, product quality and total change in product characteristics. The study has enhanced understanding of how product differentiation influences management decision-making concerning competitive advantage. The management should intensify promotional mix/advertisement to inform customers of the new range of products or the differentiated products.

Herding is an important factor in determining equity returns during periods of price fluctuations in the market. Increased herding behaviour among investors as a result of uncertainty causes unnecessary volatility. Therefore, this paper investigates whether herding behaviour contributes to stock market volatility at the Nairobi Securities Exchanges (NSE). First, the study evaluates whether herding behaviour exists at the NSE and the extent of such behaviour. Secondly, it explores its attributed implication on the stock market indicators demonstrating volatility. The study has utilized monthly data from firms listed in the NSE from January 2009 to December 2015. Cross Sectional Standard Deviation (CSSD) has been mainly employed as testing methodology. Panel data on individual variables was used to estimate the non- linear model of both binary and continuous nature. Coefficients by the model have statistical significant influence on CSSD confirming the presence of significant herding patterns at the NSE which influence volatility as demonstrated in the graphical analysis and consequently firm performance. In order to have proper market stability which is appealing to retail and corporate investors, the findings suggest that stock market players including the government should critically consider providing both private and public information on retail and institutional investors. The government need to stabilize market prices to retain public confidence through provision of timely and accurate information of stock markets. Continuous herding behaviour by investors may spur unnecessary volatility which is likely to destabilise the market and increase the fragility of financial system especially in developing economies

The advent of new media has completely revolutionalised journalism in the world and particularly in Kenya, with regard to sourcing dissemination and consumption of information is concerned. This is pegged on the advancement in technology through the internet that enables journalist and bloggers to publish, share news and events as well as receive feedback from the public. This scenario has changed the media landscape in Kenya in the recent years. The emergence of citizen media has been enabled by technologies such as mobile phones, blogs, micro-bloggers and video sharing platforms. Blogs have become authoritative channel through which people share ideas, news, advice and analyses on different happenings in the society. The practice has recently turned out to be journalistic, with a good number of bloggers running authoritative and influential blogs, where thousands of people flock for information. Kenya has the highest number of active bloggers in Africa and in the world. This study aims to establish roles of bloggers in responsible journalism in Kenya. The study was guided by the following questions: (i) Are bloggers journalists? (ii) What roles do bloggers play in journalism? (iii) Are bloggers aware of journalistic ethics? (iv) What roles do bloggers play in responsible journalism? The paper used descriptive survey design. Data was collected through in-depth individual interviews and focused group discussion interviews with selected mainstream journalist and bloggers, as well as a review of existing body of knowledge. The paper sampled 30 journalists from two national media houses in Kenya, namely Standard Group and media max group. 30 bloggers were also using snow ball sampling techniques. The findings reveal that few journalists were bloggers while many bloggers who were amateurs. Further, results show that amateur journalists who were bloggers did not know the journalistic code of ethics mostly because they lacked journalistic training. The findings were used to make recommendations to the government to regulate bloggers, to the bloggers they need journalistic training and need to form a regulating body, and to the field of academics to come up with proper programmes for training bloggers

Academic performance is a function of many interrelated variables including inherent study efforts, modes of teaching, school environment and family related factors. Academically talented students are often expected to perform and maintain high academic performance. However, sometimes their performance is unexpectedly variable. To compound this scenario, data lacks of many Kenyan schools whether students’ attitudes towards their teachers affect their academic performance. This study therefore investigated the effects of attitudes of academically talented secondary school students toward their teachers and how this impact on their academic performance in Keiyo District. The study specifically assessed, academic performance of the academically talented students, their attitudes towards teachers and how the attitudes toward teachers affected their academic performance. The three variables were discriminated further on the basis of gender, types of school, age and class. The main factors affecting talented students academic performance were also determined. The entire study was propounded on the basis of learning theory postulated by Bandura (1977), which asserts the importance of learned behaviour in humans as well as using Festinger’s theory (1957) of cognitive dissonance, which postulate the innate relationships between cognitions, behaviour and attitudes. This study was conducted using ex post facto design. Data were collected from a sample of 300 students in Form 3 and 4 using structured questionnaires, using stratified and purposive random sampling techniques. Data collected were coded in Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS v. 13.5) and analysed by descriptive statistics, frequency distributions, bivariate correlations and parametric tests (ANOVA and factor analysis). Results indicated that most of the academically talented students had positive attitudes towards their teachers, which significantly (P < 0.05) influenced their academic performance. Discrimination of the attitudes of the respondents among attributes indicated that gender, age and types of school had a significant (P < 0.05) influence on the students’ attitudes towards their teachers, which ultimately influenced their overall academic performance. However, class did not significantly (P > 0.05) influence students’ attitudes towards their teachers. Students attitudes towards teachers were found to be a function of 14 variables intimately linked to students relationships with their teachers. These factors were broadly categorized into students-teacher relationships, students’ academic inputs, and workload for students.This study has aptly demonstrated that academic performance is related to students’ attitudes towards their teachers. In view of high investment cost by many schools to improve academic performance, and taking cognisance of the role that students attitudes play, it is recommend that schools should dedicate part of their investments on inculcating and fostering positive students attitudes through routine and regular legislation of guidance and counselling to encourage students to develop positive attitudes towards their teachers. More research is however, required to determine the best teaching methods that will encourage students to develop positive attitudes towards their teachers that would definitely encourage improved academic performance

This study was set to find out the psychosocial effects of cattle rustling culture among adolescent students in public secondary schools in Baragoi District, Samburu County, Kenya. For many years, Baragoi has experienced a series of serious conflicts based on cattle rustling. The worst incident was the Baragoi massacre that led to mass deaths and injuries of soldiers. The study employed quantitative and qualitative research paradigms focusing on the cross-sectional survey and phenomenological methods respectively. Probability sampling methods used included stratified and simple random sampling. A non- probability sampling method; criterion sampling was also employed. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected using questionnaires and Focus Group Discussions for students and interviews for teacher counsellors. Questionnaires had both closed and open-ended items. Quantitative data were analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20 and were presented using frequencies, means and percentages while qualitative data were analysed and categorized into themes and presented in form of narratives and excerpts. The main findings showed that all the respondents attested to having experienced cattle rustling. This was a clear indication of how rampant this activity was in Baragoi. The study found established that cattle rustling affected adolescent learners psychosocially. Fear and trauma were the most common psychological effect of cattle rustling. To a lesser extent however, hatred and feeling of revenge were also experienced. Above 70% of the respondents reported deaths, displacements and injuries in the family. This study concluded that cattle rustling had brought much psychosocial unrest to adolescents in Baragoi. The study recommends provision of psychological support to the adolescents affected by cattle rustling through training counsellors and strengthening the counselling department in schools and other social avenues.

In the recent years, the health sector has experienced escalating health care costs which have made the health care service providers seek for ways of continuously staying competitive to provide quality services to its customers. Traditionally, this is a sector that requires high level of professionalism, sophisticated equipments and advanced technology in order to stay ahead of others. Catholic mission hospitals have not been an exception to this experience. Despite the efforts, several draw backs have been noticed in the hospitals. It’s against this background that this study specifically aimed to establish the effect of investigate whether establishing whether human resource alignment had any effect on competitiveness of Catholic Mission Hospitals in Nyeri County. The target population for the study was 226 staff and a sample size of 68 was selected. The researcher used descriptive survey research design. Data was collected using questionnaires. The data collected was both qualitative and quantitative in nature. The qualitative data was analyzed using content analysis and presented in form of narratives, while quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics. The findings of the study were: lack of changes in HR alignment, (ß=.313, t=4.363, p<0.004), had a significant negative influence on competitive advantage in catholic mission hospitals in Nyeri County. The study therefore recommends: the Catholic Mission Hospitals management should employ integration organizational structure where staff are involved in decision making as this will harness the staff expert capabilities and improve performance

The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of Fund management practices on performance of public universities in Kenya. Taking a case study of Kisii University, the study sampled 126 employees, however only 109 questionnaires were found usable to be included in the analysis. After Data collection, spreadsheet was prepared on SPSS and simple descriptive statistics was applied after which inferential statistics was applied to test the hypothesis. The Findings indicated that the fund management practice at Kisii University was very regular and well managed. Mechanisms are put in place for internal controls like auditing and all expenditures are authorized. It was concluded that the government allocates funds to all public universities and this funds are distributed to all needy departments as per their requirements and university’ performance is effective as it has performed well in terms of development.

In the last decade the role of knowledge management practices in business organizations has been emphasized by practioners, academics and entrepreneurs. Ironically, most of these studies have focused on large organizations, yet others have predominantly focused on secondary literature of past studies for their findings. In addition, some studies have focused on particular aspects like tacit or explicit knowledge without giving a clue on the relationship to performance using both. This study sought to find out the effect of knowledge management practices on organizational performance with particular reference to MSMEs, thereby filling the gap on smaller organizations. The study was also empirical and addressed both tacit and explicit forms of knowledge. The study was guided by knowledge based view theory of the firm. The objective of the study was to find out the effect of organizational learning, knowledge sharing, and knowledge acquisition on Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise performance in Migori County, Kenya. The study was conducted by cross- sectional survey, data being collected in the month of March and April 2014 using questionnaire and structured interview responses from a sample of 46 owner and 110 employed managers of MSMEs randomly selected from the accessible population using stratified random sampling technique. Cronbach alpha was used to test reliability. The data was analyzed using both descriptive as well as inferential statistics. The study found that knowledge sharing had a significantly positive effect on MSMEs performance, whereas organizational learning and knowledge acquisition had positive but insignificant effects on MSMEs performance in Migori County, Kenya. The study recommends that MSMEs be encouraged to facilitate implementation of knowledge sharing so as to realize significant improvements in their performance. The study concludes that MSMEs must embrace knowledge management practices, in particular knowledge sharing for their enhanced performance

While education is expected to change the behaviour of learners positively by moulding them into self- respecting and self-reliant individuals, discipline related issues have been at the fore of educational debates as students encounter challenges associated with adolescence. Cases of truancy, drug abuse, immorality, destruction of property and loss of life, are however, indicators of the existence of a conflict between educational aims and discipline among secondary school students. This is despite the provision of guidance and counselling services in schools, hence the need to examine the effectiveness of guidance and counselling in enhancing discipline among secondary school students. The objective of study was to establish the effectiveness of guidance and counselling types employed towards enhancing discipline among secondary school students in Olokurto Division, Narok County, Kenya. Descriptive survey design was employed in the study and questionnaire used obtain data from respondents. Person centred theory advanced by Carl Rogers guided the study. The study population comprised 861 students, 12 teacher counsellors and 6 deputy principals drawn from the six public secondary schools in the division. Stratified and simple random sampling techniques were employed to sample 129 students for the study. Schools, deputy principals and teacher counsellors in the division were purposively sampled. Using test-retest method, the instruments yielded a reliability schools coefficient of r = 0.76, thus accepted for the study. Data were analyzed using the SPSS software version 20.0 and presented in tables, charts, graphs, means, frequencies and percentages. The study established that schools employed individual, peer and group types to counsel students but effectiveness had not been attained due to lack of counselling knowledge, skills and techniques due to the low training levels of teacher counsellors. Findings and recommendations of this study, if implemented will be useful to policy makers in the Ministry of Education Science and Technology, heads of secondary schools, counselling personnel and students through improved application of guidance and counselling types

The purpose of this study was to measure the relative efficiency of the hotels in Nairobi and Mombasa using Data Envelopment Analysis. The study was a longitudinal survey in which data are collected for periods; 2007, 2008 and. The study was limited to two-five star hotels. The study sample consisted of 36 hotels. The results revealed that technical inefficiencies of the hotels were mainly due to the pure technical inefficiencies rather than the scale inefficiencies.

Corporate boards are tasked with overall financial performance of firms under commercial and service sector which have for decades been at the centre of driving the economies of the developing nations as evidenced through the tremendous growth in the private sector credit over time. Unfortunately, commercial and service sector in Kenya has been witnessing a slow growth for the last five years topping the list of firms selling off their assets to cater for operational expenses. To realize better and improved financial performance however, it is vital to understand the nature and composition of these boards that have shown great interest in shifting towards asset-light business models to remain afloat. These actions have left shareholders with some of the worst wealth destruction experience ever seen at Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE). Therefore, this study aimed at establishing the empirical relationship between board characteristics and financial performance of commercial and service sector in Kenya. The study used the base data collected from the NSE reports which has all the annual reports of the listed firms under commercial and service sector as at December 2015. The study employed a panel data estimation technique with application of Hausman specification test which preferred Fixed Effects Regression Model as opposed to Random Effects GLS model in estimation. Significance was tested at 5% level. From the study results, both board size and board diligence were shown to significantly increase firm financial performance while gender diversity led to a significant decline in firm financial performance. Based on the results, the study recommends for considerable proportion of directors in board since these managers have a better appreciation of the business and can therefore make better decisions. Also, there is need for more board meetings undertaken by directors to solve emerging organizational problem as they were associated with increased financial performance and finally, firms need to set up a department which will facilitate affirmative action through research to have appropriate incorporation of both gender as it was associated with improved financial performance

The current trend of globalization and rapid working environment change has become a challenge for organizational management of change. The purpose of the study therefore was to investigate the relationships between organizational culture and change management at Kakamega provincial hospital. The specific objectives of the study was to establish the relationship between institutional leadership and management of change and to find out the role of training and development in managing change at the KPGH using organizational culture. The data for this study was collected from primary and secondary sources. The study adopted Hofstede’s organizational culture theory framework to understand the relationship between organizational culture and change management. Descriptive survey design was adopted for the study. The research instruments were questionnaire and documentary analysis. The study population comprises of senior, middle management staff, general employees, and subordinates staffs. The sample of one hundred and eighty eight respondents was selected for the study using stratified and simple random sampling technique. Correlation analysis was used to establish the relationships between organizational culture and change management in Health sector in Kenya. Results identified element associated with organizational culture in KPGH. The study further established that there is a positive correlation (r= 0.783, p < 0.05) significant relationship between institutional leadership and management of change in KPGH. The study revealed a significant positive correlation (r=0.3.9, P<0.05) between the level of training and development and managing change at the KPGH. This study is significant since it is hoped that findings and recommendation of the study will benefit Kenya government, MOH, Employees of Health institutions, scholars of various fields will use the findings to carry out further research to compliment and supplement the current study

With the rapid English language teaching development, more and more books have made their way into the market and choosing the right course book to meet the expectations of the syllabus and the students’ local needs is becoming more and more important at all levels of English language teaching. This paper examined ways of adapting course books by teachers of English language in secondary school in Kenya, so as to meet the expectations of the syllabus and the students’ needs. With effort from text book writers, English language teaching researchers and classroom teachers, course book adaption has evolved from ad hoc to systematic action. Although most classroom teachers may not be involved in the production of the syllabus and the text books, they have the responsibility for course book adaptation. Reference to the term course book has expanded from books to all materials used in English language teaching. It has evolved into a great variety of resources used in language classrooms such as audio cassettes, videos, CD-ROMs, flash cards and other authentic materials such as newspapers, photographs, advertisements and radio/TV programmes. The findings of this paper revealed that, for a course book to help a student learn language, it has to be perceived as relevant to the student’s needs and provide new learning experiences that connect with the student’s previous knowledge. It recommended that, for effective teaching/learning to take place successfully, teachers should play an active role in adapting course books. They should throw away the so called course books in traditional pedagogy and adapt authentic materials in their practices

Organizations are battling with unending demand for improved and quality service delivery from her customers. This requires new approaches to knowledge culture that facilitates sharing of tacit knowledge among all the stakeholders of an organization. Service delivery has been one of the major focus areas of organizational transformation and public sector reforms in Kenyan Government. Competition among the players pushes the organizations to come up with strategies of becoming and remaining agile. Organizations are realizing the importance of knowledge centered culture to enable them share knowledge efficiently and effectively as knowledge that is not well managed and shared corrodes easily. The concern of this paper is that existing tacit knowledge may be lost if not tapped. Failure of tapping into tacit knowledge affects organizational agility negatively. How to retain or tap tacit knowledge remains an area of interest to researchers. This paper foresees an urgent need of coming up with the most effective mechanisms for tapping tacit knowledge within the organization. Tacit knowledge according to this paper is meant to be that knowledge that is intrinsic, in form of ideas experiences and emotions. Knowledge centered culture is taken to mean an organizational culture that allows knowledge related activities which later necessitates smooth flow of knowledge. Organizational agility is seen as that organization that is able to swiftly manage change, pursue opportunities and maintain competitive advantage while remaining a learning organization and innovative

The study sought to assess the influence of finance availability on the performance of post retirement businesses in Ugunja Sub-county, Siaya County. It adopted a descriptive survey research design and inferential statistics. The target population for the study was 80 retirees. The researcher used census and collected data using questionnaires. The instrument was validated by the supervisors. Reliability of the instrument was determined through a pilot study where a Cronbach alpha coefficient of 0.708 was obtained from the instrument. This indicated that the instrument was reliable. Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and inferential statistics and presented in tables. The study established that finance availability with p-values (p= 0.000) significantly affect performance of post retirement business enterprises. The study recommends that the government and other organization should facilitate loans for the retirees to enable them have sufficient funds. They should also be taught the importance of saving which provides capital for enterprises. They should know that retirement planning starts on the first day you commence employment hence thorough planning

The purpose of this study was to establish the effect of subsidized secondary education on quality of education. The study sought to determine general teacher to student ratio; teacher to student ratios in urban and rural schools, student to book ratio before and after implementation of subsidized secondary education and the availability of physical facilities in secondary schools in Eldoret East sub-County. The study adopted descriptive survey design. Sample selection was made using stratified sampling, simple random sampling, and purposive sampling. Self-administered questionnaires and document analysis were used to collect data. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics data, and the significance of the results determined using t-test at 95% confidence level. The findings of this study revealed that the teacher to student ratio had increased implying that with the increase in student enrolment the number of teachers had remained the same (p=0.5). The Government subsidy on textbooks had effectively improved the textbook to student ratio. The study recommended that the government should increase the number of teachers and the available teachers equitably distributed.

The untrained Early Childhood Development Education (ECDE) teacher tends to escape from children’s problems instead of dealing with them. They do not know how to deal with different age groups since they do not know what tasks to give which group of children. The type of training enables a teacher to escape the constraints of a curriculum. Once this issue can be established, preferably by research, it will ease the inconsistencies in the ECDE teacher training in Kenya. The purpose of this study was to establish teacher factors that influence the choice of teaching methods used by ECDE teachers in Keiyo South District. This study was guided by the Learning Styles theory and adopted a descriptive survey design. The study targeted 126 public ECDE centres, 252 ECDE teachers and 126 ECDE head teachers in the public EDCE centres in the district. Simple random sampling technique was used to select 38 public ECDE centres. The study used the questionnaire, interview schedule and observation checklist to collect data. Data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics and presented using frequencies and percentages. The availability of teaching /learning materials, age of the ECDE child, mastery of content and teacher’s experience influenced the choice of teaching method. Others such as teacher motivation, number of children and the school locality also tend to influence the choice of the teaching method. It was also established that there was a relationship between the factors and choice of teaching method. A teacher should embrace the use of a variety of teaching methods; they should appropriately choose the teaching methods in consideration of the learners’ need

This paper discusses the role public relations can play in the creative arts industry. It examines the objectives, strategies that arts organizations can use in communicating with their diverse audience. The paper argues that creative arts industry in addition to entertaining the audience is a medium of communication that be used for social and economic development. Therefore, those working in this sector at an organizational and practitioner level need to embrace public relations and marketing tools. In order to maximise their creative opportunities and communicate effectively with their publics.

the recent decades, children service providers have struggled to assist street children to come out of their negative situations on the streets due to a myriad of challenges. In Kenya, street children are considered illegal and discriminated against in their attempts to access services and treated with violence and contempt by state authorities and other service providers. This paper examines the challenges faced by service providers in addressing the needs of street children. A descriptive survey research design was conducted among 45 street children between the ages 8 to 16 years who were available during the time of the study at different bases in Eldoret town. Study findings show that there were several service providers identified by the street children who included NGOs, FBOs, Business Community and Good Samaritans. However, some of the services provided by the business community and Good Samaritans were identified, by Social Workers, as a factor that led to more children coming to the streets of Eldoret town. Street children revealed that they needed to be more involved in informing service providers on what they would want to be assisted with. It was also clear that street children would want to participate in long-term initiatives which were sustainable and would assist them to be self-reliant in the long-run. For instance, they wanted trainings on how to participate in economic activities so that they could be more self-reliant and disengage from dependency and be out of the streets. The study recommends that a sector-wide training approach for service providers involved in dealing with street children at all levels be developed, by the Government in collaboration with stakeholders to provide standard and holistic services to street children in the country.

Internal controls help the institution to understand the organization’s structure, work, and authority flows. They are designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the achievement of operational objectives. Cases of fraud have significantly increased in public universities due to weakness of internal controls functions. This study hinder the growth and ruin the reputation of institutions of higher learning in terms of performance and accountability. The study was conducted in order to determine the effect of control environment on fraud detection and prevention at University of Eldoret, Kenya. This study was founded on contingency theory. Descriptive survey research design was used. Target population was accountants and internal auditors, the accessible population had involve 34 accountants and internal auditors at the University of Eldoret. A pilot study was conducted in order to test the validity and reliability of the research questionnaire. Content validity was used as a validity test while reliability was tested using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient. The study used primary data which was collected using structured questionnaires. Both descriptive and inferential statistics was used for data analysis. Descriptive statistical tools included frequencies, percentages, means, variances, and standard deviations. Inferential statistics included Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation and multiple regression analysis. Results were presented in tables. Findings revealed that Control environment positively and significantly influence fraud detection and prevention in the institution (ß = 0.528; p < 0.05). The study further recommends that the governing body, possibly supported by the audit committee, should ensure that the control environment is periodically monitored and evaluated. The study findings will guide the institution to reduce variance in budgets through better reporting and budgetary control measures that reduces cases of fraud. It is expected that the findings will improve on internal controls in the organization

Globally, widespread increase of adversities such as chronic poverty and Hiv/Aids have increased the number of orphans and vulnerable children, thereby threatening the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals in spheres of Education, Health, Nutrition, and psychosocial development. In Kenya, the vulnerability of children communities is evident and its manifestation is in different spheres in the society causing disorder and disintegration. Orphans and vulnerable children have been the victims of circumstance, posing a big challenge to their survival and development. Academic evidence from various studies on child protection in other countries in Africa have shown how adoption of community based child protection mechanism can effectively address child protection issues. The main question is: Is this the same case in Kenya? With use of literature information in Kenya and outside, this paper analyses the role of community-based child protection structures for the survival and development of orphans and vulnerable children. Findings of the study indicates that there is disconnect that exist between the national child protection systems and community-based child protection structures thus, threatening the future of orphans and vulnerable children. The paper argues that Kenya has done little in strengthening community-based child protection systems, which play the role of prevention and coordination of resources at the community level in addressing child protection issues. Moreover, interventions employed by various stakeholders to establish and/or strengthen child social protection systems, have achieved little and are not sustainable. The paper concludes that community based child protection structures are fundamental instruments in prevention of children vulnerabilities and create a link between children, community and national structures. The paper recommends that for community-based protection structures to be effective, a creation of collaborative effort of these structures in addressing children vulnerabilities is integral

The study sought to assess the influence of finance availability on the performance of post retirement businesses in Ugunja Sub-county, Siaya County. It adopted a descriptive survey research design and inferential statistics. The target population for the study was 80 retirees. The researcher used census and collected data using questionnaires. The instrument was validated by the supervisors. Reliability of the instrument was determined through a pilot study where a Cronbach alpha coefficient of 0.708 was obtained from the instrument. This indicated that the instrument was reliable. Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and inferential statistics and presented in tables. The study established that finance availability with p-values (p= 0.000) significantly affect performance of post retirement business enterprises. The study recommends that the government and other organization should facilitate loans for the retirees to enable them have sufficient funds. They should also be taught the importance of saving which provides capital for enterprises. They should know that retirement planning starts on the first day you commence employment hence thorough planning

The purpose of this study was to establish the effect of subsidized secondary education on quality of education. The study sought to determine general teacher to student ratio; teacher to student ratios in urban and rural schools, student to book ratio before and after implementation of subsidized secondary education and the availability of physical facilities in secondary schools in Eldoret East sub-County. The study adopted descriptive survey design. Sample selection was made using stratified sampling, simple random sampling, and purposive sampling. Self-administered questionnaires and document analysis were used to collect data. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics data, and the significance of the results determined using t-test at 95% confidence level. The findings of this study revealed that the teacher to student ratio had increased implying that with the increase in student enrolment the number of teachers had remained the same (p=0.5). The Government subsidy on textbooks had effectively improved the textbook to student ratio. The study recommended that the government should increase the number of teachers and the available teachers equitably distributed

The untrained Early Childhood Development Education (ECDE) teacher tends to escape from children’s problems instead of dealing with them. They do not know how to deal with different age groups since they do not know what tasks to give which group of children. The type of training enables a teacher to escape the constraints of a curriculum. Once this issue can be established, preferably by research, it will ease the inconsistencies in the ECDE teacher training in Kenya. The purpose of this study was to establish teacher factors that influence the choice of teaching methods used by ECDE teachers in Keiyo South District. This study was guided by the Learning Styles theory and adopted a descriptive survey design. The study targeted 126 public ECDE centres, 252 ECDE teachers and 126 ECDE head teachers in the public EDCE centres in the district. Simple random sampling technique was used to select 38 public ECDE centres. The study used the questionnaire, interview schedule and observation checklist to collect data. Data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics and presented using frequencies and percentages. The availability of teaching /learning materials, age of the ECDE child, mastery of content and teacher’s experience influenced the choice of teaching method. Others such as teacher motivation, number of children and the school locality also tend to influence the choice of the teaching method. It was also established that there was a relationship between the factors and choice of teaching method. A teacher should embrace the use of a variety of teaching methods; they should appropriately choose the teaching methods in consideration of the learners’ needs

This paper discusses the role public relations can play in the creative arts industry. It examines the objectives, strategies that arts organizations can use in communicating with their diverse audience. The paper argues that creative arts industry in addition to entertaining the audience is a medium of communication that be used for social and economic development. Therefore, those working in this sector at an organizational and practitioner level need to embrace public relations and marketing tools. In order to maximise their creative opportunities and communicate effectively with their publics.

In the recent decades, children service providers have struggled to assist street children to come out of their negative situations on the streets due to a myriad of challenges. In Kenya, street children are considered illegal and discriminated against in their attempts to access services and treated with violence and contempt by state authorities and other service providers. This paper examines the challenges faced by service providers in addressing the needs of street children. A descriptive survey research design was conducted among 45 street children between the ages 8 to 16 years who were available during the time of the study at different bases in Eldoret town. Study findings show that there were several service providers identified by the street children who included NGOs, FBOs, Business Community and Good Samaritans. However, some of the services provided by the business community and Good Samaritans were identified, by Social Workers, as a factor that led to more children coming to the streets of Eldoret town. Street children revealed that they needed to be more involved in informing service providers on what they would want to be assisted with. It was also clear that street children would want to participate in long-term initiatives which were sustainable and would assist them to be self-reliant in the long-run. For instance, they wanted trainings on how to participate in economic activities so that they could be more self-reliant and disengage from dependency and be out of the streets. The study recommends that a sector-wide training approach for service providers involved in dealing with street children at all levels be developed, by the Government in collaboration with stakeholders to provide standard and holistic services to street children in the country.

Internal controls is part of internal auditing which is an integral part of the corporate governance mosaic in both the public and the private sectors. The purpose of this study was to establish the effect of internal control on corporate governance in Sacco’s in Nairobi County. The study was guided by the Agency and Stewardship theories. This study adopted descriptive research design. The study targeted 45 licensed SACCOS in Nairobi County with a population of 180 respondents who worked for 45 licensed SACCOS by SASRA in Nairobi County. The sample size for the study was 124 respondents. Purposive technique and simple random sampling was used to select a sample size that represented all employees in filling questionnaires. In order to establish the validity and reliability of the instruments, a pilot study was carried out in Eldoret town. Data was analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The study findings indicated that there was a statistical significant effect between internal controls and corporate governance in Sacco’s in Nairobi (t=2.412, P<0.05). The study recommended that the SACCOs should improve on the use of internal controls in monitoring their operations in order control consciousness of its employees, they should contact accounting assessment by identifying and analyzing the relevant risks to the achievement of objectives, forming a basis for how the risks should be managed, the policy makers and stakeholders should ensure that the Sacco should comply with rules and regulation of the ministry and taxes payment.

Children with chronic illness are at the intersection of the health and education systems. Unfortunately, typical educational programs and policies are not designed to support them. This paper presents findings on the effectiveness of school management strategies for chronically ill school-going children in Ainbkoi Sub-County. The study employed a descriptive research design. Primary schools in Ainabkoi sub-county, head teachers and head of students’ affairs in schools were informants for the study. Purposive sampling and simple random sampling was used in selecting head teachers, head of students’ affairs and pupils respectively. The study found that schools do not have a clinic for medical attention of the children. When children are attacked in school and taken to the hospital, they are not requested to pay medical fees in school, the schools don’t hold regular check up on children, some children are aware of chronic illnesses, though not sensitized very often about chronic illnesses. This paper recommends in-service training that will enable teachers understand how to manage students with chronic illness. There is also need for a school based care plan that allows effective communication and consultation between the family and school on best ways of managing the sick child, and modification of environment to ensure access to school facilities and activities for chronically ill children.

Despite contributing to the growth of the economy, tax legal policies and processes present difficulties in administering and compliance among KRA and tax payers. Moreover it is this complexity that has created loop holes resulting in significant revenue leakages. The study aimed at determining the effects of Communication Strategy on revenue collection at Kenya Revenue Authority in the North Rift Region. The research was guided by Stewardship Theory. It adopted a cross-sectional survey design which is analytical in nature. The study targeted a population of 386 KRA employees from 3 KRA stations in north rift region. The study sampled 191 respondents using simple random sampling method. Data was collected using questionnaires. Descriptive statistics and inferential statistics were used to analyze data. Descriptive statistics involved the use of frequency, percentages mean and standard deviation. Inferential statistics involved the use of correlation and regression model. The results of the study were presented using tables and figures. The results revealed that there is effect of communication strategy on revenue collection at Kenya Revenue Authority. The study recommended that KRA should adopt appropriate communication strategy in order provides relevant information and adequate motivation to impact on attitudes and behaviors of individuals or groups of people. The study findings would be beneficial to the government in relation to policy making and strategy formulation in line to its expectations from KRA as an institution. The findings of this study would also give KRA management relevant information to help them build and improve their strategic responses in relation to revenue collection. Equally, the findings of this study would enrich existing knowledge and hence would be of interest to both researchers and academicians who seek to explore and carry out further investigations.

Financial management strategies are crucial determinants of sustainability of table banking groups. The strategies enable groups to set clear goals, efficient utilization of resources, proper decisions in sourcing of finances and dividends decision making. The main purpose of this study therefore was to establish the effect of credit risk management strategies saving strategies, financial regulation strategies and liquidity management strategies on sustainability of table banking groups was assessed. The study was founded on credit risk theory. The study adopted the descriptive survey research design. The target population were all table bank groups in Kenya. The accessible population was 538 registered table bank groups in Uasin Gishu County. A sample of 230 groups was involved in the study. Two stage sampling technique was used to narrow down the sub-counties. Purposive sampling technique was used to select 3 sub-counties out of the six sub-counties in Uasin Gishu, County. Simple random sampling technique was used to select respondents for the actual study. A pilot study was conducted in order to test the validity and reliability of the research questionnaire. Content validity was used as a validity test while reliability was tested using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient. Self-administered questionnaires were used to collect data. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used for data analysis. Findings were presented in tables, charts and graphs. The study found out that credit risk management strategies significantly influence sustainability of table banking groups (ß=0.207; p< 0.05). It was concluded that proper credit management strategies could enable table banking groups by enhancing sustainability. The findings of this study are expected to be employed by table banking groups to ensure business success, hence promoting sustainability and economic development. It was also recommended that theories anchored this study should be applied so as to enhance sustainability.

Majority of SMEs collapse because they operate in business environment which is highly turbulent characterized by external factors as well as internal business factors. The study therefore sought to establish the effect of effect of product creation strategy on performance of small and medium enterprises in Eldoret town. The study was guided by Balanced Scorecard Theory. This study adopted descriptive research design. The target population of the study was 2,391 registered SMEs according to Uasin Gishu County government records and accessible population was 1764 respondents. The sample size for the respondents was therefore be 315. The study used questionnaires as the main tool for collecting data. The data collected was analyzed by using the excel program and Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 23. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics such as mean, frequencies, percentages and standard derivation and inferential statistics which include correlation and multiple regressions. Data was presented by use of frequency tables, charts and graphs. The study findings a positive and significant effect of product creation strategy on small and medium enterprises in Eldoret Town (ß=0.476, p<0.05). The study will be of benefit to management of medium enterprises and other organizations in understanding the challenges they would encounter when implementing various strategies and be able to come up with better ways of dealing with these challenges so as to be successful in their strategies. The study would be of importance to future researchers and scholars since it would be a source of material for their research and would also help them in identifying the research gaps they need to fill.

The Study attempted to address the question whether Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has effect on business performance of Insurance firms in Eldoret town in Kenya. The specific objective of the study was to examine the effect of environmental responsibility on business performance of insurance firms in Kenya. The study was anchored on stakeholder theory. Descriptive survey research design was adopted. The study was conducted in 32 insurance firms in Eldoret town. The target population was 394 insurance employees. The sample size was composed of 32 regional managers, 32 line managers and 64 sales representatives. A questionnaire and interview schedule was used as the main instruments of data collection of the study. Pilot study was conducted in Jubilee insurance company to ascertain the validity and reliability of the research instruments. The data was analyzed using both quantitative and qualitative techniques. The data from structured questionnaires was analyzed using descriptive statistics; frequencies and percentages and regression analysis. The data was analyzed with the aid of Statistical Package for Social Scientist (SPSS 23.0). Qualitative data was analyzed using content analysis. The study findings showed that majority of the respondents agreed that organization upholds fair business practices; provide quality goods and services through just processes, organization’s policies are motivated by social and ethical values. The results indicated that environmental responsibility activities undertaken by insurance firms significantly influence their performance (ß1= 0.159, p < 0.05).

Majority of SMEs collapse because they operate in business environment which is highly turbulent characterized by external factors as well as internal business factors. The study therefore sought to establish the effect of effect of product creation strategy on performance of small and medium enterprises in Eldoret town. The study was guided by Balanced Scorecard Theory. This study adopted descriptive research design. The target population of the study was 2,391 registered SMEs according to Uasin Gishu County government records and accessible population was 1764 respondents. The sample size for the respondents was therefore be 315. The study used questionnaires as the main tool for collecting data. The data collected was analyzed by using the excel program and Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 23. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics such as mean, frequencies, percentages and standard derivation and inferential statistics which include correlation and multiple regressions. Data was presented by use of frequency tables, charts and graphs. The study findings a positive and significant effect of product creation strategy on small and medium enterprises in Eldoret Town (ß=0.476, p<0.05). The study will be of benefit to management of medium enterprises and other organizations in understanding the challenges they would encounter when implementing various strategies and be able to come up with better ways of dealing with these challenges so as to be successful in their strategies. The study would be of importance to future researchers and scholars since it would be a source of material for their research and would also help them in identifying the research gaps they need to fill.

Language policy emphasizes on mother tongue/first language-based education system with adequate teachers and learning resource materials. The policy of language in Kenya emphasizes on the importance of first language; teachers overlook everyday reality of its usage, and tend to be irrelevant to their needs. The objective was to establish the influence of teacher preparation mother tongue/first language usage as a medium of instruction in rural ECDE centres in Nandi County, Kenya. The study adopted the Interdependence Theory. A descriptive survey research design was used. Target population was 4 Quality Assurance and Standards Officer (QASO), 200 head teachers and 400 teachers from 200 ECDE centres in the county. The sample size was 241 respondents, these were; 4 QASOs, 79 head teachers and 158 pre-school teachers. The study used purposive sampling technique to select seventy nine head teachers and four Sub County QASOs. The study used simple random sampling technique to select 158 teachers from the sampled schools. The instruments for data collection were interviews and questionnaires. Questionnaires were administered to the pre-school teachers, while Sub County Quality assurance officers and head teachers were interviewed. The instruments were piloted in Kericho County that had similar characteristics as the study area. The reliability of research instrument was tested using Cronbanch’s Alpha coefficient. Data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The findings indicated that teacher preparedness, teacher attitude, instructional materials and medium of instruction accounted for 55.7% of classroom instruction. Classroom instruction was influenced by teacher’s preparedness. Good teacher preparation enabled them to implement the language policy effectively. The teachers lacked teaching and learning materials on vernacular languages. The study recommended that the government should support in-service training for pre-school teachers on the use of mother tongue/first language as a language of instruction; provide funds for the development and acquisition of L1 resources for teaching that ensures schools comply with the language policy.

Inclusive quality education and lifelong learning is a key lever of sustainable development. This is based on a vision of inclusive societies in which all citizens have equitable opportunities to access effective and relevant lifelong learning delivered through multiple formal, non-formal and informal settings. As such, inclusive quality education and lifelong learning is essential to the development of individuals their families, local and national communities to which they belong, and to the world at large. It is vital to note that individuals who lack certain forms of learning in life may not contribute effectively to societal development. This paper reviews information from various researchers and establishes the nature of education provided globally, regionally and locally in connection to inclusive quality education and lifelong learning in relation to sustainable development so as to establish the major successes and challenges. It brings together a wide range of scientific expertise across the natural and social sciences in an accessible and concise manner. It is a unique paper designed primarily for negotiators, technical support teams and other actors engaged in defining a universal, integrated and transformational form of education for sustainable development. In particular it is a resource for technical review of the targets carried out in the education system in preparation for their adoption and translation at the national level. The results offer rigorous analysis of the proposed education goals and targets, collectively and individually, assessing whether they are backed up by scientific evidence, whether they address the economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development in an integrated way, and whether they are sufficiently specific to be effectively implemented and monitored. Concrete recommendations have been put forward for consideration in refining the education goals and targets.