ASSESSMENT OF STRATEGY IMPLEMENTATION PROCESS ፡ THE CASE STUDY OF DEFENSE CONSTRUCTION ENTERPRISE

Abstract

Strategy implementation involves organization of the firm's resources and motivation of the staff to achieve objectives. Organizations seem to have difficulties in implementing their strategies. The construction industry is the engine of infrastructure development in the country. The industry has experienced substantial growth since 2005. Despite such growth, major construction works in Ethiopia have been undertaken by foreign firms due to lack of adequate local capacity in the industry. In the context of this study, the fact that these construction industries have strived from various stages alongside the adoption of various organizational strategies indicates that it has not been easy to achieve optimum strategy implementation. None of the known local studies has ever focused on strategy implementation in construction industries. Given the importance of these processes, this study therefore sought to fill the gap by assess the implementation of strategic decision in a case of Defense Construction Enterprise. The study sought to achieve the following specific objectives: To assess the effects of strategy implementation, commitment of the top level management, organizational culture, coordination of activities communication on strategy implementation; effect of coordination of activities and the effect of organizational culture on strategy implementation at Defense Construction Enterprise in Ethiopia. For the purposes of this study, the researcher employed descriptive research design. This research was conducted through a case study since it is a research on one organization. The researcher used both primary and secondary data. Primary data was collected using self-administered questionnaire while secondary data was collected by use of desk search techniques from published reports and other documents. The respondents of this study were the employees at Defense Construction Enterprise are at top level managers, middle level managers, lower level managers, and project managers. Quantitative data collected was analyzed by the use of descriptive statistics using SPSS and presented through percentages, means, standard deviations and frequencies. A total of 67 questionnaires were distributed to target sample. The study collected data from 62 respondents which constituted response rate of 92.5 % which was adequate for the study findings. The information was displayed by use of bar charts, graphs and pie charts. The study established that Organization culture influences adherence to organizational vision, mission and values thus steering the implementation of organizational strategy in the construction industry; strategy implementation requires a strong alignment between employee attitudes and strategic goals and objectives. The study established that commitment of top level management influence strategy implementation in the construction industry it revealed that while management’s commitment is a positive signal for organization to enhance strategy implementation firms in construction industry. The study established that communication is a key success factor in strategy implementation. Communication processes should be planned to match requirements for a strategy to be implemented.