Organizational culture on change management strategies and organizational performance of the national police service, Kiambu County, Kenya

Abstract

Performance of the National Police Service is an essential function in relation to government bodies and citizens. Change management has generally been viewed from the perspective of organizations, to the detriment of individual employees. Despite the government reform efforts in the National Police Service, performance has continued to deteriorate, with criminal activities increasing day by day. This is supported by the NPS Internal Affairs Unit (IAU) 2020 report, which revealed that a total of 1,043 complaints were received from the general public. Of these, 821 complaints were against officers from the National Police Service (NPS), 144 against the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), and 53 against the Administration Police Service (APS). The IAU, NPS/NPSC, NGAO, and others recorded 2, 8, 8, and 7 cases respectively. The purpose of this study is to analyze the moderating effect of organizational culture on change management strategies and organizational performance of the National Police Service in Kiambu County, Kenya. Specifically, the study sought to examine the influence of employee training, leadership support and effective communication on organizational performance of the national police service, Kiambu County, Kenya. The study was guided by Experiential Learning Theory (Kolb, 1984), Resource-Based View Theory (Penrose, 1959), Uncertainty Reduction Theory (Berger & Calabrese, 1975), and Social Learning Theory (Albert, 1971). The study used explanatory research design. The target population was 619 respondents comprising of 313 Kenya police, 293 administration police and 13 from the DCI. The sample size was calculated using Yamane's (1973) sampling formula. The study used stratified random sampling technique to select 242 respondents from the target population. Primary data was collected using interview guides and structured questionnaires. From the pilot test results, the study questionnaire met the reliability criteria (α>0.7). To improve the instrument's validity, the researcher sought help from supervisors, colleagues, and specialists. Descriptive statistics, such as frequencies, were used to summarize data. This study used Pearson correlation analysis to determine the strength of the association between independent variables and the dependent variable. From the results, there was a very strong relationship between employee training(r = 0.860, p-value =0.000), leadership support(r = 0.801, p-value =0.003), effective communication(r = 0.826, p-value =0.002) and organizational performance of the national police service, Kiambu County, Kenya. Multivariate regression analysis was used to assess the relationship between the independent variables and the dependent variable. From the results, there was a positive and significant relationship between employee training (β =0.328, p-value = 0.003), leadership support β =0.354, p-value = 0.001), effective communication (β =0.357, p-value = 0.002) and organizational performance of the national police service, Kiambu County, Kenya. The study concludes that employee training has a significant effect on the organizational performance of the National Police Service in Kiambu County, Kenya. Additionally, the study concludes that leadership support has a significant effect on the organizational performance of the National Police Service in Kiambu County, Kenya. Furthermore, the study concludes that effective communication has a significant effect on the organizational performance of the National Police Service in Kiambu County, Kenya. The study concludes that organizational culture has a significant moderating effect on the relationship between change management strategies and organizational performance of the National Police Service in Kiambu County, Kenya. This study recommends that the National Police Service in Kiambu County, Kenya, invest in comprehensive training programs that focus specifically on change processes, training needs assessment, and effective training modes. Additionally, the study recommends that the management of the National Police Service should prioritize leadership development programs that focus on enhancing leaders' abilities to consider human and emotional aspects, inspire employees towards organizational objectives, and effectively resolve issues through collaboration and reaching agreements.