INFLUENCE OF STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP PRACTICES ON THE OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE OF LIBRARIES IN KENYA

Abstract

The turbulent and rapidly changing world has created a society craving for speed and action. Future leaders, therefore, face incredible pressures to deliver immediate results, to do more with less and to manage an ever-increasing personal workload. Traditional leadership approaches have been rendered insufficient by the rapid changes in the knowledge economy. Businesses need to practice systemic innovation in this fast-changing, knowledge-Driven global business. Despite heightened awareness and interest by both scholars and practitioners in the field of strategic leadership, the subject will always be an emerging field of inquiry. Furthermore, limited research has thus far been conducted on the influence of strategic leadership on the Library operational performance in Kenya. The main objective of this study was to establish the influence of strategic leadership practices on Organizational performance with a focus to KNLS as a case study. The Target population was top and middle employees of KNLS totaling 201 of which a sample size of 100 was picked using a stratified sampling technique to provide fair representation. Questionnaires were used to collect quantitative primary data. A pilot study was first conducted to test validity and reliability of the questionnaire. The collected data were sorted, coded and presented using tables, bar charts and pie charts. Data analysis employed use of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) that is faster, flexible and user-friendly employing basic functions such as mean and standard deviation. It is also flexible to generate statistical tests. The most dominant influence of operational performance as indicated by a good percentage included technological change (81%), employee attitude (80%), employee skills/competencies (75%) and the influence of organizational culture on operational performance (74%).From the regression analysis, it is evident that all other variables especially technological change, organizational structure and resources mobilization have an effect on the productivity or performance level in the organization. It is anticipated that the findings of this study will benefit several stake holders among them the Researchers, library stakeholders, Consultants and practitioners gain more insights on how to effectively manage Library services. The Study recommends robust job evaluation, employee involvement and effective change management system.