Abstract

The study reports the findings of an empirical investigation on the experience of carrying out a public sector reform program in the National Police Service (NPS) in Kenya. The study conceptualized the reform program as an aspect of Organization Development (OD) process and anchored it on the aspects of strategic change. A representative sample of 294 senior officers in the NPS was drawn from the Nairobi Metropolitan Region and a structured questionnaire used to obtain the data. Data was obtained on the extent of implementation of four components of the OD process and the level of performance attained. The findings indicate that the police reforms anchored on the OD model were implemented to a moderate extent and that the corresponding level of performance was at the level of low extent. The four components of OD adopted in the study explain a relatively low percentage of the variation in performance of the NPS (Adj R²=0.35) and while three of the components have a positive effect, OD Diagnosis has a significant negative effect on NPS Performance. The study explained both the level of variation and direction of effect to be associated with the lack of embracing a strategic orientation in designing and implementing the reforms. The findings confirm the theoretical and conceptual literatures advocating for integration of OD and strategic management and identifies the relevant implications for strategic management theory and practice.

1. Introduction

Public sector reforms undertaken in Kenya have reflected the nature of strategic decisions in terms of their level of resource requirements, focus and expected impacts (Sector Plan for Public Sector Reforms 2013-2017). As such the design of the reform programs and the implementation process is expected to follow the pattern that reflects a strategic orientation in which the components of the strategic management process would be embraced. An important aspect of strategic management that offers useful input in the process of reforms is that drawn from the nature of strategic change which a number of scholars have approached from the viewpoint of Organization Development. Organization Development has been considered a relevant topic in strategic management that enables an organization to address the key goals of its strategic management agenda. Lewis ¹ contended that strategy and Organization Development are both aimed at helping an organization to meet its objectives. Organization Development comes in handy to contribute towards enabling an organization to manage strategic change occasioned by the adoption of adopted strategies for moving the organization forward ², thus, helping the organization achieve its mission and vision to the extent that it will enable it to cope with environmental change. OD becomes a relevant topic in strategic management and is acknowledged in literature to constitute a major part of the strategic management process during the phase of strategy implementation. Further, OD has been conceptualized as both a process and a strategy Glanz, Rimer, and Vinswanath ³ which raises a number of implications ⁴. First, the OD process will impact systems and processes of an organization that host it, such that within the organization systems, processes, and cultures, people will be caused to change as OD programs address concerns that may be hindering performance expectations from being met, ^{3, 5}. Secondly, through the impact on the systems, it will enhance the capability of the systems to deliver desired outcomes in a sustainable manner especially if the programs are managed as strategic resources.

Some authors have considered the strategic management process in terms of phases that include strategy formulation, strategic choice and strategy implementation ^{6, 7}. During the implementation phase, organizations are required to institute changes in their systems which may affect the structure, culture, leadership and human resources ⁵. Further, OD injects a systematic approach in the manner it changes the state of an organization to what is desired through application of the relevant steps of OD that ensure the capacity of members of an organization to deal with change as the implementation of strategies takes place ⁸. In this perspective, scholars agree that there is linkage between OD and strategic management ^{2, 9}. Other scholars also view the linkage between OD and strategic management as critical in enhancing performance to an extent that a simultaneous approach of integrating them into one is needed, thus enhancing strategic change in organizations ⁴. The integrated approach embeds strategic thinking into the OD process in such a way that the OD process is applied in systems of organizations to transform them in a way that will ensure an organization fits in its context amidst increasing environmental turbulence.

Diverse organizations have approached Organization Development and applied it from different perspectives. The Public sector in most economies has adopted Organization Development through the lens of public sector reform programs targeting several dimensions of public service in restructuring, staff deployment, institutional development and automation of service delivery systems ¹⁰. In view of this, what is clear from the manner in which it has been approached in the public sector is the fact that, it mirrors the tenets of strategic change that pronounces itself to the structure, technology, culture and leadership systems in place due to the potential far reaching effects of the reforms on the public sector system ¹¹. Thus the reforms will require to be approached using a strategic lens as their requirements reflect the characteristic nature of strategic decisions that are pursued to achieve strategic intents. However, the extent to which the design of the reforms and the execution has leaned towards the strategic orientation may require to be ascertained.

In Kenya, the key reforms featuring in the public sector trace to 2010 when the country adopted a new constitution in the same year which raised serious strategic implications for public sector organizations ¹². The implementation of the new constitution required creation of new bodies, transformation of the existing ones and the alignment of work systems with service delivery expectations of the public. The National Police Service was one of the institutions whose work was required to initiate a reform process so as to align with the demands of the new constitution. The National Police Service reform programs were initiated immediately after 2010 and have been implemented for several years in the areas of structural change, staff capacity enhancement, supply of equipment and establishment of infrastructure ¹³. The aim of the reforms was to enhance service delivery, embrace a more responsive and transparent organization as well as improve its public image which are considered essential components of the performance of public sector entities ^{14, 15, 16}. The focus on performance is a major concern to the NPS as an organization since organizations exist for a purpose as contained in each organization's mission statement and pre-meditated in the vision statement ¹⁷. Organization performance requires long or short-term performance drivers depending on its strategic orientations ¹⁸.

Police services performance improvement initiatives across the world have been propelled by the need to create a people friendly, responsive effective and productive professional service with the core competencies and capabilities of securing citizens and their property without violating their basic human rights ^{19, 20, 21}. This has raised demand for effectiveness and efficiency in the performance of policing services which has gained momentum in the recent years in the global developmental agenda with a view to seeking for better security services for sustainable growth and development. The police institutions have however been marred with various challenges and problems pointing to poor performance on key indicators of transparency, accountability, respect of human rights, corruption, poor quality service delivery and lack of responsiveness ²². Despite various concerted efforts to address the challenges and problems in order to improve performance, the problems still persist ^{23, 24, 25, 26}. This has raised concern among policy makers as to whether the reform process has been well entrenched in the service and how it has enhanced the ability of the NPS system towards effective service delivery.

Even though public sector reforms have been implemented in a number of countries, there lacks documented evidence on the level of implementation of these reforms as well as their effects ²⁷. The reforms by nature of their impact on systems and resource requirements are strategic and require a strategic lens in analyzing their implementation and impact ²⁸. This paper used a strategic lens to investigate the extent of implementation of the police service reforms in Kenya using an Organizational Development model. The study had three objectives: establishing the extent to which OD has been implemented in the NPS, establishing the level of performance attained by NPS as a result of the NPS reforms, and determining the effect of the level of OD implementation on the attained level of NPS performance

The study is significant in both academics and practice. In terms of theory and conceptualization, the authors note that extant literature on OD is confronted with a problem of conceptualization as there seems to be no agreed-upon definition of OD and most of the definitions have taken an interventionist approach ²⁹. In addition, the lack of clear definition may bring ambiguity in the approaches employed by many organizations as each understands the concept differently thereby creating confusion in the OD literature. The current study takes an integrated view that injects a strategic lens in the manner OD has been defined and conceptualized. Alongside this, the paper contributes to addressing persisting conceptual gaps that have continued as a result of the narrow scope adopted by most researchers in operationalizing and measuring the OD construct. By adopting the OD Model in this study, the authors approach OD both as a process and strategy after which it has been operationalized using four components of the action research model for implementing strategic change which further addresses empirical challenges cited from previous research, where OD was measured in relation to performance using only one component of the OD process ^{24, 30, 31}. In terms of practice, it is observed that most researches have focused on the profit oriented private sector and ignored the public sector. The findings of this study provide empirical evidence on the experience of a public sector organization using a strategic lens which enables the authors to raise the relevant implications arising out of a reform program in a public sector for strategic management theory and practice.

2. Literature Review

This section reviews the conceptual, theoretical and empirical literatures relevant to addressing the study objectives. The theoretical literature is first reviewed then followed by the conceptual and empirical review.

The study was anchored on three theoretical frameworks namely; Organization Development Theory, Institutional and Organizational Assessment Model, and Action Research Model.

The proponent of the organization development theory was Lewin in 1946. Other scholars who supported the theory include Glanz et al., ³ who asserted that organization Development is a process of continuous diagnosis, action planning, implementation and evaluation with the ultimate goal of transferring knowledge and skills to organizations to improve their capacity for getting solutions to the existing problems and managing the strategic change. Glanz et al. ³ further described key components of the theory to include organization culture, climate, and organizational strategies. The assumptions of the theory were advanced by French ³² as follows: improved performance stems from organization development effort which is sustained by an appropriate change in compensation, staffing, and appraisal; the organization is characterized by overlapping and interdependent work groups and other staff categories need to facilitate for organization effectiveness; what happens in the broader organization affects the work groups whereas what occurs in the subsystem influences the whole system and; assumes that culture influences behavior of employees ³². The theory views organization development as both a strategy and a process manifested in steps which in themselves are components of its processes, which include OD Diagnosis, OD Action Planning, OD Intervention and OD Evaluation. Even though, the theory emphasizes on the members of the organization participation in the strategic orientation processes by sharing of skills and experiences, what remains deficient is how the participation can result into the organization becoming a learning organization. Therefore, makes the organization capable of adapting to the environmental changes and strategic re-alignments necessitated by the changes ³³.

The proponents of the Institutional and Organizational Assessment (IOA) model were Lusthaus, Anderson, Carden, Adrien and Montalvan ³⁴. The model aim is to not only help organizations define the overall performance but also improve it by analyzing the environment, capacity, and rewarding of their staff. The model therefore, focuses on four main areas of performance, environment, rewarding and capacity. The model helps an organization to develop appropriate methodology that assist in diagnosing its strengths and weaknesses. The theory postulates an interaction between the external and internal environment of an organization. In view of this, rewarding, capacity and external environment of an organization are critical in determining its performance. The indicators influence organization performance by enhancing its efficiency, relevance, effectiveness and financial viability.

The action research model was initially proposed by Lewin ³⁵ who conceived action research as a two-sided process that allows groups to address three questions: First, what changes the organization requires, and what it is directed to achieve. Second, does the model recognize that successful action is established on the correct analysis of situation? Third, selecting the best solution for the current situation from all the alternative solutions that have been identified ^{36, 37}. Action research model postulates that change process undergoes steps, thus ignoring the concept of environmental dynamism, which emphasizes that environment is ever changing and such stepwise approach to the strategic change process may not apply to a competitive and dynamic environment. In this view, Lewin outlines three steps of change process; unfreezing, moving and refreezing whereas Stinger ³⁸ outlined a four-step model comprising planning, acting, reflecting and observing. It has been criticized by a number of scholars such as Hussain et al. ³⁹ because it establishes general steps of change and ignores additional information which is prerequisite for organization environmental adaptations to align the steps to specific situations. In addition, Bartunek and Woodman ⁴⁰ further contend the model by Lewin depict organization change overtime thereby failing to consider polyphonic dimensions, pacing, timing, rhythm, and sequence present in the change process of an organization. The Action research model used by this research is important because it helps organizations to move from old to new and effective methods of implementing change. The current study found Stinger ³⁸ variant of action research model to be appropriate thereby adopted despite Burke’s 7 steps action research model being widely used in business research. The four steps action research model by Stinger include; planning, acting, observing, and reflecting. This is justified by the fact that before planning which is the first step undertaken in any organization, strategic analysis (environmental scanning and SWOT analysis) is paramount and during the process, the steps of entry, contracting, collecting data, and giving feedback as enumerated in Burke's model should be part of the process. The perspective is vital as its points of emphasis entrench strategic thinking orientation into the OD process through a variety of activities it suggests for strategic analysis.

Scholars have divergent views on the meaning of Organization Development. For instance, Burke and Litwin ⁴¹ posit that OD is a planned change process in the culture of an organization by the use of behavioral science aspects. In addition, Patel ⁴² described a perspective in which OD was conceptualized as a continuous diagnosis process, implementation, action planning, and as an evaluation process aimed at transmitting skills and knowledge to organizations to augment their capacity in managing future change and problem solving. Similarly, Beer ⁹ viewed OD as a system of collecting information, analysis, action planning, intervention and valuation to enhance congruence among varying organizational culture, structure, people, process, strategy, developing new and inventive organizational solutions as well as the ability to self-maintain. Beckhard ⁴³ on the other defined OD as an organized process that is all encompassing and is managed from the top with the aim of increasing organization health and effectiveness through planned interventions in the organization's process using behavioral science knowledge. OD is also viewed as a planned application that affects an organization wholly with the aim of transmitting behavioral science knowledge to improvement, development as well as reinforcement of the organization’s strategies, structures and processes thus making the organization more effective ⁴⁴. This perspective further contends that OD is characterized by top management support and involvement, the concentration on planned change which accommodates adaptation to the change. On the other hand, Scholars such as Lusthaus, Anderson, Carden, Adrien and Montalvan ³⁴ view Organization Development as a process as well as a strategy which include OD Diagnosis, OD Action Planning, OD Intervention and OD Evaluation.

Organization Diagnosis is important as it is an effective way of probing an organization to identify gaps between the present and desired performance and how best to achieve goals. Various scholars conceptualize organization diagnosis differently such as Furgoch ⁴⁵ and Morrison ⁴⁶ who emphasize the significance of structures, technology, people and tasks in the strategic process of change. In addition, Janicijevic ⁴⁷ categorized organization diagnosis into static and dynamic components. Therefore, analysis of organization diagnosis sought to answer three questions; why (reasons for change), how (the process of change) and what (the needs of change). Several studies have attempted to link OD diagnosis and performance ^{48, 49, 50}. These studies revealed that most of the significant impacts to organization performance were nonfinancial where the practices involved performance measurement and strategies development process and that external environment had significant positive result only on nonfinancial results of the companies. In addition, Zhang, Schmidt and Li ⁵⁰ indicated that integrated diagnostic framework had a significant positive effect on organization performance. Similarly, Lagestad ⁵¹ found physical skills among police officers as critical since it not only enables officers to handle scenarios that require physical force but also significant from psychological and health perspectives. Basinska and Dåderman ⁵² also found that both intrinsic and extrinsic work values of Polish police officers positively impacted their work engagement and thus their performance.

Action planning component of the OD process comprises key components as; outputs, timing, steps, people, tasks, plans and inputs/resources ⁵³. Thus, Action planning involves identifying what to change, the mission of the organization, the process to be involved in implementing the change, structure put in place for the change, people to be involved in the change, plans, technology, style of leadership, location, organization or the environment ⁵⁴. According to Great Britain Health Department (2004), for action planning to happen there must be strategic planning which is anchored on the organizational strategy framework which outlines the number of variables which include clear vision, set of values, clear mission, the overall goal that rephrases the problem and key result areas. This then follows that action planning should follow on the organization's strategic planning which should be related to the strategic framework or context. In view of this conceptualization, action planning involves deliberate measures towards achievement of a certain goal. Several studies have attempted to link action planning with performance. For example, Bassett and Shandas ⁵⁵ established that there was great diversity in what constitutes a climate action plan and the decision for action planning relied heavily on the existence of political will and leadership, as these directed the resultant plan and action identified. Similarly, Shah and Breazeal ⁵⁶ established a positive significant relationship between action planning and performance. Moreover, Tengpongsthorn ⁵⁷ found that intrinsic factors as well as hygienic factors positively influenced the effectiveness. Ahmad, Ibrahim and Bakar ⁵⁸ also support importance of people in the OD process by establishing that emotional intelligence is the most statistically significant predictor of performance among Malaysian police officers. Further support for emotional skills is provided Blumberg et al. ⁵⁹ which argue that police officers can only meet the demanding nature of their jobs if their psychological skills are improved.

Organization development intervention also forms a critical component of the OD process and Huang ⁶⁰; Idris, Adekalu and Genty ⁶¹, posit that OD intervention is a process of systematically improving the deficiencies of an organization. Mulili and Wong ⁶² contend that interventions are categorized into three major thematic areas; individual, group and organization. It is argued by various scholars that for OD to successfully lead to desirable outcome, actions taken are designed and implemented uniquely ^{2, 8, 63}. Intervention process must address five critical factors which include entering and contracting, diagnosis, designing interventions, leading and managing change and evaluating and institutionalizing. This perspective supports the work of Basadur ⁶⁴ on OD interventions for enabling workplace creativity that emphasizes the significance of categorizing OD interventions into the three levels of individual, group and organization. Several studies have attempted to link intervention and performance. Idris, Adekalu and Genty ⁶¹ found that relationship between performance and teamwork is significant. Similarly, Mumanthi and Gachunga ²⁴ research established a positive relationship between training and performance. The research further noted that monitoring ensured establishment of training needs which translated to effective training programs that eventually translated to improved performance. Moreover, Marwa, Namusonge and Kilika ⁶⁵ established varied effects of techno-structural interventions namely job enrichment, physical layout and employee involvement on performance. The study found that while job enrichment and physical layout which were independent variables measured in the study had no effect on performance, employee involvement had a positive significant effect on performance. The finding on job enrichment was contrary to that of other scholars like Salau, Adeniji and Oyewun ⁶⁶ who established a positive correlation between Job enrichment and performance.

Cummings and Worley ²; Nielsen and Abildgaard ⁶⁷ and Tsoukas and Chia ⁶⁸ indicate that OD evaluation is the on-going provision of feedback to the stakeholders and practitioners about the progress and result of the OD interventions on the organization. Church ⁶⁹ indicates that evaluating causal relationships from OD interventions is challenging and bemoans the little attention OD evaluation attains from researchers and practitioners compared to other areas in OD. Church further adds that one needs the following to build a solid OD evaluation strategy; clarify the definition of the impact, set realistic time for measurement and apply system thinking to system interventions. Previous studies have attempted to link evaluation and performance. For, example, Mansour ⁷⁰ research on Evaluation of Training in Organizations in developing countries found out that evaluation had a positive effect on performance. Onyango ⁷¹ revealed that all the approaches were significant but at different levels with implementing customer-oriented approaches on evaluation having the highest positive effect on performance whereas the expert approach recording the least positive effect on police performance. Similarly, Taylor and Tyler ⁷² established with regards to teachers, their performance improved significantly post evaluation. In this regard, the teachers performed better after evaluation.

Even though the studies established a significant relationship between organization development components (organization development diagnosis, organization development action planning, organization development intervention and organization development evaluation) and performance, most of the studies focused on other sectors other than the public sector. In addition, most of the studies were conducted in private sectors whereby the findings may not be generalized in public sector institutions such as the National Police Service. Further to this, most of the studies were undertaken in developed countries which present different contexts from those of a developing country like Kenya. Moreover, the variables were studied in isolation and not as a joint set of the organization development process. In addition, most of the studies presented methodological issues which included sample size, use of either quantitative or qualitative data only, or limitation in scope. The current study addressed these limitations by integrating all the four components of OD as the independent variables, using quantitative data supplemented with interviews and using a relatively large sample size drawn from five counties in the Metropolitan region that presented wide diversity in a number of ways that would address the limitation of scope.

3. Research Methodology

The research philosophy adopted in the study was the positivism research paradigm. The study found positivism philosophy to be appropriate since it facilitates testing of hypothesis and measurable observations through a structured methodology ⁷³. Positivism approach was found to be appropriate for the study since it allows for objectivity in collection, analysis and interpretation of data thus making the results quantifiable and observable. Both explanatory and exploratory research designs were incorporated that enhanced determination of causal relationships between variables and explanation of patterns identified in variables respectively ^{74, 75}. The research methodology was found appropriate since it enabled for the integration of both qualitative and quantitative data in the study.

The study was done in the National Police Service in Kenya. The National Police Service in Kenya is composed of two services as per article 243 of the 2010 Kenya constitution namely, the Kenya Police service and the Administration Police Service. The functions and the objectives of the National Police Service are enshrined in article 244 of the Kenya Constitution 2010. The National Police Act 2011 further establishes the office of Director Criminal Investigations (DCI). Each of the services has distinct functions which are clearly spelt out in the Act and disseminated in the service standing orders, service charter and strategic policies. The NPS is under the command and control of the Inspector General of Police deputized by two deputies namely the deputy inspector in-charge Kenya Police Service (KPS) and the Deputy Inspector General in-charge of the Administration Police Service. In terms of operations the Command structure is decentralized into 47 counties and 8 regions under the command and control of county commanders and Regional Police Commanders respectively.

The target population for the study was composed of 1,111 senior officers of the National Police Service of the rank of; Assistant Inspector General of Police (30), Commissioner Police (62), Senior Superintendent of Police (105), Superintendent of Police (57), Assistant Superintendent of Police (94), Chief Inspector of Police (357), and Inspector of Police (406). Out of the targeted population, 84 were from Kajiado County, 626 from Nairobi City County, 220 from Kiambu County, 103 from Machakos County and 78 from Murang’a County.

The choice of Nairobi metropolitan region was based on the fact that over 50% of complaints relating to performance of the police service emanated from Nairobi Metropolitan Region comprising of only 5 out of the 47 counties in Kenya ⁷⁶. In addition, the Nairobi Metropolitan Region is considered as the economic hub of Kenya with over 60% of the GDP generated from the region ⁷⁷). Thus, there is a need to address the performance challenges associated with the National Police Service so as to support growth and sustainability of the national economy.

The sample size was determined using Slovin's formular because it allowed the researcher to sample the target population with the desired degree of accuracy and also, Slovin’s formula gave the researcher an idea about the adequacy of sample size to ensure reasonable and accurate results ⁷⁸.

Where: n= sample size

N= population

e= margin of error

The sample size of the study was 294 which composed of; Assistant Inspector General of Police (8), Commissioner Police (17), Senior Superintendent of Police (27), Superintendent of Police (16), Assistant Superintendent of Police (24), Chief Inspector of Police (94), and Inspector of Police (108). Out of the sample size of 294; 166 were from Nairobi City County which translates to 56.5%, whereas 59 (20.1%) were from Kiambu County, while 22 (7.5%) were from Kajiado County. Further to this, 26 (8.8%) were from Machakos County and 21 (7.1%) were from Murang’a County.

A structured questionnaire made of closed-ended questions based on 1-5 Likert-Scale was used as the primary data collection instrument. The questionnaires were administered through drop and pick method during which the researcher delivered the questionnaires to the respondents and later picked on agreed dates. Preparation of the received responses for statistical analysis was undertaken by validating them and editing the responses for consistency and completeness after which the prepared data was analyzed using both inferential and descriptive statistics. With regards to descriptive statistics, standard deviation, measures of central tendency, and frequencies were used. Further, the effect of organization development on performance was established using multiple regressions analysis. Several diagnostic tests were undertaken to ensure basic assumptions of the regression model used were not violated and the results presented in Table 1.

The diagnostic test results and reliability analysis show that all the assumptions were upheld and that the research instrument was internally consistent. Thus, the data obtained was suitable for analysis in addressing the study objectives.

4. Findings

Out of the 294 questionnaires that the researcher distributed, 278 questionnaires were duly filled and returned which represent response rate of 94.6%. In terms of counties making up the Nairobi Metropolitan Region, the response rates were 96.4%, 88.1%, 90.9%, 100% and 95.2% for, Nairobi, Kiambu, Kajiado, Machakos and Murang’a respectively. The response rates were deemed excellent for analysis and reporting since Mugenda and Mugenda ⁷⁹ posits that while 50% response rate is acceptable, higher rates of 60% and 70% or more are considered to be good and excellent respectively. Table 2 shows the respondents’ demographic characteristics.

The extent of OD implementation was analyzed and reported using measures of central tendency of the mean and dispersion of standard deviation. The respondents were required to indicate the extent to which practices associated with various components of OD have been emphasized and practiced over the period NPS has been carrying out reforms. The research instruments used for data collection was a 5-point Likert scale of 1-5 where; 1= Not at all, 2= slight extent, 3= moderate extent, 4= high extent and 5= very high. Table 3 shows the summary of the deceptive data on the extent of the implementation.

The results indicate that the various components of OD were practiced to a moderate extent where OD diagnosis had 3.05, OD Action planning had 3.01, OD Intervention had 3.03 and OD Evaluation had 2.95 which is approximately 3.0 and that the degree of the dispersion among the respondents’ views on this variable was within a low range because of the standard deviation was approximately 1.

The second objective of the study regarding the level of performance attained sought to establish the level of performance attained in the NPS. Table 4 shows the level at which performance was attained. The performance dimensions included, customer satisfaction, efficiency, effectiveness and responsiveness.

Table 4 shows the level of attainment of the performance dimension. The aggregate mean score is around 3 meaning that the level of performance is relatively low. This tends to agree with the persisting complaints from the public about the level of service delivery obtained from the police service. Inspite of the reforms having been implemented to a high extent, what the performance measures indicate is that much less impact has been experienced towards the direction of performance.

Table 5 shows the summary of the regression results measuring the effect of the implementation of the police reforms on the NPS performance.

The summarized statistics in Table 5 show that adjusted R² was 0.350 indicating that all the independent variables jointly accounted for 35% of change in performance of the NPS in Nairobi Metropolitan Region while factors outside the empirical model were responsible for the other 65%. Moreover, the significance and adequacy of the empirical model in predicting performance was indicated by F (4 273) = 38.317 which was more than F critical. Importantly, the use of ANOVA enhanced comparison of the means. Additionally, the calculated probability was 0.000 which was less than the adopted threshold of 5% proved the suitability of data for basing conclusions. Based on the β values for each of the four independent variables studied, all the variables are significant leading to the conclusion that the various strategies used by the NPS for implementing OD have a statistically significant effect on performance of the NPS.

5. Discussions

This section undertakes to discuss the implications of the findings of the study. The first variable of the study tested was OD Diagnosis. The variable was found to have a negative significant effect on performance. The fact that this relationship was supported by the primary data obtained was explained in view of the descriptive characteristics of the variable in the sample studied in the selected context of the study, the supporting theories underpinning the conceptualization and a set of previous researches undertaken in a similar context and on the same construct. The descriptive characteristics of the predictor construct indicated that the construct had been applied at the NPS to a moderate extent. However, the researchers’ attention was drawn to the fact that the effect of the predictor construct with the criterion was negative. The authors noted that this negative effect could be explained based on the implications arising from the link between OD and strategic management practice. The authors draw inference from the arguments raised by scholars that the two are interrelated in which case the message sent is that OD Diagnosis ought to be undertaken under the lenses of the strategic thinking so that OD diagnosis is initiated as an aspect of the strategic management process in the initial stages of strategy formulation where an organization undertakes both internal and external analysis such as the political, economic, social, technological, legal, and environment (PESTEL) analysis to bring out the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threat (SWOT) position of the organization ^{80, 81, 82}.

The current study’s findings on first variable established a mixed state of findings in relation to the findings of previous studies on the variable under study. As such, there are studies that are consistent with the findings of the current study whereas others disagree with its findings. To illustrate, while the study agrees with most empirical literature that diagnosis has a significant effect on the performance of an organization; the point of disagreement is on whether the effect is positive or negative. In this regard, the findings of the current study are compared against previous studies such as McFillen et al. ⁸³, Gavrea et al. ⁴⁸, ⁸⁴ and Zhang et al. ⁵⁰. In terms of consistency of findings, the findings of the current study agree with that done by McFillen et al. ⁸³ which also established that diagnosis had a negative significant effect on the performance of the organization. On the other hand, other studies were inconsistent, such as ⁸⁵ who established that diagnosis had a positive significant effect on performance. In addition to this, Gavrea et al. ⁴⁸ found that organization development diagnosis had a significant positive effect on performance. Similarly, the findings by ⁸⁶ were also inconsistent with the current study as it established that organization development diagnosis had a significant positive effect on performance. Further to this, the finding of Zhang et al. ⁵⁰ was also inconsistent with the current study findings as they established that diagnosis had a significant positive effect on the performance of an organization.

The supporting theory relied upon in this study that anchored the construct was organization development theory which explains OD diagnosis as critical component of the OD process and forms the first step of the change process. The ultimate goal of the process is to transfer skill and knowledge to organizations with a view of improving their capacity to finding solutions to the existing problems and managing the strategic change. The key components of the theory have been described to include organization culture, climate, and organizational strategies ³. The organization strategies contained in the organization development theory considers organization development diagnosis as the first step of the organization development process.

The second variable assessed the effect of OD action planning on performance of NPS. The effect of the predictor variable on the criterion was positive. In view of this, the study established that OD action planning had a positive significant effect on performance of NPS. The predictor’s descriptive characteristics showed that the NPS practiced the construct to a moderate extent. The authors argued that OD Action Planning is a crucial step that not only completes strategic tasks of the OD process but also operationalizes strategic objectives for the OD program. Further, since OD is linked to strategic management, it is crucial to ensure that action plans are aligned to the mission of an organization. In this regard, the authors posit that OD action planning is essential to the strategic goals of an organization since it guides the management of proposed strategies. It is for this reason that OD action planning was conceptualized as an organization’s day to day activities leading to completion of tasks. The construct was operationalized in terms of timely implementation of the strategy, mission of the organization, process involved in the implementation of plans, people involved in the strategy implementation process, identifying what to change, technology used and plans developed.

The supporting theories for the variable include Organization Development Theory which explains OD action planning as the second step of the OD process. The Action Research Model also supports the variable of OD Action Planning, particularly at the planning stage of the model where Action Planning is considered to be significant in enhancing implementation of the plans of organizations. The model also postulates a stepwise implementation of the OD process of which Action Planning is a part of. The stepwise process of the action research model is planning (identifying, informing and organizing), acting (trialing, collecting and questioning), observing (analyzing, reporting and sharing), and reflecting (evaluating, implementing and revisiting).

The findings of the current study concur with that of Shah and Breazeal ⁵⁶ that action planning has a positive significant effect on the performance of an organization though the two studies are based on different settings. Moreover, the finding of the current study is also consistent with the findings of Kiraithe ¹¹ which despite not considering action planning as an element of the OD process and focusing on the strategic change which may not be realized without the input elements of OD action planning, also established a positive effect of the action planning on performance. Similar findings were found by Basset and Shandas, ⁵⁵ despite conceptualizing action planning as consisting of levels ranging from innovation to planning as opposed to the current study which conceptualized action planning as an element of organization development. The authors argue that since the NPS has established structures and systems which are anchored in laws and policies may have enhanced the buy-in and ownership of the strategic orientations upon which action planning is based. In addition, enhanced capacity through training may have enhanced comprehension levels on issues relating to action planning process based on high literacy levels may have led to enhanced adoption of action planning process. It is therefore imperative that resources which include human, physical and financial resources are made available coupled with motivational strategies geared towards propelling the staff participation and involvement, the action planning implementation process may add value and productivity to the NPS strategic agenda.

The third variable tested was OD intervention and it was established that OD intervention had a significant positive effect on performance. The descriptive characteristics indicated that NPS practiced OD intervention to a moderate extent. The fact that NPS has failed to evolve into what it was desired to be despite numerous interventions by stakeholders was of great interest to the study. The study argued that OD interventions are OD programs and strategies designed to help an organization reach the desired level of performance. Therefore, OD intervention was conceptualized as an intentional and planned process geared at increasing the organization’s effectiveness. The construct was operationalized using indicators such as team building, effective leadership, counseling, training, vibrant culture for change and performance appraisal.

The findings of the current study on the third variable showed consistency of findings when compared with existing literature. For instance, Idris, Adekalu and Genty ⁶¹ just like the current study established that intervention has a positive significant effect on the performance organizations despite the studies being carried out in varied settings. Similar results were established by Mutungi et al. ⁸⁷ who established that leadership and transformation which are elements of intervention have positive significant effect on performance. Similar conclusions were reached by other studies such as ⁸⁸ that established that on the job training has a positive effect on performance of police officers in Imenti South. The results were consistent with ⁸⁹ who established that organization development interventions have a positive significant effect on performance of Airtel Kenya. The findings of the current study also agree with Mumanthi and Gachunga ²⁴ who also established a positive relationship between training and performance. The findings are further corroborated by other studies such as Marwa, Namusonge and Kilika ⁶⁵, Salau, Adeniji and Oyewun ⁶⁶ and ⁹⁰ which though carried out in different settings and using different methodologies, they all concur with the current study that interventions have a positive significant effect on performance.

The fourth variable tested was OD evaluation and found that it has a significant positive effect on performance. Based on the descriptive characteristics, OD evaluation was practiced to a moderate extent at the NPS. Various authors argue that OD evaluation is a vital step that provides feedback at various stages of implementing performance improvement initiatives. The study therefore argued that evaluation informs key decisions on resources required at various stages of implementation. In this regard, some authors argue that there is formative evaluation and summative evaluation undertaken at the beginning and latter stages of implementation respectively. In strategic management, OD evaluation enables stakeholders of an organization to assess whether the OD programs being implemented have the desired effect on the organization. In terms of conceptualization, OD evaluation is the assessment of interventions as well as provision of feedback on their suitability and desirability to the strategic goals of the organization. OD evaluation was operationalized using causal relationships from interventions, assessing the results of interventions, intervention integration degree and provision of feedback.

The underpinning theories for the variable are Organization Development Theory and Action Research Model, where both theories see change as a stepwise process. According to Organization Development Theory, OD evaluation is the final phase of the change at which point the intended change efforts are assessed by tracking its implementation and documenting its impact on the organization. On the other hand, the Action Research Model also supports OD evaluation process as it assumes that change is a continuous process which starts with planning and goes up to reflecting that comprises; evaluating, implementing and revisiting of the OD process in the NPS. The current study adopted these components of the Organization Development Theory; assessment of the intended change efforts by tracking how the NPS is implementing the change and the documentation of its impacts. On the other hand, the study employed these components of the Action Research Model; planning, acting, observing and reflecting to enable the evaluation process of the NPS to be effective and efficient. The basis of the evaluation therefore, is the driver for new intervention upon which the planning process recommences.

The findings of the current study on organization development evaluation variable established that there is agreement among scholars on the importance of evaluation. In this regard, most of the reviewed literature concur with the current study that evaluation has a positive significant effect on performance. A case in point, Mansour ⁷⁰ is in concurrence with the current study that training evaluation has a positive significant effect on performance. Importantly, the findings of the current study concur with Mansour ⁷⁰ despite the latter study focusing on one intervention methodology – training while the current study focused on much broader interventions as; team building, counselling, effective leadership, and vibrant culture for change, training and performance appraisal systems. Another study that concurs with the findings of the current study is Onyango ⁷¹ which also established that evaluation approaches such as goal, expert, management and customer-oriented approaches had a significant positive effect on performance of Kenya Police Service in Nakuru County. However, the study did not consider the approaches as elements of the OD process as is the current study but rather as standalone variables. In addition, the findings supported the work of ⁹¹ who found out that supplier performance evaluation had a significant effect on efficiency and effectiveness of supplies materials in the supply value chain but again performance evaluation was not considered as an element of the OD process like in the current study.

6. Implications for Theory and Practice

The findings of the study have implications on the theory and practice of strategic management. Through the explanations offered using a combination of theoretical, conceptual and empirical literatures, a number of these implications are identified and briefly discussed in this section. First, it is important to point at the connection between the OD process and the strategic management process. The literature in both disciplines approaches each as a process that is undertaken in several steps ²⁸. In the explanation, while discussing the findings, it is apparent that while carrying out the OD process, one needs to align with the various strategic management activities through the steps of formulation, choice and implementation. The study has argued that by integrating these two aspects, undertaking an OD process becomes an aspect of the organization's strategic management process that embeds strategic thinking into the reform process. The authors noted that the possible explanation for a negative effect of OD Diagnosis arises from the fact that strategic thinking-oriented aspects touching on environmental analysis might not have been given priority during the initial steps of designing the reform process for the NPS.

Secondly, the reform programs undertaken in the public sector have been shown to be an aspect of the strategic management process. The authors argued from the viewpoint of the nature of strategic thinking and decisions based on the amount of resources required and the impact they have on systems of organizations. Relatively high percentages of public sector expenditure are committed to finance systems automation, capacity development and infrastructure with the aim of enhancing service delivery. These aspects endear the reforms into the core of the mission of public sector organizations as they seek to contribute to their responsiveness to the needs of the public. The authors noted that even though the contribution towards performance is low in the context studied, yet there was a relatively high level of practice of the dimensions of the reforms which they attributed to well established human capacity as exhibited by the quality of the level of training of the sampled respondents. Strategic management considers expenditure on strategies from the view point of investments whose benefits will accrue to the investing organization in the long-term period.

Lastly, the authors point out an important implication arising from identified connection of the reforms with strategic management in regard to the nature of strategic change. It is the view of the authors that the reforms implemented as aspects of OD need to embrace the manner strategic change is initiated in organizations. From the explanations advanced on the negative effect of Diagnosis, three implications are important, namely, the manner in which change is introduced to organizations, the effect of the immediate reaction by the support team in the organization and the level of involvement and participation of the internal stakeholders and by extension the ownership of the change process. This view is supported by ⁹² in a study on stakeholder involvement in the change management of the National Police Service in which stakeholder involvement was found to be statistically significant in the change management at the National Police Service. This may imply that failure to involve stakeholders at the beginning of the change process may have compromised the sense of ownership among the stakeholders.

7. Conclusion

The purpose of the study was to find the extent police service reforms have been implemented and how that extent has affected the performance of the NPS. The study findings reported and discussed lead to several conclusions. The police reforms have been implemented on the basis of the OD model to a moderate extent. This extent of implementation has contributed to a relatively lower level of the NPS performance thus confirming the persistent public complaints on the extent of improvement in service delivery derived from the reforms. The effect of the four components of the OD model underpinning the undertaking of the NPS reforms explains a relatively low variation in the overall performance of the police service. The low level of performance explained has been attributed to the lack of a strategic orientation in the manner that the police reforms were designed and implemented. Inspite of these conclusions, the authors note that there are several limitations to the findings of the study. The data was obtained from self reported data by the respondents and could have challenges of accuracy especially on the performance construct of the study. Future research could design a similar study with an expanded scope of respondents to include stakeholders outside the force as respondents. Secondly, the conceptual scope of the operationalization of the independent variable was limited by the four OD components used. The authors acknowledge that there are other OD models that provide a wider set of components that could enrich the quality of data resulting from an expanded set of components. It is therefore suggested that future research could expand the set of components investigated under the OD component.

References