Factors Affecting Strategic Management System of Insurance Companies in Kenya: (A Case of ICEA LION Insurance Company)

Organizations are investing ever-increasing amounts of resources into Strategic management system though it is still not clear what they can expect in return or how this might influence the likelihood of positive system outcomes. An effective Strategic management system clearly defines expectations and helps to align employee behavior with the culture and business needs of the organization. In an increasingly competitive world, Strategic management system is not optional but rather it is essential for enhancing organization`s effectiveness and competitiveness. Today`s organizations have to face a turbulent environment where change seems to be the only constant. To meet this challenge, organizations are forced to accelerate effectiveness in all activities, be flexible to changes in the internal and external environment, improve quality and service delivery, reduce cost and fully use their intellectual capacity. Furthermore, as the system is becoming more complex, emphasis is given to the process orientation and cross functional approaches. To succeed, knowledge, skills, experience and perspectives of a wide range of people must be integrated. There needs to be understanding of the relationship between strategy, people, organizational design and performance systems in order for strategic management to be achieved in the insurance industry. The objective of the study was to establish the perceived factors that affect employee Strategic management system in ICEA LION group. A descriptive research design was adopted with the total population of the study comprising of 400 employees with 15% being from senior management, 34% from middle level management and 51% from lower level management. Stratified sampling was used for ease of classifying the sample into the three categories with the sample comprising of 10% from each strata of thetarget population. Data was collected using Likert's scale questionnaire method, which was self-administered questionnaire. Multiple correlation analysis was used to give an insight into the relationship between the factors affecting and strategic management system. This was done with the help of the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) for production of graphs, tables, descriptive statistics and inferential statistics. The findings revealed that ICEA LION insurance experienced challenges in the adoption and implementation of strategic management system which was greatly influenced by employeetraining, organization culture and leadership commitment. The study concluded that employee training, organization culture and leadership commitment are statistically significant in explaining Strategic management systemof insurance firms in Kenya. The study recommends that insurancefirms should emphasize and enhance that the employee training is managed well, managers should demonstrate willingness to give energy and loyalty to the strategy implementation process and also promote the best organization values in their firm. Future researchers and academicians should research on how employee training, organization culture and leadership affect other aspects of businesses especially making management easier and internal customer satisfaction. It is also necessary to investigate their effect onstrategic management system in specific insurance company institutions listed in Nairobi security exchange in Kenya.