Floriculture as One of the Main Kenyan Industries - Dissertation Example

Dissertation Kenya is one of the countries where floriculture is the main occupation for the native people. It is popular for its flower export and it is considered as the Africa’s only country which exports flowers. Kenya, the second largest country which exports flowers to other parts of Africa continues to tops the list of best flower exporters in the world. When considering the horticulture exports in Kenya, the contribution of floriculture is more when compared to the other exports. The floriculture had a vast expansion and Kenya continues to grab the major flower projects. Due to this reason, Kenya is the most sought after nation in terms of flower export. A strong, sustainable and competitive advantage on the floriculture industry is the need of the hour. The floriculture industry must follow and implement certain strategies in order to have a competitive advantage over the other countries which concentrates on floriculture. The industry must keep a sustainable advantage so that they continue to be the best exporter of flowers. Literature Review Management is the major concept that must be incorporated in a fast growing competitive industry like floriculture. A proper management will ensure that the industry progresses well even during tough times. Most of the literatures that focus on floriculture describe about the industry and the growing competition. (Shivoga, 2002). But they fail to impart the knowledge of strategic management which helps the industry to manage the problems and maintain their standard. Strategic management enables an industry to make their business better by including certain methods. These methods will impose unique steps which describes a step by step process that would help in the development of the industry. To accomplish this, the industry must incorporate strategies that ensure success and a problem free business atmosphere. When considering the various strategic management principles and methods, Porter’s theory on competitive advantage establishes a simpler approach that enables an organization to implement and maintain them in an easier manner. An industry where the rate of competition is more is more prone to problems and business failures. To avoid this and to have a competitive advantage over the other industries, an organization must implement these management strategies. (Brazell, 1998). This industry employs more than 1.5 million people who reside in Kenya. This clearly proves that floriculture is the livelihood for most of the residents. Floriculture industry purely depends on the climatic conditions of the country. If the climate is not favorable, the export gets affected and this in turn leaves many people jobless. Porter’s description of strategic management helps the industry to achieve a competitive advantage over the other companies. Porter’s work provides a complete description of how strategic management helps an organization. His principles received mixed response from the organizations. The management concepts and the business model assist in the management and maintenance of the floriculture industry. The business model involves steps like production, harvest, transport, distribution to the retailers and finally the consumers. This model was basically a value chain which was followed by most of the floriculture organizations in Kenya. Most of the researches and surveys revealed the fact that a business model is necessary to improve the business and the production of the floriculture industry as a whole. The post harvest activities, transportation activities play a major role in the export and import of flowers. Since the country depends on export and import of flowers, transportation and distribution is equally important in dealing with the floriculture industry. Porter’s Management Porter’s strategic management assists an organization to gain the competitive advantage. Due to its simple process and methods, it is still considered as the best strategic management practice. The people involved in the floriculture industry must understand the importance of knowledge. If the people employed in the industry and the authorities are well informed about the process and the nuances of the industry, it would be easy to compete with the other organizations. The importance of competitive advantage must also be known to ensure easier management. Porter defined competitive advantage as two main categories namely, differentiation and cost advantage. Differentiation advantage defines the various differences in terms of products. The products must be designed in an innovative and creative way so that it stands out from the other companies. Cost differentiation can be achieved by modifying the company’s economic status. This can be done only if the organization maintains proper relationship with the retailers and suppliers. Based on these differentiations, Porter has arrived at the theory of competitive advantage. (Porter, 1998). This theory describes the five forces that determine how a company maintains the competitive advantage. The first one among the five forces describes the difference among the sellers in the intended market. This exhibits the problem that exists between the various sellers in the market. The second force relies on the power exhibited by the consumers and it also describes how a customer can influence a market. This clearly explains that a market or an industry is completely dependent on the customers. The next force determines the effect of suppliers on the people who sell the intended products. The sellers generally rely on the suppliers and if the organization is not comfortable with a particular supplier, it indirectly affects the seller. The fourth force of competitive advantage describes the various threats the existing sellers feel due to the new entrants. The new sellers tend to compete with the existing sellers there by creating problems. (Porter, 1983). The last and the final force in the theory of competitive advantage define the threat faced by the companies during the introduction of similar new products in the market. These five forces determine how a company can compete with the other companies. Competitive advantage can be felt only if the floriculture sector of Kenya performs well when compared to the industries in other countries. Since this industry has more number of competitors, the Kenyan government must incorporate methods to help the floriculture industries perform well for a longer period of time. (Prahalad & Hamel, 2003). This ensures that the company can gain the strong and sustainable competitive advantage. The strategic competence and core competence also help the floriculture to maintain a strong competitive advantage. When compared to the other literature reviews, the one by Gary Hamel defines how strategic competence plays a major role in maintaining the advantage over other companies. Strategic Management Strategic management is a company’s approach to problems and issues and it involves the implementation of unique strategies to resolve the problems. The strategic management concepts are generally related to the business activities. Unlike companies, floriculture industries depend on certain external and internal factors. The external factors like climate and other resources affect the growth of floriculture. To manage a business, unique strategies are requires. These strategies help in the improvement of the business. The Kenyan government has conducted a study which revealed the facts regarding the floriculture industry. This study exhibited the main factors that are responsible for the growth of the industry. This indicated that Kenya is the leading flower exporter in the entire of Africa. (Brazell, 1998). The government has incorporated certain strategies to improve the production of flower and this in turn increased the rate of export. Strategic management involves strategic planning which provides the business people with a set of steps to be followed. These steps will help them to achieve their target in every aspect. This strategic planning predicts the future options there by providing an outlook on the entire business flow. The strategic management assists the organization to seek an advantage over the other competitors by establishing a efficient resource management system. The main aspects of a strategic management system are · Business goal. · Business strategy. · Business evaluation. These aspects define the way in which a business must be carried out. The business goal is generally set at the beginning of every year or for a certain period. The people involved in the business must decide what they want to attain at a particular period. This goal is achieved by incorporating the necessary factors that pave the way to achieve the goal. The resources required to pursue a particular task in a hassle free manner. The business strategy is decided by the officials and this is done to pursue with the strategic plan that imposes the ideologies to carry out the proposed plan. The next phase of strategic management is strategic evaluation. (Drejer, 2002). Strategic evaluation involves analysis and inspection of the management aspects and the business capabilities. The next and the final step is the way in which these strategies are implemented. A study conducted by an organization in Kenya revealed the facts about the floriculture industry. This study indicated the level of flower production, level of supply, and the import and export rates. In a business like floriculture, mere production does not decide its success. Instead the transportation of these flowers plays a major role in developing this industry. Since the Kenyan floriculture industry survives on the export, proper transport is essential to maintain the export of flowers in an efficient manner. This study exhibited the distribution channels and methods using which the flowers are exported all over the country. Core Competencies and Strategic Competencies Core competencies are considered as the capabilities that are important in a business environment. It helps the management to achieve competitive advantage since these competencies are critical in nature. The core competencies must be analyzed in order to ascertain the rate of competition between organizations. The competition does not end with the market place. Instead it includes the organization’s position in the market, competition between the suppliers and the sellers. (Drejer, 2002). Once all these factors are analyzed, it would be easy for the organization to score a competitive advantage. To accomplish this, the floriculture industry must define a specific set of goals. A set of objectives must e included to accomplish these goals. This will make the process of maintain a sustainable competitive advantage. According to Prahalad, core competency changes according to an organization. The reason for this change is the changing market conditions and corporate environment. Floriculture which relies on suppliers and sellers come across various changes in the organization and in the market place as well. An industry like floriculture relies more on the climatic conditions. The lakes and rivers around Kenya have been the major cause for the boom in the floriculture industry. But in the recent times there has been a drastic change in the climate and environmental aspects. The industries located around the lakes and rivers contribute to this perennial problem. (Lowson, 2002). Though several literatures have been published about floriculture, most of them lack the major factors that help an organization to compete in the business market. The next major concept is the methodology used to conduct research on a specific literature or a specific topic. Methodology The various methods that are used to conduct a research on a particular literature lead to the development of an organization. In the recent times, there has been an argument as to which methodology yield more advantages when conducting a research. People prefer methods that are easier to implement and the one that enables them to gather more information. The common methods are questionnaire method, interview, conducting study with a particular user group, survey and case study. These methods pose a great challenge to the people who conduct a research. (Kahawatte, 2010). Each of these methods has certain advantages and disadvantages. Interview is the most common method that is used in conducting a research. This method helps the researcher to have a live experience of the intended process. The major disadvantage of this method is the lack of evidence and the researcher will not have an opportunity to know about the past. It is difficult to have a face to face interview with the person who is directly involved in a particular industry. Due to these reasons, interview is considered as the difficult method in analyzing an industry. The next method is the questionnaire method which enables the researcher to have a direct contact with the people in the industry. In certain cases, the consumers are also included in this research. A questionnaire is given to the people where in they can fill their opinion about the industry. The questionnaire is composed of questions related to the growth and development of the industry. Since people might give a second thought to fill some of the questions, this process will turn out to be ineffective. People might not prefer to let out their opinions to a third party and this creates several other problems. The next approach is the option of conducting a survey. Survey is generally considered as an effective method in conducting a research. This is done by analyzing the ideas and opinions of the concerned people and based on the survey result, a report is produced. This report contains the actual information about a particular topic and it is considered as valuable evidence. The concept of analyzing the past and the present is lost in this method. A survey provides only the percentage of people supporting or opposing a particular concept. (Stake, 1995). This might not help a person in conducting a full-fledged research. Another method used in conducting a research is the case study approach. In this method, a topic is analyzes and the details pertaining to the past is also taken into consideration. This permits the researcher to conduct a thorough study on the topic by comparing with the similar industries. This method allows the researcher to provide a set of limitations and they can also recommend a set of action. This will enable the industry to improve and they can be sure of having an overall growth. When comparing each of these methods, case study is the most sought after method. In this method, the chances of getting detailed information about the research topic are more. Case Study Approach It also helps the researcher to know the information pertaining to the past and it provides a platform to get an in depth knowledge on the research topic. This helps to determine the pros and cons of an organization there by evaluating the future developments. The main advantage of case study is the ability to compare and contrast the previous studies and researches on the same organization. (Stake, 1995). A specific pattern is followed while developing a case study and this includes data collection, data organization, developing methods and analysis. In certain cases, the case study may also include limitations and recommendations. Though case study is considered to be the best method, there are certain advantages and disadvantages. Case studies help in developing problem solving skills and it gives space for more exploration so that people can resolve even the most complex issues pertaining to the company. The researcher will have an option to include methods and strategies. This is a great opportunity as they can learn new concepts. These are the advantages of selecting case study approach to conduct a research. Though there are several advantages, the disadvantages take their toll. If the information about a particular topic is not sufficient, the end result might not be appropriate. (Trochim, 2006). Case studies do not give more importance to the changing paces of the organization. The chances of deriving at exact conclusions are very less. Advantages and disadvantages exist for each and every method and when compared to the other research methods, case study is the most preferred one. Conclusion In an industry like floriculture, where competition is more, the authorities must concentrate on improving their business. Improvement must be at a faster pace and this will help them in competing with their fellow competitors. To attain a strong and sustainable competitive advantage, the floriculture industry must incorporate these management strategies. These strategies will help them to improve their business and gain a competitive advantage. Limitations The major limitation in this floriculture industry is the climatic conditions. If the climate is not favorable, the number of varieties of flowers gradually goes down. This affects the rate of export which in turn affects the industry in a very bad way. Since the river around the floriculture industries gets contaminated due to the other industrial wastes, the production of flower goes down. The floriculture industry relies on various factors each of which must be maintained in a proper manner to ensure industrial development. Only this can help them to maintain a strong and sustainable competitive advantage. Reference Shivoga, W., 2002. Environmental Challenges and State of Knowledge on Floriculture in Kenya. [Online]. Available at: http://www.idrc.ca/uploads/user-S/12332589631William_Shivoga-Kenya-WorkshopMerida.pdf [Accessed 5 January 2011]. Brazell, J., 1998. Customer Value and Strategic Competence. [Online]. Available at: http://www.prdatta.com/Documents/DBA/Competitive%20strategy/Articles/cUS [Accessed 5 January 2011]. Prahalad, C. & Hamel, G., 2003. The Core Competencies of the Corporation. [Online]. Available at: http://tle-inc.com/PDFS/FILES/resources/The%20Core%20Competencies%20of%20the%20Corp.pdf [Accessed 5 January 2011]. Porter, M., 1998. Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries. New York: The Free Press. Porter, M., 1983. Cases in Competitive Strategy. New York: Free Press. Drejer, Anders., 2002. Strategic Management and Core Competencies: Theory and Application. U.S.A: Quorum Books. Lowson, R., 2002. Strategic Operations Management: The New Competitive Advantage. New York: Routledge. Kahawatte, U., 2010. Strategy From A Perspective of Core Competencies. Germany: Grin- Verlag. Trochim, W., 2006. Research Methods Knowledge Base. U.S.A: Cengage Learning. Stake, R., 1995. The Art of Case Study Research. California: Sage Publications. Read More