REVIEW
OF EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT
IDEA has the following
five areas as its key pillars and commitments; academic and professional
education, applied research, consultancy, policy analysis and development and
social enterprise. This pillars are key to its success and future development.
RESEARCH AND
CONSULTANCY
This are two of the
five pillars and commitments but they are considered as one as they complement each
other. Research basically implies the commitment to improving policy
and development outcomes and quality of life through applied
research of high methodological quality. Consultancy on the other hand implies
commitment to providing consultancy and technical services of high quality and
value to our clients in diverse sectors of development.
GLOBAL, REGIONAL AND COUNTRY PESTEL OF RESEARCH
AND CONSULTANCY.
Social: Recruiting a diverse student body in a
rural setting has been a challenge. The students in rural areas are limited in
terms of their numbers, qualifications and the kind of education/course that
they need. This limits what IDIA can provide course wise and the number willing
to take a particular course. Insufficient technology, training,
and investment capital: This especially the case in rural are where the state
of infrastructure is still poor and most investors are investing in urban areas.
Another social reason is the rise of HIV and AIDS has also continued to
decimate the working-age population of many states hitting East, Central and
South African states the hardest. HIV/AIDS pandemic has a great influence in
the education sector as students, staff and guardian are directly or indirectly
affected or infected.
Economical:
of all economic reasons poverty is the main one. 60 percent of African workers
are employed by the agricultural sector with about three-fifths of farmers
being subsistence farmers. The level of poverty in rural areas is high limiting
the number of people who can join tertiary institutions. To add to that low
investment in research and development has been a challenge in research and
consultancy. Even though research is vital, it is not considered so due to
limitation in terms of resources.
Political:
Political conflicts in Africa have particularly continued to perpetuate the
intractable problem of poverty and underdevelopment. As a result, the poorest
states are also those engaged in or are emerging from civil wars. These include
the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sierra Leone, Burundi, South Sudan and
Somalia.
Ecological:
Environmental degradation including severe forest destruction and loss of
biodiversity resources due to mainly habitat destruction, desertification,
over-exploitation of species and conversion of wetlands for agriculture and
settlement remain a great challenge. The impacts include famines, loss of life
and property and destruction of infrastructure.
Africa
generally rank among the most corrupt. Corruption in Africa consists primarily
of extracting economic rent and moving the resulting financial capital overseas
instead of investing at home.
.
RESEARCH AND
CONSULTANCY VALUE CHAIN
Practice challenges and
opportunities: This is the first step that looks at what we are facing or what
venues are available.
Draft: Then a draft is
made of what needs to be done and the resources that are required for it to be
done. This is just the work plan.
Research: After that, a
research is done on that particular topic. This is the actually undertaking
which might include passing out questioners, carrying out interviews, carrying
out experiments among others.
Findings: From the
research findings are made from methods such as interviews, questioners etc.
This are the results of the tests that were undertaken.
Translation: From the
findings an inference is made. This is just putting the data into a meaningful state,
an explanation of the findings.
Application: The
inference are then used to solve the problem or communicate on how the problem
can be solved in case of consultancy.
EMERGING TRENDS IN
RESEARCH AND CONSULTANCY
Rise in Research Firms;
there has been an increase in research firms of late. This has included
internal research departments in firms.
Faculty Focus: This is
getting content for research from distance education reports, online classroom
and the teaching profession about major learning, teaching and student support
trends.
Adoption of environment
friendly methods: For a firm to operate in modern day, it needs to take into
account the impact on the environment. With this in mind, all research and
consultancy works have to check on the impact that they will have on the
environment.
Increased Strategic
partnership with Research firms; of late, partnership has proved to be pivotal
for the survival of any business and IDIA is no exception. There has been an
increased working relationship with other firms in the same industry of
research and consultancy.
Growth of Offshoring:
Research and consultancy is no longer limited to a particular region,it has
become a regional and global affair.
Technological
advancement: Research and consultancy is no longer a paper affair. With
advancement in technology, research has also taken the same route.
Economic and
technological growth for Africa. There has been a significant growth in the
African continent in especially technological wise such as the increase in
internet penetration which helps a lot in the area of research and consultancy.
The
has been a new breed of value driven leaders committed to national
transformation, good
governance, accountability respect for human rights and the rule of law. The new breed knows the importance of research
and not only use it but also encourages it.
RESEARCH AND
CONSULTANCY KEY VALUE DRIVERS
Strategic Plan
2013-2022; This plan allows for the explicit stating of the principles and
aspirations that bind the IDIA community to a sense of purpose, highlights
areas of focus, outlines
the basic framework for business and operational planning
and also outlines the niche that IDIA hopes to create for itself.
Society are key drivers
as the products are mostly meant for them or to solve certain issues that they
face.
Structure and
Resources: This is especially the case with research as you need resources to
carry out one.
Customer base: The type
of customer base such as population size and income also determines the kind of
research you can carry out or the kind of consultancy services you can offer.
For example you can only use technology such as online surveys where people
have access to it or are literate in it.
KEY COMPETITORS IN
RESEARCH AND CONSULTANCY
Research and
consultancy Firms: The modern businesses have appreciated the importance of
research. This has led to the increase number of research firms which compete
directly with learning institutions search as IDIA. The research firms include;
i.
Sagaci Research
ii.
Consumer Options
iii.
Consumer Research
iv.
IPSOS Kenya
v.
Research Solutions Africa
Internal Research and
Innovation departments; most middle size and large size firms nowadays have a
department dedicated to research and innovation. This development has rivalled
institutions search as IDIA. Some of the
firms that have internal research and innovation departments include BIDCO,
Unilever Kenya, East Africa Breweries Limited among others.
Government Institution: Increased national and international competition
in research and consultancy market due to the increased the governments play in
the business world. Such institutions include the Kenya Bureau of Statistics.
Increased global, regional and national competition in research and
consultancy and challenges of balancing between access and quality in research
and the high cost of offering high quality research. They include Integrity
global (Integrity Research and Consultancy) and Research International East
Africa Limited.
COLLEGE
FOR DEVELOPMENT STUDIES
This is based on
the commitment of developing and offering high quality tertiary and university
education to adequately prepare students for productive engagement in a
globalized environment
GLOBAL, REGIONAL AND COUNTRY PESTEL, RELATED
SECTORS ANALYSIS
Social: Increasing
numbers of students and demographic changes. Tertiary learning institutions
IDIA included cannot accommodate all the students who have completed their
secondary education. This is a challenge as the demand is way bigger than the
supply. This however provides an opportunity for expansion. Another social
reason is the reconsideration of the social and economic role of higher
education. Not everyone views importance of education the same.
Technological: For
example the traditional giants in education are currently offering online
courses so as to accommodate more people, this has reduced the number of people
who would have other wised been accommodated in the note so well-known institutions.
Education provided
meets high quality standards, and that its contents are relevant to the needs
of the economy and society. The society has various needs which differ greatly
yet the potential customers want something that best suits them.
Government and Regulations: The governments are the chief
regulators of the education sector. With each new law passed, institutions like
IDIA have to conform to it. Restraints on government support;
Governments invest a lot of money in other sectors such as security and health
and not enough in the education sector.
Economic challenges: most
African countries are poor meaning the budget is still limited. To add to that
most of the investment done is mainly to public institutions and not the
private ones.
Transition from
secondary level to university level, as only 3 per cent of secondary school
students currently enter university. For instance, of the 18 per cent of Form
four students qualifying for university admission in 2006/07 academic year, only 4.4 per cent were admitted to universities locally.
How to create a
cohesive society imbued with a culture and values of hard work, transparency
and accountability, respect of the rule of law, and is concerned about the
environment.
INDUSTRY VALUE CHAIN
Firm
structure: This is the basic as you require a place to start with. This
includes the land and building premises. This entails financing, planning and
investor relations.
Human
Resource: There is also a need for highly qualified human resource to carry out
the learning process. In other words
this is the recruitment exercises,
training and compensation system.
Students
and Technology: Students are the main shareholders in any learning
institutions. For registration, admission and other purposes the availability
of ready technology helps.
Primary
Activities: This include the admission, reflective research, course development,
production, course presentation, distribution, academic student support and
assessment.
From
a student perspective, the value chain is as follows:
Ø Knowledge
creation which is the passing of the knowledge to students from books or
lecturers,
Ø Knowledge
procession which is processing data from knowledge attained.
Ø Knowledge
storing that entails keeping the knowledge for future use.
Ø Marketing
of knowledge that entails putting the availability of the knowledge out there
for example by applying for jobs.
Ø Selling
of knowledge. Which is offering services and goods from the knowledge acquired.
EMERGING TRENDS
Open and distant
learning. Introduce e-learning and blend e-learning as an alternative delivery
system to improve both access and quality of the education and encourage
research through access of information from advanced institutes in the
developed world. Examples of this is ODEL and SODEL offered by Kenyatta
University and The Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and technology
respectively
Increase public and private investment: Before there was a very large
number of public tertiary learning institutions with very few private ones. The
script has now changed with a rapid increase in private institutions compared
to public ones. There is also an increase in partnership between the two. The private sector of higher education is the fastest growing
segment of post-secondary education worldwide.
Link tertiary
level training to higher institutions of learning as bridging courses for
higher skills certification. This has
aid in customizing products to meet the needs of the society.
Relying more heavily on
tuition for the revenue they need: Sadly this has been the case with most
institutions of higher learning. With the increased demand for capital, tuition
fee continues to be the primary source for revenues.
KEY VALUE DRIVERS
Government: The
government being the chief regulator has a lot to say in the running of the
institution through laws and regulations. By encouraging the growth in the
private sector it has driven the growth of the same.
Investors: A higher
learning institution requires a lot of capital and investments especially for
expansion purposes. The good will of investors is a well welcomed part.
Structures: This is
especially in terms of land, buildings and technology. More space means IDIA
can accommodate more students.
Students: A learning
institution cannot survive without students. The increased number of students
demand for tertiary education has led to the growth.
Product: A course that meets the needs of the society
has a positive impact on the growth of the institution. This also helps in
influencing how the society views the business and ultimately the brand.
COMPETITORS
Public Learning
Institutions: IDIA faces stiff competition from public institutions who have
been there longer, with the better infrastructure, government support and more
resources which give them a massive advantage. They include The University of
Nairobi, Maseno University, Moi University, Kenyatta University among others.
Other Local Private
Institutions: The growth of the tertiary education private sector has led to an
increase in this number of institution resulting in scramble for students.
Examples are St. Paul University, Strathmore University, African Nazarene
University etc.
International Learning
Institutions: With the increase in access to internet connections,
international universities have started offering online courses with some
locals taking this courses instead of joining IDIA. A good example is the
University of Northampton.
SOCIAL
ENTERPRISE
Social enterprise is
aimed at applying commercial strategies to maximize the improvement of human
and environmental well-being i.e. both social impact and alongside profits for
IDIA.
GLOBAL, REGIONAL AND COUNTRY PESTEL
Economic factors: for social enterprise to work
there must be financial resources to aid in the implementation. This in most
cases is limited.
Social: High qualified labor helps in coming up
with social enterprise projects and implementing them.
Technological: With the right infrastructure it
is easy in implementing the agreed project and also reaching the people who
need it.
Social factors. This is in relation to the
society as a whole. For any social enterprise project by IDIA to work it needs
the support of social units in the society such as religious groups and the
good will of the people. This includes cultural values of the society, attitude
of the society towards IDIA, education background of the people and also families’
background factors such as the income and family sizes. Also the social needs
of the society falls under this category.
Psychological factors; they include motive of
the social enterprise project and need achievement which is the social motive
to excel.
Market: The market in which IDIA operates also
determines the social enterprise project that it can undertake. In most cases
it will be directly proportional to the market size that’s it will undertake
bigger projects in areas in which it has a larger market size compared to areas
where it is less influential in the market.
Identify the industry
value chain
Political: Political
good will is also needed to encourage investments. Political tensions such as
the recent anti IEBC protests work against this.
EMERGING TRENDS IN
SOCIAL ENTERPRISE
Uptick in blended
funding: The funds for social enterprise does not have to come from IDIA alone.
Partnership with other firms especially with non-governmental organizations has
proved vital in facilitating projects.
Improved Reporting
Standards: As social enterprise becomes more and more important, there is need
to account for expenditure on it and also its impact. This has led to a more
improved accounting ways data collection methods.
Ecosystem Approach:
Nowadays the environment has become a vital part for any business, with this in
mind the impact on the environment has to be considered with each social
enterprise undertaking.
Government investing in
the model: The government has realized the importance of social enterprise to
the society. With that in mind it has encouraged it by offering subsidies to it
and also through regulations.
THE INDUSTRY'S KEY
VALUE DRIVERS
Leadership and
Management: IDIA board and management have encouraged social enterprise which
has aided in its expansion as a function
Society; The society as
a whole welcome social enterprise as it is beneficial to them. This helps in
implementing and getting the findings.
Students; IDIA being a
learning institution, everything that is done has to include the students
directly or indirectly
Strategic Plan: IDIA
strategic plan 2013-2022 has elements of social enterprise just as the pillar
does.
IDIA pillar: Social
enterprise being one of the five pillars and commitments of IDIA has driven the
operations of the institution.
Funding; to carry out
any social enterprise funding is required. The size of the project is also
determine by the funds available.
COMPETITORS
Other Tertiary
Institutions: With the rise in the number of private educational institutions
IDIA has to compete in some instances for the same funds as them. They include
Zetech University, The University of Nairobi and African Nazarene University.
Non-Governmental
Organizations: NGOs are mainly concerned with well-being of society. This gives
them an advantage when it comes to getting aid as opposed to private
institutions. They include World Vision, CARE international Kenya, Youth Alive
Kenya among others
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