European Journal of Business and Management www.iiste.org ISSN 2222-1905 (Paper) ISSN 2222-2839 (Online) Vol.6, No.37, 2014 179 An Evaluation of Change Management and Its Implications on Competitiveness of Public Universities in Kenya Mr. Collins Reuben Gaunya (MSc.) Department of Business Management,Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology, P.O BOX 190 – 50100, Kakamega Email: gaunya@gmail.com Abstract A plethora of theory, research and practice in change management has evolved considerably over many years, and experienced a major transformation in form and function amid a rapidly changing environment. The pressure for change comes from all sides, government initiatives, the need for efficiency, improving the quality of student learning, intense competition and ever-changing environment make change a permanent condition in all organizations and the pace of change is ever increasing. The purpose of this study was to evaluate change management and its implications on competitiveness of public Universities in Kenya. The population of the study was teaching and non-teaching staff in public universities in Kenya. Key informants drawn from both teaching and non-teaching staff were purposively sampled to respond to the data collection instruments since they had information that was significant to the objectives of the study. A total of 381 respondents were purposively selected to participate in the study as respondents. Both questionnaire and interview guide were used to collect data. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used in data analysis and presentation. The results revealed that management of change significantly influences competitiveness of public universities in Kenya. Organizational factors were found to significantly influence the relationship between management of change and competitiveness of public universities. Organizational factors were also found to influence competitiveness of public universities. The findings of this study are useful to the administrators and stakeholders of public Universities as well as other institutions of higher learning in Kenya and beyond who are increasingly becoming challenged by inadequate change management practices. It is important for all those involved in change management initiatives to be well versed with aspects of management of change including an assessment of the need for change, determination of the adequacy of human as well as financial resources to roll out change programmes, how to conduct periodic and step by step monitoring and evaluation of the change management activities to determine and correct any challenges in the change management progress and the need to involve employees in the change management process to enhance acceptance and support for the change programme. Keywords: Change Management, organizational factors, competitiveness of public Universities. 1.0 Introduction Kenya placed considerable importance on the role of education in promoting economic and social development after the attainment of independence in 1963 (Sifuna, 1998). This resulted in the rapid expansion of the education system to provide qualified persons for the growing economic and administrative institutions, and to undertake some reforms to reflect the aspirations of an independent state (Court and Ghai, 1974). Over the last four decades, the social demands with respect to higher education in Kenya have clearly intensified. This has been exemplified by the rise in enrolments in public and private universities, the proliferation of more private universities and the establishment of self-sponsored programmes in the public universities (Sifuna, 1998). The large enrolment of university students was a key corollary to the establishment of more public universities (Sifuna, 1998). The capacity to manage, and adapt to change is a necessary condition for enhancing organizational performance, survival, and growth (Burnes, 2004; Tizard, 2001). Managing change requires an organized, systematic application of knowledge, tools and resources of change to enhance an organization’s capacity in its basic business strategies (Bateman & Snell, 1999). This is true even for higher education institutions (HEIs). Organizations have to deal with new technology and with upgrades of existing technology. They must cope with reorganization processes, improvement initiatives, mergers and acquisitions, all meant to make them viable and competitive in the case of challenges posed by their competitors (Burnes, 2009). The reality is that relatively fewer of the organizations that institute change or are forced into it realize the benefits they had hoped to achieve as a result of such change. Andrew, (2008) argues that companies ought to develop change approaches that focus on the behaviours of employees and adopt rigorous tracking and reporting in order to stay on course, schedule and budget. Managing change is probably the single most important competence for all those organizations which have undertaken the difficult task of managing organizational change. Research shows that appropriate change management is a vital competence for improved efficiency and competitiveness yet continues to be greatly mishandled by those charged with the responsibility of managing it (Beverly & John 2005; Washing & Hacker 2005). Arnemakis and Harris (2002) contend that change