Integrating the Business and People Dimension of Change at Safaricom Limited Plc, Kenya
Thomas, K. Bwaley; Vincent, N. Machuki, PhD.

Abstract
Organizations seeking to be relevant and achieve sustainable competitive advantage in a changing business environment initiate and successfully implement change programs. All change initiative must address both the business and the human sides of change, and their integration is important for success to be realized. This study sought to determine the integration of business and people dimensions of change at Safaricom Limited, a leading cellular services provider in Kenya. To achieve this objective, data were obtained from six senior managers through comprehensive structured interviews. The findings of the study revealed that Safaricom Limited has embraced integration of business and people dimension of change through employee involvement in change formulation, proper feedback mechanism using employee survey and staff council which has resulted in successful implementation of change with very limited resistance while having sustainable profitability. The study’s implications for policy have been advanced based on the study findings. The study concludes that in the current turbulent environment, learning organization must integrate the people dimension of change with the business dimension of change to remain competitive both in service delivery as well as being an employer of choice and as a partner of choice in business. The study is limited to Safaricom Limited and the findings may not apply to other players in the mobile telephony industry. Based on this limitation, suggestions for further research have been put forth.

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