An Evaluation of Contribution of Knowledge Transfer Structures on the Strategic Thinking Competence of the Managers in Kenya's Ministry of Education

Abstract

The 21^st century African public service has to be a knowledge based organisation in which people at all levels individually and collectively are increasing their capacity to produce results through the acquisition, transfer and utilisation of the knowledge; developing a new way of thinking; culminating in a collective vision, new ways of doing business and continuously solving problems (Ondari - Okemwa and Smith, 2009).

The research sought to evaluate the contribution of knowledge transfer structures on strategic thinking competence of managers in the public sector. The study sampled managers of education in 15 counties out of 47 counties in Kenya; a total of 104 respondents drawn from different departments in the counties were targeted. Questionnaire was the main instrument for data collection. The study used descriptive statistics to find the effect of the various variables on strategic thinking.  Regression analysis to find out the effect of the knowledge structure factors on the strategic thinking competence.

The study found that the strategic thinking competence of the managers was affected by the knowledge transfer structures. The study recommends that the public-sector institutions should set appropriate knowledge reservoirs and knowledge transfer structures to ensure that the managers of the devolved levels have the appropriate knowledge resources at their disposal.