EMPLOYEE PERCEPTION OF STRATEGIC CHANGE MANAGEMENT AT TOURISM FUND , KENYA .

Purpose: The objective of the study was to establish the employee’s perception of strategic change management at Tourism Fund. Methodology: The study population are all employees of the Tourism Fund (CTDLT) Kenya. The respondents were 100 employees. This formed the population. The collected data was analyzed using quantitative procedures. Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics. The descriptive statistics involved frequencies, standard deviation and means. Results: The study findings indicated that the organization had established a sense of urgency in the need of change, it also created the guiding coalition for all employees to follow during the process and the company developed a vision and strategy that can be achieved. Results further revealed that the organization ensured there was good communication strategies for communicating the change vision to all employees, and ensured that all employees were empowered with broad-based action which helped the employees feel empowered to adopt the new changes. The study findings also indicated that the company ensured that it generated shortterm wins, consolidated gains and producing more change and anchored new approaches in the culture. This was to ensure that the employees felt as part of the process to make it a success. Unique contribution to theory, practice and policy: The study recommends that managers at Tourism Fund can use the results to craft strategies on which areas to improve and which areas to excel at. For instance, the managers may highlight the toughest challenges so that they may find ways to improve on the drivers of the weaknesses and also identify the drivers of Strengths with an intention to excel in these areas. It is also suggested that since the employee perceptions were that formation of strategic change management have brought about competitive advantages, it may be important to consider investing in the area of change management with a hope of building and enjoying further competitive advantages. This investment would take the form of more human and financial resources allocated to strategic change management.


INTRODUCTION
Organizations today face an increasingly competitive and rapidly changing environment characterized by a diverse labor market, advancement in information technologies, globalization, deregulation, continuous customer demands and others.To be successful, a firm must be able to improve performance by reducing costs, creating new products and processes, enhancing quality and productivity, and increasing speed to market (Luthans & Sommers, 2005).In this regard, organizations need to focus on the capabilities of their workforces.According to Harter, Schmidt, and Hayes (2002), effective management of a firm's human resources would be able to generate and increase knowledge, motivation synergy, and commitment, resulting in a source of sustained competitive advantage for the firm.
According to Hopkins (2008), the main cause of decline in corporate performance and eventual failure has been attributed to the firms' inability to predict changes in their external environment and formulate rapid and radical strategies to take advantage of the opportunities, while minimizing the risks arising from the changes.Successful turnaround efforts require quick response in identifying causes of decline and prescribing radical strategic corrective moves (Lohrke, Bedeian and Palmer, 2004).It is only by continuous transformation will organizations be able to keep aligned with their environment and thus survive (Wu, He, Duan, and O'Regan, 2012).
According to Hart and Dowell (2011), sustainable change of a firm's strategies and operations will translate into long term economic viability and sustained competitive advantage.The ever changing and highly dynamic market environment demands that firms be more efficient and effective in meeting existing and future customer needs and expectations (O'Regan, 2012).He further argued that the creation of new knowledge and technology advancement has increased differentiation for firms, hence the need to explore ways to achieve or regain competitive advantage.William (2005) posits that enterprise transformation concerns fundamental change that substantially alters an organization's relationship with its key constituencies, involves new value propositions in terms of product and services, and redefines how the enterprise is organized.
According to Robbins (2005), perception can be defined as a process by which individuals organize and interpret their sensory impressions in order to give meaning to their environment.Perception is not necessarily built on reality but merely a perspective from a particular individual's view of a situation.In dealing with the concept of organizational behavior, perception becomes important because 'people's behavior is based on their perception of what reality is, not on reality itself; the world as it is perceived is the world that is behaviorally important (Robbins, 2005).
Strategic change is the movement of an organization from its present state toward some desired future state to increase its competitive advantage (Hill and Jones, 2001).The behavior of individuals ultimately determines the success or failure of organizational endeavors and top management concerned with strategy and its implementation must realize this (McCarthy et al, 1986).Strategic change may also result to conflict and resistance.People working in organizations sometimes resist such projects and make strategic change difficult to implement (Lynch, 2000).This may be due to anxiety or fear of economic loss, inconvenience, uncertainty and break in normal social patterns (David, 1997).
According to Dess, Lumpkin and Taylor (2005), strategic change management consists of the analysis, decisions, and actions an organization undertakes in order to create and sustain competitive advantages.Dess et al (2005), argue that this definition captures two main elements that go to the heart of the field of strategic management.First, the strategic management of an organization entails three ongoing processes: analysis, decisions, and actions.That is, strategic management is concerned with the analysis of strategic goals (vision, mission, and strategic objectives) along with the analysis of the internal and external environment of the organization.

Research Problem
Organizational change can occur at three levels which require different change strategies and techniques (Causon, 2004).These levels involve, changing the individuals who work in the organization, changing various organizational structures and systems, and directly changing the organizational climate.In almost every case of change management the basic goal has been the same: to make fundamental changes in how business is conducted in order to help cope with a new more challenging market environment (Kotter, 1995).Perception plays a crucial role in the daily decision making process for all managers.If an employee perceives something in one way or another and bases an important business decision on the perception; the organization will either benefit or not benefit from the decision.Strategic change is important because it enables an institution to survive in a turbulent environment.Perceptions of employees are crucial because it may determine the reactions of employees towards strategic activities of the organization.If the perceptions are negative then, the strategic change activities undertaken by the organization may fail.This may impact negatively on the performance of the organization and hence make it impossible for the organization to achieve its strategic mandate.
With the rapid growth of the Tourism Industry and the competition coming from other countries, the Kenyan Government realized that aggressive marketing was vital.The government through the Tourism Act 2011 has transformed Catering and Tourism Development Levy Trustees (CTDLT) to Tourism Fund in order to accommodate the additional mandates as stipulated in the Act.With the introduction of the Tourism Act 2011, Tourism fund formally assumes all obligations, contracts and any other legal entitlements of the now defunct CTDLT.The change in status implies that employees will also have additional responsibilities, be transferred to the new institutions, and reporting responsibilities will also change.This may bring about the fear of the unknown as it is customary for employees to fear change.Finally, employee's perceptions may determine whether the transition and the restructuring of the Tourism Fund will be successful or not.
Local studies related to strategic change management include Muchuiri (2010), who investigated the employee perception of strategic change at sphinx pharmaceuticals and concluded that the employees preferred to be more involved in the entire change process from identification of the need and not just in the implementation of the changes.Matheka (2010), investigated the factors influencing employee perception of change management at Cure international hospital in Kenya and concluded that the factors influencing perception included awareness of change, information provision, empowerment, encouragement, outcome of change, attitude, experience, training, working conditions, work targets, salary and job security.Mutwol (2009), investigated the employee perception of people dimension in change management at KRA and concluded that the organization did not develop structures to capture and to handle with sensitivity the employee's emotional reactions towards change.None of the studies are in the context of tourism in Kenya.These studies also focused on different sectors of the economy other than the tourism sector which has a unique environment and different challenges to deal with.The study therefore aims to bridge the gap by establishing the perception of employees in strategic change management at Tourism Fund.

Research Objectives
The objective of the study was to establish the employee perception of strategic change management at Tourism Fund.

Theoretical Framework
2.1.1Force Field Analysis Model Lewin (1951), developed a 'force field analysis' model which describes any current level of performance or being as a state of equilibrium between the driving forces that encourage upward movement and the restraining forces that discourage it.Essentially this means that a current equilibrium exists because the forces acting for change are balanced by the forces acting against change.The driving forces are (usually) positive, reasonable, logical, conscious and economic.
The restraining forces are (usually) negative, emotional, illogical, unconscious and social/psychological.Both sets of forces are very real and need to be taken into account when dealing with change, or managing change, or reacting to change.Lewin's change model suggests three steps of change process; unfreezing, moving and refreezing.Unfreezingreducing strength of forces which maintain current equilibrium.Movingdeveloping new organizational values, attitudes and behaviors to help move the organization.Refreezingstabilizing after the changes have been made so that there's a new equilibrium.

McKinsey 7-S Model
The  (12Manage, 2007).Strategy represents what the company plans to do react to any changes of its external surroundings (Recklies, 2007).The structure refers to the organizational structure of the company (12Manage, 2007).Systems are the portion of the model that represents "the procedures, processes and routines that characterize how the work should be done" (12Manage, 2007).Staff is quite obvious in the fact that it is a proper representation of who is employed by the organization and what they do within the organization (12Manage, 2007).Style signifies the organizational culture and management styles that are utilized within the organization (12Manage, 2007).Skills indicate the abilities and competencies of either the employees or the organization holistically (12Manage, 2007).

Strategic Change Management
The process of strategic change management implementation must be regarded as a highly sensitive process, which is crucially influenced by the involved actors and the success of implementation is dependent on their commitment to the new strategy (O'Reillyet al., 2010).
Investigations within the middle management, a hierarchical level which is highly involved in this process, have demonstrated that self-interest motivates the degree of commitment to strategic change implementation and therefore divergences between middle management selfinterest and organizational scope can influence this managerial task dramatically (Guth and MacMillan, 1986).Since strategic change management decisions influence the way organizations respond to their environment, it is very important for a firm to manage strategic decisions and hence the importance of strategic management (Pearce and Robinson, 2007).
According to Dess, Lumpkin and Taylor (2005), Strategic change management consists of the analysis, decisions, and actions an organization undertakes in order to create and sustain competitive advantages.Dess et al (2005), argue that this definition captures two main elements that go to the heart of the field of strategic change management.First, the strategic change management of an organization entails three ongoing processes: analysis, decisions, and actions.That is, strategic change management is concerned with the analysis of strategic goals (vision, mission, and strategic objectives) along with the analysis of the internal and external environment of the organization.Strategic change management is hence both a skill and an art.Good change strategic management requires both clear thought and sound judgment.Strategic change management is the formal and structured process by which an organization establishes a position of strategic leadership (Hill and Jones, 2001).

Challenges of Implementing Strategic Change
Perception is a challenge in implementing change.The decisions individuals make in an organization and the quality of their final choices is influenced largely by their perceptions.Decision making occurs as a reaction to a problem.That is, there is a discrepancy between some current state of affairs and some desired state requiring the consideration of alternative courses of action.The individual decision maker's perceptual process will have a large bearing on the final outcome of the decision made.Throughout the entire decision process, perceptual distortions often surface that have the potential to bias analysis and conclusions.The cognitive approach which focuses an individual's mental process recognizes that firms or rather their managers perceive the environment differently and imperfectly.This approach emphasizes the need to deepen our understanding of manager's mental schemas if we are to understand corporate behavior and firm's strategic processes fully (Robbins, 2005).
To close the gap, managers at all levels must learn to see things differently.They must put themselves in their employees' shoes to understand how change looks from that perspective and to examine the terms of the "personal contracts" between the employees and the company (Strebel, 1996).According to Strebel, contracts are reciprocal obligations and mutual commitments, both stated and implied, that define the relationship between employees and management and the company; namely formal, psychological and social dimensional contracts between the employees and the company/management.
Management barriers are another challenge to strategic change management implementation.
Corporate change initiatives whether proactive or not alter employee dimensional contract terms (Strebel, 1996).Unless managers define the terms and persuade employees to accept them, it may be unrealistic for managers to expect employees to fully buy into the changes that alter the status quo hence the employee's resistance to change.The leadership must drive the process of change far enough in order to alter employee's perception and hence bring about revised personal impacts.The revision of the personal contract should be treated as the integral part to change process to achieve change goals.Redefining employee's commitment to new goals in terms that everybody can understand and act on is an act of great transformational leadership.
According to Luthans (1998), the characteristics and behavior of transformational leaders are; first is the vision for better future to which the group has a right to and of which it can be proud of.Secondly; courage of their convictions through self-sacrifice.Thirdly; having great confidence in its followers and high standards and not pursuing money or power, but instead driven by satisfaction of building the organization, seeing people develop and accomplishing things through others.Without such leadership that visualizes and catches employee attention, employees will remain skeptical of the vision for change and distrustful of management and the management will likewise be frustrated and stymied by employee resistance to change (Strebel, 1996).

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
A survey research design was used in this study because the study was interested in establishing the opinions of more than one employee.The study populations are all employees of the Tourism Fund (CTDLT) Kenya.The respondents were 100 employees.This formed the population.The collected data was analyzed using quantitative procedures.Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics.The descriptive statistics involved frequencies, standard deviation and means 4.0: DATA ANALYSIS

Level of Education
The study sought to establish the level of education of the respondents.The findings were presented in Figure 4.3.From the study findings, majority of the respondents (52%) were university graduates while 17 % of the respondents were post graduates and 25% had reached college level.The finding implies that majority of the Tourism Fund employees have got a high level of education which perhaps contributes positively into the achievement of the strategic change management.

Establishing a Sense of urgency
The respondents were asked to indicate whether at Tourism Fund there is establishment of sense of urgency.Results are presented on Table 1 below.Results revealed that the statement during the change process, I was able to see the need for change and importance of acting immediately through SWOT analysis attracted a mean score of 3.12 and the statement I was involved in the identification and discussion of crisis, potential for crisis and major opportunities by examining the market and competitive realities had a mean of 2.98.The findings imply that according to employee perceptions Tourism Fund had established a sense of urgency to strategic change management thus all employees were aware of the changes taking place at the company.
The findings agree with those in Kotter (2007) who identified specific conditions essential for successful transformations one of them being creating urgency.He argues that 75% of managers must believe the status quo is more dangerous than the unknown.

Creating the Guiding Coalition
The respondents were asked to indicate if the at Tourism Fund there is creation of guiding coalition.Table 4.2 shows that majority of the employees agreed that at Tourism fund the management was creating a guiding coalition on how to encourage change management.A mean score of 3.28 was obtained for the statement of "During the change process, there was a powerful group guiding the change with leadership skills" this implies that the employees agreed that there was a powerful group guiding the change with excellent leadership skills.A mean score of 3.12 was obtained for the statement of "During the change process, there was a powerful group with credibility and bias for action" this implies that majority of the employees agreed that at Tourism fund there was a powerful group that guided the employees on change management with credibility and bias for action.
Furthermore, a mean score of 3.44 was obtained for the statement of "During the change process, there was a powerful group with authority, analytical skills and communication skills" this implies that most of the employees agreed that the powerful group set aside had authority, analytical skills and communication skills.A mean score of 3.18 was obtained for the statement of "During the change process, there was an assembly of a group powerful enough to lead and influence the change" this implies that most of the employees agreed that there was an assembly of a group powerful enough to lead and influence the change.
Finally, a mean score of 3.07 was obtained for the statement of "During the change process, I was showed what is needed through modeling behaviors" this implies that the employees agreed that they were showed what was needed to accept change through modeling behaviors.A mean score of 3.26 was obtained for the statement that "During the change process, the group was made to work together like a team" this implies that the employees agreed that during the change process the group worked together as a team.
The findings agree with those in Kotter (2007) who asserted that managers must also be positive, visible role models, offering proactive explanations to illustrate the connection between new approaches and improved organizational performance.This will ensure that the managers are the leaders in the powerful group organized for embracing change.

Developing a Vision and Strategy
The respondents were asked to indicate whether at Tourism Fund the management developed a vision and strategy for the change management.Results are presented in Table 4.3.A mean score of 3.17 was obtained for the statement of "In the process of change, it was clarified to me how the future will be different from the past and how I will make the future a reality by having a shared vision" this implies that the employees agreed that the management clarified how the future will be different from the past after changes thus encouraged to embrace change.A mean score of 3.28 was obtained for the statement of "In the process of change, a vision was created to help direct the change effort " this implies that the employees agreed that the management created a vision to help direct the change effort.
A mean score of 3.5 was obtained for the statement of "In the process of change, my organization ensured it gets the vision and strategy right" this implies that the employees agreed that the organization ensured that it got the vision and strategy right.Finally, a mean score of 3.52 was obtained for "In the process of change, strategies were developed to achieve the vision" this implies that the employees agreed that during the process of change the strategies were developed to achieve the vision.

Statement Mean Std. Deviation
In the process of change, it was clarified to me how the future will be different from the past and how I will make the future a reality by having a shared vision 3.17 1.146 In the process of change, a vision was created to help direct the change effort 3.28 1.092 In the process of change, my organization ensured it gets the vision and strategy right 3.5 1.168 In the process of change, strategies were developed to achieve the vision 3.52 1.059

Communicating the Change Vision
The respondents were asked to indicate if the management was communicating the change vision to the employees.Results are presented in Table 4.4 below.A mean score of 3.25 was obtained for the statement of "During the change process, it was made sure that I understand and accept the vision and strategy" this implies that during the change process the management made sure that all employees understood and accepted the vision and strategy.A mean score of 3.22 was obtained for the statement of "During the change process, there was a constant communication about the new vision and strategies" this implies that the employees agreed that there was constant communication about the new vision and strategies.Finally, a mean score of 3.2 was obtained for the statement of "During the change process, it was ensured that the organization provided a guiding coalition role model and the expected behavior of staff" this implies that the employees agreed that during the change process, the company ensured that it provided a guiding coalition role model and expected behavior of staff.This was to guide the employees on how to carry out their duties.
The findings agree with those in Sterling (2003) who identified reasons why strategies fail as unanticipated market changes; lack of senior management support; effective competitor responses to strategy application of insufficient resources; failure of buy in, understanding, and/or communication; timeliness and distinctiveness; lack of focus; and bad strategy poorly conceived business models.The findings also agree with those in Peng and Littlejohn (2001) who posits that effective communication is a key requirement for effective strategy implementation.During the change process, it was ensured that the organization provided a guiding coalition role model and the expected behavior of staff 3.2 1.119

Empowering Broad-Based Action
The respondents were asked to indicate whether the company had empowering broad-based action.Table 4.5 shows that a mean score of 3.05 was obtained for the statement of "In the process of change, I was encouraged to act on the vision by getting rid of obstacles" and a mean score of 3.17 was obtained for the statement of "In the process of change, I was encouraged to take risks".In addition a mean score of 3.19 was obtained for the statement of "In the process of change, I was enabled to act on the vision through the organization encouraging non-traditional ideas" and a mean score of 3.18 was obtained for the statement "In the process of change, systems or structures that undermined the change vision were altered" .This implies that the employees agreed that the company had set aside strategies to empower broader based actions from the employees by ensuring that the company encouraged employees to take risks, encouraged employees to act on the company vision by non-traditional ideas and by altering systems and structures that undermined change.
The findings agree with those in Kotter (2007) who asserted that attention should be paid to providing employees more latitude in their job tasks, encouraging risk-taking and innovative thinking.The findings also agree with those in Alexander (1985) who thought that obtaining employee commitment and involvement can promote successful strategy implementation (on the basis of telephone interviews with CEOs).Rapert, Velliquette and Garretson (2002) also asserted that organizations where employees have easy access to management through open and supportive communication climates tend to outperform those with more restrictive communication environments.

Statement Mean
Std.

Deviatio n
In the process of change, I was encouraged to act on the vision by getting rid of obstacles 3.05 1.086 In the process of change, I was encouraged to take risks 3.17 0.965 In the process of change, I was enabled to act on the vision through the organization encouraging non-traditional ideas 3.19 1.125 In the process of change, systems or structures that undermined the change vision were altered 3.18 0.989

Generating Short-Term Wins
The study sought to establish whether the organization generated short term wins during the change process.Results in Table 4.6 indicate that a mean score of 3.15 was obtained for the statement "During the change process, short term improvements in performance were planned for and generated".A mean score of 2.87 was obtained for the statement of "During the change process, people who made wins possible were publicly recognized and rewarded" this implies that the employees disagreed that the company rewarded and recognized people who made wins possible.This could further imply that that why the employees resist change in many firms.
Finally a mean score of 3.23 was obtained for the statement "During the change process, the organization created the wins by providing conducive environment for change" this implies that the employees agreed that during the change process the organization created the wins by providing conducive environment for change.The study sought to establish whether the organization was consolidating gains and producing more change during the process.Table 4.7 shows that a mean score of 3.22 for the statement "In the change process, the organization ensured no letting up by consolidating improvements and sustaining the momentum for change" while a mean score of 3.17 was obtained for the statement "In the change process, increasing credibility was used to change all systems, structures and policies that didn't fit together and didn't fit the transformation effort" and a mean score of 3.23 was obtained for the statement "The change process was reinvigorated with new projects, themes and change agents" this implies that the employees agreed that the organization consolidated improvements and sustained momentum for change, the management also increased credibility to change all systems, structures and policies that don't fit together for transformation effort.
The findings agree with those in Luthans (1998) who identified the characteristics and behavior of transformational leaders as; first is the vision for better future to which the group has a right to and of which it can be proud of.courage of their convictions through self-sacrifice and having great confidence in its followers and high standards and not pursuing money or power, but instead driven by satisfaction of building the organization, seeing people develop and accomplishing things through others.In the change process, the organization ensured no letting up by consolidating improvements and sustaining the momentum for change 3.22 1.031 In the change process, increasing credibility was used to change all systems, structures and policies that didn't fit together and didn't fit the transformation effort 3.17 1.083 The change process was reinvigorated with new projects, themes and change agents 3.23 1.053

Anchoring New Approaches in the Culture
The study sought to establish if the organization was anchoring new approaches in the culture during the change process.Results in Table 4.8 shows that a mean score of 3.1 was obtained for the statement "During the change process, it was ensured that I hold on to new ways of behaving, and it was made sure I succeeded until I became part of the very culture of the group" this implies that the employees agreed that during the change process the organization ensured that the employees held on to the new ways of behaving and became part of the culture.A mean score of 3.31 was attracted by the statement "During the change process, the connection between new behaviors, the organization's strategic objectives and the organizational success and sustainability were well articulated" and the statement "During the change process, new approaches were institutionalized by telling vivid stories about the new organization constantly" attracted a mean score of 3.1 which implies that the employees agreed that new approaches were institutionalized by telling of vivid stories about the new organization constantly.
In addition a mean score of 3.12 was obtained for the statement "During the change process, it was ensured that the induction / orientation programs reflected the new way of working" and the statement "During the change process, promotion was used to place people who acted according to the new values, norms and ways into visible and influential positions" attracted a mean score of 3.02 which implies that the employees agreed that the organization organized for promotions during the process to make people act according to the new values, norms and ways into visible and influential positions.
Finally a mean score of 3.16 was obtained for the statement "During the change process, better performance was created through customer and productivity oriented behaviour, better leadership and more effective management" and the statement "During the change process, the means to ensure leadership development through succession was developed" attracted a mean score of 3.19 which implies that the employees agreed that during the change process the organization ensured that leadership development succession was developed to make the process a successful.
The findings agree with those in Kotter (2007) who argued that the reward and performance appraisal systems must be realigned to directly support the vision and actions associated with the changes.The findings also agree with those in Strebel (1996) who asserted that without leadership that visualizes and catches employee attention, employees will remain skeptical of the vision for change and distrustful of management and the management will likewise be frustrated and stymied by employee resistance to change

5.1Summary of Findings
The general objective of this study was to establish the employee perception of strategic change management at Tourism Fund.A population of one hundred (100) respondents was drawn from all the employees at Tourism Fund.For purposes of collecting primary data, the researcher developed and administered a questionnaire and the results obtained were analyzed using Microsoft Excel and Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS).
Study findings indicated that (60%) of the respondents were male and (40%) were female.These findings imply that the organization has adhered to gender equality.A majority (40%) of the respondents were aged between 31-40 years, followed by 34% were aged between 21-30 years.This shows that the respondents were at the peak of their careers hence accurate responses.A majority of the respondents (52%) were university graduates while 25 % of the respondents had reached college level.The finding implies that majority of the employees in the company have got a high level of education which perhaps contribute positively into the achievement of the strategic change.Majority of the respondents (33%) had been in the employment for more than five years, while 30% of the respondents for a period of between 1 to 2 years.
The study sought to establish the challenges faced by Tourism Fund during the change process.
The study findings indicated that there were many challenges but the organization had put in place strategies to curb them thus encouraging employees to embrace the changes being implemented in the organization.Results indicated that the organization had established a sense of urgency in the need of change, it also created the guiding coalition for all employees to follow during the process and the company developed a vision and strategy that can be achieved.
Results further revealed that the organization ensured there was good communication strategies for communicating the change vision to all employees, and ensured that all employees were empowered with broad-based action which helped the employees feel empowered to adopt the new changes.The study findings also indicated that the company ensured that it generated shortterm wins, consolidated gains and producing more change and anchored new approaches in the culture.This was to ensure that the employees felt as part if the process to make it a success.

Conclusions
Following the study findings it is possible to conclude that the employees were made part of the strategic change management thus the company had a smooth transition this was reached to as majority of the statements attracted a mean score of 3 and above which means the agreed.
It was also possible to conclude that the strategies that the company selected and put aside to impose change management were favored by the employees.These strategies included creating the guiding coalition, developing a vision and strategy, communicating the change vision to employees, empowering broad-based action, generating short-term wins, consolidating gains and producing more change and anchoring new approaches in the culture.
It was also possible to conclude that the management had done adequate research to ensure that there was a smooth transition and knew the tactics to treat employees to avoid resistance from the employees.

Recommendations
The study recommends that Managers at Tourism Fund can use the results to craft strategies on which areas to improve and which areas to excel at.For instance, the managers may highlight the toughest challenges so that they may find ways to improve on the drivers of the weaknesses and also identify the drivers of Strengths with an intention to excel in these areas.
It is also suggested that since the employee perceptions were that formation of strategic change management have brought about competitive advantages, it may be important to consider investing in the area of change management with a hope of building and enjoying further competitive advantages.This investment would take the form of more human and financial resources allocated to strategic change management.
The study further recommends that the management should put strategic policies to encourage all the employees embrace change and don't resist to ensure the transition is smooth thus the management should commit itself in making the employees part of the change.

Suggested Areas for Further Research
A further area of study would be to statistically determine through regression modeling whether gender, education, job position, department, years of experience influence the perceptions of employees towards strategic change management.

5 Limitations of the study
No study however accurate is devoid of limitations.One of the study limitations was the nature of research methodology.This was generally a perception study which took into account the opinions of employees.Better and more objective results would have been obtained with a more rigorous methodology involving the quantification of strategic change management into costs.

Figure
Figure 1: Level of Education