Abstract:
The performance of state owned corporations has been found to be impacted by various factors among them being the management functions of planning, controlling and leading. This research explored the impact of leading on the organizational performance of state maintained corporations with a focus on the state owned corporations in the agricultural subdivision of Kenya. A descriptive research design was used and the target population consisted of 42 agricultural state owned corporations. A purposive sampling procedure was used to select a sample of 30 corporations out of the 42 agricultural state owned corporations in Kenya to enable ease of study and coverage. Data was compiled through administration of a questionnaire which was administered via the ‘drop and pick later method’. The questionnaire was divided into six sections to cover the objectives of the study and consisted of structured questions. Data was coded and studied by descriptive statistics of frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation. Findings were presented in graphs charts, pie charts and tables. Findings indicated that leading exerts the most positive impact on performance of state corporations, though the influence is minimal in the performance of agricultural state owned corporations in Kenya. This inferred that management in these corporations do not perform the leading function with the requisite professionalism and due diligence. The study therefore recommends the government to ensure that management appraisals are done regularly in every state corporation with a focus on evaluating the management’s performance in the key function of leading and to enable leaders have free hands in their leading role.
