EFFECT OF RAILWAY NETWORK INEFFICIENCIES ON BUSINESS OPERATIONS OF TATA CHEMICALS MAGADI, MOMBASA IN KENYA

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of railway network inefficiencies on business operations of Tata chemicals Magadi, Mombasa in Kenya.

Methodology: This study adopted a descriptive survey design. The target population of this study was the 450 employees of TATA Chemical Magadi Ltd. The study used a sample of 135 employees. The study employed stratified random sampling to identify the 135 respondents. The strata were those of top management, middle management/supervisors and non-managerial employees. Primary data was used to gather information by use of questionnaires. Information was sorted, coded and input into the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS 20) for production of descriptive and inferential statistics.

Results: Results on the analysis of variance showed that the overall model was statistically significant and that the independent variables were good predictors of performance.  This was supported by an F statistic of 71.69 and the reported p value (0.000) which was less than the conventional probability of 0.05significance level. Descriptive results indicated that inefficiencies of Kenya Railway Corporation greatly affect production targets, customer satisfaction, sales targets and equipment utilization in Tata chemicals Magadi Ltd which in turn affects the performance of the company.

Unique contribution to theory, practice and policy: The government should allocate additional annual budget to the Kenya Railways Corporation to provide efficient means of transporting freight between cities and towns. Additionally, management of Tata Chemicals Magadi Ltd should exercise stronger leadership to enhance long term planning and disaster management to avoid loss to customers and manage its efficiency.