Security Preparedness and Organizational Operations in Laikipia County, Kenya

Abstract

Organization operations and security preparedness are key to the success of any organization as there cannot be any meaningful development without them. The main objective of the study was to establish security preparedness and organizational operations in Laikipia County. The study specifically investigated how availability of closed-circuit televisions, security services, firefighting equipment and medical facilities contribute to organizational operations. The changing nature of contemporary threats at the global scene has necessitated organizations to view security holistically. With terror gangs changing their mode of operations and adopting tactics that were never envisaged before like turning to ―soft targets‖ to achieve their goals calls for a paradigm shift in how organizations prepare to counter and to absorb any adverse after effects of terror attacks which are not going away any time soon. The study was anchored on securitization and social disorganization theories of study. Descriptive research was adopted in the study to identify how organizational operations are affected by security preparedness. The study targeted a population of one thousand one hundred respondents comprising of business owners, heads of institutions, security operatives and clients out of which a sample size of one hundred and ten respondents was selected. The study collected both primary and secondary data using semi-structured questionnaire and reviewed empirical and theoretical literatures respectively. The collected data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and presented in pie charts, bar charts and graphs. Pilot testing of the instruments was conducted to ascertain their reliability. Respondents were requested to freely give their views and a reassurance of confidentiality of the information they gave. The study findings indicated that there is a positive and important relationship between CCTV and organizational operations. Likewise, there was a positively significant correlation between security service personnel and organizational operations. The effect of firefighting equipment on organizational operations was moderate according to the study findings. Additionally, the study found out that the influence of medical facilities on organizational operations was moderate. Based on the study findings, it can be concluded that the four variables play a key role in security preparedness and organizational operations in Laikipia county and recommends an increase of CCTV coverage within Nanyuki, modernization of firefighting equipment, standardized operating procedures for security service providers and an evaluation of preparedness of medical facilities within Nanyuki town on the ability for mass casualty response.