Cash management factors that affect the business of Safaricom dealers in Nairobi and its suburban areas

Abstract

In view of the challenges faced in cash management by a number of business enterprises in the telecommunications sector, this research was set out to establish which factors do affect cash management in the said sector in Kenya today. The broader objective of this study was to establish which of the cash management factors in the telecommunications industry affect the businesses of Safaricom dealers in Nairobi and its suburban areas and explore remedial measures to mitigate their effects. The specific objectives were: to assess the extent to which inventory management, Safaricom policies, technological applications and staff competencies affect cash management of the businesses of the said dealers. This study adopted a descriptive research design. The target population was management staff of 192 dealers who are currently members of Safaricom Dealers Association. The study utilized both primary and secondary data. The study administered questionnaires to a total of 120 employees working in finance and accounts departments and also those in the top management of the 40 selected dealers in Nairobi and its suburban areas. Stratified random sampling was used to come up with a representative sample size. Secondary data was gathered from various authoritative sources including the Safaricom Dealers Association's reports, CCK's reports, surveys and journals, 'Informa' Telecoms publications among other sources. The data was collected through questionnaires edited, classified, coded and tabulated in a systematic manner to allow for accurate analysis. Tools of descriptive statistics, these are, measures of central tendency were employed to analyze data. To aid and speed-up data analysis process, Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to generate the statistics. Finally, the data was presented in form of pie charts, bar graphs, frequency tables, percentages among others so as to provide a complete and accurate presentation of the findings.