Tea Production Automation Influence on Selected Multinational Tea Companies Field Costs in Kericho and Bomet Counties, Kenya

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dc.contributor.authorTare, Julius
dc.date.accessioned2021-03-10T07:32:35Z
dc.date.available2021-03-10T07:32:35Z
dc.date.issued2020
dc.descriptionA Research Project Submitted to the School of Business in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Business Administration (Strategic Management Option) of Kenyatta Universityen_US
dc.description.abstractThe independent variables of the study were; automation, information technology and human capital information systems while the dependent variable was field cost. The purpose of this study was to determine Tea Production Automation Influence on Selected Multinational Tea Companies Field Costs in Kericho and Bomet Counties, Kenya. The specific objectives which guided the study were to; examine the effect of automation, Information Technology and Human Capital information systems on Field Costs in multinational tea companies in Kericho and Bomet Counties. Research hypotheses for the study were tested at 95% confidence level where (p<0.05) hypotheses was accepted else were rejected. The study used the theories of induced innovation, basic human capital, and profit maximization theory of a firm. Correlational and descriptive research design was used. Census sampling method was used to sample unit managers and field managers from the target population of 91 employee of the three multi-national tea companies in Kericho and Bomet Counties which were; Unilever Tea Kenya Limited, James Finlays Kenya Limited and Williamsons Tea Kenya Limited. Responses were received from 83 respondents translating to 91.2% response rate. The study used open ended structured questionnaire as the primary tool for data collection. Reliability of the research instrument was tested against Cronbach’s alpha coefficient where a value of 0.876 was obtained and it showed that the instrument was reliable while validity was gauged through research experts’ opinions. Data was analyzed using both the descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings from the study will be of great importance to the management of both the tea estates and smallholders since it addresses the most critical factors pertaining Production field costs. The findings from the study will also be significant to investors who wish to invest directly or indirectly in the tea subsector in Kenya. The findings reveal that automation has significantly reduced the cost of land preparation, tea pruning cost; fertilizer application cost and cost of pruning. Information Technology has enabled effective tracking of tea production; electronic weighing system has enabled efficiency and accountability in transmission of accurate green leaf field weights information; adoption of innovation has led to increased efficiency and quality of work done. Human capital information system ensured that there are skilled personnel who have expert in tea production and who can innovate on ways of reducing field production cost. The study concludes that automation significantly reduced the cost of land preparation; application of fertilizers cost; reduces harvesting costs; it reduces tea production field labour costs and reduction in number of errors thus increasing tonnage of tea weighed and collected, the reduction in the number of trainings does not lead to improved work output led to increase in efficiency and quality of work done and that skilled man power has an impact on human resources costs leading to reduction on tea Production field Costs. There is need for multinational tea companies to fully embrace tea harvesting technology. It leads to faster work flow and that a bigger area is covered by few people working using machines. Information technology is key since it enables automation to be deployed effectively in the field. It creates a platform which automation operates on leading to lower cost of operation and lower down time thus reduction of labour per hectares and also it leads to faster work output.en_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://ir-library.ku.ac.ke/handle/123456789/21878
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherKenyatta Universityen_US
dc.subjectTea Production Automationen_US
dc.subjectMultinational Tea Companiesen_US
dc.subjectKericho Countyen_US
dc.subjectBomet Countyen_US
dc.subjectHuman capital information systemsen_US
dc.titleTea Production Automation Influence on Selected Multinational Tea Companies Field Costs in Kericho and Bomet Counties, Kenyaen_US
dc.typeThesisen_US
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