CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the study

Procurement is an important part of the supply chain and does not only affect external

stakeholders but also internal stakeholders. This entails that it has potential to add value not

only to the external side of the supply chain but also to the internal supply chain.

This is an important activity found in all organisations, public, private, governmental and

charities and can be responsible for a large amount of spending. Such spending on, for example,

materials components, facilities, subcontract capacity, IT equipment and supplies, consumables,

stationery, travel and insurance can constitute a significant amount of money. Most

organisations spend at least one-third of their turnover/income on the purchase o f goods and

s er v ices (Zenz and Thompson, 1994; Killen and Kamauff, 1995).

From the above, it can be seen that procurement is an important function which affects the

organisation’s budget. It is for this reason that this study will focus on the impact of

e x i t i n g o f procurement professionals on the internal customer service and also on how

external customers are affected by Internal Customer Service.

Procurement is traditionally an internal service provided by a dedicated team of

professionals. In the Public sector, Section 26 (7) of the Public Procurement and Disposal Act

2005 provides that a procurement unit established under subsection (4) shall be staffed with

procurement Professionals whose qualifications have been recognized by the Public Procurement

Oversight Authority. Section 26 (8) defines a procurement Professional as a person who has

1
professional qualifications in procurement and supply management from a recognised Institution

or is engaged in a calling or occupation in which recourse to procurement is directly or indirectly

involved and has experience in the practice of procurement and is a member of a recognised

institute of purchasing and supply.

In examining the utility of an internal service perspective for procurement, Stanley and Wisner

(2002) reinforced the links between internal and external service quality, supporting the

contention that positive internal customer service provided by procurement has a significant

impact on external procurement performance.

Employees are the most important asset of any organization and a resource that needs to be well

managed. In every institution, employees leave their place of employment due to one reason or

the other, therefore making up the organisation’s membership rarely constant. The employees in

the public service may exit their place of employment voluntarily or involuntarily by transfers,

secondment to other Administrations, resignation, dismissal, retirement from service,

retrenchment, Promotions and natural attrition.

Whenever employees exit their place of work, a gap is created resulting in under establishment

and loss of expertise in the organisation. Procurement Professionals are important human assets

in many organisations and in many cases, the service level that the final customer gets depends

to a very large extent on the operations of the procurement department. Consequently, this

brings in the concept of internal customer service in the sense that other departments are

served by the procurement department in order for them to provide goods and services for the

end customer who is the external customer. Recognising the importance of the internal

2
customer is not new and is very important. If poor internal service exists, then the final

service to the external customer will be diminished (O’Riordan, Humphreys, 2003).

In the recent years, the Public has witnessed an unprecedented level of procurement professionals

exiting their places of employment through transfers, dismissals and so on without much regard

to the impact of such actions on internal customer service in those organizations.

1.2 Statement of the Problem.

Traditionally, literature on employee exiting employment has focused on how many employees

leave an organization (turnover frequency) without regard to performance of those who quit or

those who stay. This lack of emphasis on performance can distort the true effect of separation on

the organization. According to (Johnson, 2000) a useful way to capture the true effects of staff

separation (exit from place of employment) is to examine it in terms of being either “functional”

(poor performers leave or good performers stay) or “dysfunctional” (good performers leave or

poor performers stay). Therefore, an organization’s assessment of staff performance becomes an

additional critical dimension for evaluating the effects of employee separation and organizational

performance.

The public service has experienced the problem of procurement professionals leaving, being

relieved of their duties or being transferred. The impact to customer service delivery arising

from these separations needs to be analysed. What is not known are the effects of these

separations on internal customer service. It is therefore of uttermost importance to find out

the interdependence of staff separation with specific reference to procurement professionals

3
and internal Customer Service.

1.3 Objectives of the Study

The main objective of this Study is to assess the impact of exiting of procurement professionals

on internal customer service in the public service. The specific objectives are:-

(i) To establish the common methods through which procurement professionals exit

employment in the Public Service.

(ii) To establish the impact of the various staff separation methods on quality of service, pace

of service delivery, complaints and grievances from users and rate of responsiveness to

service delivery

(iii)To establish the impact of the various staff separation methods on procurement

professionals morale and productivity due to additional work load.

1.4 Research questions

(i) What are common methods through which procurement professionals exit place of work

in the public service?

(ii) Does exiting of procurement professionals from their place of employment impact on

internal customer service in the public service?

(iii) What are effects of staff separation on the morale and productivity of the

procurement professionals?

1.5 Justification of the study

This study is important because it is trying to address the contribution of procurement

4
professionals exiting place of employment on internal customer service. Internal customers are

important part of the supply chain and they have great influence on the external customers

and therefore the overall organisation’s success. If it is found that staff separation of

procurement professionals has significant negative effects on internal customers which are

passed on to external customers, then Directorate of Public Procurement shall gain by obtaining

baseline information for decision making on human resource policies affecting procurement

professionals in the public sector.

This study is in line with the reforms in the Public Sector where improved service level to the

general public is a priority under the result based initiatives while the University as a research

centre shall enrich and update its research database.

1.6 The Scope and the Limitations of the Study

This study shall focus on the staff in the procurement Department and the three Departments at

the Ministry of Livestock Development Headquarters. The Ministry of Livestock Development

is chosen because it is a representation of other Government Ministries and Procurement

professionals are centrally posted to the Government Ministries by the Directorate of Public

Procurement.

1.7 Definitions of terms

Procurement refers to acquisition by purchase, rental, lease, hire purchase, licence, tenancy,

franchise or any other contractual means of any type of works, assets, services or goods

5
including livestock or any combination. It is the process of obtaining goods and services in any

way, including borrowing, leasing and even force or pillage.

Public service comprises of the civil service, teaching and public university services, local

government authorities, the disciplined services (excluding the military), state corporations,

public institutions and Service Commissions whose salaries are funded from the

Government exchequer.

Purchasing refers to the acquisition of goods or services in return for a monetary or equivalent

payment.

Separation refers to an employee exiting employment or the place of employment.

6
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Introduction

This chapter reviews the literature by discussing the conceptual and Theoretical framework of

the Study and other related literature. It then evaluates the concepts of organizational

performance, the relationship between separation methods and customer service delivery and

finally, the group will draw conclusions on the literature review on separation methods and its

impact on service delivery in the Public service.

It is expected that the Literature review will offer this study a thorough theoretical background.

2.2 Conceptual framework and Theoretical Framework

Mugenda and Mugenda (2003) say a conceptual framework is a graphical or

diagrammatic representation of the relationship between variables in a study. It helps

the researcher see the proposed relationship between the variables easily and quickly. In this

study, the conceptual framework is based on seven independent variables that are presumed

to impact on the indicators of internal customer service.

7
Independent variables Dependent variable

Exit/Separation Methods Impact on customer Service delivery (indicators)

Resignations Poor quality of service

Dismissal Slow pace of service delivery

Retirement Delays in service delivery

Retrenchment/layoffs Increased reports of complaints and grievances from

users
Natural attrition
Loss of morale of the procurement staff

Transfers and
secondments Low productivity due to additional work load

Promotions

The Theoretical Framework of the Study

This section has two streams of research which will form part of the theoretical framework of the

study. These are the concepts of staff separation and the concepts of customer service delivery in

the public service.

2.2.1 The Concept of Staff Separation Methods.

In every organization, the first function of human resource management is procuring employees

from the society for use in the organization. The term staff separation means different things to

different people. However, according to York et al. (1960) the term can simply be defined as a

8
process through which employees leave employment. More formally, the term separation is

associated with cessation of service of agreement of the organization for one reason or the other.

Broadly, staff separation is either voluntary or forced. Armstrong (2003) notes that employees

leave organization voluntarily either to further their careers (pull factors) or because they are

dissatisfied by the existing conditions in the organization (push factors). In either case,

employees chose to resign.

Cole (1993) states that separation from an organization is influenced by external factors which

may include economic conditions, ill health or dismissal. On the other hand, according to

Cumming (1980), separation from employment takes various methods which may include

resignation, dismissal, retirement and retrenchment/layoff.

Resignation stems from an employee’s choice to stop working in an organization. Armstrong

(2003) states that resignations are prompted by either pull or push factors. Pull factors such as

seeking for independence, self-fulfillment, wealth and other desirable outcomes attract people to

leave organizations. Similarly, push factors which is negative external force such as job

dissatisfaction, insufficient salary, lack of upward mobility and or inflexible work schedule may

propel individuals to quit employment.

According to (Saleemi 1997), resignation may be compulsory or voluntary. Employees may

resign voluntarily for better jobs (opportunities) elsewhere. This may be caused by mal-

adjustment of the organization’s policy while according to (Torrington and Hall 1987), it is also

a stream of people moving to do other things which may be prompted by either the push factor

being stronger than the pull factor. Nzuve (1997) states that organizations with poor working

9
conditions, undesirable jobs, pay inequities and limited opportunities for commitment and

uncertainty are some of the factors that influence separation of staff. On the other hand,

employees may be forced by the organization to leave employment on grounds of gross

misconduct on their part. For example in 2003, Kenyan judges who had been implicated with

corruption in the Judiciary were asked to leave the bench voluntarily and honorably instead of

being subjected to rigorous process of a tribunal which could be also humiliating (Kipng’eno R.

2003, Kenya times Daily).

Campbell (1970) argues that management and organizations that reward workers who

provide essential services to line workers encourage cooperation among workers

which in turn increase the individual effort ending up producing more and prompting

organization performance therefore reducing separation.

Dismissal

According to Saleemi (1997), is a permanent separation of employees from an organization for

inadequate service delivery which may be deliberate or due to violation of rules of code of

conduct. Dismissal is thus the final step in a disciplinary process.

Nzuve (1997) observes that some managers tend to use de-hiring as a dismissal technique. De-

hiring is a process of getting an employee to quit by making the working environment unpleasant

and hostile. It is generally reserved for serious offences and especially where there is a written

employment agreement. Saleemi (1997) argues that before dismissal, every employee should be

given an opportunity to explain his position and defend himself. According to the Code of

Regulations (Section G.33-35), civil servants are given a chance to make their defense before

disciplinary action which may include dismissal is taken against them. Flippo (1984) on the

10
other hand states that a discharged employee and the union feel that the forced separation is

unjust, most procedures provide for intervention of the third party, who may be an outside

arbitrator.

Retirement

Hira and Mugenda (1998) as cited in Mugenda and Mugenda ( 1999), retirement refers to the

condition in which an individual is forced or allowed to leave the labour market or is employed

less than full-time and in which his income is derived at least in part, from a retirement pension

earned through past years of service as job holder. It is therefore the final phase of occupational

life cycle. Generally, retirement occurs after the attainment of a predetermined age, Nzuve

(1997).

However, age may not be an accurate determinant of the commencement of retirement since it

largely fails to consider individuals physical, mental and performance capability on the job. For

example, judges and lecturers in Kenya go beyond 70 years as long as they are capable while

civil servants retire when they are 60 years. This means that forced retirement may result in loss

of real talents and skills. Retirement has the advantage that it has plenty of notice and succession

planning can be done early enough.

There is also life after retirement as retirees may continue to offer their skills and talents that can

be used to improve organizational performance, (Torrington and Hall, 1987). Flippo (1984)

argues that retirement is a major event in one’s life cycle and the organization has a major

responsibility in facilitating the transition from one to the other.

11
Retrenchment

It is a situation where an employer releases qualified employees from employment. This is due to

break down of plants and machinery, accumulation of stock, financial constraints of the

organization and slump in the market for their goods and services among factors. According to

Waweru (1984) in a free enterprise economy, jobs cannot be absolutely guaranteed. He argues

that the business cycle dictates the levels of national employment and unemployment. To avoid

difficulties with the unemployed, the economists will in those organizations advice the

government/organizations to carefully adjust their fiscal policies with a view to inducing the

private business to absorb more of the unemployed until the level of unemployment is tolerable.

In organizations where there are excess employees, layoff/retrenchment is recommended.

Natural attrition/Death

This refers to demise of an officer. This type of involuntary termination is unique, because the

employee is not terminated because of his/her own actions. Service delivery may be adversely

affected especially where the government has spent a lot of positive effort on the employee’s

resourcing and development. The public service shall appear to be in an entirely negative

position. The employee might also depart with the valuable organisational memory that may

never be recovered.

Transfer

Transfers of officers from one Ministry or Department to another may be made by

arrangement between Authorized Officers provided that the posts carry a salary in the Job

Group ‘L’ and below. In the case of posts in the clerical cadre or posts common to

12
departments generally, transfers should be effected in consultation, where necessary,

with the Permanent Secretary/Director of Personnel Management. Transfer of officers in Job

Group ‘P’ and above should be sanctioned by the Central Postings Committee.

Recommendations for transfer of officers to posts within the purview of the Public Service

Commission of Kenya should be submitted to the Commission.

An officer can also be considered for transfer if the Service of the other administration or

local authority in which he has applied for appointment, has been declared to be a “Public

Service” for the purpose of the Pensions Act (Cap. 189) of the Laws of Kenya. An officer on

non-pensionable terms of service will not be allowed to t r a n s f e r h i s /her s e r v i c e t o

another a d m i n i s t r a t i o n or local authority. He will be required to resign if he wishes to

take up employment with another administration or local authority (Revised code of

Regulations 2006) .

Secondment

Secondment of Officers from the Civil Service to other administrations i s a temporary

arrangement f o r a p e r i o d n o t exceeding three (3) years. Approval of all secondment

cases is granted by the Permanent Secretary/Director of Personnel Management (Revised

code of Regulations 2006) .

Pr omotion

An officer who is selected for promotion to a Ministry other than that in which he is serving

will be released to take up his appointment on transfer within a period of two months from the

date of the letter authorizing the promotion (Revised code of Regulations 2006) .

13
Other literature on staff separation

A number of studies have begun to examine the staff separation methods used by healthcare

organizations. Rondeau and Wager (1998) found that for those Canadian hospitals that had

permanently reduced their workforce, 38% of the reductions were by attrition, 27% by voluntary

severance and 35% by layoff or terminations.

In Kenya, a previous study found out that most common method of separation in Kenyatta

National Hospital was retirement at 40%, followed by resignation at 32%, Death at 15%, and

dismissal at 9% and followed by retrenchment at 4% over a period of three years from 200 I to

2003.

2.2.2 The Concept of the Organizational Performance/Service delivery.

In the Public Sector, the focus of every officer should be on providing quality and timely

public services to the Kenyan citizenry. This calls for new ways of working which place the

needs of the public first hence creating a customer and results-oriented culture in the Civil

Service. Officers are expected to acquaint themselves with modern practices which enhance

efficiency in service delivery by providing adequate information about services in a straight-

forward and open manner, place the common good of the service, the customer and the general

public above self interest and Setting clear and explicit standards of service that clients may

expect. (Handbook on civil service staff induction 2006).

Performance is often defined simply in output terms - the achievement of quantified

objectives. But performance is a matter not only of what people achieve but how they

achieve it. (Armstrong, 2003)

14
The concept of performance has been expressed by (Brumbrach, 1988) as follows:

Performance means both behaviours and results. Behaviours emanate from the

performer and transform -performance from abstraction to action. Not just the instruments

for results, behaviours are also outcomes in their own right - the product of

mental and physical effort applied to tasks - and can be judged apart from results.

Mentzer (1996) and Nelson and Burke (1998) defines performance as objective measures

consisting of economic and financial measures such as sale, growth, change in share prices,

profit, expenditure and productivity. Wager and Rondeau (2000) defines performance as

Perceptual measures which include non-financial goals and global success ratings made by

leaders of the organizations. Both types of measures produce biases. Perceptual measures fail to

capture the financial aspects of the organizational performance and may be subject to common

method variance. Objective measures overcome these problems but may be affected by factors

beyond the control of the leaders of public service.

Alternative view is that the public Service is multi-dimensional in nature and that it is

advantageous to integrate different dimensions of organizational performance in empirical

studies. Thus, it is possible to view for example non-financial goals (such as access to

healthcare) and reduction of organizations expenditure as different aspects of organizational

performance.

Internal Customer Service

Internal customer services are understood as covering those services provided by distinctive

organisational units/sections, or the people working therein, to other units/sections or

15
individuals within the same organisation (O’Riordan, Humphreys, 2003). Internal customer

service is service directed towards others within the organisation. (Miller, 2 0 0 6 ) d e f i n e s

internal customer service as service provided to fellow employees and other departments

within our own organizations, as well as our suppliers and anyone else with whom we work

to get our jobs done.

Gremler (1995) defines an internal customer as anyone in an organization who is supplied

with products or services by others in the organization. That is, the employees of an

organization can be considered as internal customers who, like external customers, are looking

to get their needs satisfied.

An internal customer can be a co-worker, another department, or a distributor who depends

upon us to provide products or services which in turn are utilized to create a deliverable for

the external customer” ( Earl, 2006).

For an organisation to be truly effective, every single part of it, each department, each activity

and each person and each level, must work properly together, because every person and every

activity affects and in turn is affected by others (Muhlemann et al., 1992). Central to this is

the notion of the internal customer “every part of an organisation contributes to external

customer satisfaction by satisfying its own internal customers” (Slack et al., 2001).

2.2.3 The Relationship between Separation Methods and service delivery.

There is increasing evidence that staff separation methods may lead to loss of morale, trust and

productivity (Henkoff, 1994). By extension, staff separation methods are associated with

16
increased incidences of medical problems. The psychological burden of layoffs is not only borne

by victims laid off, but also their dependants, survivors and by those employees who are called

upon to carry out the functions. Thus, the ‘executioners’ often carry significant emotional

wounds that linger long afterwards (Wright and Barling, 1989).

Following staff separation, the psychological contract between the employee and employer is

destroyed, Conn (1978). Although the negative effects of staff separation methods are felt at the

individual level, its organizational consequences are often cited. Cameron et al (1989) have

identified twelve dysfunctional attributes of organizational decline. Organizational amnesia,

curtailed creativity and flexibility, compromised leadership and intensified conflicts in the

organization are the most prominent of the twelve. Large reductions in the workforce often lead

to the inexorable loss of organizational memory which may deter the ability of the organization

to grow, adopt and learn in the future (Fisher and White, 2000).

Bedein and Armenakis (1989) suggest that the early departure of the most qualified employees

could leave the organization suffering from ‘cesspool syndrome’ in which less competent people

rise to the top. Wager and Rondeau (2000) demonstrated that a permanent reduction in

workforce led to lower employee satisfaction, heightened conflicts in organizations but not its

organizational efficiency. Campbell (1970) argues that management and organizations that

reward workers who provide essential services to line workers encourage co-operation among

workers which in turn increase the individual effort ending up producing more and prompting

organization performance therefore reducing separation.

17
CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY

3.0 Introduction

This chapter describes the procedures and methods to be used in conducting the study. It deals

with research design, population of the study, sampling techniques, data collection

instruments, data analysis and interpretation.

3.1 Research Design

To answer the research question of this study, survey research design shall be applied. Surveys

are conducted in case of descriptive research studies. Descriptive research studies are those

studies which are concerned with describing the characteristics of a particular individual or

group.

According to Mugenda and Mugenda (2003), a survey is an attempt to collect data from

members of a population in order to determine the current status of that population with

respect to one or more variables. According to Kothari (2004), surveys are only

concerned with conditions or relationships that exist, opinions that are held, processes that

are going on, effects that are evident or trends that are developing. The method of data

collection happens to be either observation or interviews or questionnaire (Kothari, 2004).

Survey research is advantageous because it seeks to obtain information that describes

existing phenomenon. It also helps explain and explore the existing status of two or more

variables at a given point in time. Surveys are also used in collecting data from large

populations that are not easy to observe directly. This study shall endevour to assess the

18
impact of separation methods on internal customer service delivery by procurement professionals

using the Ministry of Livestock Development as the case Study for the Project.

3.2 Population and the target population of the Study

According to Mugenda and Mugenda (2003), a population is a complete set of individuals,

cases or objects with some common observable characteristics while target population refers to that

population to which a researcher wants to generalize the results of a study.

In this study, the population shall be the middle and senior management employees drawn from

procurement units, accounts and finance, administration, human resource and the two technical

departments who are involved in the procurement process or beneficiaries of the process within

the Headquarters.

3.3 Sample and sampling technique.

A sample is a subset of a particular population .A sample of 30 interviewees shall be selected

using purposive sampling method to reduce the occurrence of undesired responses and because

of ease of data collection, time available and the cost involved in data collection. Different

opinions have been expressed by experts on the subject of sample size. Some suggest the

sample should be five percent of the population while others suggest it should at least be ten

percent. However, none is true or false because the mere size alone does not ensure

representativeness.

According to Mugenda and Mugenda (2003), Purposive sampling is a sampling technique that

allows a researcher to use cases that have the required information with respect to the objectives

19
of his or her study. Cases of subjects are therefore handpicked because they are informative or

they possess the required characteristics. It is a form of biased sampling or Non-probability

sampling used when a researcher is not interested in selecting a sample that is representative of the

population. Most qualitative studies use non-probability samples because the focus is on in-depth

information and not making inferences.

3.4 Instruments and data collection procedure

Secondary data from research reports, books, journals and internet is to be used to provide a

wider understanding of the issues under research and to supplement primary data. This is

conducted by referring to existing official reports and documents from the named entities,

journals, other empirical researches in the area and any other relevant document from the

libraries and internet.

Primary data shall be collected by administering questionnaire with respondents. The

questionnaires shall have both closed-ended and open-ended questions. The questionnaires shall

be dropped and picked later from respondents. However, where possible some of the

respondents may fill the questionnaire with the help of the researcher.

3.5 Pilot Testing

A pilot test shall be conducted with a randomly selected sample of five respondents to help

establish the validity and reliability of the questionnaire. Changes where necessary shall be made

on the questionnaires after the pilot testing.

20
3.6 The Data processing and analysis

Qualitative data shall be derived from reading the responses of the open questions. Other

qualitative data shall also be obtained from past studies and responses to open ended

questions in the questionnaire. The data shall be reviewed, summarised and placed in

categories fitting the research questions.

The collected data shall be examined and checked for completeness, comprehensibility and

relevancy. Pie charts, bar charts, percentages and frequency tables shall be used to represent data

in a pictorial format, which can easily be used and understood using computer aided software

excel.

21
 References

Armstrong M. (2003) A Hand book of Human Resource Practice, 9th Edition, Kogan Page,

London

Campbell (1990) Handbook of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Cambridge, Mass

Cole, G.A (1993) Personnel Management Theory and Practice, DP Publications, Ashford

Colours Press, London

Croom, S., Johnston R. (2003), “E-service: enhancing internal customer service through e-
procurement”, International Journal of Service Industry Management; Vol. 14 No. 5.

Cumming W.W. (1974) The Theory and Practice of Personnel Management, Rand, McNally,

Chicago

Earl D., (2006),“What is Internal Customer Service,”

(http://www.donnaearltraining.com/Articles/InternalCustomerService.html,

Flippo E.B. (1984) Personnel Management, McGraw-Hill College, Bombay

Government of Kenya, 2005. The Public Procurement and Disposal Act, 2005. Government
Printer, Nairobi.

Government of Kenya, 2006. Code of Regulations. Government Printer, Nairobi.

22
Government of Kenya, 2006. Handbook for Civil Service staff induction. Government Printer,
Nairobi.

Gremler, D.D., Bitner, M.J, Evans, K.R., (1993), “The Internal Service Encounter”,
International Journal of Service Industry Management, USA, Vol. 5, No.2, pp 34-56.

Human resource management Attrition Register 2004, Kenyatta National Hospital

Kothari C.R 2004 Research Methodology: Methods and Techniques 2 n d e d i t i o n , New

Age International Publishers

Lysons Kenneth and Farrington Brian Purchasing and Supply chain Management, Prentice
Hall, 7th Edition

Miller S.,(2006), “More tips for internal customer service,”

http://customerservicezone.com/cgi-bin/links/jump.cgi?ID=756

Mugenda &M. Mugenda Research Methods Quantitative and Qualitative, Kenyatta University,

Nairobi

Nzuve S.N. (1997) Management of Human Resource - A Kenyan Perspective, Techo Publishers,

Nairobi

O’Riordan, J., Humphreys P.C (2003), “Developing an effective Internal Customer Service
ethos”, Institute of Public Administration, Ireland.

Recklies, D., (2001), “The Value Chain”, Recklies Management Project GmbH,
http://www.themanager.org/Models/ValueChain.htm,

23
Rondeau K.V.; Wager T.H. Impact of Human Resource Management of Human Resource

Practices on Nursing Home Performance,PP-192202(11) in Health Services Management

Research, Royal Society of Medicine Press, London

Saleemi (1997) Personnel Management Simplified, Nairobi

rd
Slack, N., Chambers, S. and Johnston, R. (2001), “Operations Management”, 3 ed.,
Prentice- Hall, London

Stanley, L.L., Wisner, J.D., (2001), “Service quality along the supply chain: implications for
purchasing”, Journal of Operations Management, Vol. 19, Issue 3, pp 287-306.

Torrington D. and L. Hall (1991) Human Resource Management, Prentice-Hall, London

Waweru (1984) Management of Human Resources Kenya, Kenya Literature Bureau, Nairobi

www.emeraldinsig ht.com, “E-service: enhancing internal customer service through e-

procurement”

Zenz, G., Thompson, G. H., (1994), “Purchasing and the Management of Materials”, 7th
edition, New York: Wiley.

24
Appendix 1

LETTER OF INTRODUCTION

Dear Respondent,

This questionnaire is designed to gather information on “impact of exiting of procurement

professionals on internal customer Service in the Public Service: A Ministry of Case Study”. The

study is a project paper carried out in partial fulfillment for the award of MSc. in Procurement

and Logistics of the School for Human resource Development, Jomo Kenyatta University of

Agriculture and Technology.

The information solicited in the questionnaire will be treated with confidentiality and in no

instance will your name be mentioned in this research. Also, the information will not be used for

any other purpose other than for this research.

Your assistance in facilitating the same will be highly appreciated.

Thank you in advance.

Yours sincerely,

............................................... ................................................
BOARD ALFRED OMONDI ARUNDA MR. WARIO GUYO
Student –H32-0167-2007 University Supervisor

25
Appendix 2

Questionnaire

ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF EXITING OF PROCUREMENT PROFESSIONALS ON

INTERNAL CUSTOMER SERVICE IN THE PUBLIC SERVICE.

This survey is conducted as partial fulfillment for the award of Master of Science in
Procurement and Logistics Management of Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and
Technology.

You are therefore kindly requested to fill this questionnaire to facilitate the study of the subject.

The information obtained will be used strictly for academic purposes and will be treated with
utmost confidentiality.

Section A: Personal Information (Fill and tick as appropriate)

1. Gender: Male ( ) Female ( )

2. Years of service in public service : 5-10 ( ) 11-20 ( ) 21-30 ( ) over 30 ( )

3. What is your highest level of Education? University ( ) college ( ) Secondary ( )

primary ( ) others (specify)…………………………………………………………………………

4. Indicate your Designation ……………………………………..…………………………………

5. Indicate your Department………………….………………………………………………………

Section B. Exiting of procurement Professionals

Please fill or tick in the box as may be appropriate

1. In your view, how often do procurement professionals leave employment at the Ministry
of Livestock Development?
Frequently [ ] Rarely [ ] Not at all [ ] Don’t know [ ]

26
 2. In your view, state the most common method through which procurement professionals
leave Ministry of Livestock Development?
Resignation [ ] Dismissal [ ] Retirement [ ] Retrenchment/Layoff [ ] Natural
attrition [ ] Transfers/Secondments ( ) On promotions ( ) others (specify)………………

3. Has exit of any procurement professional(s) from the Ministry of Livestock Development
had an impact on customer service delivery to the user Departments? Yes [ ] No [ ]

4. If Yes, continue to the sections C and D

Section C. Impact of exiting of procurement professionals on delivery of services.

Please tick ( √ ) in the boxes if in your view the various exit methods have effect on
respective indicators of service delivery in the public service.

S/No Methods of Poor quality Slow pace of Delay in Increased Loss of Low
exiting/indicator of service by service service reports of morale of the productivity
s of service procuremen delivery by delivery by complaints procurement due to
delivery t procuremen procuremen and staff additional
Department t t grievances work load on
Department Department from users procurement
staff
1 Resignation
.

2 Dismissal
.

3 Retirement
.

4 Retrenchment
.

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5 Natural
. attrition/Death

6 Transfers/
. Secondments

7 Promotions
.

Section D- Suggestions and Recommendations

In what other ways if any, does exiting of procurement professional from the public service
through the various exit methods mentioned affect the delivery of services to the user
Departments and what are your recommendations?

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Thank you for your cooperation

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