Determinants Of Ethical Procurement Performance At Teachers Service Commission

Abstract

Ethical procurement refers to procurement activities that are done in accordance with the acceptable supply chain standards put in place to ensure sustainability in the operations of an institution. Since the enactment of the 2010 constitution of Kenya, there has been an increased push for ethical procurement in the Kenyan public system. Notwithstanding the important role of ethical practices in public procurement, a culture of non-compliance has been witnessed at the Teachers' Service Commission, together with a lack of accountability and transparency resulting in large scale looting and unethical procurement practices. The purpose of this study was to investigate the determinants of ethical procurement performance. These were the research objectives; to establish effect of government policies on ethical procurement; to assess effect of technological factors on ethical procurement; to evaluate effect of professionalism on ethical procurement; and to determine the effect of employee training on ethical procurement performance at the Teachers’ Service Commission. Descriptive survey research design was used in the study. The researcher targeted the Teachers Service Commission and was interested in collecting data from the staff members from the procurement department adding up to 126 individuals. In order to get the desired individuals to participate in the study, purposive sampling was used. Based on this therefore, the respondents making up the sample size added up to 95. Primary data was used meaning that questionnaires and interviews were instrumental in collection of data for this research. The data collection process involved seeking for permissions and authorizations after which instruments were administered. The study used descriptive statistics to analyze data. Data analysis took place through SPSS v23. Presentation was done using frequency tables, bar graphs, pie charts and narratives. From the study findings, it was established that the lowest number of the respondents, 13.9% were exposed to training two years ago. The findings show that largely, employee training affects ethical procurement performance. The findings showed that government regulations have a direct impact on ethical procurement performance since when directed well, ethical procurement policies provide clear guidance on how procurement should be carried out. The use of technology has the potential of improving procurement outcome at the organizational level. In the same way, lack of adequate technology and lack of system adaptability are the main reasons for poor performance of the procurement function. Professionalism has the highest relationship level with ethical procurement performance and in this way, it is evident that ethical procurement is best practiced by staff with high level of professionalism. As a recommendation, the government should increase its oversight role in public institutions to ensure that the procurement activities of these institutions are well within the right limits. The use of technology needs to be encouraged in procurement activities of public institutions in order to enhance work output in these organizations while at the same time blocking possible loopholes for unethical behaviour. Training of employees should be promoted in public organizations so that employees get to be well equipped for the purposes of performing their job requirements diligently.