Factors influencing the selection of an appropriate procurement method for goods and services in public hospitals. A case of Narok County Referral Hospital

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the factors influencing the selection of appropriate procurement method for goods and services in public hospitals. The study sought to establish those factors that need to be considered by public hospitals when selecting a procurement method for their goods and services. This study sought to address the following objectives; to establish whether the value of the purchases has an influence on selection of appropriate procurement method for goods and services, to assess whether the buyers knowledge of the purchases has an influence on selection of appropriate procurement method for goods and services, to determine whether quality requirement of purchases has an influence on selection of appropriate procurement method for goods and services and to examine whether the nature of the goods and services has an influence on selection of procurement method for goods and services at Narok County Referral Hospital. The study adopted the descriptive case study design and the target population consisted of the 180 employees of Narok county referral hospital, in Narok County. A sample of 54(30%) respondents was selected for the study. Both stratified and simple random sampling methods were used in the selection of the sample. The study used a structured questionnaire to collect data from the sample. For data analysis the study used descriptive statistics (frequencies and percentages) where the data was summarized and presented using charts, tables and figures. The study findings indicated that, all the four factors that were considered for the study had an influence on the selection of the procurement method to be used in the organization. The value of the project or the goods to be procured influenced {he method of procurement where purchases that demand [or high value required more complex procurement methods it was also noted that clients knowledge of the purchases influence the selection of the method to be used in the procurement of the goods. A similar establishment was observed for quality requirements and project characteristics. The study concludes that the selection of the procurement method was influenced by various factors and therefore the management of the organization must be able to understand these factors so that they can be able to ensure that the right procurement method is selected. The study made recommendations based on the objectives, it was noted that there is need for the management of the hospital to effectively evaluate the value of their purchases before selecting an appropriate method, there is also need to ensure that the management as a client has information on the purchase that enables him! h r select the right method of procurement The study recommended that a further study be conducted to establish the types of procurement methods and how each of the variables selected influences their selection. The results of this study will be beneficial to the management of the hospitals, the workers, patients and the county as a whole now that it is a referral hospital handling many cases both from within and outside the county.