Effects of business process re-engineering on public sector service delivery in Kenya: a case of Teachers Service Commission

Abstract

Business Process Re-engineering (BPR) has been widely adopted by private businesses and has been a focus of research since the 1990s and it is still one of the top five management concerns for Information Technology (IT) executives globally. However, the adoption of BPR in the public sector in general, and in the public sectors of developing economies in particular, is a relatively recent and little researched phenomenon. Despite the adoption of BPR in public sector its relationship with service delivery is unknown in Kenya. This study sought to analyse the effects of business process re- engineering on public service delivery sector in Kenya. Specifically, to assess the contribution of Process Management to the public sector service delivery in Kenya, to determine the influence of BPR resources on the public sector service delivery in Kenya, to establish the extent to which Information and Communication Technology (ICT) system affects public sector service delivery in Kenya and to determine the role of organizational system on the public sector service delivery in Kenya. Contingency theory, resource dependency theory and technology acceptance theory underpinned the study. The study used cross sectional descriptive study design. The population of the study was staff from TSC, the government and teachers, with a sample size of 130 and 8 key informants drawn from teachers and Ministry of Finance. Stratified and purposive sampling was used to select respondents. Data was collected through a questionnaire and interviews which were tested for validity and reliability. Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) Software was used to perform statistical analysis. Quantitative data was analysed using regression techniques. Qualitative data was analyzed descriptively using content analysis. Results were presented through tables, figures and verbatims. The findings revealed that BPR resources X2 (β =0.616, p˂ 0.05), process management X1 (β =0.527, p˂0.05), ICT system X3 (β =0.389, p˂0.05) had statistical significance with service delivery. However, organization system was found to have no significant effect on service delivery (β =0.132 p>0.05). The study results conclude that BPR resources, process management and ICT contribute to improvement in service delivery. The study recommends for the need to carry out process redesign, invest in ICT system and avail more BPR resources as a way of improving public service delivery. The study suggests the need for more studies that include intervening variables and solely conducted on perspectives of managers.