Organisational Factors Affecting the Establishment of Effective Procurement Systems in Public Organisations in Uganda: A Case Study of Uganda Railways Corporation

Abstract

This research investigated the organisational factors affecting the establishment of an effective procurement system in Uganda Railways Corporation (URC). The main purpose of the study was to determine whether organisational factors identified from the literature, that is (1) management support for effective procurement; (2) availability of skilled procurement staff; (3) interference in the procurement system; and (4) supportive organisational structure have significant effects on establishment of an effective procurement system in URC. The research also aimed at analysing the support of management and managerial capacity in establishment of an effective public procurement system, to examine the skilfulness of the procurement staff in the creation of an effective public procurement system and investigating how funding affects creation of an effective public procurement system for URC.

The methodology applied in this research was the use of URC as the case study and a cross-sectional survey was carried out which included 67 managers and staff with informed opinion on factors affecting the creation of effective procurement systems. The researcher employed both qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection and analysis.

The findings showed that establishment of an effective procurement system was positively correlated with three of the organisational factors: management support, availability of skilled procurement staff and appropriateness of the organisation structure. One organisational factor, interference and conflict of interest, was negatively associated with creation of an effective procurement system in URC. Other factors within the organisation affected the creation of an effective public procurement system. Factors like corruption, inadequate salaries of the employees of URC and a lengthy procurement process were sited as predominant in preventing establishment of an effective procurement system.

The study findings imply that there is need to improve on the factors that demonstrated strong correlation with creation of effective public procurement system. If URC is to create effective procurement system, its management must support the system by offering appropriate rewards to employees, provide continuous training opportunities staff, and desist from interference with the procurement procedures. The study identifies areas for further research.