Quality Service Provision and Performance of Devolved County Governments in Kenya: A Case of Turkana County, Kenya
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Date
2020-11
Authors
Nalemsekon, Ekai Christine
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Kenyatta University
Abstract
The study sought to generally determine the influence of quality service provision on the performance of devolved county governments in Kenya. The specific objectives were to examine the influence of reliability, tangible assets, structure and responsiveness on performance. The study was anchored by systems theory, resource-based view theory, quality improvement theory and the institutional theory. This study employed a descriptive research design. The study targeted Turkana County Government. The study’s population will consist of 226 staff of Turkana County Government. The targeted respondents comprised of the 150 management staffs employed at County government of Turkana in Turkana County who comprised of 20 County Executive Committee Members, 50 County Chief officers and 80 County Administrators. The study used proportionate stratified sampling method to ensure that all cases are well represented and use simple random sampling method to select the respondents. Primary data was collected using questionnaires, which had both open and close-ended questions. Pilot study was done to ensure validity and reliability of questionnaires. Quantitative data was analysed using descriptive statistics and inferential statistics and presented in terms of tables and figures. The study established that reliability, tangible assets, structure and responsiveness had a positive and significant relationship on performance of Turkana County, Kenya. In conclusion, the Turkana County Government meets timelines and set deadlines as indicated with the mean of 4.2623. This was followed by provision of accurate services. It is worth noting that County services are not consistent compared to other services which make them unreliable,the County staff has smart professional appearance followed by modern equipment such as incinerators (waste management), back up for power blackout, connected to electric supplies in-case of emergencies like fire hazards. Though the county has not acquired facilities for emergencies like fire hazards, ambulances and modern medical equipment among others. The county has devolved structures to increase speed with which problems raised by customers are solved since it recorded a mean of 4.3 while response time to customer complaints was somehow less recording a mean of 3.7. The county has established good working procedures and also has devolved services and power allocations to avoid duplication of duties and idleness. However, county staff have no clear roles and responsibilities. The study recommends that the County should have strong ability and willingness to be flexible according to customers’ needs, and to resolve any problems which occur promptly and without delay. The County should add value directly to the asset, acquire undervalued assets, and the ability to leverage the investment through financing. The County should understand the impact of external factors on its performance, and that it can consistently make this information available to decision-makers at the right time. The County should have well defined policies and procedures that are consistently enforced throughout the organization so as to avoid failure of performance management strategies in achieving their desired goal of improving product and service quality for end-user customers.
Description
A Research Project Submitted to the School of Business in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirement for the Award of the Degree of Masters of Business Administration (Strategic Management) of Kenyatta University. November, 2020
Keywords
Quality Service Provision, Performance, Devolved County Governments, Kenya, Turkana County, Kenya