Operational arrangements and service quality among Government Ministries in Kenya

Abstract

While a great deal of attention has been given to service quality in the public sector very little attention has been given to conceptualization and measuring the construct in terms of service quality that is actually received and how operational arrangements used relate to it. The few studies that have attempted to fill this gap tend to be narrowly focused on other contexts like manufacturing and hospitality and other concepts like Total Quality Management that are closely related to service quality hence necessitating need to carry out this research. This study surveyed the operational arrangements being used and their relationship with service quality in the context of the Kenyan government ministries.

Literature was reviewed on the concepts of operational arrangements followed by a discussion of the existing operational arrangements. The service quality concepts were also reviewed and a theoretic framework developed on the expected interrelationships between operational arrangements and service quality.

Primary data was collected from a census 38 government ministries and the results identified. Finally conclusions were drawn and suggestions and recommendations that would contribute to more benefits being drawn from using these operational arrangements on the level of service quality offered by these institutions. In addition the research highlights areas for further research relating to implementation of the two concepts.