INFLUENCE OF INFORMATION COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF EFFECTIVE PROCUREMENT PRACTICES IN TERTIARY PUBLIC TRAINING INSTITUTIONS IN KENYA

Abstract

Information Technology (IT) is a technology that involves use of computers, software’s and internet connections infrastructure for supporting information processing and communication functions (Crompton,2007). The use of information technology in public sector has not been effectively implemented since most of the procurement functions are subjected to manual procedures that are slow, inaccurate and infective.  This has negative impact on procurement procedures since the public sector organizations cannot effectively monitor and coordinate procurement procedures of all road construction projects, there lacks computerized procurement procedures and this subjects much of procurement functions to manual operations which are slow and ineffective. The use of computerized procurement systems demonstrates effective use of information technology but in cases where the organization subjects all it’s procurement functions to manual procedures, the benefits of information technology are not experienced and a high level of inefficiency is experienced during execution of   procurement procedures.This study set out to establish the influence of information communication technology on implementation of effective procurement practices in tertiary public training institutions in Kenya. The study employed a descriptive survey research design. The study population comprised of a total of 320 procurement staff in procurement departments of all the 40 tertiary public training institutions in Kenya. A stratified random sampling technique was employed to select a sample size of 160 respondents. The main data collection instruments used included questionnaires containing open ended and closed ended questions with the quantitative section of the instrument utilizing both a nominal and a Likert-type scale format.