EXTERNAL FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE THE DELIVERY OF QUALITY SERVICES IN PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS: A CASE OF THE DEPARTMENT OF IMMIGRATION - COAST REGION
Hellen Makokha
MBA Student, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Kenya
Fridah Theuri
Lecturer, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Kenya
ABSTRACT
The public sector is collectively the world’s largest service provider and thus any incremental improvement in public services positively impacts millions of people. Quality has become an immensely popular term where the organization of public service is concerned. Driven by growing customer expectations the efficiency and effectiveness of public service delivery is increasingly seen as key metrics of public sector performance. The main purpose of this study was to determine external factors influencing the delivery of quality services in public institutions. The study sought to establish the politico-legal, economic, socio-cultural and technological factors influencing the delivery of quality services at the department. The study population was obtained by use of stratified sampling of areas where immigration services are offered to the public. From the coast region the researcher sampled an airport, a seaport, a land border and the passport control office to be representative of areas where immigration services are offered. The researcher employed descriptive study where data collection was done through self administered questionnaires. Data collected was analyzed using SPSS and presented in tables, bar graphs and pie charts. The study findings are based on responses from immigration staff. The study targeted 79 respondents from the four (4) selected work stations within coast region where the researcher obtained data from 73 respondents a response rate of 92.4%.These data is adequate, reasonable and representative of the sample population. The data is also reliable and dependable for the purpose of this research. The findings show that the external environment has an immense impact on the actual quality of services offered in public institutions and the way quality is perceived by the public. The study recommends continuous strategic management of the external environment by public institutions if they are to meet then need of their customers. Despite having gathered opinion from department of immigration staff from the coast region about the influence of the external environment on service quality, there is a gap as the scope of the research was too wide to be adequately covered. The research should be validated by taking a more detailed study in each of the four variables so as to elicit a deeper understanding of their influences on service quality. The study suggests that these findings are to be validated by a more detailed study in each of the variables, and by a study on the views of public sector clients.
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