Chapter One

Introduction
1.1. Background of the Study
Procurement is a key tool to promote objectives of an economic, environmental and social nature
gaining much attention globally over the past decades (Abeille, 2016). In developing countries, it
is one of the main instruments to the achievement of developmental goals such as reducing
poverty and providing health, infrastructure, education and other services and immensely
contributes to best utilization of public resources (Burt, 2014). Murray (2009) stated that
procurement is the acquisition of appropriate goods and services at the best possible total cost of
ownership to meet the needs of purchaser in terms of quality and quantity, time and location.
Pratyush (2009) also defined procurement as a process by which government and public sector
institutions buy inputs for vital public sector investments in physical infrastructure and for
strengthening institutional human capacities which lay the foundation for national development.
With 10 to 15 percent of the national budgets in developed countries, and up to 20 percent in
developing countries, government procurement accounts for a substantial part of the economy
(Scott, 2004).

Procurement also serves as an instrument to attain social outcomes. By way of preferential

treatment in procurement, it may be used to promote indigenization of foreign technology,
development of backward regions or protection of small-scale industry. Procurement is also
being leveraged to promote the cases of environment, human rights, protection of children and
gender equality. According to Getenet & Tilahun (2014), in Sub-Saharan African countries, out
of the total public resources, procurement of goods, works and services account for about 70
percent of the total public expenditures. In addition, in Ethiopia, from the total public
expenditure more than 60 percent is used for procurement of goods and services (Yirga, 2014).
This implies that improving the procurement system will obviously impact substantially on the
growing economy of Ethiopia which may result in budgetary savings and efficiency in
government expenditures, thereby creating wealth and reducing poverty (Admasu, 2008).

However, generally, procurement in many developing countries like Ethiopia has been identified
with inherent weaknesses, making the system ineffective and non-responsive to strategic
procurement needs of organizations and government alike (World Bank, 2012). According to

1
Hunja (2013), one consistent challenge in most developing countries is the lack of an entity
within government that is charged with overall responsibility for formulation of procurement
policy and to ensure that the system is functioning properly. Similarly, in Ethiopia successive
review of the public procurement practice by World Bank (2012) revealed a lot of challenges
such as procurement laws and regulations are not based on recognized international models,
absence of clearly defined central oversight and public bodies at all level, shortage of
experienced management and procurement staffs, lack of transparency in the procurement
processes, absence of procedures for modern form of procurement activities and unclear
institutional and organizational arrangement required in the management of the public
procurement process. Moreover, although preparing the annual procurement plan was mandatory
for every small or large government organizations, procurement audit finding on the public
organizations in Ethiopia revealed that lack of procurement plan, piecemeal purchasing practices
and poor contract administration were challenges affecting procurement practice (Anteneh,
2015).

Despite procurement practice faces various challenges for its effective implementation, some
previous empirical studies document that there are opportunities that enhance procurement
practice in different contexts. For instance, a study conducted by Mwanjumwa & Simba (2015),
reported that organizational structure, information technology, procurement policy and donor
funding are good opportunities that enhance the procurement performance at the International
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Kenya. Moreover, in their analysis of public procurement
reform in Ethiopia, Getenet & Tilahun (2014) also explained that Ethiopia has attempted to
improve public procurement practice by the passage of several financial and legal instruments.
For instance, the Government enacted the financial regulations no.17/1997 which deals with
procurement principles and Ministry of Finance directives about procurement and contracts in
1997. In 1999 as a part of Civil Service Reform in Ethiopia, Ministry of Finance prepared the
draft “procurement manual”.

Procurement is the common practice at Gondar Malt Factory. The factory allocates huge amount
of money for purchasing good and services for various purposes. According to data available
from Gondar Malt Factory (2020) factory’s average annual capital and recurrent budgets were
estimated to be around 70% and 64% for the years 2018 and 2019 respectively. Purchasing
expenditure takes the lion share (60-70%). So, as can be inferred from the data, the factory

2
allocates significant amount of money for purchasing expenditure. This data also shows that
procurement is one the main organizational activities within the factory. Therefore,
systematically investigating the overall procurement practice, identifying bottlenecks
(challenges) and opportunities could make effective measures that aim to further improve the
practice. However, empirical studies that discuss procurement practice, challenges and
opportunities are hardly adequately available in the study area in general and Gondar Malt
Factory in particular. The researcher could only access few empirical studies (Abiyu, 2017;
Animut, 2016). These two studies only discussed the practice of procurement in their respective
study area. They failed to examine challenges and opportunities of procurement practice.
Furthermore, both studies used only quantitative data to address their objectives. Closer to the
study area (Gondar Malt Factory), even if it is frequently discussed at various staff meetings and
workshops, procurement practice has been the source of various complaints due to its failure to
address the needs of different departments and work units (Gondar Malt Factory, 2020). Bearing
this fact in mind, this study was conducted to fill the knowledge gap in the study area. The
researcher also believes that studying procurement practice, challenges facing it and its
opportunities at Gondar Malt Factory is significant and timely because findings of the study
could show measures that should be taken at least to minimize complaints and to better use and
scale up opportunities to further improve the practice.

1.2. Statement of the Problem

World Trade Organization (2010) explained that the procurement of goods and services by
agencies for their own purposes is a core element of their operation. WTO also added that
effective procurement systems are defined as offering a high level of transparency,
accountability and value for money in the application of a procurement budget. Today, both
private and government organizations may be considered the largest buyer or procurer of goods
and services (WTO, 2010). In developing countries, procurement is increasingly recognized as
essential service delivery (Basheka & Bisangabasaija, 2014), and it accounts for a high
proportion of total expenditure. For example, procurement accounts for 60% in Kenya, 58% in
Angola, 40% in Malawi and 70% of Uganda’s public spending (Akech, 2015). This is very high
when compared with a global average of 12-20 % (Froystad et al., 2015). Due to the colossal
amount of money involved in procurement; there is a need for accountability and transparency
(Hui et al., 2012).

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In global and African contexts, many empirical studies were conducted on issues like
procurement reforms, challenges and opportunities. Thai (2011) conducted consecutive studies
on challenges of procurement practice in many African countries. For instance, he outlined two
broad challenges that are faced by procurement practitioners in Africa: external factors and
internal factors. The external factors are categorized as environmental factors which include,
market environment, legal environment, political environment, organizational environment, and
socio-economic factors. Whereas, policy making and management, authorizations and
appropriations, procurement regulation and procurement function are labeled as internal factors
of the procurement practice (Thai, 2011). Again Benjamin (2012) reported that political
interference is a major challenge facing the effective implementation of procurement practices in
many countries. This collaborates the findings of Thai (2011), Schapper et al. (2016) and Murray
(2014).

De Boer &Telgen (2013) also confirmed that non-compliance problem affects not only the third
world countries but also countries in the European Union. This position is further supported by
Gelderman et al., (2016) who contend that compliance in public procurement is still a major
issue and challenge. Hui et al. (2011), while analyzing procurement issues in Malaysia
established that procurement officers were blamed for malpractice and non-compliance to the
procurement policies and procedures which is a major challenge facing practitioners. The Green
Public Procurement (2005 & 2006) as cited in Bouwer et al., (2015) also acknowledged that lack
of knowledge, lack of management support, lack of practical tools and information, and lack of
training are some of the challenges facing nations in the implementation of procurement
effectively.

Observing the condition in Ethiopia, despite procurement practice has a long-standing history
(Yirga, 2011; Admasu, 2008), this area has been untraceable for past and current researchers
until recently. Only few recent studies could be mentioned such as policy and institutional
challenges and prospects (Yirga, 2011), evaluation of purchasing practice, at Addis Ababa
University, College of Commerce (Tewodros, 2007), factors leading to effective public
procurement implementation, the case of Amhara Region (Getnet & Tilahun, 2014). As
compared to the immensity of procurement practice, these studies are few in number in
addressing procurement issues across different socio-demographic and institutional set up in the
country.

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A similar history could be applied to the current study area that past and current procurement
practice and challenges have not been investigated thoroughly since the establishment of Gondar
Malt Factory. As to knowledge of the researcher, there are no previously conducted studies on
challenges and opportunities of procurement practices in the study area. Thus, the researcher
believes that there a dearth of empirical data on the issue and it is with this perceived gap that
this study was conducted. Specifically, the study examined the procurement practice, challenges
facing the practice and its opportunities in the context of the study area.

1.3. Research Questions

The study addressed the following basic research questions
1. How procurement is practiced (planning, contracting, controlling, efficiency and
transparency) currently at Gondar Malt factory?
2. What challenges prohibit the effective realization of procurement practice (planning,
contracting, controlling, efficiency and transparency) at Gondar Malt Factory?
3. What are the opportunities that may enhance the practice of procurement at Gondar Malt
Factory?

1.4. Objectives of the Study

1.4.1. General Objective
The general objective of this study is to assess challenges and opportunities of procurement
practice at Gondar Malt Factory.
1.4.2. Specific objectives
1. To assess the current procurement practice (planning, contracting, controlling, efficiency and
transparency) at Gondar Malt factory
2. To examine challenges affecting procurement practice (planning, contracting, controlling,
efficiency and transparency) at Gondar Malt factory
3. To explore opportunities of procurement practice (planning, contracting, controlling,
efficiency and transparency) at Gondar malt factory

1.5. Significance of the study

The study may have the following major significances. The study revealed that procurement
contracting, controlling, efficiency and transparency were not given proper attention in the
procurement process of Gondar Malt Factory, this may help internal and external stakeholders of

5
Gondar Malt Factory to raise their awareness so that they may become in a position to take
corrective measure. The study also identified internal and external challenges facing procurement
practices in the factory so that it may create opportunities for the factory and other relevant
stakeholders to revisit institutional procurement policy and it may also give an opportunity for
open up discussion with the concerned bodies in relation to external challenges which face
procurement practice. At factory level, procurement has been a neglected area of study and not
much research work is done. Thus, this research may add up to the existing knowledge of
procurement practices in the study area. Moreover, the study could be used as stepping stone for
future interested researchers to pursue comprehensive studies on the issues.

1.6. Scope of the Study

Three major issues are dealt with respect to the scope of the study. Firstly, in terms of time,
activities such as scanning the study area and proposal preparation were worked out after title
approval. Similarly, designing data collection instrument, pilot testing, data collection, data
analysis, submitting the first draft and defending the final research were accomplished by June,
2021. Secondly, with respect to area scope, this study was conducted at Gondar Malt Factory.
Specifically, the study was confined to work units that involve in procurement process. Thirdly,
this study was also confined to investigating the practice, challenges and opportunities of
procurement at Gondar Malt Factory.

1.7. Limitations of the Study

Despite efforts were made to address objectives of the study using the available resource, this
study isn’t without limitations. The following are the major limitations of the study.
 The study entirely focused on one organization, Gondar Malt Factory. Accordingly, data
were collected from relatively small size samples and analysis was done accordingly.
Thus, findings may not be generalized to other similar organizational settings.
 In this study the practice of procurement, challenges and opportunities were examined
only from the demand side. In other words, data on procurement practice, challenges and
opportunities were collected only from respondents within the factory and this might
have led findings to overlook opinions of supply side.

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  The issue of procurement has always been gaining much attention in every organizational
context, so there could be social desirability effect on the responses of research
participants.
 Lack of relevant and up-to-date local empirical literature was also serious limitations of
the study.

1.8. Organization of the Study

This study is organized into five chapters. The first chapter deals with the background of the
study, statement of the problem, research questions, objectives and significances of the study.
The chapter generally narrates the concept of procurement, practices of procurement, challenges
and opportunities of procurement in different countries and it also contain researcher’s
justification for studying it in the context of Gondar Malt Factory. Chapter two focuses on the
review of relevant literature on the issue under investigation. The literature part is classified as
theoretical and empirical review. The theoretical review focuses on definitions of procurement,
procurement practices, challenges and opportunities of procurement practice, theoretical
perspectives whereas the empirical one deals with the reports of previous studies on procurement
practice. In addition, chapter two also deals with the conceptual framework of the current study.
Chapter three is about the research methodology which includes the research design, research
approach, study area, target population, study participants, data collection instruments and data
analysis. Chapter four presents findings and discussion. The last chapter include summary of
major findings, conclusion and recommendations.

1.9. Operational Definition of Terms

1. Procurement: refers to activities from preparation and processing of a requisition through to
receipt and approval of the invoice for payment for goods and services at Gondar Malt
Factory
2. Procurement Practice: refers to all procurement and related activities run at Gondar Malt
Factory
3. Opportunities: refer to conducive factors that assist the effective implementation of
procurement practice at Gondar Malt Factory
4. Challenges: refers to all internal and external problems that hinder the realization of efficient
procurement practices at Gondar Malt Factory.

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 Chapter Two
Review of Related Literature
This chapter tries to review related literature that has been conducted on procurement practices.
The chapter is classified as theoretical and empirical literature. The theoretical literature includes
the concept of procurement, procurement practices, procurement practices in Ethiopia, legal
frameworks, challenges facing procurement practice, opportunities of procurement practice and
theoretical perspectives. On the other hand, the empirical literature presents the review of
empirical reports conducted on procurement and related issues.

2.1. Theoretical Review

2.1.1. The Concept of Procurement
Procurement is the process of obtaining goods and services from preparation and processing of a
requisition through to receipt and approval of the invoice for payment. It commonly involves
purchase planning, standards determination, specifications development, supplier research and
selection, value analysis, financing, price negotiation, making the purchase, supply contract
administration, inventory control and stores, and disposals and other related functions (Frøystad
et. al., 2010). Lysons & Farrington (2006), defined purchasing as the processes undertaken by
the organization unit that, either as a function or as part of an integrated supply chain, is
responsible for procuring or assisting users to procure, in the most efficient manner, required
supplies at the right time, quality, quantity and price and the management of suppliers, thereby
contributing to the competitive advantage of the enterprise and the achievement of its corporate
strategy. Bailey et al, (2008) define procurement as that function dealing with buying materials
of the right quality, at the right price, time and the right source of supply. Bally (1999) argues
that, the Procurement process is composed of several elements, namely: deciding what to
purchase, deciding who to purchase from, negotiating an exchange rate and exchanging
resources for goods or services. Morris (2003) define procurement as the complete action or
process of acquiring or obtaining personnel material, services or property from outside a military
service by means authorized in pertinent directives. This is procurement is more specifically the
action or process of acquiring or obtaining materials, property or services at the operational level.
From the above definitions, it is possible to conclude that procurement entail that it is a process
and parts of the supply’s management process works to bring effective and efficient management
of resource, engaged in acquisition of materials and services by various means, the acquisitions

8
are based on the right manner (time, quality, quantity, price…) and developing its own strategy
that relates to the corporate strategy.

2.1.2. Procurement Practices

Procurement dates back to the early civilizations of Mesopotamia and Greece. In the United
States the continental congress was the first to appoint procurement commissaries from as early
as 1778 and by the first quarter of the twentieth century several cities had established formalized
procurement departments (Pitzer & Thai, 2009). By the turn of the twenty-first century, the
significance of procurement as an important government function had grown immensely.
According to Gafar (2006), it was not until the late 1800s that state legislatures began to create
boards or bureaus responsible for purchasing, but central purchasing was hardly a practice at that
time. In 1810, Oklahoma was the first state government to create a board to procure centrally for
all state departments and agencies. As noted by Tassabehji & Moorhouse (2008), procurement is
of strategic importance and may be considered a core component of many organizations.
Governments throughout the world have more or less become active partners in the market
economy as a result of their involvement not only as regulators but as consumers and major
purchasers with the power to influence market decisions. Today, governments in both developed
and developing countries may be considered the largest buyers or procurers of goods and or
services. Procurement has been seen to have the potential of providing vast economic
opportunities for developing countries through its enormous employment generating activities.
More and more developing countries have embraced public procurement as a vital part of their
economic strategy and trade agreement even though they are susceptible to facing challenges.
For these countries, government procurement represents an important aspect of the economic
market. It is estimated that the financial activities of public procurement officials worldwide
account for between 10%-30% of GNP (Callender & Mathews, 2000). Furthermore, as noted by
Pitzer &Thai (2009) the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development reported that
the total expenditure for 24 industrialized nations in 2006 ranged from 29.8 % to 55.9% of GDP.
In view of the World Bank (2010) estimates, expenditure on public procurement is likely to
account for approximately 15-20% of the GDP in developing countries.

According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) (2003) as
cited by Schapper et. al., (2006) estimated the volume of global public sector procurement at 8%
of the worldwide GDP. Although procurement structures may differ across government systems,

9
the main branches of the government have the same important role of ensuring the success of the
procurement system in place. The head of the government – president or prime minister also has
an important role to play in shaping and directing public procurement activities. The executive
branch of the government must take responsibility for managing procurement personnel,
developing appropriate procurement policies and procedures and for choosing between in-house
services and contracting out (Pitzer &Thai, 2009). There is also a role to be played by the
legislative branch of the government, and in some cases these government officials may assist
the executive branch or head of state to formulate policies and make important procurement
decisions. Often, the legislators in developing countries establish oversight or audit organizations
that can be extremely helpful in enhancing accountability. These organizations and their
responsibilities ought to be considered an integral part of the procurement structure in
developing countries. The judiciary on the other hand functions as a support mechanism for the
executive and the legislative branch through its ability to enforce procurement rules and
regulations as well as to settle possible disputes (Abeille, 2003).

2.1.3. Procurement Practice in Ethiopia

According to the Ethiopian public Procurement and Property Administration Proclamation
(2009), procurement means “obtaining goods, works, consultancy or other services through
purchasing, hiring or obtaining by any other contractual means.” From the above definitions, the
overall tasks of procurement is to obtain goods, works, consultancy services and other services at
the right quality, in the right quantity, from the right sources, at the right time, place and price to
achieve an organizational objectives. Abebe (no date) as cited in Getenet &Tilahun (2014)
explained that “in Sub Saharan African Countries, studies have shown that out of the total public
resources, procurement of goods, works and services account for about 70 percent of the total
public expenditures.” In addition, in Ethiopia from the total public expenditure more than 60
percent is used for procurement of goods and services (Yirga, 2011). Improving the public
procurement system will obviously impact substantially on the growing economy of Ethiopia
which will result in budgetary savings and efficiency in government expenditures, thereby
creating wealth and reducing poverty. Following the downfall of the Derg regime in 1991, the
country was regulated by the previous financial proclamation No.57/1966 and the Ministry of
Finance (MOF) took responsibility of regulating the procurement system. However, in the later
years Ethiopia has attempted to address weaknesses in its public procurement process by the

10
passage of several financial and legal instruments. The Government enacted the financial
regulations no.17/1997 which deals with procurement principles and Ministry of Finance
directives about procurement and contracts in 1997. In 1999 as a part of Civil Service Reform in
Ethiopia, Ministry of Finance has prepared the draft procurement manual (Getenet & Tilahun,
2014).

According to World Bank (2002), even if the above rules and regulations have been enacted,
successive review of the public procurement regimes in Ethiopia reveal a lot of short comings
such as procurement laws and regulations are not based on recognized international models,
absence of clearly defined central oversight and public bodies at all level, shortage of
experienced management and procurement staffs, lack of transparency in the procurement
processes, absence of procedures for modern form of procurement activities and unclear
institutional and organizational arrangement required in the management of the public
procurement process.

2.1.4. Legal Framework of Public Procurement Reforms in Ethiopia

Under civil Service Reform Program, the Expenditure Control and Management was launched in
1996 by the Government of Ethiopia with the aim of improving the overall public financial
management in Ethiopia. Public procurement was one component of the expenditure control and
management. In 2009, the Government of Ethiopia enacted procurement and property
administration proclamation No 649/2009 and it has established the Public Procurement and
Property Administration Agency (PPA) accountable to the Ministry of Finance and Economic
Development to manage the public procurement activities (Getenet &Tilahun, 2014).

11
Table 2.1: Legal Framework of public procurement in Ethiopia Proclamation No. 649/2009
Legal Framework Details
Public Procurement proclamation Provide a comprehensive legal regime to harmonize and
No649/2009 safeguard public procurement

Public Procurement Manual Provides practical guidance and step-by-step procedures

for undertaking procurement in accordance with the
proclamation.

Standard Tender Documents They comprise standard invitation and contract documents
(STD) for procurement of all values. There are separate standard
tender documents for goods, works and services.

Public Procurement Regulations They contain detailed descriptions for all aspects of the
procurement, Public Procurement Authority (PPA) and
procurement entities.

Guidelines Issued by the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) which

provides supplementary guidance on disposal, single
source procurement, margins of preference, framework
contract agreements, sustainable public procurement etc.

Source: Public Procurement Agency regulations (2010) as cited in (Getenet &Tilahun, 2014).

2.1.5. Challenges Facing Procurement Practice

Thai (2001) stated that, as many countries have moved to a regional and or global economy,
public procurement practitioners face challenge, which is, how to comply with their
government’s procurement regulations and social and economic procurement goals without
violating regional and or international trade agreements. Moreover, Thai said that as markets
become more and more globalized through regional and international trade agreements and
treaties, public procurement practitioners face a greater challenge. In addition to compliance with
their governments’ procurement laws and policies and international trade requirements, they face
additional challenges including communication, currency exchange rates and payment, customs

12
regulations, lead-time, transportation, foreign government regulations, trade agreements, and
transportation.

The Green Public Procurement in Europe 2005 and 2006 report that the perception of high costs
was identified as the top obstacle followed by the lack of knowledge, lack of management
support, lack of practical tools and information, and lack of training (Bouwer et al., 2005).
Carlsson &Waara (2006) also asserted to this fact by saying that lack of administrative resources
is a challenge to effective implementation of green public procurement. A major obstacle
however, has been inadequate regulatory compliance. De Boer & Telgen (1998) confirmed that
non-compliance problem affects not only the third world countries but also countries in the
European Union. This position is further supported by Gelderman et.al. (2006) who contend that
compliance in public procurement is still a major issue. Hui et al. (2011) while analyzing
procurement issues in Malaysia established that procurement officers were blamed for
malpractice and non-compliance to the procurement policies and procedures. Gelderman et al.
(2006) stipulate that compliance occurs when the target performs a requested action, but is
apathetic about it, rather than enthusiastic, and puts in only a minimal or average effort.

2.1.6. External and Internal Challenges Facing the Procurement Practice

There are two types of challenges facing most of the developing nations in their procurement
practice as Thai (2001) argues. The external factors are categorized as environmental factors
including market environment, legal environment, political environment, organizational
environment, and socio-economic and other environmental factors. For the internal factors, Thai
(2001) depicted it using a model of five elements scope of public procurement that consists of:
policy-making and management; authorizations and appropriations; procurement regulations;
procurement function in operations (processes, methods, organizational structure, and
procurement workforce; and feedback). He further explains that ability to accomplish
procurement objectives and policies is influenced very much by internal forces which include:
Interactions between various elements of the public procurement systems, various officials and
organizations in the three branches of government, and various actors and sub-agencies within a
department or executive agency and actors and organizations external to sub-agencies. Types of
goods, services and capital assets required for an agency's missions; Professionalism or quality
of procurement workforce, Staffing levels and budget resources, Procurement regulations, rules
and guidance and internal controls and legislative oversight.

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2.1.7. Opportunities of Procurement Practice
Globally, several policies as well as non-policy factors have been emerged as opportunities to
address effective functioning of procurement practice in public organizations of many countries.
Some of these opportunities are the procurement policy reforms, the presence of good legal
environment, favorable structure of the organization, introduction of ICT, and the allocation of
procurement budgets.
Procurement Policy Reforms
Procurement policies are the preliminary and mandatory instruments that guide procurement
specialists for the fulfilment of organizational needs (Njeru & Silas, 2014). Procurement by its
nature is a very complex function that must have a comprehensive procurement policy manual
that guides procurement staffs, the agency staffs and all the concerned bodies including
stakeholders to follow the proper procedures and rules. A procurement policy helps concerned
staffs by providing clear and consistent understanding of the required regulations. In the absence
of such procurement guidance, a lack of consistency in how procurement work is carried out
becomes worse. If inconsistency appears, frustration will happen both inside and outside the
organization; this again results in arbitrary and unfair procurement actions. It is therefore critical
for public procurement to have a comprehensive procurement policy manual. Procurement
policies are important not only for effective procurement agenda but also for development
perspective (Agbesi, 2009). Properly made procurement policies serve the public as best
procurement guidelines (Njeru, 2015). To do so, procurement policies should be exposed to
continual reforms since procurement capital is becoming scarce. Niogu & Gichinga (2016) also
stated good governance is usually the outcome of efficient procurement policies.
Good Legal Environment
Much is not known about the effect of legal environment of the effective implementation of
public procurement practice and literature is in adequate in this spectrum(Agbesi, 2009). Legal
environment mainly concerned with rules and regulations that dealt with the production of safe
and healthy products, regulations dealing about manufacturing processes that basically dealt
about creation of safe and healthy work environments including pollution issues for employees,
financial regulations dealing about confession of financial issues to the concerned public,
marketing regulations dealing with misleading promotions, dissemination of product features,
and regulations regarding personnel which basically concerned with equal participation of
women and minorities (Thai, 2001). Developing countries have not yet go far in implementing

14
all these legal environment issue in public procurement systems. Hence, enforcement of all these
issues is essential opportunities for effective public procurement (Thai, 2001).
Conducive Organizational Structure
The way functional groups arranged has an effect on the goal of organizations. An effective
organizational structure creates conducive working environment by creating easy working
relationships among different organizational units (Barsemoi, Patrick & Benard, 2014).
Mwanjumwa & Simba (2015) stated that excellent organizational structure highly helps for the
efficient functioning of procurement function in organizations.
Information Communication Technology (ICT)
Information communication technology (ICT) is a part of technological issues in which most
companies are now using it widely. It helps to give excellent service and easy access of
information. Nyambura & Mwangi (2015), in their study on the factors affecting donor funding,
they found out that technology has a significant effect on the procurement process. Technology
usually needs huge investment. However, it makes procurement processes less time taking, cost
effective, reduces quality problems and minimizes the chance of corruption. Using ICT in pubic
organizations specifically in procurement department also affects its implementation. Recently
ICT has a big role in facilitating procurement; it helps to get adequate information, lowers cost
for buyers, and avoids distance barriers to receive products and to get service (Kingori & Ngugi,
2014)
Budgetary Allocation
Budget is a primary concern in managing organizations. Public expenditure policy and the way
in which public expenditure is managed highly affects the implementation of budgets in public
institutions (Nyambura & Mwangi, 2015). To foster any strategy in institutions, adequate
allocation of resources like financial, physical, human or technological must be available.
Committed management allocates the annual budgets based on goals. Lack of adequate budgets
trickle down the entire organization and impeaches the implementation process (Barsemoi,
Patrick & Benard, 2014). Adequate budgets must be allocated for the proper implementation of
goals as well as the motivation towards employees. Committed management usually allocates
budgets towards the achievement of organizational goals. Lack of adequate budgets threatens
organizational goals and it is an indication of the existence of low commitment of managers.
Strategy implementations usually fail due to inadequate budget allocation; this also highly affects
the motive and effort of employees towards the fulfilment of the designed strategies. Adequate

15
allocation of budgets helps to gain purchasing power in supply scarce markets. This provides
firms to gain from competitive advantage (Barsemoi, Patrick & Benard, 2014)

2.1.8. Theoretical perspectives

2.1.8.1. Institutional Theory
According to Scott (2004), institutions are composed of cultural-cognitive and regulative
elements that, together with associated activities and resources give meaning to life. He further
explains the three pillars of institutions as regulatory, normative and cultural cognitive. The
regulatory pillar emphasizes the use of rules, laws and sanctions as enforcement mechanism,
with expedience as basis for compliance. The normative pillar refers to norms (how things
should be done) and values (preferred or desirable), social obligation being the basis of
compliance. The cultural-cognitive pillar rests on shared understanding (common beliefs,
symbols, shared understanding). This theory is very important when it comes to the
implementation of sustainable procurement policy and practice in organizations that serve the
public. This is a matter of organizational culture and the degree to which the prevailing climate
in an organization is supportive of sustainability and/or of change in general.

2.1.8.2. Socio-economic Theory

Sutinen & Kuperan (1999) propounded the socio-economic theory of compliance by integrating
economic theory with theories from psychology and sociology to account for moral obligation
and social influence as determinants of individuals’ decisions on compliance. According to Lisa
(2010) psychological perspectives provide a basis for the success or failure of organizational
compliance. Wilmshurst & Frost (2000) also add that the legitimacy theory postulates that the
organization is responsible to disclose its practices to the stakeholders, especially to the public
and justify its existence within the boundaries of society. This theory, which focuses on the
relationship and interaction between an organization and the society, provides a sufficient and
superior lens for understanding government procurement system (Hui et al., 2011). From this
theory, we can understand the policy, planning and sustainable procurement practices in public
institutions and their influence on service delivery to the society.

2..2. Empirical Review

Procurement has become one of the common research topics that attract the attention of different
researchers. This section presents the review of empirical studies that were conducted in different
parts of the world.

16
Rwoti (2005) found that 60% of Kenyan manufacturing firms measure the efficiency and
effectiveness of their procurement process. As regards the performance measurement systems
used in measuring procurement performance the study shows that 66.7% of large manufacturing
firms in Nairobi use the non-traditional performance measurement systems in measuring their
procurement performance. The study further revealed that these firms measure their procurement
performance based on varied dimensions and indicators. Those who measure also showed that
they enjoy various benefits, which their counterparts may not be enjoying. On the other hand, the
study found out that many firms encounter various challenges, which in a way hamper their
effort to sustain continuous and objective procurement performance measurement. Such
challenges include lack of professionalism in procurement, lack of defined measurement
indicators and poor data management systems.

Nantege (2011) studies the effect of procurement management on the financial performance of
banks in Uganda with a case study of FINA Bank Uganda Ltd. Specifically the study reviewed
procurement planning, controls and monitoring and how they affected the performance of banks.
It was hypothesized in the study that procurement planning, controls and monitoring positively
affect the performance of banks. The key findings of the study indicated that the three
procurement management attributes i.e. Procurement planning, controls and monitoring
positively affected the performance of the bank. This was because there were significant
relationships that were established from the study between these variables and the financial
performance of the bank. Ayitey (2012) investigated the extent to which the implementation of
the Public Procurement Reform affects the performance of public entities. This study explores
the major issues involved in public procurement in Ghana and analyses the potential impact of
this reform on public procurement organizations practice. The finding shows that there is
relationship between performance and principles of compliance within the public procurement
reforms.

Ngugi & Mugo (2012) did a study on the internal factors affecting procurement process of
supplies in the public sector; a survey of Kenya government ministries. The findings revealed
that accountability, ICT adoption and ethics affected procurement process of health care supplies
in the public sector to a great extent. The study therefore recommended that adequate controls
should be put in place reducing opportunities for corruption. Kumar (2005) conducted a study on
procurement performance measurement systems in the health care industry. The results of the

17
study showed that there is no one method that covers every purchasing department in any
organization, and a number of key measures were found to be common in evaluating
performance, these include, cost saving, vendor quality, delivery metrics, price effectiveness and
inventory flow. Although these key measures are common, the weight placed on these measures
was by no means uniform and will vary between industry to industry and business to business. In
addition, the importance of these measures to the overall effectiveness of a purchasing
department will change over time and therefore need to be assessed and modified on a periodic
basis. For a public entity in a developing country to conduct procurement performance there are
numerous challenges that are encountered including: many ways of measuring performance that
may be in use, most measures are irrelevant, there is no way of standardizing the measurement
and conducting performance measurement is costly Kakwezi et al (2010). The reasons for these
challenges were given by center for excellence London, (2006) as being inaccurate information,
lack of link between procurement measures and corporate objectives, measurement of
procurement performance is regarded as an overhead and not an integral part, people do not
understand the benefit of measuring procurement performance and interference of stake holders
and mainly the measures were developed in a different environment.

Mamiro (2010) in his findings underscores these facts and concludes that one of the major
setbacks in public procurement is poor procurement planning and management of the
procurement process which include needs that are not well identified and estimated, unrealistic
budgets and inadequacy of skills of procurement staff responsible for procurement. Similarly,
Kakwezi et al., (2010) argue that procurement performance is not usually measured in most
procurement entities as compared with the human resource and finance functions. They conclude
in their findings that failure to establish performance of the procurement function can lead to
irregular and biased decisions that have costly consequences to any public procuring entity.
Therefore, this study was conceived by the limited scientific literature documenting the
relationship between procurement performance and factors such planning, resource allocations,
staff competency and contract management more specifically at Ministry of Energy.

2.3. Conceptual Framework of the Study

A conceptual framework is a set of broad ideas and principles taken from relevant fields of
enquiry and used to structure a subsequent presentation (Biklen 2003), cited in Nejeru (2005).
The conceptual framework of this study views procurement practice in terms of two contrasting

18
aspects. The first aspect represents the notion that procurement is affected by challenges within
the organization and outside the organization. Within the organization (internal challenges)
include policy-making and management; authorizations, procurement regulations; procurement
function in operations whereas, outside the organization (external challenges) includes market
environment, legal environment and socio-economic factors.

The second aspect deals with opportunities of procurement practice which are considered to have
a positive effect for future procurement practice in the study area. These include the existence of
national policies, laws, and regulations, the application of ICT on procurement practice (e-
procurement), the existence of centralized procurement of commodities at regional and national
level, the existence of many suppliers of goods and services, the formulation and implementation
of various anti-corruption laws and legal frameworks and the expansion of various
infrastructures. The following figure briefly illustrates the conceptual framework as follows:

19
Challenges Opportunities

Internal challenges
 The existence of national policies,
 Policy-making laws, and regulations
 Management & authorizations  The application of ICT on
 Procurement regulations procurement practice(e-
 Procurement function procurement)
 The existence of centralized
External challenges
procurement of commodities
 Market environment
 The existence of many suppliers of
 Legal environment
goods and services
 Socio-economic factors
 The formulation and
implementation of various anti-
corruption laws and legal
frameworks
 The expansion of various
infrastructures

Procurement practice
 Planning
 Contracting
 Controlling
 Efficiency
 Transparency

Figure 2.1: Conceptual framework of the study adopted from Gopalakrishnan (2010)

20
 Chapter Three
Research Methodology
3.1. Study Area
This study was conducted at Central Gondar zone administrative zone with a particular focus of
Gondar Malt Factory which is located at Gondar city administration. Specifically, the factory
locates at the area around Dahen Beer Factory or near the major road from Azezo to Gondar.
According to data obtained from the production unit (2021), the factory largely produces malt
used as an input for beer production. Currently, as per the Human Resource data (2021), there are
258 total employees working in the factory. Within the factory, various activities are performed in
order to make malt production effective. Procurement is one of the major activities undertaken to
fulfil factory’s demand for goods and services.

3.2. Research Design

In this study, descriptive research design was used. Because this design is more appropriate to
describe the existing challenges as well as opportunities of procurement practice in the study area.
In light of this idea, McMilan (2007) also explained that descriptive research design provides a
summary of an existing phenomenon by using numerical data to characterize individuals or
group. It assesses the nature of existing conditions.

3.3. Research Approach

In this study, quantitative research approach is used as the nature of basic questions of the study
primarily need quantitative data. In other words, objectives of the study require description and
summarization using descriptive analysis. In support of this, Kultar (2007, p.22) explained
"Quantitative method provides the opportunity for presenting and summarizing a greater variety
of divergent views represented in numbers." From such point of view quantitative method is
more preferable than qualitative method in measuring the variables under this study. Moreover,
quantitative approach involves systematic empirical approaches which includes quantifying
through the assistance of statistics and the collected data converted into numbers which will be
tested empirically to draw some conclusions (Kothari, 2004). However, this doesn’t mean that
the study did not use qualitative data; rather, qualitative data were also collected to support the
quantitative data. But the qualitative data was not as such rigorously collected and used to
address the objectives of the study. It was just used to yield substantive qualitative findings.

21
3.4. Target Population and Respondents
The target population of this study was composed of users of procured goods and services,
practitioners of the procurement, internal auditors of the procurement practice and the general
manager). In Gondar Malt Factory there are 9 major work units including the administrative wing.
The total number of employees working in these work units is 258. A total of 155(male=107 &
female=48) respondents involved in the study; but these respondents were categorized into two
groups. The first group consisted of 150(male=102 & female=48) respondents who filled the
structured questionnaire to provide the quantitative data. On the other hand, the second, group
consisted of 5 key informants (male=5 & female=0) who involved in interview sessions. Among
the respondents of the quantitative data, 7 respondents failed to return the questionnaire given to
them. Thus, quantitative analysis was done using the data obtained from 150 respondents.

Fig 1. Pictorial Representation of the Target Population

Users of procured goods & services Practitioners of procurement

 Work units  Purchasing department

 Administrative units  Finance department

Procurement Practice

Internal controllers of the procurement practice

 Internal audit
 Work units
 The top management

3.5. Sample size determination and Sampling Technique

The study used sample sized determination formula developed by Yamane (1967). Accordingly,
the sample size was determined as follows. Where, N = Population of study =258,

22
e= 95% level of significance or margin of tolerable error at 5%, n= sample size required. Thus,

In this study to select respondents of the quantitative data, proportional stratified random
sampling technique which is a probability sampling technique was used because the number of
employees varies from department to department. So, to maintain samples’ representativeness,
samples were taken proportionally. The following table shows the number of samples taken from
each component of the target population as follows.
Table 3.1: Total Number of The Target Population and Samples Taken from Each Component

No Components of the target Total number employees Samples to be taken from

population each component
1 Users of goods and services 225 137
2 Procurement practitioners 28 17
3 Internal controllers of procurement 5 3
practice
Total 258 157

Proportion= =0.60852713
On the other hand, 5 key informants who rendered the qualitative data were selected through
purposive sampling technique. In doing so, heads of work units(departments) were purposefully
selected as key informants of the study because they were believed to have deep understanding
on procurement practices undertaken in their work units. These key informants were also
considered to better understand challenges facing procurement practice as compared to other
ordinary employees.

3.6. Source and Method of Data Collection

3.6.1. Structured Questionnaire
To collect quantitative data, structured questionnaire was used. The structured questionnaire was
prepared from relevant literature that dealt with the practices, challenges and opportunities of
procurement. The questionnaire had four main sections. The first section contains items which
focus on respondents’ demographic characteristics. Sex, age, educational level, work experience
and work units were the demographic characteristics of respondents. Section two contains items
that deal with procurement practice which include planning (3 items), contracting (4 items),
controlling (6 items), efficiency (7 items) and transparency (6 items). Section three consists

23
items that focus on challenges of procurement practice; internal challenges (7 items) and external
challenges (4 items). The last section consists of items that focus on opportunities of
procurement practice (7 items). All items that were included in the structured questionnaire were
prepared in five-point Likert scale ranging from 1=strongly disagree to 5=strongly agree and
respondents were asked to show the level of their agreement to each item included in the
questionnaire.
3.6.2. Semi-structured Interview Guide
To have better understanding of the issue at hand and to increase the completeness of the data,
semi-structured interview guide was prepared for key informants. A total of 8 items with probing
questions were included in the semi-structured guide. The semi-structured interviews have
widely been used in social science research (Kitchin & Tate, 2000). It is less structured form of
interview, in which the topic and issues to be addressed are predetermined in advance by the
researcher (Kitchin & Tate, 2000). Semi-structured interviews follow the order of the interview
guide with suggested themes but there is a dimension for the interviewees to develop their
answers (Desai & Potter, 2006). In a semi-structured interview, exact question wording does not
need to be used. When handled well, the situation can sound almost like an open conversation
between people. This will help the researcher to gain more informative answers. In semi-
structured interview the order of the questions could be changed and some of the questions might
stay uncovered or the format of the questions might change (Robson, 2000).

3.7. Reliability Testing

The majority of the items in the structured questionnaire were prepared by the researcher by
referring relevant literature and some are adopted from other sources (Abiyu, 2018; Tesfahune,
2018). Therefore, to check their reliability of the items, pilot testing was conducted. To this end,
the questionnaire was pilot tested with 15 male and 15 female volunteer respondents selected
from Gondar Malt Factory who later were excluded from actual sample. And reliability (internal
consistency) for each instrument has been computed and summarized on table 3.3
Table 3.3: Reliability Statistics of the Structured Questionnaire

No Measuring instruments Number of items Cronbach’s Alpha

1 Procurement Practice 26 0.839
2 Challenges of Procurement Practice 11 0.856
3 Opportunities of Procurement Practice 7 0.849
Source: SPSS output (2021)

24
3.8. Data Analysis
Data that were collected using the structured questionnaire and the interview guide were
analyzed in quantitative and qualitative techniques. Specifically, the quantitative data were
analyzed using SPSS version 20. To this end, frequency, percentage, Mean and Standard were
used. With respect to the qualitative data, thematic analysis was conducted as it has been briefed
next. To make the communication easier, interview sessions with key informants were held in
Amharic which is the official language of the country. Audiotape recorder was used to record all
the interviews. However, before transcribing the data, it was mandatory to make sure that the
recorded interviews were audible (Kvale, 1996). To say that voices and ideas raised from key
informants had to be easy to hear and understand. All the recorded interviews were not
transcribed as there was redundancy of some ideas from interviewees. However, this does not
mean that non-transcribed data were thrown away. Rather it was reviewed and continually coded
as per to its relevance to each step. After classifying and condensing the data into meaningful
forms, it was grouped as themes for further analysis. Then themes were identified and discussed
in relation to the research objectives.

3.9. Ethical Considerations

Permission was obtained from employees and heads of the factory through an official letter from
department of Logistics and Supply Chain Management. Moreover, participants were informed
that their participation is based on their willingness and thus they gave their verbal consent.
However, the following ethical issues were given particular emphasis to make the study ethical.
Particularly, explanation about the purpose and significance of the study were given to the
respondents. Participants were oriented about ways/procedure to be followed during filling the
structured questionnaire and interview sessions. Participants were ensured to have the right to
withdraw from the interview process at any particular point in time. In case there were
items/questions both in the questionnaire and interview session that may trigger disturbance and
stressful memories on the part of the respondents, they had full right to decline the questions.
Participants were fully ensured their autonomy and the confidentiality of their disclosure in the
course of interview sessions. They were not required to write their name and address in any part
of the discussions

25
 Chapter Four
Findings and Discussion
In this chapter findings of the study are presented. The chapter also discusses the findings in light
of the reports of previous studies conducted on procurement practices. The chapter is organized
into four major sections. The first section presents the demographic characteristics of
respondents of the study. Section two presents findings in relation to procurement practice in the
study area. Section three deals with findings regarding the challenges that affect procurement
practice at Gondar Malt Factory. Section four focuses on findings concerning opportunities of
procurement practice in the study area.
4.1. Response Rate
The total number of questionnaires distributed was 157. However, the number of questionnaires
returned at the end of the survey was 150 which represent about 96 % of the total questionnaires.
The following table shows the percentage of questionnaire returned and not returned.
Table 4.1: Response Rate

Distributed Returned Unreturned

N % N % N %
157 100 150 96 7 4
Source: Own Survey, 2021

4.2. Demographic Characteristics of Respondents

In this study, sex, age, level of education, respondents’ work units and work experience were
considered as the demographic characteristics of respondents of the study. The following table
presents each characteristic as described by frequency and percentage.
Table 4.2: Demographic Characteristics of Respondents
No Characteristics Frequency Percent (%)
1 Sex
Male 107 69
Female 48 31
Total 155 100

26
 No Characteristics Frequency Percent (%)
2 Age
28-36 47 30
37-44 85 55
46-52 23 15
Total 155 100
3 Educational level
Grade 10/12 completed 16 10
College diploma 54 35
First degree 79 51
Second degree 6 4
Total 155 100
4 Work units
Finance & Budget Department 17 11
Production and Technique Department 33 21
Quality Assurance Department 15 10
Commerce Department 22 14
Barley Production and Supply Department 59 38
Human Resource Management 9 6
Total 155 100
5 Work experience
1-5 years 39 25
6-10 years 95 61
11-15 years 21 14
Total 155 100
Source: Own Survey, 2021
Table 4.2 shows the demographic characteristics of respondents of the study. According to the
table, the majority, 107(69%) of the respondents were males whereas 48(31%) were females. In
terms of age, 47(30%) of the respondents were in the age category of 28-36 years, 85(55%) of
the respondents were in the age category of 37-44 years and 23(15%) of the respondents were in
the age category of 46-52 years. As far as the educational level of respondents was concerned,
16(10%) of the respondents were grade 10/12 completers, 54(35%) of the respondents were

27
college diploma holders, 79(51%) of the respondents were first degree holders and 6(4%) of the
respondents were second degree holders. In relation to respondents’ work units, 17(11%) of the
respondents were working under finance and budget directorate, 33(21%) of the respondents
were working under production and technique department,15(10%) of the respondents were
working in quality assurance department, 22(14%) of the respondents were working in
commerce department, 59(38%) of the respondents were working in barley production and
supply department and 9(6%) of the respondents were working in human resource management
department. In relation to respondents’ work experience, those respondents who had a work
experience of 1-5 years account for 39(25%), those respondents who had a work experience of 6-
10 years account for 95(61%) and 21(14%) of the respondents had a work experience of 11-15
years. In general, data on the above variables show that respondents had different demographic
backgrounds.

This helped the researcher to collect data representing various opinions of respondents. For
instance, variation in the age and educational level of respondents assisted in acquiring divergent
views served as valuable inputs for the study. Moreover, the selection of respondents from
various occupational backgrounds created an opportunity to gain diversified information on the
issues under investigation.

4.3. Procurement Practice at Gondar Malt Factory

This section deals with findings related with procurement practice at Gondar Malt Factory. The
study tried to investigate the practice in terms of the application of five variables in the
procurement process. The variables include: procurement planning, procurement contracting,
procurement controlling, efficiency and transparency in the procurement process.

28
Table 4.3: Respondents’ Mean and Standard Deviation Scores on Procurement Planning (n=150)
No Procurement Planning M SD SDA DA N AG SAG
1 There is annual procurement plan 3.86 0.78 - - 58 56 36
39% 37% 24%
2 Annual procurement need is achievable at 3.86 0.79 - - 55 57 38
Gondar Malt Factory 37% 38% 25%
3 The factory has full right and authority to 3.92 0.76 - - 50 61 39
revise its annual procurement plan 33% 41% 26%
Total 3.88 0.77
Source: Own survey (2021); SDA=Strongly disagree; DA=Disagree; N=Neutral; AG=Agree; SAG=Strongly agree

Table 4.3 shows respondents’ mean and standard deviation scores on individual items indicating
procurement planning at Gondar Malt Factory. Accordingly, the table shows that respondents
have a mean score of 3.86 with the standard deviation score of 0.78 on the presence of annual
procurement plan in the factory. These findings show that the majority of the respondents have
scored above the mean score of 3 on the five-point Likert scale. This has an implication that most
of the respondents had shown their agreement that the factory has annual procurement plan. On
the same track, the table also shows that 56(37%) of the respondents strongly agreed and
36(24%) of the respondents agreed that there was annual procurement plan at Gondar Malt
Factory. On the other hand, 58(39%) of the respondents were found to be neutral on the given
statement.

Table 4.3 also shows that respondents had a mean score of 3.86 with the standard deviation score
of 0.79 on whether annual procurement need was achievable at Gondar Malt Factory. Similarly,
these scores indicate that respondents had above the mean score. In addition, 57(38%) of the
respondents strongly agreed and 38(25%) of the respondents agreed that annual procurement
need was achievable at Gondar Malt Factory. However, 55(37%) of the respondents were neutral
on the issue. Table 4.3 also indicates that respondents had a mean score of 3.92 with the standard
deviation score of 0.79 on the assertion "The factory has full right and authority to revise its
annual procurement plan". In support of this, 61(41%) and 39(26%) of the respondents strongly
agreed and agreed respectively that the factory had full right and authority to revise its annual
procurement plan. The above quantitative analysis revealed that procurement planning is
practiced in the procurement process at Gondar Malt Factory. The finding further supported by
analysis of the qualitative data obtained from interview sessions. One of the interview

29
participants who was a purchasing officer stated that their department usually prepares annual
procurement plan and they tried to execute purchasing according to that plan. The following
narration provides a summary of the ideas raised by the interview participant
In every budget year we collect the procurement needs of each work unit and
prepare annual procurement plan. But this time annual procurement planning
is being violated because many work units ask for unplanned and accidental
purchasing. This brings extra loads to the procurement department and it
paves the way for malpractices like corruption (KI4,).
As can be seen from the analysis of both quantitative and qualitative data procurement is
annually planned. This is attested by respondents’ level of agreement on each item showing the
practice of procurement planning. Furthermore, the qualitative data confirmed that procurement
practice had annual plan but the plan was violated due to unplanned and accidental purchasing.
Table 4.4: Respondents’ Mean and Standard Deviation Scores on Procurement Contracting
(n=150)
No Procurement Contracting M SD SDA DA N AG SAG
1 Specifications are properly considered 1.81 0.69 58 71 6 11 4
during contract awards for goods and 39% 47% 4% 7% 3%
services
2 The factory uses good mechanism to 1.70 0.59 42 80 16 6 6
identify competent and qualified suppliers 28% 53% 11% 4% 4%
during contract awards
3 Pre and post qualification procedures are 1.90 0.71 62 58 6 12 12
fully applied before contract awards 41% 39% 4% 8% 8%
4 The factory uses standard binding 1.62 0.60 68 55 5 12 10
documents for all types of procurement 45% 37% 3% 8% 7%
Total 1.75 0.64
Source: Own survey (2021); SDA=Strongly disagree; DA=Disagree; N=Neutral; AG=Agree; SAG=Strongly agree

Table 4.4 presents the mean and standard deviation scores of respondents on procurement
contracting. The table also shows respondents’ level of agreement on each item measuring
procurement contracting. Accordingly, 58(39%) and 71(47%) of the respondents strongly
disagreed and disagreed respectively that specification was properly considered during contract
awards. On the other hand, 11(7%) and 4(3%) of the respondents disagreed and strongly

30
disagreed on the issue. The table also indicates that respondents have a mean score of 1.70 with
standard deviation of 0.59 on item 2 which asks whether the factory uses good mechanism to
identify competent and qualified suppliers. Similarly, the table shows that 42(28%) and 80(53%)
of the respondents strongly disagreed and disagreed that the factory uses good mechanism to
identify competent and qualified suppliers whereas 6(4%) and 6(4%) of the respondents agreed
and strongly agreed on the same assertion. With respect to pre and post qualifications,
respondents were found a mean score of 1.90 with the standard deviation score of 0.71.
Similarly, 62(41%) and 58(39%) of the respondents strongly disagreed and disagreed
respectively that pre and post qualification procedures were fully applied before contract awards.

But, 12(8%) and 12(8%) of the respondents agreed and strongly agreed respectively on the given
statement. In terms of the use of standard biding documents, respondents were found a mean
score of 1.62 with the standard deviation of 0.60. Moreover, 68(45%) and 55(37%) of the
respondents strongly disagreed and disagreed that the factory used standard biding documents for
all types of procurement. However, 12(8%) and 10(7%) of the respondents agreed and strongly
agreed that the factory uses standard biding documents. As can be inferred from the above table
respondents were found to have below average mean scores on all items supposed to measure
procurement contracting. Similarly, the majority of the respondents have shown disagreement on
the given statements. These findings confirm that procurement contracting is not properly
practiced in the procurement process. Key informants also revealed that procurement contracting
was not adequately practiced and this has become the source of various complain from different
work units. For instance, one of the key informants recounted his experience as follows:

Our specifications are not usually considered during procurement.

Consequently, suppliers do not deliver goods as per to the contract agreement.
There is too much delay which creates discontent among user departments
(KI2).
The other key informant also revealed that there was wider gap between procurement
requisitions and goods supplied to work units. The following is the summary of the main ideas of
the informant
There is mismatch between the requested goods and the procured goods which
makes the procured goods to be worthless. This is mainly due to the improper
selection of suppliers and contracts are made carelessly (KI1)

31
In general, analysis of both quantitative and qualitative data disclosed that procurement
contracting is encircled by various problems at Gondar Malt Factory. Findings also show that
specifications of goods and services were not properly considered which has made the procured
goods worthless leaving them in the store unused. Moreover, suppliers of goods and services
were not properly identified based on valid criteria as result most goods and service were not in
line with their requisitions. The factory also uses different bidding documents which has become
the source various complain.
Table 4.5: Respondents’ Mean and Standard Deviation Scores on Procurement Controlling
(n=150)
No Procurement Controlling M SD SDA DA N AG SAG
1 There is systematic and well-framed 1.52 0.57 64 58 8 14 6
framework to guide purchasing decisions. 43% 39% 5% 9% 4%
2 The factory manages its suppliers and 1.67 0.63 60 54 10 14 12
contracts effectively. 40% 36% 7% 9% 8%
3 The factory has a sound approach to assess 1.52 0.53 52 68 6 11 13
its procurement performance 35% 45% 4% 7% 9%
4 The factory has a well-established rules and 1.90 0.71 63 63 12 8 4
regulation to withhold qualified suppliers 42% 42% 8% 5% 3%
that do not deliver goods and services on
time
5 Internal auditing is an indispensable activity 1.62 0.60 54 68 16 6 6
that the factory usually incorporates in its 36% 45% 11% 4% 4%
procurement practice
6 The factory has established a system that 1.81 0.69 60 66 7 9 8
effectively prohibits fragmented purchasing 40% 44% 5% 6% 5%
in an effort to avoid wastage through request
for quotations or Performa purchasing
Total 1.67 0.62
Source: Own survey (2021); Source: Own survey (2021); SDA=Strongly disagree; DA=Disagree; N=Neutral; AG=Agree;
SAG=Strongly agree

32
Table 4.5 presents respondents’ mean and standard deviation scores as well as their level of
agreement on each item which assesses the practice of procurement controlling in the study area.
According to the table, respondents scored a mean score of 1.52 with the standard deviation of
0.57 on item one which asks whether the factory had systematic and well-framed framework to
guide purchasing decisions. In line with this, 64(43%) and 58(39%) of the respondents strongly
disagreed and disagreed respectively that the factory had systematic and well-framed framework
to guide purchasing decisions; however, 14(9%) and 6(4%) of the respondents agreed and
strongly agreed on the same statement. With respect contract management, respondents scored a
mean score of 1.67 with the standard deviation of 0.63 and 60(40%) and 54(36%) of the
respondents strongly disagreed and disagreed respectively that the factory managed its suppliers
and contracts effectively. On the contrary, 14(9%) and 12(8%) of the respondents disagreed and
strongly disagreed respectively on the same assertion. In relation to assessing procurement
performance, respondents were found to score a mean of 1.52 with the standard deviation of
0.53. Similarly, 52(35%) and 68(45%) of the respondents strongly disagreed and disagreed that
the factory had a sound approach to assess its procurement performance. But, 11(7%) and
13(9%) of the respondents agreed and strongly agreed that the factory had a sound approach to
assess its procurement performance.

Respondents have a mean score of 1.90 with the standard deviation of 0.71 on rules and
regulation to withhold suppliers that did not deliver goods and services on the time. In addition,
63(42%) and 63(42%) of the respondents strongly disagreed and disagreed respectively whereas
8(5%) and 4(3%) of the respondents agreed and strongly agreed respectively that the factory has
a well-established rules and regulations to withhold suppliers that do not deliver goods and
services on time. With respect to internal auditing, respondents had a mean score of 1.62 with
the standard deviation of 0.60. Similarly, 54(36%) and 68(45%) of the respondents strongly
disagreed and disagreed that internal auditing was an activity that the factory usually considered
in its procurement practice; however, 6(4%) and 6(4%) of the respondents agreed and strongly
agreed. Concerning the prohibition of fragmented purchasing, respondents have a mean score of
1.81 with the standard deviation 0.69. 60(40%) and 66(44%) of the respondents strongly
disagreed and disagreed respectively that the factory had established a system that effectively
prohibits fragmented purchasing but, 9(6%) and 8(5%) of the respondents agreed and strongly
agreed on the given statement.

33
The quantitative analysis has shown that respondents’ mean scores were significantly lower than
3 which is the average value of the five-point Likert scale. This implies that respondents had
disagreement on all items used to measure the practice of procurement controlling in the factory.
These quantitative findings ware also supported with the qualitative data collected from key
informants. All key informants asserted that the procurement practice was not properly
controlled. One of the key informants stated the following
The factory has huge procurement needs due to the nature of works
undertaken. To this end, many and various goods are usually purchased for
different purpose. But there is no check and balance due to weak controlling
and supervision efforts. Many goods are purchased with large amount of many
but at the end of the day these goods become useless due to their irrelevance
for the given work unit (KI5)
The key informant underscored that even though the factory purchased different goods for
different purposes, controlling and supervision activities was weak which resulted in the wastage
of scare resources that could be used for other developmental activities in the factory.
With similar intension, the other key informant also stated the following

Frankly speaking goods which I asked to be procured lack the right quality
and quantity, I immediately report it to my nearby supervisor and then I
prepare another request for procurement. This is due to lack of controlling
during purchasing (KI2,).
In general, both qualitative and quantitative findings show that controlling was not properly
practiced during the procurement process and this has led to the wastage of goods.

34
Table 4.6: Respondents’ Mean and Standard Deviation Scores on Efficiency (n=150)
No Efficiency in Procurement Process M SD SDA DA N AG SAG
1 The principle 'value for money' is applied. 1.50 0.51 56 72 4 11 7
37% 48% 3% 7% 5%
2 Procurement provides adequate goods and 1.68 0.58 63 67 2 14 4
services with the required quality 42% 45% 1% 9% 3%
3 Departments and work units get procured 1.52 0.53 65 59 10 9 7
goods and services on time. 43% 39% 7% 6% 5%
4 Factory’s purchasing department strictly 1.70 0.59 60 64 6 11 9
controls those work units and departments 40% 43% 4% 7% 6%
from using procured goods on which they
hadn’t planned and requested
5 Purchasing officers in procurement practice 1.90 0.71 58 65 15 8 4
are committed to professional conduct or 39% 43% 10% 5% 3%
ethical principles
6 Members of technique committee 1.62 0.60 62 67 7 12 2
effectively inspect the procured goods based 41% 45% 5% 8% 1%
on sample specification
7 The factory has well established trend to 1.52 0.50 55 64 8 18 5
assess market price before actual purchasing 37% 43% 5% 12% 3%
Total 1.63 0.57
Source: Own survey (2021); Source: Own survey (2021); Source: Own survey (2021); SDA=Strongly disagree;
DA=Disagree; N=Neutral; AG=Agree; SAG=Strongly agree

Table 4.6 indicates respondents mean, standard deviations scores and the level of their agreement
on items used to measure efficiency in the procurement process. Accordingly, respondents
scored a mean score of 1.50 with the standard deviation of 0.51 on item number one which asks
whether value for money was applied in the procurement process. In this regard, 56(37%) and
72(48%) of the respondents strongly disagreed and disagreed that the principle 'value for money'
was applied; however, 11(7%) and 7(5%) of the respondents agreed and strongly agreed on the
same statement. Similarly, respondents scored a mean score of 1.68 with the standard deviation
of 0.58 on item two which asks whether the procurement process provided adequate goods and
service with the required quality. Furthermore, 63(42%) and 67(45%) of the respondents strongly

35
disagreed and disagreed that the procurement process provided adequate goods and services with
the required quality. On the contrary, 14(9%) and 4(3%) of the respondents agreed and strongly
agreed on the given assertion. In relation to the availability of procured goods and service on
time, respondents scored a mean of 1.52 with the standard deviation 0.53. On this statement,
65(43%) and 59(39%) of the respondents strongly disagreed and disagreed that department and
work units got the procured goods and services on time but 9(6%) and 7(5%) of the respondents
agreed and strongly agreed.

Respondents scored a mean of 1.70 with the standard deviation of 0.59 on item four that asks
whether the purchasing department strictly controlled work units and departments from using
procured goods which they hadn’t planned and asked for. On the same assertion, 60(40%) and
64(43%) of the respondents strongly agreed and agreed whereas 11(7%) and 9(6%) of the
respondents agreed and strongly agreed on the given statement. With respect to the profession al
conduct and ethical principles of purchasing officer, respondents scored a mean of 1.90 with the
standard deviation of 0.71. Similarly, 58(39%) and 65(43%) of the respondents strongly agreed
and agreed that purchasing officers were committed to professional conduct or ethical principles.
But, 8(5%) and 4(3%) of the respondents agreed and strongly agreed. Respondents scored a
mean of 1.62 with the standard deviation of 0.62 on item 6 which asks whether members of the
technique committee effectively inspected the procured goods based on sample specifications.
On the same statement, 62(41%) and 67(45%) of the respondents strongly disagreed and
disagreed whereas 12(8%) and 2(1%) of the respondents agreed and strongly agreed on the given
statement.
Respondents scored a mean score of 1.52 with the standard deviation of 0.50 on item seven
which deals with whether the factory had well established trend to assess market price before
actual purchasing. Furthermore, 55(37%) and 64(43%) of the respondents strongly disagreed and
disagreed that the factory had well established trend to assess market price before actual
purchasing; however, 18(12%) and 5(3%) of the respondents agreed and strongly agreed on the
same assertion.

As can be seen from the above quantitative analysis, respondents were found to have lower mean
scores on all items assessing efficiency in the procurement process in the study area. Because
respondents were found to have mean scores below 3 which is used as average reference point on
the five-point Likert scale. As a matter of fact, analysis of data obtained from key informants
substantially supported these quantitative findings. All key informants asserted that efficiency

36
was one the serious problems observed in the procurement process of Gondar Malt Factory. One
of the key informants recounted his experience as follows.
Quantity, quality and time are the major problems observed in the
procurement practice at Gondar Malt Factory. Moreover, suppliers do not
deliver goods as per to the contract agreement. There is too much delay which
creates discontent among user departments (KI3).
The key informant revealed that the quality of the procured goods was questionable and even
goods with poor quality were not adequately supplied. Moreover, the informant added that most
procured goods were not delivered to user on time. The other key informant also mentioned the
issue of accountability that happened due to absence of efficiency in the overall procurement
process. The following narration presents a summary of the main ideas of the key informant.
The procurement practice is highly vulnerable to corruption and bad practices
as there are check and balance procedures. Generally, the practice is not
efficient and lacks accountability (KI1).
In general findings obtained from the analysis of both quantitative and qualitative data revealed
that the procurement practice at Gondar Malt Factory lacks efficiency and this significantly
affects the financial and operational capacity as well as the overall activities of the Malt Factory.

37
Table 4.7: Respondents’ Mean and Standard Deviation Scores on Transparency (n=150)
No Transparency in Procurement Process M SD SDA DA N AG SAG
1 There is a system to prevent fraud and 1.70 0.59 59 66 13 6 6
corruption in procurement process 39% 44% 9% 4 4%
2 The procurement decision making process is 1.90 0.71 62 60 10 10 8
based on transparent criteria 41% 40% 7% 7% 5%
3 All written records of procurement are made 1.62 0.60 66 50 9 12 13
available to concerned bodies 44% 33% 6% 8% 9%
4 All advertised biddings are opened in front 1.42 0.49 55 62 18 11 4
of the concerned bodies. 37% 41% 12% 7% 3%
5 There is de-briefing session for unsatisfied 1.37 0.53 60 58 14 9 9
bidder to ascertain the facts 40% 39% 9% 6% 6%
6 The selection of members of the 1.37 0.52 56 61 9 12 12
procurement approval committee and 37% 41% 6% 8% 8%
technique committee is based on
professional competency and free from
corruption/malpractices.
Total 1.56 0.57
Source: Own survey (2021); SDA=Strongly disagree; DA=Disagree; N=Neutral; AG=Agree; SAG=Strongly agree
Table 4.7 describes respondents mean and standard deviation scores of transparencies in the
procurement process. The table also shows respondents’ level of agreement on each item
measuring transparency. According to the table, respondents have mean score of 1.70 with the
standard deviation of 0.59 on item one that inquires whether there was a system to prevent fraud
and corruption in procurement process. In line with this statement, 59(39%) and 66(44%) of the
respondents strongly disagreed and disagreed that there was a system to prevent fraud and
corruption in procurement process; however, 6(4%) and 6(4%) of the respondents agreed and
strongly agreed to the same statement. Respondents have a mean score of 1.90 with the standard
deviation of 0.71 on item two that asks whether the procurement decision making process was
based on transparent criteria. In addition, 62(41%) and 60(40%) of the respondents strongly
disagreed and disagreed that the procurement decision making process was based on transparent
criteria. But, 10(7%) and 8(5%) of the respondents agreed and strongly agreed that the
procurement decision making process was based on transparent criteria. Respondents scored a

38
mean of 1.62 with the standard deviation of 0.60 on item three that asks whether all written
records of procurement were made available to concerned bodies. 66(44%) and 50(33%) of the
respondents strongly disagreed and disagreed that all written records of procurement were made
available to concerned bodies whereas 12(8%) and 13(9%) of the respondents agreed and
strongly agreed on the given statement. Respondents have a mean score of 1.42 with the standard
deviation of 0.49 on the statement that asks whether all the advertised biddings were opened in
front of the concerned bodies. Moreover, 55(37%) and 62(41%) of the respondents strongly
disagreed and disagreed that all advertised biddings were opened in front of the concerned
bodies; however, 11(7%) and 4(3%) of the respondents agreed and strongly agreed on this
statement. In the same vein, respondents scored a mean 1.37 with the standard deviation 0.53 on
item five that asks whether there were debriefing sessions for unsatisfied bidders. In agreement
to this, 60(40%) and 58(39%) of the respondents strongly disagreed and disagreed that there
were debriefing sessions for unsatisfied bidders. On the other hand, 9(6%) and 9(6%) of the
respondents agreed and strongly agreed that there were debriefing sessions for unsatisfied
bidders. Finally, respondents scored a mean of 1.37 with the standard deviation of 0.52 on item
six that asks whether the section of procurement approval committee and technique committee
was based on professional competency and free from corruption. In addition, 56(37%) and
61(41%) of the respondents strongly disagreed and disagreed that the selection of approval and
technique committee was based on professional competency and free from corruption. On the
other hand, 12(8%) and 12(8%) of the respondents agreed and strongly agreed on the same
assertion.

In conclusion, the study assessed the procurement practice in terms of planning, contracting,
controlling, efficiency and transparency. To this end, analysis of both quantitative and qualitative
data disclosed that procurement practice was properly planned in every fiscal year thereby every
work unit and department prepared its annual procurement needs and notified it to the
procurement directorate. However, findings revealed that procurement contracting was not
properly practiced and consequently the majority of the respondents made it clear that
specifications weren’t properly considered during contract awards. Moreover, the factory
couldn’t identify competent and qualified suppliers during contract awards and pre and post
qualification procedures weren’t fully applied before contracts were given to specific supplier.
Findings have also shown that procurement controlling was not given adequate attention in the
procurement process. To this end, the majority of the respondents confirmed that there was no

39
systematic and well framed framework to guide purchasing decisions. Respondents made it clear
that the factory did not manage its suppliers and contractors effectively. Moreover, findings
show that the factory didn’t have sound approach to assess its procurement performance. The
practice of internal auditing wasn’t also properly practiced in the procurement process as
confirmed by the majority of the respondents. Findings also revealed that the procurement
process wasn’t efficient and transparent as agreed up by the majority of the respondents.

4.4. Challenges Affecting Procurement Practice

As its second objective, the study assessed challenges that affect the procurement practice at
Gondar Malt Factory. To this end, challenges are classified as internal and external. In order to
meet this objective, both quantitative and qualitative data were collected. The quantitative data
were analyzed using mean, standard deviation, frequency and percentage. The following section
presents first the quantitative data then quantitative findings are later supported by the qualitative
findings.
4.4.1. Internal Challenges
Internal challenges are inherent to internal organizational practices that affect the procurement
process. So, a total of seven statements were presented to respondents to show the level of their
agreement to each statement as follows.

40
Table 4.8: Internal Challenges that Affect the Procurement Practice at Gondar Malt Factory
(n=150)
No Internal challenges M SD SDA DA N AG SAG
1 The factory cannot prioritize procurement 3.74 .79 10 12 8 64 56
needs. 7% 8% 5% 43% 37%
2 Departments and work units cannot clearly 4.32 .72 6 14 6 76 48
indicate their specification 4% 9% 4% 51% 32%
3 The factory does not use market data to 4.36 .62 11 9 2 70 58
estimate cost/price 7% 6% 1% 47% 39%
4 There is weak institutional and professional 3.33 1.24 8 10 2 76 54
capacity to implement procurement 5% 7% 1% 51% 36%
activities in a cost-effective manner
5 Purchasing officers involved in procurement 4.15 .69 14 12 6 67 51
practice are not committed to high standards 9% 8% 4% 45% 34%
for professional conduct or ethical principles
6 There is no adequate system to prevent 4.15 .69 4 9 7 68 62
fraud and corruption in procurement process 3% 6% 5% 45% 41%
7 There is no a clear and well-researched 4.27 0.79 3 11 4 74 58
framework to guide the factory’s purchasing 2% 7% 3% 49% 39%
decisions
Total 4.04 0.79
Source: Own survey (2021); SDA=Strongly disagree; DA=Disagree; N=Neutral; AG=Agree; SAG=Strongly agree
Table 4.8 illustrates respondents’ mean and standard deviation scores as well as the level of their
agreement on internal challenges that affect procurement practice in the study area. According to
the table, respondents scored a mean of 3.74 with the standard deviation of 0.79 on item one. On
the same track, 56(37%) and 64(43%) of the respondents strongly agreed and agreed that the
factory couldn’t prioritize its procurement needs; however, 10(7%) and 12(8%) of the
respondents strongly disagreed and disagreed on the same statement. On item two, respondents
scored a mean of 4.32 with the standard deviation of 0.72. In line with this, 48(32%) and
76(51%) of the respondents strongly agreed and agreed that departments and work units couldn’t
clearly indicate their specification but, 6(4%) and 14(9%) of the respondents strongly disagreed
and disagreed on the given assertion. Respondents were also found to have a mean score of 4.36

41
with the standard deviation of 0.62 on item three. Moreover, 58(39%) and 70(47%) of the
respondents strongly agreed and agreed that the factory did not use market data to estimate cost
or price; yet, 11(7%) and 9(6%) of the respondents strongly disagreed and disagreed that the
factory did not use market data to estimate cost or price. Respondents also scored a mean of 3.33
with the standard deviation of 1.24 on item four. On the same item, 54(36%) and 76(51%) of the
respondents strongly agreed and agreed that there were weak institutional and professional
capacity to implement procurement activities in a cost-effective manner; however, 8(5%) and
10(7%) of the respondents strongly disagreed and disagreed on the stated statement. Respondents
scored a mean of 4.15 with the standard deviation of 0.69 on item 5 that asks whether purchasing
officers involved in procurement practice were not committed to high standards for professional
conduct or ethical principles. Similarly, 51(34%) and 67(45%) of the respondents strongly agree
and agree that purchasing officers involved in the procurement practice were not committed to
ethical principles. On the contrary, 14(9%) and 12(8%) of the respondents strongly disagreed and
disagreed on the stated issue.

Respondents were also asked whether there was adequate system to prevent fraud and
corruption in the procurement process. To this end, 4.15 and 0.69 were their mean and standard
deviation scores respectively. Moreover, the level of their agreement show that 62(41%) and
68(45%) of the respondents strongly agreed and agreed that there was no adequate system to
prevent fraud and corruption in the procurement process whereas 4(3%) and 9(6%) of the
respondents strongly disagreed and disagreed. Respondents scored a mean of 4.27 with the
standard deviation of .79 on the last item. The table also show that 58(39%) and 74(49%) of the
respondents strongly agreed and agreed that there was no clear and well-researched framework
to guide the factory’s purchasing decisions. However, 3(2%) and 11(7%) of the respondents
strongly disagreed and disagreed on the given assertion. To sum up, analysis the quantitative data
revealed that respondents were found to have an agreement on all items presented to them as the
internal challenges that affect procurement practice at Gondar Malt Factory.

Moreover, respondents scored high mean scores on each item measuring internal challenges.
Thus, it is deduced that failure to prioritize procurement needs, failure to clearly indicate
specifications, absence of market data, weak institutional and professional capacity, weak
commitment to high standard for professional conduct, inadequate system to prevent fraud and
corruption and absence of clear and well researched framework to guide purchasing decisions
were the internal challenges that affect the procurement practice at Gondar Malt Factory. These

42
quantitative findings are further supported by the analysis the qualitative data obtained from key
informant interview sessions. During the interview sessions, most of the key informants
discontented that specification was not properly filled or written that misguided the purchasers.
One of the key informants recounted the following
Most work units don’t always prepare the right requisition for goods to be
procured. They don’t try to prepare it by clearly writing based on the
specifications needed for their work. Moreover, they don’t prepare the request
considering the right quality and quantity that they need to run their work
(KI2).
It is clear from the above idea that during procurement requisition, the issues of quality and
quantity should be given due attention so that users’ needs and satisfaction could be achieved in
particular and the whole procurement practice could also be effective in general. However, the
key informant made it clear that requisition forms were not properly filled as per the
specification of needed by specific work or activity. To support this idea, an interview participant
added the following
In our factory, procurement practice has become the source of many complain
from departments and work units in many respects. The first is there is wider
gap between procurement requisitions and the supply of goods to users.
Second, there is mismatch between the requested goods and the procured
goods which makes the procured goods to be worthless. Third, procurement
practice is highly vulnerable to corruption and bad practices as there are no
check and balance procedures. Generally, the practice is not efficient, lacks
transparency and accountability (KI1 & KI4).

4.4.2. External Challenges

External challenges were largely related to procurement policies and regulations that were
adopted nationally and goods and service suppliers. Respondents were presented with a total of
four items representing external challenges affecting the procurement practice. The following
table presents respondents mean and standard deviation scores as well as the level of their
agreement to each item.

43
Table 4.9: External Challenges that Affect the Procurement Practice at Gondar Malt Factory
(n=150)
No External challenges M SD SDA DA N AG SAG
1 The national policies, laws, and regulations 4.34 0.87 4 11 5 88 42
regarding procurement are difficult to apply 3% 7% 3% 59% 28%
to the factory
2 There are no procedures for the settlement 3.76 0.90 4 3 8 95 40
of contractual disputes in the legislative 3% 2% 5% 63% 27%
framework being applied by the factory
3 There are no rules and procedures regarding 4.30 0.82 7 10 2 78 53
bidder suspension and debarment in the 5% 7% 1% 52% 35%
legislative framework documents
4 Once qualified, most of the time suppliers 4.22 0.85 4 2 5 102 37
and contractors are not found to deliver 3% 1% 3% 68% 25%
goods and services on time, required quality
and quantity
Total 4.15 0.86
Source: Own survey (2021); SDA=Strongly disagree; DA=Disagree; N=Neutral; AG=Agree; SAG=Strongly agree
Table 4.9 describes the respondents’ mean and standard deviation scores and the level of their
agreement to each item measuring external challenges which face the procurement practice in the
study area. According to the table, 4.34 and 0.87 were the mean and standard deviation scores of
respondents respectively. Similarly, for the same item, 42(28) and 88(59%) of the respondents
strongly agreed and agreed respectively that national polices, laws and regulations were difficult
to apply in the contexts of the factory. On the contrary, 4(3%) and 11(7%) of the respondents
strongly disagreed and disagreed. Respondents scored a mean score of 3.76 and standard
deviation of 0.90 on item two which asks whether there were procedures for settling contractual
disputes. In the same track, 40(27%) and 95(63%) of the respondents strongly agreed and agreed
respectively; however, 4(3%) and 3(2%) of the respondents strongly disagreed and disagreed
respectively. When asked whether there were rules and procedures for bidder suspension and
debarment, respondents score a mean score of 4.30 with the standard deviation of 0.82.
Concerning respondents’ level of agreement on the same item, 53(35%) and 78(52%) of the
respondents strongly agreed and agreed respectively whereas, 7(5%) and 10(7%) of the

44
respondents strongly disagreed and disagreed on the same issue. Respondents scored a mean
score of 4.22 with the standard deviation of 0.85 on item 4 that deals with suppliers and
contractors. Moreover, 37(25%) and 102(68%) of the respondents strongly agreed and agreed
respectively that suppliers and contractors were failed to keep the quality and quantity of their
goods and services. However, 4(3%) and 2(1%) of the respondents strongly disagreed and
disagreed.

The above quantitative analysis regarding external challenges affecting procurement practice
shows that respondents scored high mean scores on all items. Similarly, respondents’ level of
agreement confirmed that the majority of them were found to strongly agreed and agreed on all
items presented to them. These imply that all the stated statements represent the external
challenges of the procurement practices in the study area. The qualitative data obtained from key
informants also provided strong support for the quantitative findings. One the key informant
stated the following
Quantity, quality and time are the major problems observed in the
procurement practice at Gondar Malt Factory. Moreover, suppliers do not
deliver goods as per the contract agreement. There is too much delay which
creates discontent among user departments (KI3).
The key informant revealed that poor quality of the procured goods as well as their insufficient
quantity were the challenges emanated from suppliers. Moreover, the informant added that most
if the time suppliers failed to deliver goods as per the agreement signed. The other key informant
also stated that regulatory and legislative frameworks were difficult to apply. The following
quotation provides a summary of the main ideas of the informant.
Though there are legislative and regulatory frameworks issued in different
times, the level of their application is in the procurement practice is minimal.
This happens due to various reasons (KI5).
To sum up, difficulty in applying national polices, laws and regulations, absence of procedures
for settlement of contractual disputes, absence of rules and procedures for bidders’ suspension
and failure of contractors and suppliers to deliver goods and services as per contractual
agreement were external challenges that affect procurement practice at Gondar Malt Factory as
illustrated by the quantitative findings. Data obtained from key informants also supported the
quantitative findings.

45
4.5. Opportunities of Procurement Practice
Assessing opportunities of procurement practice in the study area were the other focus of the
study. Thus, alike the preceding objectives, the study used both quantitative and qualitative data
to address this objective. The quantitative data were collected through structured questionnaire
which inquired respondents to level their agreement for each item measuring prospects of
procurement practice in the study area. On the other hand, qualitative data were collected form
key informants with the need to support the quantitative findings. Thus, in this section, first the
quantitative findings are presented which finally supported with qualitative findings.
Table 4.10: Opportunities of Procurements Practice at Gondar Malt Factory (n=150)
No Opportunities M SD SDA DA N AG SAG
1 The existence of national policies, laws, and 4.02 0.88 12 10 3 84 41
regulations regarding procurement 8% 7% 2% 56% 27%
2 The application of ICT on procurement 3.76 0.85 6 4 8 96 36
practice(e-procurement) 4% 3% 5% 64% 24%
3 The existence of centralized procurement of 3.57 0.66 6 10 7 98 29
commodities at regional and national level 4% 7% 5% 65% 19%
4 The existence of many suppliers of goods and 4.14 0.77 2 3 9 100 36
services both at regional and national level 1% 2% 6% 67% 24%
5 The provision of logistics and supply chain 3.88 0.75 10 4 2 95 39
management as field of study in many local 7% 3% 1% 63% 27%
higher learning institutions
6 The formulation and implementation of 3.84 0.81 8 6 4 100 32
various anti-corruption laws and legal 5% 4% 3% 67% 21%
frameworks
7 The expansion of various infrastructures 4.29 0.70 12 7 10 98 23
needed for effective procurement practice 8% 5% 7% 65% 15%
such as availability of transport system
Total 3.92 0.77
Source: own survey (2021); SDA=Strongly disagree; DA=Disagree; N=Neutral; AG=Agree; SAG=Strongly agree

46
Table 4.10 presents opportunities of procurement practices at Gondar Malt Factory as confirmed
by respondents of the study. According to the table, respondents scored a mean score of 4.02
with the standard deviation 0.88 on item one which relates to national policies, laws and
regulations about procurement practice. Respondents’ level of agreement to this item confirmed
that 41(27%) and 84(56%) of them strongly agreed and agreed respectively on the assertion
whereas 12(8%) and 10(7%) of the respondents strongly disagreed and disagreed on the
statement. On item two that focus on the application of ICT, respondents scored a mean score of
3.76 with the standard deviation 0.85. Similarly, 36(24%) and 96(64%) of the respondents
strongly agreed and greed that application of ITC in the procurement practice as one of the
opportunities. On the contrary, 6(4%) and 4(3%) of the respondents strongly disagreed and
disagreed on the same assertion. Respondents scored a mean score of 3.57 with the standard
deviation 0.66 on item 3 that inquires the existence of centralized procurement of commodities at
regional and national level as the opportunity of procurement practice in the study area.
Moreover, 29(19%) and 98(65%) of the respondents strongly agreed and agreed respectively,
But, 6(4%) and 10(7%) of them strongly disagreed and disagreed that the existence of
centralized procurement of commodities at regional and national level as one the opportunities
for the practice.

On item four which considers the existence of many suppliers of goods and services both at
regional and national level as one of the opportunities of procurement practice at Gondar Malt
Factory, respondents scored a mean of 4.14 with the standard deviation of 0.77. For the same
item, 36(24%) and 100(67%) of the respondents strongly agreed and agreed respectively whereas
6(4%) and 10(7%) of them strongly disagreed and disagreed. Respondents scored a mean score
of 3.88 with the standard deviation 0.75 on item 5 which narrates the provision of Logistics and
Supply Chain Management as field of study in local universities as the other good opportunity of
procurement practice. Moreover, 39(27%) and 95(63%) of the respondents strongly agreed and
agreed respectively on the given item as one the opportunities for the practice; however, 10(7%)
and 4(3%) of the respondents strongly disagreed and disagreed. On item 6, respondents scored a
mean score of 3.84 with the standard deviation 0.81.

In addition, 32(21%0 and 100(67%) of them strongly agreed and agreed that the formulation and
implementation of various anti-corruption laws and legal frameworks as the other opportunities.
But, 8(5%) and 6(4%) of them strongly disagreed and disagreed. With regard to the expansion of
various infrastructures, respondents scored a mean score of 4.29 with the standard deviation

47
0.70. To support this, 23(15%) and 98(65%) of them strongly agreed and agreed that the
expansion of various infrastructures as the opportunity of procurement practice in the study area.
Conversely, 12(8%) and 7(5%0 of the respondents strongly disagreed and disagreed on the
statement.

In conclusion, the quantitative data disclosed that the majority of the respondents were found to
have an agreement over the items presented to them as the opportunities of procurement practice
in the study area. Moreover, findings show that respondents scored high mean scores for each
item. Analysis of the qualitative data obtained from key informants also provided considerable
support for the quantitative findings. One of the key informants disclosed that the future
procurement practice will have many opportunities that may aid its proper implementation. He
stated the following.
Now a day the expansion of e-commerce and e-banking facilitated faster and
easy transactions throughout the world. This also holds true for our country in
which many procurement practices are accomplished via the use of ICT aided
banking and other transaction systems. So I believe that in the near future
these services will reach our procurement practice so that time, labor and cost
will be minimized. Above all, the practice will be effective (KI2)
The key informant clearly narrated the importance of ICT for future procurement practice. He
explained that ICT based banking system such as internet banking and e-commerce could have
positive impact on the procurement practice. More importantly, the informant said that such ICT
aided system will make procurement practice by making it time and labor effective. More or less
similar to the above ideas, the other key informant disclosed that infrastructural expansion will
create good opportunities for procurement practice. He stated the following.
Infrastructures such as roads have significant importance for many economic
activities. Roads have also immense contribution for accomplishing
procurement practice. Specially, the availability of adequate transport system
enables buyers and sellers to make transaction from every corner as well as
distance that result in effective procurement practice. Goods purchased will
also be used for their purpose on time (KI3)

It can be summarized that the existence of national polices, laws and regulations, the application
of ICT, the existence of centralized procurement, the existence of many suppliers of goods and
services, the provision of Logistics and Supply Chain Management as field of study, formulation

48
and implementation of anti-corruption laws and the expansion of various infrastructures as the
good opportunities of procurement practice in the study area.

Summary of Quantitative Findings

This section presents a summary of the quantitative findings on procurement practice, challenges
and opportunities as described by mean and standard deviation scores.
Table 4.11: Procurement Practice, Challenges and Opportunities
No Variables Mean Standard Deviation
1 Procurement practice 2.09 0.63
2 Challenges 4.09 0.82
3 Opportunities 3.92 0.77
Source: Own survey (2021)
Table 4.11 illustrates the overall mean and standard deviation scores of respondents across
procurement practice, challenges and opportunities of procurement practice in the study area.
Accordingly, respondents scored a mean 2.09 with the standard deviation of 0.63 on the
procurement practice at Gondar Malt Factors. This finding shows that procurement as one the
organizational activity is not well practice at Gondar Malt Factory. Because respondents’ overall
mean score is below the average score which 3 on the five-point Likert-scale. On the contrary,
the table shows that respondents scored a mean of 4.09 with the standard deviation of 0.82 on
challenges affecting the procurement practice. This finding entails that respondents scored above
the mean(M=3) which implies that respondents agreed on the item used to measure challenges.
Similarly, respondents scored a mean of 3.09 with the standard deviation of 0.77 on
opportunities of procurement practice implying that the stated opportunities are agreed up by the
majority of the respondents of the study.

49
 Chapter Five
Summary, Conclusion and Recommendation
5.1. Summary
With the objective of assessing challenges and prospects of procurement practice, this study was
conducted at Gondar Malt Factory. Thus, adopting quantitative research approach, particularly,
descriptive research design, a total of 155 participants involved in the study through the use of
stratified random and purposive sampling techniques. The study used both quantitative and
qualitative data to address its objectives. To this end, the quantitative data were collected using
pilot-tested structured questionnaire whereas the qualitative data were collected through the use
of semi-structured interview guide. After data cleaning and sorting out, the quantitative data
were analyzed by using statistical software; SPSS version 20; specifically, frequency,
percentage, mean and standard deviation were used. On the other hand, the qualitative data were
analyzed thematically by which the bulk of audio recorded informants’ narration were
transcribed and condensed into meaningful relevant themes that go in line with the objectives of
the study. Finally, the study gave out the following major findings:
 The majority of the respondents of the study strongly agreed and agreed that procurement
process at Gondar Malt Factory was not properly practiced, Specially, findings show that,
except procurement planning, procurement contracting, procurement controlling,
procurement efficiency and transparency were not given proper attention in the
procurement of process.
 The majority of the respondents strongly agreed and agreed that failure to prioritize
procurement needs, failure to clearly indicate specifications, absence of market data,
weak institutional and professional capacity, weak commitment to high standard for
professional conduct, inadequate system to prevent fraud and corruption and absence of
clear and well researched framework to guide purchasing decisions internal challenges
that affect the procurement practice at Gondar Malt Factory.
 The majority of the respondents strongly agreed and agreed that difficulty in applying
national polices, laws and regulations, absence of procedures for settlement of contractual
disputes, absence of rules and procedures for bidders’ suspension and failure of
contractors and suppliers to deliver goods and services as per contractual agreement
external challenges that affect procurement practice at Gondar Malt Factory.

50
  The majority of the respondents of the study strongly agreed and agreed that the existence
of national polices, laws and regulations, the application of ICT, the existence of
centralized procurement, the existence of many suppliers of goods and services, the
provision of Logistics and Supply Chain Management as field of study, formulation and
implementation of anti-corruption laws and the expansion of various infrastructures
opportunities of procurement practice.

5.2. Conclusion
Procurement is an indispensable practice for every large or small organization to accomplish
organizational goals. Thus, procurement needs crucial attention from every responsible body as
colossal amount of many circulates in its practice. However, practical experience of many
organizations and reports of empirical studies consistently indicated that procurement practice is
encircled by many challenges. This is the point where the attention of this study rested and it is
revealed in the findings of the study that except procurement planning, other parameters;
procurement contracting, controlling, efficiency and transparency were not properly and
adequately practiced which shows that procurement was not properly practiced in the study area.
Findings also attested that procurement practice was surrounded by many challenges in the study
areas. Particularly, findings show that failure to prioritize procurement needs, failure to clearly
indicate specifications, absence of market data, weak institutional and professional capacity,
weak commitment to professional conduct, inadequate system to prevent fraud and corruption
and absence of clear and well researched framework to guide purchasing decisions as the internal
challenges that affect the procurement practice. Moreover, findings show that difficulty in
applying national polices, laws and regulations, absence of procedures for settlement of
contractual disputes, absence of rules and procedures for bidders’ suspension and failure of
contractors and suppliers to deliver goods and services were external challenges that affect
procurement practice.

Despite findings of the study show that procurement practice was constrained by challenges from
internal as well as external environment, there are, as shown by findings, opportunities that
facilitate the future procurement practice in the study area. Specifically, existence of national
polices, laws and regulations, the application of ICT, the existence of centralized procurement,
the existence of many suppliers of goods and services, the provision of Logistics and Supply
Chain Management as field of study, formulation and implementation of anti-corruption laws

51
and the expansion of various infrastructures as opportunities of procurement practice at Gondar
Malt Factory.

5.3. Recommendations
The following recommendation are drawn based on the findings of the study
1. The findings of the study suggested that the level of implementing procurement
contracting, controlling, efficiency and transparency were more or less laid down. Thus,
primarily, Gondar Malt Factory procurement department including practitioners, the top
management, internal audit department, ethics & anti-corruption department and user
departments are recommended to exert maximum effort to properly administer
procurement contracts, use better controlling mechanisms and ensure efficiency and
transparency in the procurement process.
2. Findings of the study also revealed that procurement practice was affected by internal
challenges such as inability to prioritize procurement needs, failure to clearly indicate
specifications and absence of market data. Thus, Factory’s procurement directorate in
collaboration with the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) should organize workshops
and seminars adequately for procurement practitioners, user departments, suppliers of
goods and services. Workshop and training themes could revolve around how to identify
procurement needs of work units, specification preparation and how to conduct a
marketing research.
3. Findings show that procurement practice was affected by external challenges such as
difficulty in applying national polices, laws and regulations, absence of procedures for
settlement of contractual disputes and failure of contractors and suppliers to deliver goods
and services. Thus, the top management should give it due attention to mitigate the
problem by designing practical, better and contextualized procurement legislation in
cooperation with user department, procurement unit, planning & budget unit,
procurement approval committee, property administration, internal audit, finance and
even suppliers.
4. The researcher believes that a mere description of procurement practice and its challenges
could not be enough to fully capture the picture of the problem; rather, deeper
quantitative analysis managing interacting variables supported with qualitative data needs
to be considered in future research endeavors. In addition, taking divergent sample from
GOs and NGOs would make research findings sound.

52
5.4. Implication for Future Research
Findings of the study could have important implications and are believed to be helpful to
government and privet factories as well as service organizations. Though this study has revealed
some interesting results, one should be careful of its limitations related essentially to its area and
methodological scopes. Because, samples were only taken from Gondar Malt Factory while there
are a number of other factories in the study area and objectives of the study were merely
addressed through primary data while it was possible to triangulate it using secondary data. Thus,
it is still believed that it can further be extended to include more respondents from other private
as well as government factories to make it more realistic and more reliable. Moreover, deeper
quantitative analysis supported with qualitative methodology would yield better results. Thus,
further research needs to consider these gaps.

53
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Appendices
UNIVERSITY OF GONDAR
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS
DEPARTMENT OF LOGISTICS AND SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT

QUESTIONNIARE FOR EMPLOYEES OF GONDAR MALT FACTORY

Dear respondent
This questionnaire has been designed to collect data for research work to be conducted in
partial fulfillment of Master’s Degree in Logistics and Supply Chain Management. The
objective of the study is to investigate challenges and prospects of procurement practice at
Gondar Malt Factory. Thus, your clear and honest responses are important for successful
completion of this study.

General direction
1. No need of writing your name on the questionnaire
2. All the information you give will be kept with utmost confidentiality and will be used
only for research purpose
3. The questionnaire has three parts. Following the instructions of each section, read each
question carefully and give responses which you personally believe are correct

Thank you in advance for your cooperation!

Azanaw Worku
Part one
Instruction ፡ the following items are about your personal information. Please read each
question carefully and put a “√“mark in the box which contains your answer. For open ended
items, please write your answers, opinions, justifications in the spaces provided after each
item.
 Sex: Male Female
 Age: ---------------------------------------
 Level of education: 9-12 grades completed college/vocational diploma
first degree second degree specify, if other:------------
 What is your job title? ----------------------------------------------------

58
  How long have you worked in this section/department? ---------------------------------------

Part two: Items related to procurement practice

Below is a list of statements that may describe the overall procurement practice at Gondar Malt
Factory. Please read each statement carefully, and then put a'√' mark under each number that
represent your level of agreement or disagreement to each of the statement.
1.=Strongly disagree
2.=Disagree
3.=Neutral
4.=Agree
5.=Strongly agree

1 Procurement planning 1 2 3 4 5

1.1. There is annual procurement plan

1.2. Annual procurement need is achievable at Gondar Malt Factory
1.3. The factory has full right and authority to revise its annual procurement plan

2 Procurement contracting
2.1 Specifications are properly considered during contract awards for goods and
services.
2.2 The factory uses good mechanism to identify competent and qualified
suppliers during contract awards
2.3 Pre and post qualification procedures are fully applied before contract
awards
2.4. The factory uses standard binding documents for all types of procurement.
3 Procurement controlling
3.1 There is systematic and well-framed framework to guide purchasing
decisions.
3.3 The factory manages its suppliers and contracts effectively.
3.4 The factory has a sound approach to assess its procurement performance
3.5. The factory has a well established rules and regulation to withhold qualified
suppliers that do not deliver goods and services on time

59
3.6. Internal auditing is an indispensible activity that the factory usually
incorporates in its procurement practice
3.7 The factory has established a system that effectively prohibits fragmented
purchasing in an effort to avoid wastage through request for quotations or
Performa purchasing
4 Efficiency in the procurement process
4.1 The principle 'value for money' is applied.
4.2. Procurement provides adequate goods and services with the required quality

4.3 Departments and work units get procured goods and services on time.
4.4 Factory’s purchasing department strictly controls those work units and
departments from using procured goods on which they hadn’t planned and
requested
4.5 Purchasing officers in procurement practice are committed to professional
conduct or ethical principles
4.6. Consistent supervision and support is given from the top and bottom
management during procurement
4.7 Members of technique committee effectively inspect the procured goods
based on sample specification
4.8 The factory has well established trend to assess market price before actual
purchasing
5 Transparency in the procurement process
5.1 There is a system to prevent fraud and corruption in procurement process
5.2 The procurement decision making process is based on transparent criteria
5.3 All written records of procurement are made available to concerned bodies
5.4 All advertised biddings are opened in front of the concerned bodies.
5.5 There are de-briefing session for unsatisfied bidder to ascertain the facts
5.6. The selection of members of the procurement approval committee and
technique committee is based on professional competency and free from
corruption/malpractices.

60
Part three: Items related to challenges of procurement practice
Below is a list of statements that may describe challenges facing the procurement practice at
Gondar Malt Factory. Please read each statement carefully, and then put a'√' mark under each
number that represent your level of agreement / disagreement to each of the statement.
1.=Strongly disagree
2.=Disagree
3.=Neutral
4.=Agree
5.=Strongly agree

1 Internal challenges 1 2 3 4 5

1.1. There is no comprehensive annual procurement plan

1.2. The factory cannot prioritize procurement needs.
1.3. Departments and work units cannot clearly indicate their specification
1.4 The factory does not use market data to estimate cost/price
1.5 There is weak institutional and professional capacity to implement procurement
activities in a cost effective manner
1.6 Purchasing officers involved in procurement practice are not committed to high
standards for professional conduct or ethical principles
1.7 There is no adequate system to prevent fraud and corruption in procurement
process
1.8 Standard biding documents are not used for all types of procurement
1.9 There is no a clear and well-researched framework to guide the factory’s
purchasing decisions.
2 External challenges
2.1. The national policies, laws, and regulations regarding procurement are difficult
to apply to the factory
2.2 There are no procedures for the settlement of contractual disputes in the
legislative framework being applied by the factory
2.3 There are no rules and procedures regarding bidder suspension and debarment
in the legislative framework documents

61
 2.4. Once qualified, most of the time suppliers and contractors are not found to
deliver goods and services on time, required quality and quantity

Part four: Items related to opportunities of procurement practice

Below is a list of statements that may describe opportunities of the procurement practice at
Gondar Malt Factory. Please read each statement carefully, and then put a'√' mark under each
number that represent your level of agreement / disagreement to each of the statement.
1.=Strongly disagree
2.=Disagree
3.=Neutral
4.=Agree
5.=Strongly agree

No Opportunities 1 2 3 4 5
1 The existence of national policies, laws, and regulations
regarding procurement
2 The application of ICT on procurement practice(e-
procurement)
3 The existence of centralized procurement of commodities at
regional and national level
4 The existence of many suppliers of goods and services both at
regional and national level
5 The provision of logistics and supply chain management as
field of study in many local higher learning institutions
6 The formulation and implementation of various anti-
corruption laws and legal frameworks
7 The expansion of various infrastructures needed for effective
procurement practice such as availability of adequate transport
system

62
 ጎንደር ዩኒቨርስቲ
የቢዝነስ እና ኢኮኖሚክስ ኮላጅ
የልጅስቲክስ እና ሰፕሊይ ቼይን ማኔጅመንት ትምህርት ክፍሌ
መጠይቅ

ውድ የጥናቱ ተሳታፊ

ይህ መጠይቅ የተዘጋጀው በልጅስቲክስ እና ሰፕሊይ ቼይን ማኔጅመንት ትምህርት መስክ

ሇሁሇተኛ ድግሪ ማሟያ ሇሚደረግ ጥናት/ምርምር መረጃ ሇመሰብሰብ ነው፡፡ የጥናቱ አሊማም
በጎንደር ብቅሌ ፋብሪካ የግዥ ስራ አተገባበር ወቅት የሚገጥሙ ተግዳሮቶችን(ችግሮችን)
እንዲሁም የግዥ ስራን ወደፊት የሚያሻሽለ መሌካም አጋጣሚዎችን ማጥናት ነው፡፡ ስሇዚህ
የእርሶዎ ግሌጽና ታማኝ መሌሶች ይህን ጥናት ከፍጻሜ ሇማደረስ ከፍተኛ ሚና የሚጫወቱ
መሆኑን ተገንዝበው ሇእያንዳንዱ ጥያቄ መሌስ እንዲሰጡ እየጠየቅን ሇሚያደርጉሌን ቀና
ትብብር ምስጋናችንን በቅድሚያ እናቀርባሇን፡፡

አጠቃሊይ መመሪያ
1. ስም መጻፍ አያስፈሌግም፡፡
2. ሇጥያቄዎቹ መሌስ ሲሰጡ ከራስዎ ሌምድ እና ግንዛቤ ብቻ በመነሳት ስሇሆነ
የጓደኛን/የስራ ባሌደረባን መሌስ በማየትም ሆነ በምክክር መስራት አስፈሊጊ
አይደሇም፡፡
3. የሚሰጡት መረጃ በሚስጥር የሚያዝና ሇምርምር ተግባር ብቻ የሚውሌ ነው፡፡
4. ይህ መጠይቅ አራት ክፍልች አለት፡፡በእያንዳንዱ ክፍሌ ስር ያሇውን ዝርዝር
መመሪያ ተከትሇው የሚመጡ ጥያቄዎችን በአግባቡ በማንበብ መሌስ ይስጡ፡፡

ሊደረጉሌኝ ትብብር በእጅጉ አመሰግናሇሁ!

አዛናው ወርቁ

ክፍሌ አንድ ፡ የግሌ መረጃ

መመሪያ ፡ ቀጥሇው የቀረቡት ጥያቄዎች የግሌ መረጃዎችን የሚመሇከቱ ናቸው፡፡ስሇዚህ
እያንዳንዱን ጥያቄ በጥሞና ካነበቡ በኋሊ በመሌስ መስጫ ሳጥኖች ሊይ የ“√“ ምሌክት በማድረግ
እንዲሁም በክፍት ቦታዎች ሊይ የራስዎን መሌሶች በመጻፍ ይመሌሱ፡፡

1.1. ጾታ፡ ወንድ ሴት

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 1.2. እድሜ፡--------------------------

1.3. የትምህርት ደረጃ፡ 9-12 የኮላጅ/ቴክኒክ ዲፕልማ የመጀመሪያ ዲግሪ

ሁሇተኛ ዲግሪና በሊይ

1.4. የሰሇጠኑበት/የተመረቁበት ሙያ/፡ ------------------------------------

1.5. በአለበት የስራ መደብ ሇምን ያህሌ ጊዜ አገሌግሇዋሌ; ከ1—5 ከ 6-10

ከ11-15 ከ15 አመት በሊይ

ክፍሌ ሁሇት፡ ከግዢ አተገባበር

መመሪያ 2.1.፡ በሚከተሇው ሰንጠረዥ ውስጥ ያለት ዓረፍተ-ነገሮች እርስዎ በሚሰሩበት
በጎንደር ብቅሌ ፋብሪካ የግዥ አተገባበረን በሚመሇከት የሚዳስሱ ናቸው፡፡ ስሇሆነም
እያንዳንዱን ዓረፍተ-ነገር በአግባቡ ካነበቡ በኋሊ ከራስዎ ሌምድ አና ግንዜቤ አንጻር
በሰንጠረዡ ውስጥ ከተቀመጡት ቁጥሮች ስር የ“√“ ምሌክት በማስቀመጥ ይመሌሱ፡፡
ቁጥሮቹ የሚወክለት ሃሳብ እንደሚከተሇው ነው፡
1. = በጣም አሌስማማም
2. = አሌስማማም
3. = መወሰን አሌችሌም
4. = እስማማሇሁ
5. = በጣም እስማማሇሁ

1 ከግዢ እቅድ ጋር የተያያዙ ጥያቄዎች 1 2 3 4 5

1.1. ፋብሪካው አመታዊ የግዢ እቅዶችን አቅዶ ይንቀሳቀሳሌ
1.2. ፋብሪካው በእቅዱ ያስቀመጣቸውን የግዢ ፍሊጎቶችን በበጀት አመቱ አጠቃል
ይፈጽማሌ
1.3 ፋብሪካው በአመት ሉገዛ የአቀደውን እቅድ የመከሇስ ስሌጣኑና መብቱ አሇው
2 የግዢ ኮንትራት አሰጣጥና አፈፃፀም ጋር የተያያዡ ጥያቄዎች
2.1. ፋብሪካው ከየስራ ክፍልች የሚቀርቡሇትን የግዢ ፍሊጎቶች በስፔስፊኬሽን
(በተፈሇገው ጥራት) መሰረት ይፈጽማሌ
2.2 ፋብሪካው በግዢ ሂደት ወቀት የተሻለ እና ጥራት ያሊቸውን አቅራቢዎች
የሚሇይበት የዳበረ ስርዓት አሇው
2.3. የግዢ ኮንትራት ከመሰጠቱ በፊት ብቁ ተጫራቾችን ሇመሇየት የቅድመ እና ድህረ

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 የሌየታ ተግባራት በአግባቡ ይፈፀማለ
2.4. ፋብሪካው ሇሁለም የግዢ ሂደቶች ወጥ የሆኑ የጨረታ ዶክመንቶችን
ይጠቀማሌ/ያዘጋጃሌ/
3 የግዢ ስራ ቁጥጥርና ክትትሌ ጋር የተያያዙ ጥያቄዎች
3.1 ፋብሪካው የግዢን ውሳኔ የሚመራ ግሌጽ፤ ስርዓትን የተከተሇ እና ጠንካራ
መሰረት ያሇው ተቋማዊ ህግ ጥቅም ሊይ ይውሊሌ
3.2 ፋብሪካው የሚያሳትፋቸውን አቅራቢዎችን እና ኮንትራት ያዦችን በአግባቡ
ይቆጣጠራሌ
3.3 ፋብሪካው የግዢ ስራ አፈጻጸምን በተመሇከተ ጠንካራ የሆነ የግምገማ እና ድጋፍ
ስርዓት ዘርግቷሌ
3.4 ፋብሪካው ጨረታ አሸንፈው እቃ በማያቀርቡ አቅራቢወች ሊይ የሚያግድበት
ህጎች/ስርዓቶች ተካትተዋሌ/
3.5 ፋብሪካው በቂ የውስጥ ኦዲት መቆጣጠሪያ ስርአትን በእቅድ አካቶ እየተገበረው
ይገኛሌ
3.6 ፋብሪካው የፕሮፎርማ ግዥ ሇብክነት የተጋሇጠ እንዳይሆን የቁጥቁጥ ግዥን
የሚከሊከሌበት ስርአት ዘርግቶ ይንቀሳቀሳሌ
4 የግዢ ሂደት ብቃት
4.1 በግዢ ሂደት ወቅት ሇተከፈሇው ገንዘብ ተገቢውን ዋጋ /ተመጣጣኙን እቃ
ማግኘት/ የሚሇውን መርህ ይተገብራሌ
4.2 የግዢ ሂደቱ ተፈሊጊ ምርቶችንና አገሌግልቶችን በበቂ ሁኔታ በሚፈሇገው
የጥራት ደረጃ መሰረት ሇተጠቃሚ የስራ ክፍልች ማቅረብ ያስችሊሌ
4.3 የስራ ክፍልች እንዲሁም በፋብሪካው ስር የተዋቀሩ ዲፓርትመንቶች ግዥ
የተፈፀመባቸውን ምርቶችና አገሌግልቶች በተፈሇገው ጊዜ እንዲያገኙ ይደረጋሌ
4.4 የፋብሪካው የግዢ ክፍሌ የተገዙ ምርቶችና አገሌግልቶች ሇእያንዳንዱ የስራ
ክፍሌ ቀድሞ በጠየቀው(በያዘው እቅድ) መሰረት እንዲከፋፈለ ያደርጋሌ
4.5 የግዢ ባሇሙያዎች በግዢ ሂደት ውስጥ ሙያዊ እና የስነ-ምግባር ህጎችን
ተከትሇው ግዢን ይፈጽማለ
4.6. በግዢ ሂደት ወቅት ከሊይኛው አመራር አካሌ ጀምሮ በተዋረድ እስከታችኛው
አመራር ድረስ አስፈሊጊውን ድጋፍና እገዛ ይሰጣሌ

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4.7 የቴክኒክ ኮሚቴ የሚገዙ እቃወችን በናሙናው መሰረት ፈትሸው ያሇምንም እንከን
እንዲገቡ ያደርጋለ
4.8 ፋብሪካው ግዢ ከመፈጸሙ በፊት የገበያ ዋጋ ቅድመ ጥናት የተደረገ መረጃ
ተጠናክሮ እንዲያዝ ተደርጎአሌ
5 የግዢ ሂደት ግሌፅነት
5.1 በግዢ ወቅት ሉከሰቱ የሚችለ የሙስና እና የማጭበርበር ድርጊቶችን
የሚከሊከሌበት በቂ ስርዓት ተዘርግቷሌ
5.2 በግዢ ሂደት ወቅት የግዢ ውሳኔዎች ነጻ እና ግሌጽነት በተሞሊበት ሁኔታ
/ይከናወናለ/
5.3 በግዢ አፈጻጸም ወቅት የተያዙ ሁለም ቃሇ-ጉባኤዎች፤ የተወሰኑ ውሳኔዎች እና
የጹሁፍ ሰነዶች ሇሚመሇከታቸው አካሊት እንዲደርሱ ይደረጋሌ
5.4 ሁለም በማስታወቂያ ሊይ የሚወጡ ጨረታዎች በሚመሇከታቸው ሃሊፊወች
ቅድሚያ እንዲታዩ ይደረጋለ፡፡ በጨረታው መክፈቻ እሇትም በሃሊፊወች ፊት
እንዲከፈቱ ይደረጋሌ
5.5. በጨረታው ሇተሸነፉ ተጫራቾች ስኬታማ ያሊደረጓቸውን ምክንያቶች በተመሇከተ
ከጨረታ በኋሊ ሁላም ገሇጻ ይደረገሊቸዋሌ
5.6 የግዥ አጽዳቂ እንዲሁም የቴክኒክ ኮሚቴወች አደረጃጀት ሙያን የአማከሇ እና
ግሌጽ በሆነ መንገድ በአሳታፊነት የተመረጡ ናቸው

ክፍሌ ሦስት፡ በግዢ አተገባበር ከሚገጥሙ ችግሮች

መመሪያ፡ በሚከተሇው ሰንጠረዥ ውስጥ ያለት ዓረፍተ-ነገሮች በሚሰሩበት ጎንደር ብቅሌ
ፋብሪካ በግዥ አተገባበረ ወቅት የሚገጥሙ ተግዳሮቶችን(ችግሮችን) የሚዳስሱ ጥያቄዎች
ናቸው፡፡ ስሇሆነም እያንዳንዱን ዓረፍተ-ነገር በአግባቡ ካነበቡ በኋሊ ከራስዎ ሌምድ አና
ግንዜቤ አንጻር በሰንጠረዡ ውስጥ ከተቀመጡት ቁጥሮች ስር የ“√“ ምሌክት በማስቀምጥ
ይመሌሱ፡፡ ቁጥሮቹ የሚወክለት ሃሳብ እንደሚከተሇው ነው

1= በጣም አሌስማማም

2=አሌስማማም

3=መወሰን አሌችሌም

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 4=እስማማሇሁ

5=በጣም እስማማሇሁ

1 ውስጣዊ /ተግዳሮቶች/ችግሮች 1 2 3 4 5

1.1. ፋብሪካው ዓመታዊ የግዢ እቅድ የሇውም/አያዘጋጅም/

1.2. የግዢ ፍሊጎቶችን በአግባቡ በቅደም ተክሌ በማደራጀት ግዢን የመፈጸም
ውስንነቶች አለ
1.3. የስራ ክፍልቸ የግዢ ፍሊጎታቸውን ግሌጽ እና ሙለ በሆነ
ስፔስፊኬሽን አስደግፈው የማቅረብ ውስንነቶች አለባቸው
1.4 የዩኒቨርሲቲው ግዢ ከመፈጸሙ በፊት የገበያ ዋጋ ጥናት የማድረግ
ሌምድ የሇውም
1.5. ደካማ ተቋማዊ አቅም እንዲሁም የሙያተኛ እጥረት መኖር ፋብሪካው
የግዢ ተግባራትን ወጪ ቆጣቢ በሆነ ሁኔታ ማከናወን እንዳይችሌ
አድርጎታሌ
1.6 የግዢ ባሇሙያዎች በግዢ ሂደት ውስጥ ሙያዊ እና የስነ-ምግባርን
ህጎችን ተከትሇው ግዢን የመፈጸም ሌምዳቸው ደካማ ነው
1.7 በግዢ ወቅት ሉከሰቱ የሚችለ የሙስና እና የማጭበርበር ድርጊቶችን
የሚከሊከሌበት በቂ ስርዓት አሌተዘረጋም
1.8 ሇሁለም የግዢ ሂደቶች ወጥ የሆኑ የጨረታ ሰነዶችን የመጠቀም
ውስንነቶች ይታያሌ
1.9 የግዢ ውሳኔን የሚመራ ግሌጽ፤ስርዓትን የተከተሇ እና ጠንካራ መሰረት
ያሇው ተቋማዊ ህግ ጥቅም ሊይ አሌዋሇም
2 ውጫዊ ተግዳሮቶች/ችግሮች
2.1 በአገር አቀፍ ደረጃ የወጡ የግዢ ፖሉሲዎች ፤ ህጎች እና የቁጥጥር
ስሌቶች ሙለ በሙለ በፋብሪካው የግዢ ሂደት ጥቅም ሊይ አይውለም
2.2 ውዝግቦችን መፍታት የሚያስችለ ስርዓቶች በየግዢ ህጉ መአቀፉ ስር
የተካተቱ አይደለም
2.3 በጨረታ አሸንፈው ንብረት በማያቀርቡ ነጋዴወች ሊይ በሚፈጥሩት
ቸግር ምክንያት መታገድ ያሇባቸው ተጫራቾች የሚታገዱበት ስርዓቶች
በግዢ ህግ ማእቀፍ አሌተካተቱም

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2.4 በጨረታ አሸንፈው የተመረጡ አቅራቢዎች በገቡት ውሌ መሰርት
እቃዎችን በተፈሇጉበት ጊዜ፤በጥራት እና በናሙናው መሰረት ማቅረብ
አይችለም

ክፍሌ አራት፡ የግዢ አተገባበርን ሉያሻሽለ የሚችለ የውደፊት መሌካም አጋጣሚዎች

መመሪያ፡ በሚከተሇው ሰንጠረዥ ውስጥ ያለት ዓረፍተ-ነገሮች በሚሰሩበት ጎንደር ብቅሌ
ፋብሪካ በግዥ አተገባበረን ወደፊት ሉያሻሽለ የሚችለ መሌካም አጋጣሚዎችን የሚዳስሱ
ጥያቄዎች ናቸው፡፡ ስሇሆነም እያንዳንዱን ዓረፍተ-ነገር በአግባቡ ካነበቡ በኋሊ ከራስዎ ሌምድ
አና ግንዜቤ አንጻር በሰንጠረዡ ውስጥ ከተቀመጡት ቁጥሮች ስር የ“√“ ምሌክት በማስቀምጥ
ይመሌሱ፡፡ ቁጥሮቹ የሚወክለት ሃሳብ እንደሚከተሇው ነው፡፡
1= በጣም አሌስማማም
2=አሌስማማም
3=መወሰን አሌችሌም
4=እስማማሇሁ
5=በጣም እስማማሇሁ

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ተ.ቁ መሌካም አጋጣሚዎች 1 2 3 4 5
1 በአገር አቀፍ ደረጃ የወጡ ፖሉሲዎች፤ህጎች እና የቁጥጥር ስሌቶች
መኖራቸው
2 በግዢ ሂደት የኢንፎርሜሽን ኮሚኒኬሽን ቴክኖልጅ(በኢንተረኔት የታገዘ
የግዢ ሂደት መፈጠሩ) ጥቅም ሊይ መዋለ
3 በክሌሌና በአገር አቀፍ ደረጃ የተማከሇ የግዢ ስርዓት መኖር
4 በክሌሌና አገር አቀፍ ደረጃ የተሇያዩ ምርቶችንና አገሌግልቶችን
የሚያቀርቡ የተሇያዩ ድርጅቶች መኖራቸው
5 የልጅስቲክስና ሰፕሊይስ ቼይን ማኔጅመንት ትምህርትን የሚሰጡ በርከት
ያለ ዩኒቨርሲቲዎች በአገር አቀፍ መኖራቸው
6 የተሇያዩ ፀረ-ሙስና ህጎችና ደንቦች መውጣታቸው እንዲሁም ተግባር ሊይ
መዋሊቸው
7 የግዢ ሂደትን ሉያቀሊጥፉ የሚችለ መሰረተ ሌማቶች መስፋፋት

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