TITLE:
Accounting for Outsourcing of Non-Core Services in Tanzania Public Sector: The Perception of Managers
AUTHORS:
Ernest F. Mabonesho
KEYWORDS:
Non-Core Services, Outsourcing Decision, Perceptions, Public Sector, Tanzania
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Service Science and Management,
Vol.15 No.6,
December
7,
2022
ABSTRACT: The purpose of this paper was to explore the opinions of managers regarding the motives behind
outsourcing practices in the public sector. Specifically, this paper intended to
understand whether managers consider outsourcing as a cost-serving strategy, a strategy to focus on core competencies and or
a strategy for enhancing the quality of service delivery. Interviews were conducted with thirty-two (32) public sector managers and fifteen
(15) managers from private sectors that were purposefully selected. The results have shown that
outsourcing decisions are necessary for complementing knowledge, skill and
competence gaps in public service delivery. The managers’ opinions have
indicated that outsourcing enables the public sector to focus on their
respective core competencies in order to enhance their performances. Moreover,
outsourcing decisions reduces operational costs and improves the quality of service delivery in the public sector. The findings imply that decision
makers consider outsourcing as a tool to bring about economic, efficiency,
effectiveness and equitable service delivery to the public in Tanzania. The
limitations of this study are that the data collected from interviews could limit the generalization of the findings because the managers’ opinions may not
necessarily be objective hence the results can be largely subjective. The paper
recommends that future researchers can think of using a large sample and or analyze outsourcing in public
sector services from risk-based perspectives.