Thesis (M.S.)--Rochester Institute of Technology, 1990. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 99-102).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 1982. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ROTCH / Vita. / Bibliography: leaves 261-267. / by Levi Amos Sorrell. / Ph.D.

Title: Purchasing Process of Services: A Study of the Purchasing Process of HumanResource (HR) services Background: The rise in competition among organizations continues to increase. The rise in globalization, outsourcing and continuous pressure from customers have been the source for the increase in competition. Additionally, the instability in various industries is leading to high competition among firms. The purchasing of professional services is vital to organizations. Contemporary organizations spend a huge portion of their resources on the purchasing of professional services. The proper purchase of professional services can lead to cost saving and competitive advantage for companies or organizations. Research Questions:  How can the various purchasing models be used to develop a process for professional HR service purchasing? What are the factors involved in developing a process for the purchasing of professional HR services Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to develop a purchasing process for the purchasing of professional HR services. It takes into consideration the various classifications models of purchasing and the factors involved in the purchasing of services in order to develop a purchasing process for professional HR services. Method: Through a qualitative case study, the thesis gathered empirical data and used the deductive scientific approach to building a foundation of theory. Additionally, pattern matching was used to analyze both the theory and empirical data. Conclusion: The thesis developed a new classification model for HR services which resulted in the development of a new purchasing process that takes into consideration the classification of services and integrates the effects of the classification in the purchasing process. Additionally, the thesis discovered that personal relationship, clarity of problem and solution, specification of supplier’s inputs, specification of supplier’s throughputs or processes, specification of supplier’s output and specification of supplier’s outcome and the characteristics of service are factors involved in the development of a purchasing process forHR Services. Keywords: Professional Human Resource Services, Categorization of service, PurchasingModels, Service Purchasing Process

Syfte - Syftet med studien är att undersöka hur kvalitet inom sektorn för vård och omsorg påverkas av tjänsteköp jämfört med tjänst i egen regi för att uppnå hög kostnadseffektivitet. För att besvara syftet kommer nedanstående frågeställningar att besvaras: -          Vilka fördelar och risker gällande kvalitet kan identifieras vid tjänsteköp respektive tjänst i egen regi inom sektorn för vård och omsorg? -          Ger inköpt tjänst eller tjänst i egen regi högst kostnadseffektivitet inom sektorn för vård och omsorg? Metod - För att besvara frågeställningarna och uppfylla studiens syfte skapades ett teoretiskt ramverk genom litteraturgenomgång och en fallstudie genomfördes på Nässjö Socialförvaltning där datainsamling skedde genom intervjuer, enkäter och dokumentstudier. Insamlad empiri analyserades tillsammans med teoretiskt ramverk vilket genererade studiens resultat. Resultat - Studiens resultat visade att inköpt tjänst genererade fler fördelar gällande kvalitet jämfört med tjänst i egen regi och därmed utgjorde ett mindre riskfullt alternativ. Inköpt tjänst skapade även högre kvalitet till en lägre kostnad och var därför det mest kostnadseffektiva valet då kostnaden per kvalitetseffekt blev lägre. Rekommendation - Vård- och omsorgsverksamhet rekommenderas att se över möjligheten att köpa in tjänster istället för att utföra i egen regi, i synnerhet tekniska tjänster som inte tillhör kärnverksamheten. Begränsningar - Studien begränsades av att samtliga kostnader för tjänsten som undersöktes inte kunde identifieras, vilket ledde till att kostnadseffektiviteten endast beräknades utifrån direkta personal- och servicekostnader. Studien är en enfallsstudie vilket kan begränsa generaliserbarheten till andra vård- och omsorgsverksamheter. Nyckelord - Inköpt tjänst, tjänst i egen regi, kvalitet, kostnad, kostnadseffektivitet, sektorn för vård och omsorg. / Purpose - The purpose of this study is to investigate how quality is being affected by service purchasing and service in-house within the care and welfare sector to achieve high cost-effectiveness. The research questions stated below will be answered in the study to fulfill the purpose: -          What benefits and risks regarding quality can be identified in case of service purchasing and service in-house within the care and welfare sector? -          Is service purchasing or service in-house the most cost-effectiveness choice for the care and welfare sector? Method - To answer the research questions and thereby fulfill the purpose of the study a theoretical framework was created by literature review and a case study conducted at the Social Services in Nässjö. Empirical data was collected by interviews, questionnaires and document studies and then analyzed with the theoretical framework which generated the study’s result. Findings - The study’s findings showed that purchased service generated more benefits in terms of quality compared to service in-house and therefore represented a less risky alternative. Purchased service also created higher quality at a lower cost which meant it was the most cost-effective choice as the cost per quality effect was lower. Recommendation – The care and welfare sector is recommended to look at the possibility of buying services instead of performing services in-house, in particular technical services that do not belong to the core operations. Limitations - The calculation of cost-effectiveness in the study was limited by the fact that all costs for the investigated service not were able to identify, which meant that cost-effectiveness was only calculated based on personnel and service costs. The study is based only at one case company which may restrict the generalization of other organizations in the sector of care and welfare. Keywords - Service purchasing, service in-house, quality, cost, cost-effectiveness, care and welfare sector.