Development of a Procurement Management Framework in Ghana: A New Paradigm for Interdisciplinary Postgraduate Education

Procurement in the corporate world is increasingly complex, multi-faceted and interdisciplinary. This paper explores existing knowledge specifications relating to procurement management competencies and proposes a new procurement management competency framework (PMCF) and a competency-based postgraduate programme for postgraduate students in Ghana. A three-tier iterative and inductive methodology was used to develop the proposed framework and a literature survey and focus group discussions were used to explore the competency requirements for procurement management practice. The reliability, consistency and applicability of the framework were each tested using a modified single-phase Delphi survey. Five logical knowledge constructs were identified as providing the foundations for a modern public procurement system: financial; social; corporate governance; technology and globalization; and research and teamwork. The PMCF combines strategical, managerial and technical competencies and incorporates economic and social dimensions of procurement functions. It is hoped that the research findings will be of use to academics and those in industry involved with the education and training of future generations of procurement professionals.