Keywords: MBA of Public Administration & e-Government free school of management japan business

MBA of Public Administration & e-Government

These are some brief notes on Public Administration & e-Government - 1

Dr.  S.  Maurer,  
MBA Professor

e-government it is morë about leading change and transforming institutional processes with technology as the enabler and leadership as the driver.  e-government Fellows offer a unique perspective on e-government and the challenges of implementing it [see Reach for the Future].  Also,  e-government can be funded through reengineering and other management improvements.

Using the internet portals to create one-stop shops is one currently popular e-government approach to improving the delivery of public services to citizens.

Quality rather than quantity should be the watchword for your e-government work.  The percentage of people using services online rather than the percentage of services available should be the measure by which the success of the e-government programme is judged.  Therefore,  greater attention should be paid to delivering services,  which are not only attractive,  but also deliver the greatest benefits to citizens.

E-government can also serve as the catalyst for export promotion,  foreign direct investment,  local manufacturer promotion,  transparency and democracy,  and social and human capital development.

e-government,  and many others,  show how it is changing the way we share information,  transact business,  and make decisions.  Lawyers are among the many professionals impacted by these changes.

Legislation introduced in the U.S.  Senate typifies the way legislators often blend e-democracy and e-government rhetoric,  but in concrete actions overwhelmingly focus on e-government.  The bipartisan e-government Act of 2001,  co-sponsored by 12 senators,  says two of its major goals are: to enhance citizen access to government information and to increase citizen participation in government.

E-government promises to make government more efficient,  responsive,  transparent and legitimate and is also creating a rapidly growing market of goods and services,  with a variety of new business opportunities.

e-government can improve efficiency,  increase citizen involvement and help achieve reform – but it is not enough just to open up a website and wait for visitors to start flooding in.

By definition,  e-government is simply the use of information and communications technology,  such as the internet,  to improve the processes of government.

In the minds of elected officials,  encouraging e-government is a win-win proposition.  The public loves to cut waste while improving service,  and politicians are happy to show that tax dollars are being spent more efficiently.

New technologies are changing the way that law enforcement investigates suspected criminals from tracking e-mails and eaves dropping cellular phone calls.  These examples of e-government,  and many others,  show how it is changing the way we share information,  transact business,  and make decisions.  Lawyers are among the many professionals impacted by these changes.

To achieve e-government goals,  an e-government program must consider and address three interrelated areas of Policy,  management,  and technology.  Policy greatly outranked management more than 2:1 and technology 4:1 as the priority area of e-government interest.

Among the most interesting and challenging sociotechnological issues of e-government are in the area of e-Democracy,  which aims to apply information and communication technology to improve the public opinion formation process central to government’s primary regulatory function.

Take-up of e-services is the biggest issue surrounding e-government.  We should be looking at what people want,  rather than what we have to give them.  Some national guidance on this would be useful.

Technologies like the internet may be changing the way that governments interact with citizens and businesses,  but that's only part of the puzzle.  What happens behind en e-government web site is a fundamental change in the way that government business is being conducted.

These are some brief notes on Public Administration & e-Government - 2

Dr.  S.  Maurer,  
MBA Professor

Investment e-Govërnment decisions in the public sector,  whether they involve it or not,  necessarily take place in a context of political and policy influences.  No matter how solid or technically sophisticated an ROI analysis may be,  it will not likely be the sole determinant of an investment decision.  When deciding how to prepare and present an ROI analysis,  therefore,  it is best to take into account all the potential risks that influence the decision process.

In the minds of elected officials,  encouraging e-government is a win-win proposition.  The public loves to cut waste while improving service,  and politicians are happy to show that tax dollars are being spent more efficiently.

New public management is a kind of management theory about how to reform government by replacing rigid hierarchical organisational structures with more dynamic networks of small organisational units.

e-commerce is not at the heart of e-government.  The core task of government is governance,  the job of regulating society,  not marketing and sales.

To some,  e-government might seem to be little more than an effort to expand the market of e-commerce from business to government.  Surely there is some truth in this.

Technologies like the internet may be changing the way that governments interact with citizens and businesses,  but that's only part of the puzzle.  What happens behind an e-government web site is a fundamental change in the way that government business is being conducted.

More people are online than ever before and government agencies are improving their web sites to provide more information and services for public access.

The future for e-government will be affected by the way that the supply market changes.  To date,  some it suppliers have responded more effectively than others to the way in which the local e-government market has developed.

The number of people in the United States seeking government-related information online increased 70% between 2000 and 2002,  from 40 million in 2000 to 68 million in 2002,  according to a Pew internet and American Life study.

We are only starting to understand how the internet can contribute to the health and strength of representative democracy.

Many of us have already experienced the potential of the web to change our relationships with other individuals,  with the business community,  and more recently with e-government.  Getting citizens out of line and getting them online are phrases that are being used to create visions of the new relationship between citizens and government.

The past few years has seen significant growth in the number of e-government services available over the internet.  The potential for the internet to significantly enhance the way that individuals and organisations conduct business with e-government is now more evident than ever before.

All surveys indicate strong demand for e-government from citizens and business and significant benefits flowing from access to online services.  government agencies demonstrated significant improvements in efficiency and reduced costs.  The findings provide strong support for the Better Services,  Better government strategy.

Often there is not a hard-and-fast distinction between e-government and e-democracy.  Take voting technology.  To the extent that improved voting technology reduces government's cost of conducting a reliable vote,  it is e-government.  But to the extent it systematically influences who votes,  whose votes are actually counted or any other variable that affects the translation of voter preferences into public policy,  it is e-democracy.

E-government is about improving the work of all branches of government,  not just public administration in the narrow sense.

These are some brief notes on Public Administration & e-Government - 3

Dr.  S.  Maurer,  
MBA Professor

e-government opëns up many possibilities for innovating and improving government services.  Many governments are working toward providing citizens with access to information and services 24 hours a day,  seven days a week from the convenience of their home or office PC.

crm,  regardless of whether it is private sector or public sector - e-government - is far more than a great website or a well-staffed call center.  it is a combination of innovation in processes,  technologies and people that will facilitate excellent citizen support at the same time as cutting the costs of its provision.

e-government is not only or even primarily about reforming the work processes within and among governmental institutions,  but is rather about improving its services to and collaboration with citizens,  the business and professional community,  and nonprofit and nongovernmental organisations such as associations,  trade unions,  political parties,  churches,  and public interest groups.

New public management is a kind of management theory about how to reform government by replacing rigid hierarchical organisational structures with more dynamic networks of small organisational units.

Technologies like the internet may be changing the way that governments interact with citizens and businesses,  but that's only part of the puzzle.  What happens behind en e-government web site is a fundamental change in the way that government business is being conducted.

Legislation introduced in the U.S.  Senate typifies the way legislators often blend e-democracy and e-government rhetoric,  but in concrete actions overwhelmingly focus on e-government.  The bipartisan e-government Act of 2001,  co-sponsored by 12 senators,  says two of its major goals are: to enhance citizen access to government information and to increase citizen participation in government.

The Return-on-Investment on e-government provides the impetus for increased levels of investment to harness the potential ongoing benefits to both citizens and government.

In the minds of elected officials,  encouraging e-government is a win-win proposition.  The public loves to cut waste while improving service,  and politicians are happy to show that tax dollars are being spent more efficiently.

The e-government ROI analysis that will answer these types of questions considers how much the investment contributes to achieving program goals and producing the desired results.  it considers direct,  indirect,  and opportunity costs.  The indirect costs include such things as training and administration over time.  An opportunity cost could be the loss of return or revenue you would have received had you chosen a different alternative.

e-commerce is not at the heart of e-government.  The core task of government is governance,  the job of regulating society,  not marketing and sales.

Many of us have already experienced the potential of the web to change our relationships with other individuals,  with the business community,  and more recently with e-government.  Getting citizens out of line and getting them online are phrases that are being used to create visions of the new relationship between citizens and government.

Often there is not a hard-and-fast distinction between e-government and e-democracy.  Take voting technology.  To the extent that improved voting technology reduces government's cost of conducting a reliable vote,  it is e-government.  But to the extent it systematically influences who votes,  whose votes are actually counted or any other variable that affects the translation of voter preferences into public policy,  it is e-democracy.

Quality rather than quantity should be the watchword for your e-government work.  The percentage of people using services online rather than the percentage of services available should be the measure by which the success of the e-government programme is judged.  Therefore,  greater attention should be paid to delivering services,  which are not only attractive,  but also deliver the greatest benefits to citizens.

Have we achieved the 'benefits' that were used to justify the e-government program? How do we continue to improve our services and build upon the foundations that we will have created?

e-government is going to be a prime enabler for transformation of the way that central and local government interact and communicate with Citizens.

These are some brief notes on Public Administration & e-Government - 4

Dr.  S.  Maurer,  
MBA Professor

By marking out e-government as an activity distinct from hëalth,  education or quality of life,  we promote the idea that implementing e-government is an end in itself.

e-government is going to be a prime enabler for transformation of the way that central and local government interact and communicate with Citizens.

e-government can improve efficiency,  increase citizen involvement and help achieve reform – but it is not enough just to open up a website and wait for visitors to start flooding in.

The vision for e-government is that you will be able to find public information and services within your government departments quickly and easily over the internet.

The next phase of activity will focus on proving,  qualitatively and quantitatively,  the direct benefits of crm for the citizen and council,  including a tool for calculating the benefits and the Return-on-Investment.

e-commerce is not at the heart of e-government.  The core task of government is governance,  the job of regulating society,  not marketing and sales.

e-government might enable a citizen to access the form they need to fill out to order a copy of their birth certificate without needing to know that the health Department handles the request.  Other services that citizens want online include renewing a driver's license,  voting on the internet,  filing taxes,  and obtaining park information.

e-government can facilitate new forms of collaboration among governments which cut across and diminish such boundaries.  The EuroCities project is an example.  Perhaps in the long term e-government will help to strengthen the identification of citizens.

Imagine an e-government future in which citizens can log onto one internet site,  easily find the government services they are looking for,  and use that site to conduct an online transaction.

Quality rather than quantity should be the watchword for your e-government work.  The percentage of people using services online rather than the percentage of services available should be the measure by which the success of the e-government programme is judged.  Therefore,  greater attention should be paid to delivering services,  which are not only attractive,  but also deliver the greatest benefits to citizens.

Often there is not a hard-and-fast distinction between e-government and e-democracy.  Take voting technology.  To the extent that improved voting technology reduces government's cost of conducting a reliable vote,  it is e-government.  But to the extent it systematically influences who votes,  whose votes are actually counted or any other variable that affects the translation of voter preferences into public policy,  it is e-democracy.

e-government is a complex task and requires agreement and coordination across agencies and jurisdictions,  and the creation of a technical infrastructure that can sustain the services.  Matters such as sharing of experience,  data and resources must be tested and considered by any e-government agency.

The crm will help local authorities realise their ambitions to deliver better services,  modernisation and e-government.

government decision makers must make the most of scarce resources and at the same time respond to ever-increasing demands for improved performance and the new e-government technology.  Thus the need for wise investment in information technology continues to grow.

More people are online than ever before and government agencies are improving their web sites to provide more information and services for public access.