Social Media in the Public Sector - Dissertation Example

? Social Media in the Public Sector Dissertation Proposal Inserts His/Her Inserts Table of Contents Introduction 3 2. Background 3-4 3. Aims and Objectives 4-5 4. Intellectual Challenge 5 5. Research Problem/ Questions 5-6 6. Research Methodology 6-8 7. Problems in research/ Ethical issues 8 8. Resources 9 References Appendix 1. Introduction In the midst of Arab uprisings, the role of social media such as Twitter and Facebook and their utilization by the Government 2.0 goes largely ignored (Council on Foreign Relations, 2011). While some research has attempted to examine the use of social media in the private sector, little attention has been given to the use of social media by the Government 2.0 in Arab countries in controlling and channelizing the thought processes of Arab citizens and averting such uprisings as happened recently. Background Previously, the world was organized around the traditional system of messages communicated via a single knowledge repository to all stakeholders with little or no interaction ‘amongst’ these stakeholders (Evans, 2008). However, the contemporary networked world is just the opposite with two-way communication being the norm. Social media has played a significant role in the birth of the boundary less world, with ease of collaboration and interaction amongst participants (Evans & McKee, 2010). Recent uprisings in Arab countries are raising concerns about the need for government to interact with its citizens, listen to their concerns and respond to them (Idle & Nunns, 2011). Governments in UAE have introduced blueprints for social media for government organizations in line with the e-participation directives (Abdallah & Albadr, 2010). Research indicates that approximately 30% of government organizations in Dubai have successfully adopted the use of Web 2.0 and social media technology at their place of work and another 30% plan to do the same in the coming 3 years (Abdallah & Albadr, 2010). However, the effectiveness of use of social media is compromised by an in built sampling bias that allows only those with access to social media and aware of use of technology to interact with the Government 2.0 (Bowker, 2010). The proposed use of social media technology by Arab governments is a step further in the concept of “open governments” which is a people-oriented strategy, in line with principles of true democracy, which is reflected in long term partnerships between the government and the nation’s citizens at a holistic level (Andersen et al., 2010). The concept is to engage the citizens by using ICTs that enhance trust, collaboration and participation between the government and its citizens. The notion of e-government includes but is not limited to, e-participation, a term that recognizes that two-way communication can be efficiently achieved via social media technologies by allowing the user (citizen) to interact with the government in real time (Macintosh & Tambouris, 2009). 2. Aims and Objectives The aim of this research is to identify, describe, and critically analyze the factors responsible for the need for use of social media in the public sector and establish the significance of social media as a tool for fostering Government 2.0. The objectives are as follows: 1) to define the tools used by public sector government organizations under the umbrella of social media 2) To determine the most significant tool in social media adoption in Arab world 3) To determine the extent to which the economic impact of e-government can be established 4) To examine the benefits of an open government and the role of social media in promoting it 5) To examine the challenges of implementing the social media networking technology in the context of promoting Government 2.0 6) To establish the differences between countries that are promoting Government 2.0 and those that are not 3. Intellectual Challenge: Within private sector businesses, there is evidence of use of social media as a tool for enhancing communication with stakeholders and building relationships with the same; however the effectiveness the same in public sector government organizations in particular has largely been ignored (Sterne, 2010). This paper is intended to provide a significant contribution, backed by empirical evidence, to the existing knowledge related to the use of social media as a tool for promoting Government 2.0 in Arab countries by providing a definite, representative conclusion regarding the effectiveness of using various dimensions. Research Problem and Research Questions The problem in question is to investigate the effectiveness of use of social media for promoting Government 2.0 in Arab countries and to conclude whether use of social media has a significant influence in promoting Government 2.0 in the Arab World. The specific research questions to be answered are: 1) What are the tools used by public sector government organizations in UAE under the umbrella of social media? 2) What is the most significant tool in social media adoption in Arab world? 3) What is the extent to which the economic impact of e-government can be established? 4) What are the benefits of an open government and the role of social media in promoting it? 5) What are the challenges of implementing the social media networking technology in the context of promoting Government 2.0? 6) What are the differences between countries that are promoting Government 2.0 and those that are not? Research Methodology: Research Method: The research is both descriptive and causal in nature. In the descriptive part, the research will identify the findings of previous researchers regarding the need for use of social media in promoting e-governments and Government 2.0 in general. After the descriptive analysis, the research will establish a link between the use of social media and effective governance of citizens of Arab world. Both primary and secondary sources shall be used. Secondary Sources: Secondary research effort will improve understanding of what drives motivational responses (leading eventually to uprisings) in modern citizen populations. It will act as the foundational knowledge necessary to build an appropriate primary research design strategy (Nargundkar, 2003). The procedure will entail consultation with appropriate journals, textbooks and government reports, including UNDESA’s e-participation index rankings, social media guidelines and Arab social media report, describing the impact of social media technology on Government 2.0. Hard data uncovered in this process, either in the form of statistics or case studies, will be presented in the study’s literature review as foundational knowledge. Primary Sources: Primary data can be seen as a reliable set of data because its source is validated as it was done by the researcher herself (Bryman & Bell, 2007). The primary data for this research shall be collected using surveys (questionnaires and interviews) and focus groups (of 6-8 respondents each). Two focus groups shall be conducted: one of citizens and of the government organizations. The focus groups shall be conducted first in order to provide important insights that help frame questions in the questionnaire for the survey (Krueger & Casey, 2009). Respondents will be given a questionnaire template consisting open-ended questions related to mindsets and attitude of citizens towards, motivation, and aptitude towards social media and its use for fostering Government 2.0. Questionnaires shall be both self administered and otherwise. The first half of the questionnaire shall be directly related to the topic and the other half shall include close-ended questions on demographics of the respondents such as age, gender, income level. A 15- 20 question survey will be designed with a simple 1-10 ranking scale related to attitudes, motivation and attitude regarding government-citizen relationships; however, ratio scales shall be used in obtaining personal information such as age and income level. Interviews shall be conducted via the telephone and email with managers of government organizations in UAE, including the Director of the Governance and Innovation Program in the Dubai School of Government (DSG), Mr. Fadi Salem. Both quantitative and qualitative techniques shall be used; however, due to nature of the research (behavioral) the qualitative research shall be used extensively. Sampling: For qualitative analysis the sample will consist of approximately 40 each of government officials and citizens. For quantitative purposes, the sample shall comprise of 150 respondents each (of government officials and citizens). Non probability sampling will be used since the intention is to survey a particular segment of the population. Stratified sampling will be used by dividing citizens into strata or clusters based on socio-demographics; that is, the total number of units on the random number table shall be divided by the respective sample sizes for obtaining the number of citizens to be selected from each cluster (Sarndal et al., 2003). Data Gathering and Analysis: Gathering of primary data shall take a maximum of two weeks whereas gathering of secondary data would be a continuous process throughout the research. The analysis shall begin with a check for reliability of data for which the Chronbach’s alpha shall be deployed for which the split-half method shall be used. The SPSS software shall be used for statistical analysis of data. Since this is more of a behavioral research than otherwise, the statistical analysis shall include mean, median, mode, standard deviation, histograms, correlation, regression analysis, co efficient of determination and one way ANOVA. Computer tabulation shall be used and factor analysis shall be undertaken as well. Problems in Research/ Ethical issues: During the research it will ensured that there are no ethical issues. There shall always be an informed consent while primary research is conducted; it will be ensured that no sensitive information is extracted from the interviewees and survey-takers. A statement of confidentiality shall be given in each questionnaire so that respondents are encouraged to give the correct responses rather than those that are socially desirable (Desarbo et al., 2009). I also understand that plagiarism is illegal; thus, all the research material that has been taken through secondary sources shall be cited properly though the Harvard referencing style. Resources The research design is expected to achieve the research aims and objectives stated at the beginning of this chapter. The research shall begin after approval of initial submissions including the proposal and the research methodology (Appendix 1). References: Abdallah, S. & Albadr, F., 2010. ICT Acceptance, Investment and Organization: Cultural Practices and Values in the Arab World. Hershey: IGI Global. Andersen, K.N., Francesconi, E. & Gronlund, A., 2010. Electronic Government and the Information Systems Perspective. Berlin: Springer-Verlag. Bowker, R., 2010. Egypt and the Politics of Change in the Arab Middle East. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing, Inc. Bryman, A. & Bell, E., 2007. Business Research Methods. 2nd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Council on Foreign Relations, 2011. The New Arab Revolt: What Happened, What It Means, and What Comes Next. New York: Council on Foreign Relations. Desarbo, Zikmund, W.G. & Babin, B.J., 2009. Business Research Methods. New Jersey: Cengage Learning. Evans, D., 2008. Social media marketing: an hour a day. Canada: Wiley Publishing Inc. Evans, D. & McKee, J., 2010. Social Media Marketing: The Next Generation of Business Engagement. Canada: Wiley Publishing Inc. Idle, N. & Nunns, A., 2011. Tweets from Tahrir. New York: OR Books. Krueger, R.A. & Casey, M.A., 2009. Focus groups: a practical guide for applied research. New Jersey: Sage Publications. Macintosh, A. & Tambouris, E., 2009. Electronic participation. Berlin: Springer-Verlag. Nargundkar, R., 2003. Marketing Research-Text & Cases. 2nd ed. New Delhi: Tata Mc Graw-Hill. Sarndal, C.-E., Swensson, B. & Wretman, J., 2003. Model assisted survey sampling. New York: Springer-Verlag Inc. Singh, S., Becker, M. & Williams, R., 2009. Social Media Marketing for Dummies. New Jersey: Wiley Publishing. Smith, E., 2008. Using Secondary Data in Educational and Social Research. New Jersey: Open University Press. Sterne, J., 2010. Social Media Metrics: How to Measure and Optimize Your Marketing Investment. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons Inc. Appendix 1 Task Id Task Name Week 10 Wk 11 Wk 12 Wk 13 Wk 14 Wk 15 Wk 16 Wk 17 Wk 18 Wk 19 Wk 20 Wk 21 Wk 22 Wk 23 Wk 24 I Project Planning II Library Research III Planning for primary research IV Gathering of primary data V Analyses of primary data VI Draft copy of dissertation VII Final Project submission Key Tasks: Milestone: Read More