Factors Influencing E-Government Implementation in Saudi Arabia - Assignment Example

CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1: Introduction. This section covers the literature review on the factors causing the delay of e-government projects in the public sector in Saudi Arabia. This is captured in various sub- topics that outline these factors that are responsible for the slow progress in the implementation of e-government. These include lack of support from top management teams, poor cooperation between various public sectors (within themselves and with other stakeholders), inadequate training, infrastructures and business operations. Other factors include poor management of e-government program, level of e-readiness in the country, security and privacy issues and lastly leadership, funding and coordination. 2.2. Lack of support from top management Top management support is a key component that determines the success or failure of e-government projects in the public sector of Saudi Arabia. This goes hand in hand with political support which is a determining factor on the success or failure of e-government projects (Al-Shehry). According to Al-Sobhi and Weerakkody (2009), technical and organizational aspects require immense economic resources. These include funding that is sustainable and other resources such as leadership, strategies, and project management skills that are crucial in the implementation process of a successful e-government project. In order to achieve a successful project, the top management has to endorse and support its full implementation. Top management plays a key role in implementation of e-government since critical decisions are made at the top level of the organization. This can have a positive or a negative effect on the adoption of e-government project in an organization (Al-Sobhi & Al-Harbi 2008) The Saudi government has made some efforts in ensuring that the political climate is favorable in ensuring the implementation of e-government projects (Al-Sobhi & Al-Harbi 2008). These include ensuring that the state officials use emails in communication which should go hand in hand with reduction in overreliance on traditional methods of communication. However, in some department in Saudi Arabia, it is common to find top management resisting e-government projects (Altameem, Zairi & Alshawi 2006). 2.3: Cooperation between government sectors The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has a geographic size of about 865,000 square miles (AlShehry 2008). The vast distance makes it difficult for citizens to access various government departments (Atameem, Zairi and Alshawi 2006; (AlShehry 2008). E-government is crucial in tackling the hindrance posed by the distance. In order to do this effectively, there is a need for government departments to cooperate in sharing of vital information. However, there is laxity in the sharing of information and other necessary support in the implementation of e-government projects ((Ayyad 2008)). According to Al-Solbi and Mayhew (n.d.), there is a negative attitude towards ICT which is as a result of a conservative nature of the Saudi Arabians. This view is supported by Alghamdi, Godwin & Rampersad who claims that the majority of government departments have poor knowledge management strategies which hinder their ability to share information (2011). 2.4: Training Technical knowhow is an important factor in the formulation and implementation of e-government projects in Saudi Arabian Kingdom. Human resource factors contribute a great deal towards an organization’s ability to implement e-projects. Such factors include relevant training and support systems which are able to maintain a sound and skilled manpower in the whole phase of project implementation (Alghamdi, Godwin & Rampersad 2011). Al-Sobhi & Weerakkody (2009) asserts that proper training of employees is essential in improving overall development of e-government. They elaborate further that training concerns itself with overall development of e-government with an aim of achieving higher success in e-government projects (2009 p.7). Training is essential in encouraging citizens to embrace the use of e-government through training them on usage of computer ad internet services. The successful implementation of e-government projects is hindered by lack of enough training on employees as well as the greater number of citizens that have no ‘e-literacy’ which is a result of digital divides in Saudi Arabia (Al-Sobhi & Weerakkody 2009). Digital divide is a representation of the gap that exists between the citizens who are well endowed economically and those who are not (Al-Sobhi, Weerakkody & Kamal 2010 ; Alghamdi, Godwin & Rampersad 2011). The former are able to access ICT facilities, as opposed to the latter group (2010). Out of a population of about 28, 146, 657, only 6,380,000 Saudi Arabians have access to the internet. This trend is a reflection of insufficient skills in ICT especially on public employees and citizens (Al-Osmaimi, Alheraish & Bakry 2006; Binbakir 2010). Digital divide represents a big barrier in the diffusion of ICT knowledge among citizens in Saudi Arabia (Binbakir 2010). A majority of public employees are not computer literate, something which hinders effective implementation of e-government projects (Al-Shehry et al 2006). E-government implementation is a set of technological, economical, organizational and social aspects (Binbakir 2010). In the absence of these attributes, there is a hindrance in diffusion of e-government services in the society by the government officials. The same attributes affect the adoption rate of e-government services by the public in the country (Al-Sobhi & Al-Harbi 2008). 2.5: ICT infrastructure and business process. Technical infrastructures and business related issues have a greater impact in the implementation of e-government projects in Saudi Arabia. The Saudi government has made progress in ICT development and telecommunication sector (Altameem, Zairi & Alshawi 2006). However, most of the policies on ICT are configured as information technology plans, rather than comprehensive IT-enabled governance plans (Al-Kinani &Al-Besher 2008). The authorities have to recognize that factors that manipulate the embracing and dispersal of e-government are closely tied to the resources pumped into the projects. Despite claims by the government that it is serious on e-government, investment on ICT is not enough. This is because the technocrats have a negative attitude on the citizens’ participation in the embrace of e-government (Sahraouie et al.2006). The government has made some progress in capital investment in ICT. However, the country lacks a clear national policy on ICT. There is not a single comprehensive policy that can deal with laws, procedure and regulations on ICT systems (Atameem, Zairi &Alshawi 2006). 2.6: Managing the e-government program/ Yesser e-Government. In Saudi Arabia, there is the absence of a central authority to oversee the implementation of e-government program (Ayyad 2008). It is in no doubt that despite various efforts by the state authorities to enact ICT policies and legislations, there are little efforts to ensure compliance (Al-Sobhi & Al-Harbi 2008). According to Sahraoui et al. (2006) there is no noticeable government entity that is responsible for the digitization of government services (Atameem, Zairi and Alshawi 2006). Public institutions are at liberty to implement e-government on their own (Sahraoui et al. 2006). This has seen a trend where organizations implement a segment of the e-government that is relevant to them (Ayyad 2008). The government has an e-government portal in the name of www.yesser.gov.sa which provides scanty details on planed initiatives (Binbakir 2010). However, it lacks clear information on the set timelines, objectives of e-governments and the progress of the implementation process. It is in this website that one expects to find information on a master plan which outlines the ability of the state to design and implement e-government (Al-Fakhri et al. 2008). This can be attributed to lack of political goodwill, which exist but in little measures. Despite it drawing IT professional from the public and private sectors, there is little that has come out of it. Indeed, the annual e-government forum has not been held from 2003 to 2006. This has left the public and professionals in the dark on the developments in Saudi e-government (Sahraoui et al. 2006). Lack of an effective management structure on e-government pose a major challenge towards effective implementation of e-government projects in Saudi Arabia. This is a big hindrance which might lead to partial or total failure of the whole program of e-government development (Al-Fakhri et al. 2008). The main cause of this as discussed earlier is a public sector that is reluctant to change. Most of the government departments are run by bureaucrats with unlimited resources and untouchable status (Sahraoui et al. 2006) 2.7: Level of e-readiness in Saudi Organizations According to findings of a study conducted by Mayhew and Al-Sobhi on measuring the e-readiness in Saudi Organizations, the nation is not ready for ICT (n.d.). This is manifest in the verity that there is no code of practice on ICT that exists in the gulf state. It is unfortunate that the public sector is devoid of a code of conduct with its private counterpart heavily relying on the US code of conduct (Al-Sobhi & Mayhew n.d). Government policies in Saudi Arabia do not encourage the exploitation of ICT in the public segment as well as private business (Atameem, Zairi and Alshawi 2006). However, some individuals have made same initiatives to the e-government projects although it is not enough for the standard requirements in the field of ICT. There is a lack of a clear national ICT plan and code of conduct. On the other hand, the Saudi Arabians are not ready to adopting the ICT infrastructure (AlShehry 2008). This is attributed to the fact that the Saudi society is a bit conservative based on its strict Muslim culture- skeptical of western influence (Al-Kinani & Al-Besher 2008). The society feels that the misuse of e-government might have drastic and negative effects on their culture and religious values (Al-Kinani & Al-Besher 2008). Another major hindrance is the language barrier. Most of Saudi Arabians are speakers of Arabic. Most of ICT technology is documented in English which is not easily understood by most Saudis.in fact, Arab websitesform less than 1% of the total figure (Al-Kinani & Al-Besher 2008). A national strategy is very important in the effective implementation of the e-government projects in any society. It helps in providing guidelines on the formulation and eventual implementation of projects. Consequently, it provides a plan against which control is made. The ICT application technique in Saudi Arabia is applied in organizations but on very limited measures (Al-Tameem 2008). The main reason for this hindrance is that there are few qualified ICT technicians. Consequently, e-government work is not performed in a professional way. There is laxity in creating awareness among the employees and citizens on the benefit of embracing ICT (Al-Sobhi & Al-Harbi 2008). This can be attributed to factors such as lack of a clear policy on ICT, resistance from top management as well as inadequate skilled professionals in ICT (Al-Sobhi & Al-Harbi 2008). 2.8: E-readiness of government websites Government websites are found in the Yesser program (Binbakir 2010). The Yesser program was a government initiative to research on the best way to improve government websites. The websites’ designs are lacking in their ability to enhance usability. In Saudi Arabia, the e-government websites available do provide information but due to their inappropriate design that does little to encourage users to fully utilize the e-government services (Binbakir 2010). This is one of the biggest problem which undermines the applicability of e-government projects in the kingdom of Saudi . There are also great discrepancies in e-government websites especially when it comes to data entry (Binbakir 2010). According to al-Sobhi, et al (2010), the usability and navigability of any given website is a crucial determinant of the successful implementation of e-government projects in Saudi Arabia. Usability in an e-government context is the ease in which a normal user is able to carry out tasks which are related to services provision in the government (Binbakir 2010). These websites are more complex making it hard for users to make use of, thus affecting the quality of service delivery. In fact, in Saudi Arabia, most people avoid using e-government websites due to the complexity of retrieving data. 2.9: Security and privacy Implementation of e-government projects calls for the advancement of security and privacy measures to protect the privacy and security of users (Alghamdi, Godwin & Rampersad 2011). It is appropriate to put in place proper authentication and firewall devices to protect data from internet hackers and denial of service attacks (AlShehry 2008). In Saudi Arabia, privacy and security issues have proved a source of technical pressure on the government in application of ICT (Al-Sobhi & Weerakkody 2009). Security concerns have proved a factor that impact negatively on the acceptance of e-services from Saudi Arabians (Al-Sobhi & Weerakkody 2009). The implementation of secure technologies is a key factor that has a great influence in the way citizen perceive privacy and trust to adopt e-services (AlShehry 2008). Most citizens in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia have little trust in the privacy of the internet and other ICT facilities which impacts on their adoption of –government. They despise the issue of having to disclose personal information over the internet and other e-government projects. Security concerns force some organizations to be skeptical in advertising on a website especially national websites. Most organizations such as financial institutions are afraid of internet fraud(Al-Sobhi & Mayhew n.d.). This is compounded further by lack of clear regulations to regulate the use of ICT systems (AlShehry 2008). There are serious credibility concerns over e-government in Saudi Arabia. The citizens are in fear of leakages on personal information, which is common in the country. The internet is vulnerable to high levels of infiltration through an elaborate system of proxies and hackers which hinder the flow of information and access to knowledge. According to Sahraoui et al. (2006) the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia fares badly with regard to the right and privacy of its people. There is little appreciation for the freedom of privacy of human beings in the Arab world (Sahraoui, Gharaibeh & Al-Jboori 2006). 2.10: Leadership, funding and coordination. Technical and organizational aspects of e-government projects require economic resources, good leadership and proper coordination (Al-Osaimi, Alheraish &Bakry 2006). In order to effectively implement e-government projects, there is a need for sustainable funding and non-economic resources (Atameem, Zairi and Alshawi 2006). Non-economic resources will include strategic leadership and project management skills which are essential in facilitating and promoting the successful implementation of e-government services and infrastructures (Al-Sobhi & Weerakkody 2009). Leadership is a key factor that determines the success of e-government projects. The leadership of Saudi Arabia has proved ineffective in that it has failed to come up with a comprehensive national policy on ICT. It has also failed to offer the relevant support in tackling different challenges that emerge in the whole phase of implementation of e-government (Al-Fakhri et al. 2008). In spite of political support being in place, there is the lack of follow-up on e-government implementation. Top government officials fail to force compliance in ministries towards adoption of e-government within the set timelines (Al-Osaimi, Alheraish &Bakry 2006). In Saudi Arabia, there is the lack of a standardized method of calculating the actual cost of e-government projects and the benefits accruing from e-government (Al-Sobhi & Weerakkody 2009). This has resulted in retardation of overall e-government implementation. The problem is compounded further by lack of a good coordination between various actors in the e-government projects ((Al-Sobhi & Al-Harbi 2008)). Read More