The Knowledge Age: E-Government - Assignment Example

E-Government Governments have started to change. The different countries have adopted the E-government way ever since technological changes started to impact the lives and indeed the business of everyone. The shift was thus perceivable though a little bit difficult to achieve. The results have been pretty drastic ever since E-government was implemented within different nations thus showing the benefits loud and clear. Hence came a term by the name of E-government and with it there were a lot of changes to the conventional manner of going about doing things in the governmental environs. There was a revolution in the waiting to happen and it is only with the passage of time that everyone concerned with the governmental departments will understand the true potential and advantages of implementing the E-government initiative. Surely the times have changed – for the better. E-government is the short form of electronic government, also known as the ‘e-gov’ and has a number of other names in digital government, online government and even transformational government. E-government discusses the manner in which government makes use of the exchange of information and services that are pertinent with regards to the citizens, individual businesses, and other governmental agencies to name a few. E-government thus takes care of information and communications technology, which in this paper we will call as ICT. All these processes are carried out to ensure that there is improvement within the processes, efficiency is achieved, public services are better managed and delivered and there are plenty of tasks that are done in the right manner as far as processes of democratic governance is concerned. Thus to add to the same discussion, we see that the E-governments encompass a number of different models including the Government to Citizen, also known as the Government to Customer, Government to Business and lastly Government to Government. However to coin the most significant of these activities that E-government does in the related scheme of things, we see that E-government increases efficiency between the tasks, ensures there is convenience all around and there is a better accessibility factor related with the provision of basic public services. Hence the interaction between the private sector and that of the public sector is also improved as a result of the very same. In any country, the role of E-government is of quintessential importance. The vision and clear objectives spelled out in the very beginning make this dream a possibility for one and all to see, hear and be a witness of. Within a particular government, the role of E-government is immense as we will see in the following paragraphs. We will look at the finer points of the deployment and the eventual implementation of the E-government project within the country’s state machinery. In this paper we will also touch upon the present day situation of E-government within different nations and compare the same with what used to be the case in the past, adding to that the limitations that the governments had to face in the wake of a proper deployment and implementation of E-government project. There are the strengths of the E-government project on which we will gaze our concentration and not to forget the potential opportunities which can be exploited upon in the times to come. In this paper, we need to ascertain as to why we are trying to incorporate E-government within the governmental ranks especially when there is not a need to address any problem as such. We have a solution to this quagmire. Actually there is a problem at hand. Too many of the governmental activities, tasks and processes are not able to be completed thus posing a number of problems for all concerned. Especially the people, the general public is the largest segment to get affected by it in a negative manner. There are troubles all around and hence there is a general feeling of resentment within the public with regards to the government as they believe it could not handle their affairs in a proper and timely manner. Thus the problem lies in the fact that the tasks, processes and activities need to be automated. These have to be looked at in real time so as to solve the problems and be proactive rather than being reactive after a problem has occurred and then going after solving it. Proactive approach seems to be the order of the day since it helps solves the various problems. The need for addressing these problems is pretty imperative since governments are dependent on public for their affairs and they expect the best from them. The deployment and the eventual implementation of E-government within the related ranks will ensure that the processes would speed up and there would be a general sense of setting the things right in a proper and adequate manner no matter how hard the circumstances are. Furthermore, the choice of E-government lies in the fact that as it incorporates the use of information technology infrastructure within it, hence it is surely deemed as something which will eventually solve the matters keeping in mind the fast technological changes. Of course it means that the people who are at the helm are accountable to the general public with respect to their concerns and queries. They would be made to answer as to where the shortcoming has occurred and who was responsible for the same. E-government would thus address quite a few problems if not plenty in the first place. The problem thus lies here when we speak of the actual incorporation of E-government within the governmental departments, institutions and agencies. The need is to ascertain whether or not there are enough resources for it to be deployed. Next it needs to be found who are the people who can use the E-government services with ease and who are the ones who require extensive training to come up to the levels of using the different E-governmental software and applications. Thus it is an arduous task, one that requires strict discipline within the ranks and sheer hard work at all possible levels. The tackling of problems comes under the heading of the effort management. First of all the people need to be identified who will carry out these processes. Secondly, it is pertinent to outline the exact resources for it. Then there is a need to understand how the different processes will work in unison with each other and more than anything else how the citizens of the country will benefit from the E-government initiative. The role of putting an “e” before the different services like e-health, e-participation, e-environment, e-voting and so on can make the people understand that the services are being provided courtesy the government on a wider platform and hence this creates to an identifiable area of discipline in their minds. This acts as a positive gauge since it widens the whole subject in the matter of different government boundaries and restrictions towards the larger canvas related with the civil society, different associations and unions that assist in the governmental tasks, the overall business regime present in the country and not to forget the foreign multinational enterprises as well. For any country to compete with another nation of the world, education is a sure bet for it to achieve success. This cannot be denied its due role since a lot of technological progress has been made in the last century or so that credits itself solely on the shoulders of education alone and nothing else. The academic route guides the students to enter the universities whereas the vocational/technical stream takes them towards the community colleges or universities or for that matter towards the job market as a result of the same. Vocational secondary education within a country usually comprises of the intensive vocational training as well as apprenticeship which in essence leads a student of vocational secondary education towards an award of the certificate. The higher education within a country is basically made easily accessible to the holders of the General Secondary Education Certificate where the students have the option to choose amongst the private community colleges, public community colleges and/or different private and public universities. E-government is taken as somewhat different from merely being a technology project rather it is an endeavor to successfully achieve the improvements in terms of performance, credibility and the government’s transparency at all possible levels. It is also an effort to boost up the provision of products related with the government as well as the services that come attached with it in an electronic manner. Also these services are provided in a standalone manner and that too electronically. These also help facilitate in improving the collaboration and partnership regimes that exist between the different agencies which come under the government tenet. More than that, these help in basically outlining a country’s competitive advantage as well as in reduction of costs related with government that have been incurred thus far and not to forget the private sector that is linked with it as well. In the same manner, there are some hurdles down the way as well. These include the limitations that pertain with the concept of financing the E-government projects in the first place as well as creating a standard which is uniform in its entirety and focuses on the links between the different agencies of the government. This is all the more significant since a number of diverse agencies have come up with their own separate computer platforms and in order to harness each and every one of these, the creation of standards that are consistent in their ranks, is pretty significant. Another limitation is met in the wake of the framework which is laid for the groundwork related with E-government. This means that there are hurdles aplenty when a project is in its starting phases. One of the most basic limitations that we need to focus our attention towards here lies on the aspect of financing. This means that there is a grave issue with the financial basis of the E-government projects. The stance adopted by the government should be one that is geared more towards the utilization of the relevant resources as well as foreign aid in order to finance these very E-government related projects. This guarantees that the adequate amounts of budgets be necessarily granted towards the projects which will ultimately result in the money being spent on a worthy cause, none the less. In the long run, this will form as the basis for the foreign expatriates and business concerns to invest within it, knowing well in advance that the country is well equipped with the technological know how and understandings that are so very necessary in the E-government frame of things. Thus the investment opportunities would increase manifolds and so would there be betterment in the present day job scenario within the country. It is thus very significant for the relevant E-government projects to be completed in advance within the country as it will help and assist in the proper planning measures that are already set in place and are being exploited in a good manner by the people at the helm of affairs. Moreover, this will incorporate a scenario which will see competitive advantage coming to the rescue of the E-government within the nation as well as the direct and indirect stakeholders which are attached with it. This will eventually help them blossom with the government of the country and thus bolster trade ties, virtual links and so on. The competitive advantage can only exist within its immediate neighbors when the country finally decides upon competing with these nations head on and in a vigorous manner. This will prove beneficial for the nation in the longer scheme of things as well as provide it a touch point from where it can exploit upon its strengths and overcome the weaknesses present in the E-government sector. E-government is indeed of much significance when we speak of the establishment of a standard intranet within the government. This marks the successful implementation of E-government within the governmental ranks as well as ensures that the intranet paves the way for proper flow of information to and from the different channels present within the government. This also says a lot about the information that is flowing between the different government agencies, institutions and the like within the country. Of late, there has been a traditional thinking mindset related with the governmental agencies which suggested that the same existed as separate entities. No more is the case in the present times as they need to interact and be with each other so that each one of these form the significant parts of the whole that we know as the government and more so the E-government that we are speaking about here. With the passage of specific time, the governmental agencies have developed their own computerized systems which have thus paved the way for their information to be transferred in a well timed and adequate manner. The E-government initiative is something that needs to be studied in detail and one should not lose hope in the wake of short term losses over long term gains. These gains are in the form of a country which is all so often willing to serve its citizens. The information technology infrastructure in place is a safe bet for all E-government initiatives to be proved in the right direction since the vision is very clear and the objectives have been clearly defined. The best thing about the deployment of E-government project within a country is that the government is educating the people who will eventually be using them. This means a lot if viewed in the proper contexts. It means that the government has fully acquainted itself with the belief that education is indeed very necessary to fill the void and that information technology infrastructure is the need of the hour if not the day in the related scheme of things. BIBLIOGRAPHY Dale, Ann. (2005). E-Government Reconsidered: Renewal of Governance for the Knowledge Age. The Canadian Geographer, Vol. 49 Word Count: 2,320 Read More