Management information systems: Article review and analysis

¶ … Technology Management in Pubic Administration

The continual pressure on governments in general and public administration departments and ministries specifically are to streamline their operations and deliver greater value to citizens and constituents at progressively lower costs. The adoption of lean process management techniques and the continual redefining of business process re-engineering techniques in the context of IT strategies in public administration are a case in point (Androniceanu, 2009). The study New Public Management Model based on an Integrated System using the Informational and Communication Technologies (Androniceanu, 2009) illustrates how public institutions have been able to transform themselves using IT as a means to bring greater focus on constituents while also significantly reducing their operating costs.

Analysis

The objectives of providing high quality services that citizens value, requiring intensive levels of measurement and reward for organizational performance, while also structuring the public administration functions for optimal service to citizens are often conflicting, yet achievable goals of strategic IT planning (Androniceanu, 2009). These are the ambitious objectives that the Romanian public administration organizations were attempting to fulfill in the context of the cited study (Androniceanu, 2009). The study of IT implementation throughout the public administration also shows how decision of IT system definition have a direct impact on the culture of an enterprise as well.

Public administration departments in Eastern Europe are often known for their inflexible structure and reliance on hierarchical reporting structures. The finding of this study is consistent with others that over time the organizational culture, communication and culture will also change to reflect the IT foundational elements defined, implemented and eventually engrained into the culture of a public administration office or ministry (Androniceanu, 2009). Realizing this, public administration IT planners and Chief Information officers are designing systems to allow for greater agility and speed to response to citizen's requirements. The study analyzed and reported on by the authors underscore how an IT system must be designed to support transparency to the analytics and reporting level, in conjunction with designing in the specific stakeholder requirements to the screen and field level, in precisely the sequence they are accustomed to working with them (Androniceanu, 2009). The study shows how the Romanian public administration also took the extraordinary step of implementing measures of citizen responsiveness and satisfaction levels for its call centers after changing the culture of its ministries to be more citizen-driven and focused (Androniceanu, 2009).