Information Technology and Organizational Change in the Public Sector

Abstract

The adoption of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to organize, integrate, coordinate and manage various activities has become the catalyst for organizational change. The impact of these changes in the public sector have been to change the type of work being performed, demand new levels of productivity and efficiency from those performing the work, and call for a fundamental restructuring of the public sector to reflect the value systems of an information age. The literature on the organizational impacts of Information and Communication Technology have pointed to mixed findings about the success of information technology enabled organizational change, suggesting that the success of such change efforts depends on the combination of technical and social influences. Despite any potential for organizational change in the private sector, information technologies have not been associated with organizational transformation in the public sector. It is suggested that for the public sector to begin reaping the benefits of Information and Communication Technology, public sector managers are going to need to become change agents and manage the change process by managing the technology. <BR>