Service Science Innovations: E-Government

Introduction

At the end of the 20th century, the governments of many countries faced the necessity of reforming the classical models of government that had become inconsistent with the emerging information society.

Experts of the World Bank recognized the following common problems:

• 1.

  Growth of cumulative employment and wages in the public sector;

• 2.

  Inefficiency of monetary stimulus, weak work motivation of state employees;

• 3.

  Protectionism, corruption, and low level of public trust to officials;

• 4.

  Inability of the state machinery to react to changes of public priorities;

• 5.

  Operational inefficiency of the state and poor quality of state services;

• 6.

  Shortage of qualified personnel in regions with limited human resources.

The transition to an information society demanded reorganization of public services and resolution of outstanding problems. Therefore, the last decade became a time of active transformation of the government system, directed to increase its efficiency and productivity in the world. There was an introduction and implementation of administrative reform programs and public service reforms in the majority of developed countries and many countries with transitive economies. The main objective of these implemented administrative reforms was to raise the efficiency of state machinery by means of new information and communication technologies to the level of developed states. Thus, it is possible to outline the following directions of implemented transformations:

• •

  maintenance of an overall performance of a state machinery and delivery of better services to the population;

• •

  adjustment of multilateral communications between the state and civil society, attraction of population to management of public affairs;

• •

  maintenance of state activity transparency —that is growth of real level democratization of society.

Theory Of E-Government

Let's begin with definition of the term “electronic government.”

Definitions of electronic government are formed by experts in different principles. One author prefers descriptive definitions—those transformations that occur in a society and its separate structures owing to the introduction of electronic government. Others define it by its applied aspects and simply list different applications of its separate tools. There are technical definitions which focus their attention on used technological decisions and specific software products. Also, there are economic definitions focused on peak efficiency in governance.

Each principle is true and displays a certain aspect of a functioning electronic government. So, the electronic government is defined as follows:

• •

  The organization of governance on the basis of electronic means of processing, transfer, and distribution of information, rendering of public services of all branches of the power to all categories of citizens (to pensioners, working, to businessmen, civil servants, etc.) by electronic means and informing, by the same means, the citizens about the work of government bodies.

• •

  Information technology in governance.

• •

  The government in the Network.

• •

  Information interaction of public authorities and society through the use of information-telecommunication technologies.

• •

  Electronic business idea in which the government acts as a corporate user of information technology.

• •

  The automated public services whose basic functions are: maintenance of an easy approach of citizens to all necessary state information, taxation, registration of vehicles and patents, delivery of the necessary information, the conclusion of agreements, and the registration of deliveries of necessary government materials and equipment. It can lead to a decrease in expenses, including taxpayers’ funding of government activities, causing an increase in the openness and transparency of government.

• •

  Use new technologies, including Internet, by government bodies.