Abstract

The integration, growth, and sophistication of information technology are constantly changing the contemporary economy of the United States. Additionally, the public administration sector in the country is undergoing several discontinuous and rapid changes. Consequently, rapid changes have led to the implementation of information technology in the public sectors. The implementation of information technology in the public sector has led to several impacts, especially in public service delivery. With the various strategies of information technology implemented in the public administration sector, this study aims at investigating its impacts on service delivery in the government agencies. A population of 100 management and employees target on a sample of four government agencies in four different regions of the country will be derived. Data will be collected through questionnaires, interviews, secondary analysis, and case studies, which will be summarized for analysis. For research findings, it can be concluded that information technology is continuously being implemented in the public sector, but there are still many challenges to fulfill its mandate.

Keywords: Pubic administration, Information Technology, Implementation, Delivery.

Chapter One

Introduction

The public administration sector is undergoing rapid and fundamental changes. The main thrust of the changes is as a result of implementing information technology in public administration. The use of information and technology in public administration is spearheaded by the government to introduce a digital age era in all organizations (Schapper, Malta,  & Gilbert, 2017). The need for the public administration to match the superiority of the private sector has generated the necessity to adopt the use of information technology in public administration. There is a growing need in public administration worldwide to revitalize the sector to enable user-friendly and cost-efficient service delivery to the public (Ziemba & Oblak, 2014). As a result, governments are acquainting with the government services, innovations in organizational management structures, and processes, among other sectors to improve service delivery.

Problem statement

This research aims to ascertain the impacts resulting from the implementation of information technology in public administration to facilitate the delivery of services. So, the aims of the study are to:

• Find out the current gaps in public administration service delivery strategies.
• Identify from the literature on how information and technology techniques have impacted the public administration sector.
• Pinpoint the initiatives adopted by the public administration departments to improve service delivery.

The utility of the study

The focus of this research is to offer recommendations on how to improve the quality of services delivered by the public administration by implementing information and technology techniques in the sector. If the public sector functioned similarly to the private sector, the quality of services offered would improve and have a positive impact on a country’s economy and the lives of the citizens (Schapper, Malta,  & Gilbert, 2017). Although minimum research has been done on public administration, the results of this study will be beneficial in developing a strategy to incorporate Information and technology in the public sector.

Chapter Two

Literature Review

Definitions

The main objective of public administration is the advancement of policies and management in the government. Public administration involves the analysis of the government policies and decision-making processes, and the management of public programs (Henry, 2017). On the other hand, information and technology (IT) is the design, study, implementation, development, or application of computer-based information systems (Brotchie, 2017). Information and technology incorporate the use of computers and computer software to protect, process, transmit, and retrieve information more efficiently. Accurate integration of IT in the public administration can positively contribute to the strategic and operational activities of an organization (Ziemba&Oblak, 2014). That is, IT can enhance management support, provide cost reduction, strategic planning, and most importantly, outreach citizens, policymakers, contracts, and employees.

Typology of Information and Technology in Public Administration

Information technology in the public administration is an instrument used to support and improve service delivery to government stakeholders and the public by increasing efficiency and accountability in the administrations’ management and procedures (Henry, 2017). According to researchers, IT is a major driver of transformation in the public sector and also a trigger for organizational changes (Ziemba & Oblak, 2014). The classification of IT systems in the public administration includes Enterprise Information Systems (EIS), Workflow Management Systems (WfMS, Enterprise Application Integration (EAI), Business Intelligence (BI), Business Process Management Systems (BPMS), and Enterprise Portals. In most cases, all the systems are incorporated through a service-oriented architecture (SOA) (Saleem, Chung, Fatima, & Dai, 2013).

Workflow Management Systems (WfMS) incorporates all government processes. The system manages workflow and performs all the manual procedures linked with the processes (Fleer, 2018). WfMS is essential in the public administration as the system ensures that all the processes are accomplished and the services provided are delivered to the citizens and businesses. Also, the system provides a connection to other information systems allowing a consistent flow of data (Saleem et al., 2013). The other important system is the Enterprise Application Integration (EIA) that allows for easy management of the government processes (Ziemba&Oblak, 2014). The system integrates other systems into a single system. Despite their differences, the systems balance each other impeccably, thus enhancing the distribution information in the public administration (Fleer, 2018). As such, public administration assimilates the flow of data from all the systems through SOA and delivers access to the whole information in a specific place (Zorrilla&García-Saiz, 2013). Consequently, the service provider to the citizens and businesses is facilitated. For instance, it becomes more accessible to obtain information about the public and business from diverse registers.

Significance and drawbacks of information and technology in public administration

The crucial factor of implementing information and technology in the public sector is for its benefits. The significance of IT in the public administration interprets to the quality of public services delivered to the businesses and citizens by the government. According to Ziemba and Oblak (2014), the elevation of public administration is based on its efficiency of public services to the common citizens. As such, each public administration is unique in its way, but the benefits and challenges are common to all.

The benefits accrued from IT implementation in some way must be related to the government objectives. Benefits to the government clients include accessing information for the online services, the general public and, access to accurate and relevant information (Fleer, 2018). Also, government units benefit from IT integration in the public sector. These benefits include improved redesign process, better project management processes, better, increased support, and quality assurance from all the involved employees (Ziemba&Oblak, 2014). Most importantly, IT implementation in public administration will enhance accountability and transparency in public sectors and boost awareness of government services to citizens and businesses.

Implementation of IT in public administration is simple as it seems, and the process experiences many challenges. According to Christian and Davis (2016), the successful implementation of information technology needs adequate policy attention, laws, structures, and regulations. It is accounting for these issues during implementation of an obstacle for public administration. As such, it is essential to the use of different management models, including project, quality, and risk management, to minimize the risk of implementation failure (Ziemba&Oblak, 2014). Moreover, knowledge and experience are necessary to implement IT in the sector effectively. The best way to introduce IT in public administration is to organize its implementation as a plan. Each plan needs to conform to the suitable quality assurance criteria to eradicate the risks of failure.

Additionally, organizational changes may result from the implementation of IT in public administration. As such, change management principles should be considered even if despite the difficulties in organizational change management (Ziemba&Oblak, 2014). The process requires close cooperation of all personnel and the coordination of many organization activities. However, IT implementation offers a solution to common problems and work procedures and allows for a smooth flow of information and should, therefore, be implemented despite the challenges (Christian & Davis, 2016). IT implementation is the primary driver of public administration reforms and has made the sector more responsive, transparent, efficient, and beneficiary oriented.

Chapter Three

Research Methodology

In this section, the research methodology to be used in the study is summarized. This comprises of the research questions, research design, size of the sample, sampling design, and data collection methods, validity of instruments used and data analysis and presentation.

Research Questions

To find out whether there is value in the government’s investment of Information Technology in public sectors; this study will be guided by several research questions, including:

1. What drives the use and adoption of information technology in public administration?
2. How is information technology utilized in public administration?
3. Are the public workers satisfied with the implementation of information technology?
4. Are there any changes in the public sector a result of information technology?
5. How are the public employees ready with the use of information technology at their workplaces?
6. How does information technology affect the service delivery of public administration?

Research Design

This qualitative study will rely on a descriptive survey. The appropriateness of this design comes from the main interest of the study, which is to establish the impact of the implementation of Information technology in public administration. This will be done by collecting views and facts from different public agencies in the country. The use of a descriptive design will provide both qualitative and quantitative information from a cross-section of the chosen population (Pattern & Newhart, 2017). The use of case will be case studies adopted to enable the researcher to get an in-depth comprehension of the impact of Information technology. This study aims at furnishing the researcher with a broad knowledge and comprehension of the implemented information technology systems and how they have impacted the delivery of the public administration delivery in the United States. Therefore descriptive and case study research designs will be suitable in undertaking a comprehensive study of information technology, the actors involved, and the aspects of ICT strategies in the public sector.

Sample Size

The major population of interest in this study includes the top management; the staff and middle-level managers of 4 public agencies in four regions of the country, providing a total of 100 participants. The sample frame of the study will be collected from Human Resource departments consisting of the lists of staff in all the four regions according to their respective management levels.

For the researcher to determine the sample size, the use of Yamane formula will be considered:

n represents the required response

N = Size of the sample

e²= the error limit

After the formula for SMEs places, the expected sample size will be:

Sample size (n) =

Consequently, the size of the sample will be 300 participants.

Sampling Design

The collected sample will be placed in each category of the represented population. Probability sampling known as random sampling will be utilized whereby each participant will have an opportunity of being included in the sample. In probability sampling, the entire population is often known, and the sampling criteria normally occur randomly based on the possibilities (Bhamra & Lofthouse, 2016).In this regard, each participant selected is usually known. Systematic sampling will also be applied to every fifth item to form the size of the sample in every stratum.

Table 1: Sample Population

Agency	Region	Sections	Sample
Citizens Compensation Commission, California	California	Employees Middle management Top management	6 4 10
New York Police Department	New York	Employees Middle management Top management	8 2 10
Agency for Health Care Administration	Florida	Employees Middle management Top management	10 5 5
Social Security Administration	Chicago	Employees Middle management Top management	5 8 2
Total			100

 

Data Collection Methods

It is vital for the researcher to use the most reliable and efficient research methods during the collecting of appropriate data. The most important data collection methods encompass all the information variables and effective conclusions to the results (Taylor, Bogdan & DeVault, 2015). This research will incorporate the most instrumental methods, such as observation, surveys, interviews, and secondary analysis of previous and current literature. Surveys will be conducted on the four government agencies to identify the impact of technology on their public administrations. Through the distribution of structured questionnaires, data will be collected, the impacts of technology will be established by reviewing the records and reports of the agencies. The questionnaires will help the researcher find out how information technology has impacted the service delivery of public administration.

The research team to conduct the surveys will comprise of ten members, including the author of the project and other four leaders. Using interviews in this research will be essential in investigating the impacts of information technology in public administration (Pattern & Newhart, 2017 ). The main respondents will be the employees as well as the middle and top management of the four selected agencies. The use of interviews will help the researchers achieve highly personalized data from the information collected and provide a broader opportunity to achieve the most underlying factors. The information collected during interviews will then be transcribed to provide an opportunity for further analysis.

Validity and Reliability

The validity of instruments used during data collection will be attained through pretesting. The survey team will conduct a pilot study on public agencies, especially in departments that have the highest number of participants, including the subordinate workers. By rehearsing the instruments used during the study, the researchers will ensure that they are valid for the study as a way of guaranteeing that they fully understand how to use them during data collection (Heale & Twycross). They also have to make sure that they do not introduce unintended questions that may lead to distortion of the responses.

Data Analysis and Presentations

This research data analysis generally comprises of a cyclical process and an iterative process preceding from a more general to a specific type of observations to come up with vital data to be used in decision making. Data collected from this research will be analyzed qualitatively, and the findings will be used in compiling a report. Further, the analysis will also be performed through the use of content analysis involving the discovery of categories or themes from the transcript interviews. All the collected words and parses will be fitted into categories to come up with an organized set of data to be used in summarization, classification, and tabulation (Mihas, 2019). The summarization and representation of data will be done in the form of a report showing the recommendations and conclusion. After data has been summarized and analyzed, it will be disseminated through the aid of Ms PowerPoint and Excel inform of graphs charts and tables to convey the essential points quickly.

Chapter Four

Findings and Conclusion

Findings

Despite the primary motivations for adoption of information technology in public administration being well established, it is still crucial to have an understanding of what the core drivers of information technology. Evidence from the literature survey and case studies presented that there are key drivers of the adoption of Information Technology (Christian & Davis, 206). Enhancement of service quality has been supported most as a major driver implementation of information technology in government agencies ( Henry,2018). This is followed by control of agency operations, interagency competitions, leaders interest, and government policy as well as the potential of cost reduction. Even though the dimension of service enhancement in the implementation of information technology has been reported in most of the surveys, it is still rarely figured as the main source of motivation.

It is apparent that public administration managers are motivated by and mindful of, the information technology managerial imperatives. The potential of service quality improvement due to the use of information technology has been reported to be the central motivation for the implementation of information technology in government agencies (Schapper, Milta & Gibert, 2017). The main recognition of service and operational delivery impact of information technology well is envisaged in the public sector by using the e-government method.

Findings on the information technologies used in the public delivery systems show that there is a rapid advancement in technology. This includes virtual and cloud environment, transmission technologies, security platforms, storage infrastructure, web technologies, virtual payment platforms, and storage infrastructure (Fleer, 2018). The advancements have led to efficient, effective, and secure delivery of public services to many citizens in the United States through the use of scalable platforms, which ensures confidentiality in public administration (Henry, 2017). This has made the use and access of public service delivery platforms more opportune to the American population.

The main areas that have highly benefited from the implementation of information technology include police departments, financial management platforms, and government portals. In financial management platforms, the implementation of information technology has brought about transparency and accountability in government transactions (Brotchie et al., 2017). Government portals now offer timely services, convenience, and optimized service capabilities to the public. Furthermore, public awareness has also increased through social media sites that provide comprehensive information and educational aspects (Henry, 2017). Police departments are now able to track terrorist and store information for future use through the use of information technology. Therefore, the findings of this study provide a better understanding of how the implementation of information technology has impacted public administration.

Conclusion

The researcher will draw conclusions based on the findings objectives and how the information technology strategies have been adopted in the government agencies. From this, the impacts of information technology on the public sector will be drawn. As the United States strives to advance its economy to a higher level where all the citizens in the country a higher living standard, there is a need for a continuous investment of information technology in the public administration sector. Information technology strategies should be aligned to fit master information technology plan of the national government. The information technology strategies, as championed by the selected government agencies in the study, are constantly being implemented in the public administration platforms. However, information technology still faces several challenges, especially in the formulation and implementation, to fulfill its mandate.

Based on the conclusions of the study, the global environment in which the United States presents new opportunities and challenges. Thus, there is a need for a constant increase in the implementation of information technology in public administrations. This will be accomplished if the government invests in information technology strategies to ease the cost and process and make the country to be competitive globally. Additionally, the government should continue funding information technology activities and initiatives to enable public agencies to fulfill their mandates adequately. Finally, more training is needed on the utilization of information technology among the public servants to create more skilled and experts in the public administration. There is a need for further research on the major objectives in the implementation of information technology along with its effect on public administration.

 

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