Information Technology Reference
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government services. Therefore, from Sakowicz's viewpoint, e-government embraces
the whole range of governance and administrative projects, including e-services,
e-democracy, e-voting, e-justice, and in some ways, even e-education or e-healthcare.
Jansen (2005) supports this viewpoint, whose definitions explain how e-government
employs technologies as tools to achieve better government (Organization for
Economic Co-operation and Development, 2003) and bring about improvements
in government operations that may include increased effectiveness, efficiency, ser-
vice quality, or transformation (U.S. Government, 2002). Silcock (2001) argued that
e-government is not just technology; it is not just business processes; it is not just
resources. Instead, she argued that it is all these areas combined.
3.1.2 Social Benefits of E-Government
E-government is becoming a global phenomenon that is consuming the attention
of politicians and policy makers as well as ordinary citizens (Jansen, 2005). In the
face of rising demands from demographic, economic, social, and global trends,
e-government no longer appears to be a matter of choice, but a necessity for any
country wishing to enter the 21st century as a competitive nation in the world arena
(Kumar, Mukerji, Butt, & Persaud, 2007). Ho (2002) mentioned that, in the early
1990s, city governments began to use electronic mail, listserv, and the World Wide
Web to deliver information and services. By the end of 1990s, web-based services
were already an integral and significant part of the new e-government (Ho, 2002).
Data from the United Nations (UN) show that over 173 countries had already
developed government websites by 2003 (Jansen, 2005).
E-government presents a tremendous opportunity to move forward in the 21st
century with higher quality and more cost-effective government services, as well
as with a better relationship between citizens and government (Fang, 2002). Past
research on e-government impact highlights some of the benefits that it offers citi-
zens, businesses, and the government (Srivastava & Teo, 2007). With e-government,
the quality of services provided to citizens and businesses can be improved signifi-
cantly while simultaneously attaining greater efficiency for all participants (Kumar
et al., 2007). Services can be provided 24 hours a day and with more flexible
methods that enable citizens to better communicate with the government, benefit
from government services, and participate. Kumar et al. (2007) mentioned that e-
government provides citizens with more control over how and when they interact
with the government than they had previously possessed. Bwalya (2009) argued
that e-government has the potential to improve public service delivery by public
institutions in the areas of transparency, accountability, and responsiveness, while
also promoting collaborative and joint-up administrations in which other stake-
holders in the government can access services through portals or “one-stop shops.”
In fact, the benefits brought about by e-government not only include improve-
ment in government services and performance but also exist in social, economic,
and political impacts on the whole of society. Through websites, citizens have more
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