Document Abstract
Published:
2007
E-government: towards the e-bureaucratic form?
E-government should support bureaucracy rather than reducing it
E-government policies when designed along the line of New Public Management (NPM) ideology are aimed at reforming the organisation of the public administration, and reducing the role of bureaucratic institutions in favour of market-like structure of coordination and governance. Holding bureaucracy as a fundamental guarantor of equal and impartial action by public administration, this paper explores how traditional approaches to e-government neglect this important dimension of bureaucracy.
The paper argues that e-government policies themselves may need more careful rethinking, and may need to support the existing bureaucratic system rather than reorganising and transforming public bureaucracies. In this regard the paper suggests an e-bureaucratic model as an alternative e-government strategy for government agencies in both developed and developing countries. The e-bureaucratic solution helps to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of action of the public administration while reinforcing the democratic values of equality and impartiality in the interaction of the state with citizens.
E-bureaucracy differs from traditional bureaucracy because ICTs are now used to coordinate the activities of the organisation and are used to facilitate and support the fundamental organisational functions of coordination and control.
The paper argues that e-government policies themselves may need more careful rethinking, and may need to support the existing bureaucratic system rather than reorganising and transforming public bureaucracies. In this regard the paper suggests an e-bureaucratic model as an alternative e-government strategy for government agencies in both developed and developing countries. The e-bureaucratic solution helps to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of action of the public administration while reinforcing the democratic values of equality and impartiality in the interaction of the state with citizens.
E-bureaucracy differs from traditional bureaucracy because ICTs are now used to coordinate the activities of the organisation and are used to facilitate and support the fundamental organisational functions of coordination and control.
