Republic of the Philippines

Province of Cotabato
Municipality of Makilala
MAKILALA INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Makilala, Cotabato

COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS

Bachelor of Science in Public Administration

Course Number : PA 311

Course Title : KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT AND ICT FOR PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
Credits : 3 units (3 hours lecture)
Module No. :1
Duration : 2 weeks (August 31 – September 10, 2021)

I. LEARNING OUTCOME(S):
After reading this module, you are expected to:
1. discuss the importance of IT to modern public administration;
2. identify and evaluate the theories governing IT and Public Administration;
3. determine the differences between public and private sectors; and
4. identify the different types of Public Information System.

II. TOPICS: PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Lesson 1: What is Public Administration and IT?
Lesson 2: Theories of IT and Public Administration
Lesson 3: Why Study IT in Public Administration?
Lesson 4: Difference between Public and Private Sectors
Lesson 5: Framework for Understanding IT and Public Administration
Lesson 6: Information Systems Benefits in Public Administration
Lesson 7: Public Information System

III. REFERENCE:
a. ONLINE RESOURCES
i. Reddick, Christopher (2018). Public Administration and Information Technology. Burlinton,
MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning (https://www.worldcat.org/title/public-adminitration-and-
information-technology/oclc/870334775)

IV. COURSE CONTENT:

Introduction

IT influences every aspect of our daily lives from simply checking bus schedules online to banking over the
Internet. IT influence our work lives as well as through checking e-mail or preparing an important presentation.
Much of our lives have become easier as a result of IT and it impact on society, but we alo face numerous
challenges, such as the disparity in access to IT between different socio-economic groups, the different skill levels
of individuals that use IT, and issue of privacy of our personal information.

Lesson 1: What is Public Administration and IT?

Public Administration can be broadly described as the development, implementation and study of branches of
governmental policy. Those who work in it should share a commitment to offer public service, are called public
servants, and they perform a wide range of tasks.

Public Administration –is the study of public entities and their relationships with each other and with the
larger world: how public sector organizations are organized and managed; how public
policy structures the design of government programs that we rely upon; how our
states, cities, and towns work with the federal government to realize their goals and
plan for their futures; how our national government creates and changes public
policy programs to respond to the needs and interests of nation.

Public administration is important and complex in any society.

- It governs and facilitates public aspects of operations and life of public and private organizations and
individual citizens.
- It affects most aspects of society. - Approaches and effectiveness of public administration determine the
society’s culture, quality of life, success, and viability.
- It also acts as pace setter, planner, implementer, educator, peacemaker, and disciplinarian, all with
different emphases depending on the society’s culture and agendas

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 Information Technology (IT) – is the study, design, development, application, implementation, support, or
management of computer-based information systems, particularly software
application and computer hardware (Laudon and Laudon, 2009).

What is public administration responsible for and how does IT support it?

 Public administration is responsible for:

– advancing management and policies of government
– dealing with management of public programs

 IT deal with the use of computers and computer software to securely convert, store, protect, transmit,
input, output, and retrieve information
 It can:
– contribute toward the operational and strategic activities of the public sector organization
– provide cost reduction, management support, strategic planning, and outreach to
constituencies such as citizens, policymakers, employees.

 IT usage in public administration is very wide and very diverse;

 IT usage in public administration has quite different constraints and determinants than in the private
sector;

Lesson 2: Theories of IT and Public Administration

Three Common Theories of Public Administration and IT

1. Technological Determinism

 One important driver of change in information system is the theory of technology determinism (Volti,
1992; Smith and Markx, 1994).
 When a new technology appears it creates change and will be adopted by public administration.
 Technological determinism (TD), simply put, is the idea that technology has important effects on our
lives. This idea figures prominently in the popular imagination and political rhetoric, for example in
the idea that the Internet is revolutionizing economy and society.

2. Reinforcement Theory

 This theory argues that administrators implement IT if it supports their view of the organization
change.
 Reinforcement theory applies for the adoption of IT in the public sector; technology is adopted if it
agrees with the view of the public manager on the future direction of the organization. For example,
if the chief information office (the highest ICT executive in an organization) does not believe a new
information system is will work in the organization, he or she most likely will not adopt the system.

3. Sociotechnical Theory

 The third and most important perspective. This sociotechnical perspective argues that organizations
are made up of people in the social system that use tools, techniques, and knowledge to shape the
organizational change.
 Technical change is influenced by the demands of the external environment that impacts
information systems change in an organization.

The sociotechnical perspective is:

o the most commonly used theory in public administration to demonstrate the impact of technology
on organizational change.
o unique and important for it implies public managers need to know IT from both the technical
perspective, understanding technology that is being implemented, and the social perspective.

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Lesson 3: Why Study IT in Public Administration?

Why is the topic of IT in public administration important? We study public administration and IT for four
important reasons:

1. Trust in Government

 it is important for elected officials to increase trust in government to provide confidence in

governing institutions;
 IT is one way to make the public sector more responsive to citizen, be being able to deliver
services faster and more efficiently;
 IT can be used to create more open and transparent government because information on
governments can be made freely available and easily posted online ;

2. Money Spent on IT and Public Administration – huge amounts spent on IT in public administration

 Structural spending of Polish public administration on IT (information society) in 2015 reach

nearly 940 million PLN (telecommunication infrastructure, ICT services – e-health, e-education,
e-administration, etc.). (PLN – Personal Learning Networks)

3. Lack of Performance of Systems

 investing in IT can help the public sector improve the efficiency of internal operations through
automation;
 IT can also improve the quality of existing public services, creating new types of services that
were not previously available;
 improvement in government performance overall is one of the perceived net benefits of IT
spending;

4. Increased Demands by Public Sector Managers for IT

 increased demands placed on public sector workers for results;

 knowledge of IT is important to be an effective manager;

Lesson 4: Differences between Public and Private Sectors

What is the public sector?

The public sector represents the segment of the economy owned and operated by the government. These
organizations typically do not seek profit and often provide public services to the government's citizens. The
public sector represents businesses owned or controlled by the government. Some examples include:

 Government agencies
 Public purpose corporations
 Public authority
 State-owned enterprises

Public sector agencies:

 have more concerns and issue than their private sector counterparts;
 have more complex and ambiguous goals than business firms;
 have vague, hard-to-measure, multiple, and even conflicting goals with which they must contend;
 have more formalization, such as excessive rules and procedures that need to be enforced;
 have more formalized personnel procedures, purchases processes, and other administrative tasks
that are regulated by central administrative agencies;
 lower rating of work-related satisfaction in the public sector than in the private sector, posing a
challenge for recruiting and retaining of top workers;

What is the private sector?

The private sector represents the segment of the economy owned and operated by individuals and for-profit
companies. Unlike the public sector, companies in the private sector are not government-owned or operated. The
private sector comprises many different businesses. Some examples include:

 Sole proprietorships
 Small and mid-sized enterprises
 Large corporations and multinationals
 Professional and trade associations
 Trade unions

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 Public Sector vs Private Sector Head to Head Differences

Let’s now look at the head to head difference between Public Sector vs Private Sector

Basis Public Sector Private Sector

The private Sector refers to the part of

Public Sector refers to the part of the Country’s overall
the Country’s overall economy which is
Definition economy which is controlled by the Government or various
controlled by Individuals or Private
Government bodies.
Companies.

Private sector companies are owned

Public sector companies are owned and managed by
Ownership and managed by Private Individuals and
Government/Ministries/State Govt./Govt. Bodies
Private Companies.

Generally, Public Sector entities are driven by the purpose of

The purpose of Companies in the
providing the basic public services to the common public at a
Primary Private Sector is profit-making by
reasonable cost in their respective industries by being also
Purpose operating within the rules and
self-sustainable and profitable. However, profitability is not
compliances of the respective country.
the primary motive.

Private Sector companies generally

Public sector companies mostly operate in industries such as operate in multiple industries such as
Industry Focus Water, Electricity, Education, Oil & Gas, Mining, Defence, Technology, Banking, Financial Services,
Banking, Insurance, and Agriculture, etc. Manufacturing, Pharmaceuticals, Real
Estate, Constructions, etc.

Very little or no financial support from

Financial Companies in Public Sector get all possible financial support
the Government unless a private entity
Support from for Government even in adverse circumstances wherein the
is too big and systemically important
Government financial health of the companies is not good.
for the Country.

Listing in Stock Entities in Private Sectors are publically

Entities in Public Sectors are publically traded on exchanges.
Markets traded on exchanges.

Companies in the Private Sector are

Companies in Public Sector are relatively less profitable
relatively more profitable than their
Profitability because of their primary purpose of not being profitability
public sector counterparts in the same
driven.
industry.

Since Public Sector companies are owned by Government,

Government therefore they are subject to the uncertainties related to Private Sector entities are relatively less
Interference unfavorable Government decisions and larger Government exposed to Government interference.
interference.

Private Sector companies find it

Ease of Doing Public Sector companies find it relatively easy to operate in a
relatively difficult to operate and
Business country because of its proximity to the Government
manage the regulatory issues and
compliance in a country in comparison

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 Basis Public Sector Private Sector

to Public Sector companies

Depends upon the financial strength of

Resource Better placed to raise funds from the market because of
the private sector entity. Stronger the
Mobilisation backup by Government irrespective of the company’s financial
financials, better capacity to mobilize
(Funding) health.
funds from the market.

Competitive work culture with

Relatively relaxed work culture with higher job security.
Work Culture performance-based career growth and
However, pay and perks may not be that attractive in
for Employees better pay in comparison to public
comparison to private sector companies.
sector companies.

Lesson 5: Framework for Understanding IT and Public Administration

Three Dimensions of IT and Public Administration

1. External environment

 Internet and other ICTs influence the way democracies function (e.g. Internet can be used as a
medium for political candidates running for office to reach a broad audience, ICT as the source for
online information on candidates, ICT support in elections, etc.).
 ICT enabled participation of citizens in the political and policymaking process. With ICT,
governments can display and customize information for citizens, creating a more transparent
government; citizens can mobilize support for or against a new government policy.
 ICTs make e-governance possible – delivery of services to citizens by their government. With
advances in ICT, public service delivery has fundamentally changed (looking up a city council’s
agenda online, renewing a vehicle registration online, sending tax declarations, etc.).

2. Internal environment

 Impact of leadership and management on IT and public administration - successful IT adoption in

public organizations occurs when leaders support the importance of IT to organizational success.
Effective management is a critical catalyst for the development of IT in public administration.
 E-government through ICT is said to change the internal structures of government by creating more
efficient and effective organizations (e.g. implementation of an information system within a
department that can communicate across different departments and share information).
 Enterprise architecture - use of IT to map the business processes of the organization. Enterprise
architecture is a way to integrate information systems into the mission of the organization.

3. Major issues faced by public organizations

 E-procurement – the use of ICTs to impact the purchasing function in public organizations (ranging
from online ordering systems to the removal of paper-based procurement with electronic processing
and digital signatures).
 E-commerce – the use of ICT for citizens to complete a transaction online (unlike e- government, e-
commerce involves a transaction or payment of money for a public service).
 Online financial reporting – the use of the Internet to post information about the financial status of
government online (city’s audited financial statements or annual budget being posted on the Web).
 Human resource information systems in public sector organizations (the recruitment process –
online job advertisements, creating a database of employees, observe trends in employment,
etc.)Privacy and security of IT – critical issues connected with adopting IT in public agencies.

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Lesson 6: Information systems benefits in public administration

Benefits to government clients include:

 access to information for general public, online services, and access to timely, relevant and accurate
information

Benefits to government units include:

 process redesign and standardization, improved project management practice, rigorous quality
assurance, and increased support and involvement from all levels of personnel

Lesson 7: Public Information System

Definition of a Public Information System

 Public information systems are information systems available for public use.
 There are public information systems both in the public sector and in the private sector, and both
citizens and businesses may be users of such systems.
 Public information systems are analyzed from several perspectives as regards users and usages, data
contents, and technical, organizational, and legal aspects.
 Public management information systems are usually defined as information systems used in public
management, that is, by organizations belonging to the public sector.

Type of Public Information Systems

1. Information systems making public data available to the public, e.g. official statistic, maps, directories,
catalogues of goods and services, events, standards, patents, etc.

2. Information systems supporting individual actors (persons, companies, etc.), who need/want to perform a
certain task through a public authority or institution; tasks initiated and controlled by a
citizen/client/patient.

3. Information systems supporting social processes involving citizens, public authorities, and other actors
(companies etc.), e.g. democratic processes, processes around children’s schooling, etc.

4. Information system supporting business tasks of public authorities and institutions through individual actors
(persons, companies, etc.) e.g. police task, medical/social care task, etc.

5. News media and their systems for informing the general public and advocating citizen interests

6. Information systems supporting other public information systems, infrastructural systems, e.g. information
systems updating and maintaining the databases and archives of public information systems, systems
coordinating agency task management and customer task management, etc.

Types of Public Information System

1. Workflow Management Systems (WfMS) - for managing workflow and performing manual actions
associated with these processes; WfMS is a system that partially or fully automates the definition,
creation, execution, and management of work procedures (workflows). WfMS are used in the public
administration for the realization of processes connected with providing services for government
clients (citizens and businesses), as well as document flows within government units and between
them.

2. Enterprise Information Systems (EIS) – cover such systems like Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP),
Transaction Systems (TS), and Customer Relationship Management systems (CRM). These systems
enhance certain processes in their fields of operation, e.g., human resources processes, accounting
processes, or processes of providing services for government clients. The data gathered and
integrated in EIS systems most often supply Business Intelligence systems.

3. Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) – acts as an integrator of the IS and allows for easy
management of the flow of government processes. It integrates systems such as ERP, CRM and
Enterprise Portals into one system. EAI is rather a technology system than software one.

4. Business Process Management Systems (BPMS) – designed for the management processes within an
organization, i.e. planning, defining, organizing, and monitoring processes. They combine
information technology with management processes.

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 5. Business Intelligence (BI) – a technological solution offering data integration and analytical capabilities
that provide government managers at various organizational levels with valuable information for
their decision making. They use data warehouse technology and advanced tools for multidimensional
analysis and data exploration. In the public administration they are used for the statistical analysis
of operational and financial data.

6. Enterprise Portals – provide a point of access to data and information from the intranet and extranet
systems, ERP systems, TS systems, CRM systems, workflow management systems, e-learning
systems, data warehousing, Business Intelligence, and others. EP are designed to integrate diverse
sources of information and provide knowledge workers with a single gateway, login and user-friendly
browser interface to their personal working platforms. EPs are based on web technology. They
supply information within government units to its employees, but also outside the system to citizens,
businesses, and other government units.

Figure 1. Solution Levels in Public Information Systems

Services of public information system

 The purpose of a public information system is to provide some kind of service support to a public processes,
or process involving “the general public” – citizens of a society, also companies.

 The actors involved in a public information system will usually belong to the following three categories:

o C – private persons and households/families in their roles a citizens, clients

o B – business companies and other types of organizations, e.g. non-profit organizations
o G – government agencies and institution on different levels (central, regional, local)

Figure 2. The typical role of different actors and the interactions between them.

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Conflicting interest

 A citizen or a company may have a given task to complete, for example applying and obtaining some kind of
permit. The citizen (or the representative of the company) would like to complete the task without
interruption, and without having to turn to more than one contact point on the governmental side, even if
the processing of the application requires several government agencies to be involved, each one with their
particular responsibilities specified by laws and regulations.

 Each government agency, on the other hand, will primarily look at the parts of the case, for which it is
responsible, and attempt to find the most efficient way of finalizing that part from its point of view.
However, none of the agencies involved will necessarily deal with the total efficiency from the user’s
perspective.

 This is due to the traditional, so-called stovepipe organization of the government, where the government (on
the national, regional, or local level) is broken down into ministries, sectors, agencies, etc., in a strictly
hierarchical way, ignoring the fact that many socio-economical activities in a modern society do not fit into
such a pattern.