E-Government: Its Characteristics, Practices and Future
1. Introduction
The Internet and the World Wide Web have changed our lives in many ways, making it possible to carry out a virtually unlimited number of activities from our home or office. For example, we can find information on camera features and prices before we actually buy a camera. We can communicate with our friends, relatives or other colleagues via e-mail on a virtually instantaneous basis, join a chat group discussing a current social issue such as horrible terrorists’ attacks on America and America’s possible response to the attacks. We can listen to remote radio or television stations live, meet colleagues with teleconferencing systems equipment, and buy some products and have them delivered directly home without going to the mall. Surely, we can think of many more ways to use the Internet and the World Wide Web.
It was estimated that 144 million people were using the Internet around the world by the end of 1998. The number has been growing very fast and is expected to increase to approximately 502 million by the end of 2003 and 1 billion worldwide by the end of 2005. Business has been concurrently changing as more and more people go on-line to purchase goods and services available on the Internet. Statistical research shows that the number of Web sites has been growing at a rapid rate with over 23.78 million by the end of 2000, up from only 4.06 million by the end of 1999 [17]. Electronic commerce has also been growing at a rapid rate in both B2B and B2C.
Citizens themselves, based on the lessons they have learned and the skills they have developed through interactions with services offered in other regular business areas, such as on-line financial services and information search services are driving governments to increase focus on customer service. These experiences are accelerating the demands and expectations that citizens place on public sector agencies. As customers, they are receiving one-stop shopping and service-in-an-instant; as
The Internet and the World Wide Web have changed our lives in many ways, making it possible to carry out a virtually unlimited number of activities from our home or office. For example, we can find information on camera features and prices before we actually buy a camera. We can communicate with our friends, relatives or other colleagues via e-mail on a virtually instantaneous basis, join a chat group discussing a current social issue such as horrible terrorists’ attacks on America and America’s possible response to the attacks. We can listen to remote radio or television stations live, meet colleagues with teleconferencing systems equipment, and buy some products and have them delivered directly home without going to the mall. Surely, we can think of many more ways to use the Internet and the World Wide Web.
It was estimated that 144 million people were using the Internet around the world by the end of 1998. The number has been growing very fast and is expected to increase to approximately 502 million by the end of 2003 and 1 billion worldwide by the end of 2005. Business has been concurrently changing as more and more people go on-line to purchase goods and services available on the Internet. Statistical research shows that the number of Web sites has been growing at a rapid rate with over 23.78 million by the end of 2000, up from only 4.06 million by the end of 1999 [17]. Electronic commerce has also been growing at a rapid rate in both B2B and B2C.
Citizens themselves, based on the lessons they have learned and the skills they have developed through interactions with services offered in other regular business areas, such as on-line financial services and information search services are driving governments to increase focus on customer service. These experiences are accelerating the demands and expectations that citizens place on public sector agencies. As customers, they are receiving one-stop shopping and service-in-an-instant; as
References: [13] Bartlett D. Cleland, “E-Government: Coming to a Town Near You,” Technology, May/June 2001. Available at http://www.heartland.org/ia/mayjun01/technology.htm [14] Enos, Lori, Americans back e-government, E-Commerce Times, September 29, 2000 [17] Mckeown, Patrick G., Information Technology and the Networked Economy, Harcourt College Publishers, 2001, p. 5. [18] Mitchell, Selina, "UK government site discriminates", Australian IT, 12 June 2001 [21] Turban, Efraim, Electronic Commerce-A Managerial Perspective, Prentice Hall, 2000, pp. 277-288. Source: Kosiur, David, understanding electronic commerce-How online transactions can grow your business, Microsoft Press, 1997, p. 6. Note: Basic Idea of this figure came from Kosiur, David, understanding electronic commerce-How online transactions can grow your business, Microsoft Press, 1997, p