E-Governance: the Present and the Future

In the United States, democracy can be perceived as a government being ruled directly by its citizens meaning they are proactively involed in governmental descions; this definition can be found under Participatory

allocation of the resources and capital. But also with new innovative ways to provide services

In accordance with the growth of the nation, the federal bureaucracy has followed suit. The federal bureaucracy is an organization formed to accomplish implementation, regulation, and administration with efficiency. Scaling such an operation to the needs of a growing nation requires copious amounts of time and effort; two requirements that are difficult to give to the organization, so to compensate, it grows irregularly and with less efficiency. Bred from this irregularity, the government added agencies apart from the executive agencies to help the bureaucracy run smoothly. These agencies served to capture the duties which executive agencies could not, named independent agencies because of the relationship of control by the government. Due to their use in filling bureaucratic voids, independent agencies provide a service which seems necessary to the structure of government.

Electronic business, or e-business or "electronic commerce"(55) has increased exponentially because so many businesses are on digital networks. Major business transactions are completed on the enterprise. Digital networking is transforming businesses relationships with the companies customer, their employees and relationships with suppliers and partners in business. E business technology is also improving the way business is done in the government. The government uses the Internet to enable and increase business

1). Through these concepts democracy has enhanced the lives of many people throughout the world. It promotes individual liberty and with individual liberty a person is allowed “freedom of expression, freedom of conscience, and freedom to own private property (Lynn-Jones). Representative government is the ideal type of polity, it allows for the improvement of the polity. People are able to engage with their government and are not just passive recipients. The government by design has to respond to the people and promote the public interest. The responsibility is on the people to be attentive, capable of taking action when needed, and to have wise judgement as to the actions of its government

According to Jane Fountain, e-government or the governing with the use of technology has changed bureaucracy reform. She looks at the changes over the course of two presidencies one the Clinton Administration in the 1990’s and the other the Bush Administration in the 2000’s, as well as the state level.

73. In virtual space, people in remote locations can hold meetings, share information and files, make plans, and solve problems together.

The selected agency chosen for this paper is the City of Memphis Information Services, (IS). The City of Memphis has existing and emerging technologies in government operations, and its delivery of services to the public. The IS works to improve City government efficiency through technology and to make communications with the City uncomplicated and clear. The vision of the IS is to be recognized as a leading provider of innovative IT solutions for municipal services. The mission statement is: “Collaborate with City divisions in leveraging technology which provides responsive and cost effective services which support the City’s four priorities” (The City of Memphis, 2015). The Information Services Division’s FY 2015-2019 IS strategic

Democracy is a form of government where all eligible citizens are meant to participate equally. Democracy is founded on four key elements; protection of citizen rights, laws that apply to all people, the involvement of the people in both social and political life, and a system by choosing government officials by equal elections. As more people focused on equality and the importance of the individual, democracy started to appear in the Ancient World. Despite the fact that democracy in the Ancient World is not like it is today, the Judeo-Christian tradition, Athens, and the Roman Republic helped to influence modern democracy. To begin with, the Judeo-Christian era greatly influenced the ideas of democracy.

Just like humans evolve and change over time, so do social views and types of government. History has seen the world move from dynasties to communism to democracy. Looking deeper, history has seen each one of these concepts evolve into something new and different than in previous periods of time. Most notably changed is democracy. Although the definition of democracy once meant that the public population had a say in all affairs, foreign and domestic, through representatives, it now means that the public population has a say in all affairs, foreign and domestic, through representatives who manipulate the public’s understanding of these affairs through social media.

This solution where a democratic government is in place, means that individuals can vote and have their individual concerns used to influence decisions made

Throughout time the concept of democracy have been debated, starting out as far back as Plato. Will citizens know enough information to make informed decisions and if so, will they choose to cooperate? In the America’s attempt to maintain a Democratic nation, it requests that citizens vote on local, state and presidential levels. However, most of the citizens are unable to form a valid opinion because of the general lack of knowledge of how the government works.

Information technology has changed the context in which governments must operate. Individual citizens and groups now have the ability to quickly organize and contest or influence the direction and mode of governance. From 24/7 news to flash mobs to blogs to political tell-alls, the rapid flow of information demands rapid results from systems of governance. How has information technology compressed the ability of governments and organizations across the board to implement long-term strategic planning? How has information technology redefined sovereign and cultural borders? How can the government leverage information technology to “fight back”? What kinds of skills and resources are needed by both the people sending the message

Perrin defines democracy as, “the back- and- forth interactions among citizens and institutions of government, structured through rules, ideas, and technologies”. In the prominent book, American Democracy, sociological professor Andrew J Perrin analyzes the current discussions and concerns about the core of American Democracy. Perrin studies and teaches democratic citizenship in the United States and focuses on what people should know and do in order to make democracy work. The main purpose of the book is to show that democracy along with representation are first social and cultural concepts, then they are political ones. This book is vastly significant because it demonstrates an ingenious approach to democracy and the role that the citizens should have.

The impact of information technology has been tremendous within the public sector. Over the years, the growth and development of technology has caused the public sector to change. One of the most significant changes in technology has been the evolution of the information systems and how their development has reshaped the way the world uses technology. “It has been just over fifty years since the worlds first programmable computer became operational. It cost millions of dollars to build and processed an unprecedented 5,000 instructions per second. By 1971, Intel was able to pack 25 times that power into a single, two hundred-dollar chip. Today’s personal computers process