Can it be a management problem

Looking into the previous question, I wondered about why we may have slowed down in development compared to our allies...We are one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world, but our E-Government system isn't fully utilized...yet. One article caught my eye in Governing Magazine, talking about the management changes that spurred the use of E-Government in the UAE...it was a rather interesting read.

In the article it explored the rise in rankings of the UAE from once 49th to 28th, through its management style in which it is rather decentralized. Meaning that departments can make any services they want as long as it is bound to the common parts that the central government is building for all departments (payment, customer support), which creates a somewhat standard model that allows for sharing of innovation from department to department as it is related that that common part supplied by the central authority to each department (Newcombe, 2014). This plus the increased spending in IT products has skyrocketed, creating a focus for this endeavor on new e-government experiments.

This type of management style is very peculiar to me, while at one hand it works in the UAE, how exactly could this style be fitted into the United States as a whole. While a central core would be nice, how exactly with the CTOs (chief technology officers) and CIOs (Chief Information Officers), handle the semi-standardization of 19,354 "incorporated places" within the United States, not even including technologies at the county and state level? Would this type of standardization be looked at "smaller" in which the state provides this core, allowing for governmental processes that citizens are usually affected by to be easier to function? Or would it be through the county level depending on the density of cities? not each city needs its own e-government system due to its population, or access to technology (as rural areas can be lacking at times). Creating a common theme in technology is not a new thought for the US though, as at least federally is the "Federal Chief Information Officer", in which it is their job to commit to some standardization of federal processes...though again, this doesn't relate to states or cities..

It is a great question, how would you raise participation and development into technologies, would it be through the user or through the management?

Works Cited

Newcombe, T. (2014). The United Arab Emirates: A Rising Star in E-Government. Retrieved from Governing Magazine: http://www.governing.com/columns/tech-talk/gov-clicking-with-the-times.html