MBA 608 – Business Economics

Lecturer: Dr Hadjidakis, Spyros

Student: Marios Kyriakides
Deadline: 18th May 2010

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 Table of Contents

Introduction 2
What is E-government? 2
Benefits 3
Drawbacks 4
From Government to E-government 4
Applications 5
E-Government in Cyprus 6
PEST/SWOT 7
Conclusion 8
Bibliography 9

Introduction
Recent growth in Internet networks, information and communication
technologies and security protocols have led into the development of
cheaper, user-friendly and globally available systems. This change did
not only change the way people live but allowed for an improvement of

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the interaction between the citizens and the Governments. People and
organizations have moved into the e-Government age.

What is E-government?
“E-Government refers to the use by government agencies of
information technologies (such as Wide Area Networks, the Internet,
and mobile computing) that have the ability to transform relations with
citizens, businesses, and other arms of government.” The World Bank,
2010.
E-Government is short for electronic Government and in simple words
enables the Government of a country to use the Internet (mostly the
World Wide Web) in order to provide services and information to the
citizens of the country.

All citizens will have to interact with a Government department at least

once at some point of their lives. The Government, however, is a huge
organisation who has to serve not only the citizens of the country but
also other government departments, private companies, other
governments, employees etc. In order to cope with this large demand
for services and information, the Government services need to be
supported by the Information and Communication Technology which
will enable the Government to administer and manage the services
and the flow of information.

The e-Government is similar to the concept of e-commerce which is

involved with marketing and sales through the Internet. E-Government
is broader and does not limit its existence to selling products and
promoting services. Other popular kinds of electronic data which can
be incorporated in e-Government is e-health, e-education, e-jobs and
e-voting.

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Benefits
The application of the E-Government has many advantages for the
Government itself, the citizens and corporations who use the system
and the society in general.

First of all the information and services are available 24 days a day, 7
days a week for all people and does not limit access during working
hours. The users can access the portals during Sundays and holidays
any time they desire and do not have to waste time from their work to
visit each department of the Government to submit forms or ask for
information. This provides convenience to citizens since they can have
access from the comfort of their homes saving apart from time, money
and tribulations caused by the long queues. E-Government provides
equal access to information and more meritocracy since all people
have the right to log in to the portal from the same point of entry.
Moreover, e-Government embowers citizens by enabling two way
communication and giving them the opportunity to express their
opinions and give feedback. Provided it is implemented correctly e-
Government can provide more accurate and efficient delivery of
services.

The public sector will also benefit from the system since the
transaction costs will be reduced and public servants will be better
utilized since they will have the time to respond to users’ requests
without pressure and stress. Furthermore, the levels of corruption will
be reduced and transactions will be more transparent. Lastly,
compatible web enabled e-phones will allow access to the portal from
practically everywhere.

Drawbacks

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E-Government, however, does not come without significant costs and
barriers. Firstly, a complete e-Government system requires large
budget along with the training costs needed for the public employees.
The system must be always updated with recent information and new
technologies while a government team must always be available to
troubleshoot any system defects or intrusions by hackers. Lack of
security will discourage people to use the system for financial
transactions thus a provision for protecting the users’ personal
information must be made. Moreover, the limited interaction might not
satisfy a large segment of the potential users who are used to personal
contact which is always more effective. Lastly, people with disabilities
and non internet users do not have the luxury to use the service.

From Government to E-Government

E-Government cannot be implemented overnight due to the complexity
and the massive size of traditional Governments along with processes,
practices, culture etc. Additionally, the implementation of e-
Government requires training for both the government employees and
the users of the system (citizens, companies, other governments etc).
First of all the Government needs to make its intentions known to
people stating particularly the advantages of the implementation of
such a system and the convenience it would bring to citizens and
private companies.
The United Nations Online Network in Public Administration and
Finance (UNPAN) outlines five stages of E-government development:
• Emerging web presence. Provide static online information about
public services, working hours, contact details, frequently asked
questions, etc.
• Enhanced web presence. Links to connected organizations
enable users to post comments and receive newsletters, etc.

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 • Interactive web presence. Enable users to download forms,
submit online applications and secured access to databases, etc.
• Transactional web presence. Enable secured two-way
transaction, portals for tax payment, obtaining birth/death
certificates, etc.
• Fully integrated web presence. Develop portals which are
connected to all departments of the government and are
accessible globally.

Applications
The e-Government has many uses which could benefit both the
government and the users. Some of the applications are summarised
below:
• Online availability of information including access to databases
about public services, procedures, costs, deadlines etc
• Online submission of forms, tax payments, requests of
certificates etc
• Documents’ renewals, payment of Government bills
• Visa applications and approvals, electronic visas issuance
• E-assistance using interactive forums, emails and chats
• E-voting
• Message boards and opinion polls
• Job vacancies
• Statistical data and analysis
• Online communities and groups which can support charities and
events
• Land and property registration

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E-Government in Cyprus
E-Government in Cyprus was firstly introduced in 1987 where a
strategy study was made in order to identify the information needs of
the country. Based on the recommendations of this study, the Government adopted a
“Government Computerization Master Plan (GCP)” in March 1989. By 2002 some
information systems has been developed to support the internal operations of Ministries,
a Government Data Network (GDN) was developed which interconnects all government
IS, and a Government Internet Node was established to provide the gateway between
Government Systems and the public network. The e-Government services began to
implement after 2002 since electronic delivery of services was part of EU requirements.
Currently all Ministries and their departments have their own website which is either
informative and provide application forms and other documents to download or
interactive which support user input and provide feedback. Some very good examples of
e-government include the website for renewing car permit, tax form completion and
submission etc. In 2006 Cyprus launched the new Government portal (available at
www.cyprus.gov.cy) which provides access to government information and services.

In Cyprus the percentage of households having Internet access

reaches the 43% which is lower than the EU average which reaches the
60% (2008, Eurostat). In 2009 the Cyprus percentage increased to
53%. Furthermore, the percentage of individuals who use the Internet
for interaction with public authorities in order to obtain information is
14.9%, to download forms is 10.2% and return filled forms is 6.1%
(2008, Eurostat).

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PEST Analysis / SWOT Analysis
In order to understand better the benefits and detriments of the e-
Governance in Cyprus, four SWOT analyses are presented with focus
on the political, economic, social and technological aspects of the
theory.

Strengths Weakness Opportunitie Threats

s
Political Modern image High Budget Processes Bureaucracy
change due to
Key words: Application of Internet laws transparency Internet piracy
laws and democracy are not
legislation, complete People gain Misuse of
decision Reduction of trust on public information
making corruption Slow decision procedures
processes, making especially
funding, process / when hiring
political bureaucracy new
stability employees
Hierarchy in
organisations Raise funding
from the EU
Up coming
elections can
change tactics
to attract votes
Economic External Investors E-Government Corruption
funding can result to
Key words: Budget control cost efficiency
funding, cost – Transparency
savings, for businesses
economic crisis
Social Many people Not all people Promotion of Resistance of
are computer have internet internet people
Key words: literate access or have
employment, any internet Better health Lack of trust of
people, Eager to learn knowledge care doing financial
education, IT transactions
income Convenience over the
to people can Internet
lead to
acceptance

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Technological Infrastructure High costs of Many Dependency
is already internet companies on technology
Key words: available offering
technological No broadband internet –
issues, connection competition
security, available can lead to low
software, everywhere in prices
hardware, Cyprus
maintenance

Conclusion
Although e-Government has many obvious benefits and promises to
raise the citizens’ standard of living and ease procedures within the
Government, it will not be successful if citizens do not support it. The
Government needs to promote e-Government to people, state its
importance and encourage people to make their transactions online.
Statistics for Cyprus show that more and more people gain access to
the Internet and learn how to use it for information, email, purchases
etc. It won’t be long before people in Cyprus realise the benefits that e-
Government offers and seek for its full utilization.

One word which is synonymous with the Internet nowadays is

interactivity. E-Government should stand as the solution for a
meaningful dialogue between the citizens and the Government having
equal participation and not one way communication.

The challenge is to develop the e-Government for providing services to

the citizen better and more efficiently than the traditional paper-based
Government and focus less on the instruments and practices. E-
Government should provide the citizens with trust, security and
convenience.

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Bibliography
European e-practice journal (2010), Latest news [Internet]. Available
from: <http://www.epractice.eu>, [Accessed 16 May 2010]

European e-practice journal (2006), eGovernment Factsheet - Cyprus –

Strategy [Internet]. Available from:
<http://www.epractice.eu/en/document/288188>, [Accessed 10 May
2010]

Eurostat (2010), Internet usage statistics [Internet]. Available from:

http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/eurostat/home/,
[Accessed 10 May 2010]

United Nations Online Network in Public Administration and Finance

(2010) [Internet]. Available from: www.unpan.org, [Accessed 8 May
2010]

IDABC (2005) “E-Government in the Member States of the European

Union”, Francois Chevallerau
European Commission (2010) “Europe’s Information Society”
[Internet]. Available from:
http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/eeurope/i2010/ index_en.htm.
[Accessed 12 May 2010]

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United Nations, Economic and Social Council (2002) “The critical role of
public administration and good governance in implementing the United
Nations Millennium Declaration: e-government, known applications and
enabling environment” Report of the Secretariat

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