Information systems support for citizen-oriented administration-citizen relationships

Letch, Nicholas (1995) Information systems support for citizen-oriented administration-citizen relationships. PhD thesis, Murdoch University.

Abstract

Within public sector organisations, managers are faced with questions regarding the best means of exploiting information systems for strategic advantage whilst avoiding any negative impacts that those systems may have on their relationships with the community at large. Contemporary reforms in public administration have been directed towards changing public sector agencies from being inwardly focused and inflexible to being open and responsive to the needs of citizens. In this thesis, the potential roles which can be played by information systems in supporting “citizen-oriented" administration-citizen (COAC) relationships are explored.

The issues surrounding administration-citizen relationships are complex and therefore require wider examination than can be achieved using traditional management information systems frameworks. Through the use of a descriptive/interpretive approach, a framework is developed which can be used as an investigative tool in information systems planning by identifying opportunities for information systems supporting COAC relationships.

The framework provides for a representation of the infrastructure, systems and environment of relationships between citizens and public sector agencies. It is based on interpretive studies of: theoretical models of exchange; public administration theory; the administrative structures, procedures and practices in place in the Western Australian and Australian public sectors; and experience in Western Australian public sector agencies.

Five guidelines, suggesting issues for debate within individual public sector agencies in the process of planning information systems to support citizen-oriented relationships, are derived from the framework.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Murdoch Affiliation(s):	School of Social Sciences
Notes:	Note to the author: If you would like to make your thesis openly available on Murdoch University Library's Research Repository, please contact: repository@murdoch.edu.au. Thank you.
Supervisor(s):	Swatman, Paula
URI:	http://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/50823

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