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- 1. x�� Section I Managing Information Technology in the Public Sector L�p Serv�ce? � Copyright © 2007, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited. Chapter.I Lip.Service? How.PA.Journals.and.Textbooks. View.Information.Technology Alana Northrop, Cal�forn�a State Un�vers�ty, Fullertan, USA Abstract This chapter first points out the continued need for a reader on information technology by reviewing the early importance given to computing education by
- 2. MPA programs and prac- titioners. Next, the chapter surveys current textbooks’ and general public-administration journals’ treatment of the topic. Three highly respected public- administration journals and three textbooks are reviewed. The journals are found to typically give little attention to the topic of computing, whether as a main focus or as merely a mention in articles. The textbooks also barely mention computing. In addition, there was no consistent rubric or chapter topic under which computing is discussed. The continued and vital need for a reader on informa- tion technology and computer applications in public administration is apparent. Finally, the chapter concludes by briefly discussing a range of issues that public administrators should be conversant with if they are to successfully utilize computer applications in the delivery of public-sector services. � Northrop Copyright © 2007, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited. Introduction In 1985, a special computing education committee recommended to the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration (NASPAA) that a sixth skill, computing, be added to the original five skills that must be taught in an MPA
- 3. program. This recommendation applied to the accreditation of schools starting in 1988. Now over 20 years have passed since the original recommendation. Let us turn to evaluate the progress that has been made. Computing.Education.in.MPA.Programs There have been two published studies that surveyed MPA programs and assessed the level of computing education. Cleary (1990) mailed out questionnaires to 215 public affairs and public administration (PA) master’s programs affiliated with the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration in 1989. Of the 80% returned, about one out of four reported that they had a course dealing with information systems and computer skills. The respondents were quick to note that the information systems and computer-skills areas needed more attention in the future. Yet, 1989 was a long time ago, especially when it comes to the massive changes in the computer field. Brudney, Hy, and Waugh (1993) did a little more recent survey of MPA programs. Close to 90% of the programs said they use computers in their instruction. Over half of the institu- tions offer a course in computers, yet only 30% had made computing a requirement. The study also suggested that computing skills need to be taught beyond the typically taught statistical applications. Without an absolutely current survey of programs, one can only surmise, though pretty safely, that computer use in MPA courses has greatly expanded. Word processing, spreadsheets,
- 4. graphics, e-mail, the Internet, geographic information system (GIS), and online classes are now part and parcel of MPA programs and assumed student skills. What.PA.Practitioners.Advise.......................................... in.Computing.Education Four studies surveyed public managers. Lan and Cayer (1994) surveyed administrators in one state. The recommendations were that MPA programs need course work in computer literacy, specifically knowledge of applications and hands‑on skills. The respondents said they use information technology (unfortunately this includes phone and fax) an average of 56% of their day. The respondents also said that they were involved with the management of the information system, so management issues as well as computer skills are important for PA students. L�p Serv�ce? � Copyright © 2007, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited. Crewson and Fisher (1997) surveyed 371 city administrators in the United States. In terms of importance for public administrators in the future, 37% of the sample rated computer skills as most important, with 57% giving such skills moderate importance. Similar ratings
- 5. were given by the sample to knowing about computers. An earlier study (Poister & Streib, 1989) of 451 municipal managers indicates the extensive diffusion of management information systems in the 1980s. Other indications of computer use can be obliquely inferred from usage of such management tools as revenue forecasting and performance monitoring. A 1988 study of 46 technologically advanced cities was intended to predict the common state of computerization in U.S. cities in the late 1990s (Kraemer & Northrop, 1989). That study indicated that no city department or staff role was spared from the diffusion of computers. In fact, 84% of managers respondents and 85% of staff respondents indicated that their work involved major interaction with computers. More recent studies (Moon, 2002; Norris & Moon, 2005) indicate the absolute spread of IT to city and county governance through Web sites and their evolving nature. In essence, the word from public managers is that the use of computers has become essential to daily municipal business. Computing.Education.in.............................................. .Public.Administration.Journals.and.Textbooks We know there is a need for computing education in MPA programs, as practitioners in both the 1985 recommendation and 1989 update pointed out (Kraemer & Northrop, 1989; NASPAA Ad Hoc Committee on Computers in Public Management Education, 1986). Yes, schools say they have integrated computing into their curriculum (Brudney et al., 1993), but
- 6. how has the field of public administration pushed computing education in print? One way to answer that question is to review research and textbooks in public administra- tion. This third approach to looking at computing education is based on the theory of trian- gulation. Triangulation means using different data sources trained on the same problem, in this case, computing education. Triangulation not only involves using data from different sources but also from different perspectives. In this section, the sources are general public- administration journals and textbooks. The different perspective is the belief that one can learn about computing education not just from what university program directors say they teach, but also from looking at the published sources of information commonly available to public-administration academics and professionals. Professional.Public.Administration.Articles The journals were selected based on Forester and Watson’s (1994) survey of all editors and editorial board members of 36 journals who mention public administration in general or � Northrop Copyright © 2007, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited. public administration topics, such as personnel and finance, in
- 7. their mission statements. The study used a 10‑point scale: 10 representing the best journal in the field according to the respondents, and a 0 indicating that no respondent rated the journal in the top 10. The top 5 general public-administration journals, whether you include or exclude the board members of those journals in the rankings, can be seen in Table 1. In deciding which journals to evaluate, the quality of the journal was considered as well as the requirement that the journal be recognized as one that dealt with the field of public administration in general. The latter requirement was based on the recommendation of the 1985 NASPAA committee that the computing topic be integrated into all courses vs. segre- gated into one or a part of one course. Thus, the computing topic should be relevant to all academics and practitioners interested in public administration, not just those in a particular specialized area. The quality issue obviously speaks to the dissemination of information as well as the importance of computing as demonstrated by its acceptability as a topic in esteemed publishing outlets. Clearly, Public Administration Review (PAR) and Administration & Society (A&S) stand out as the top general public administration journals and, in fact, as the top public-administra- tion journals, period (Forester & Watson, 1994). We also felt that The American Review of Public Administration (ARPA) should be selected. Although it is closer in ratings to other lower ranked journals than it is to the two leaders, it stands out in its ratings’ gap from the lower journals more than it is similar to them in ratings
- 8. differences. Table 2 shows how often computing appeared as a topic in the three selected journals over the last 10 years. There is no trend but instead a turning point. Articles that mention computing or have computing as the main focus are rare, with a notable increase in 2002 but slipping downward by 2004. It should be noted that PAR, the main journal outlet for IT issues, had a special issue on 9/11 and terrorism in 2002 that often mentioned IT issues. It should also be noted that articles that mention computing might involve as little as a one-sentence men- tion in the whole article. In sum, while the academic field and the world of government practice increasingly rec- ognize the importance of computing, the research world in terms of top‑quality journals really does not. Note: There is a very clear drop-off in ratings for journals rated lower. All.Respondents Minus.Board.Members Public Administration Review 8.34 8.19 Administration & Society 5.36 5.17 The American Review of Public Administration 3.85 3.40 Journal of Public Administration Theory 3.20 2.78 Public Administration Quarterly 2.88 2.45 Table 1.
- 9. L�p Serv�ce? � Copyright © 2007, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited. Table 2. Appearance of computing topic in public administration journals 19 96 19 97 19 98 19 99 20 00 20 01 20 02 20 03
- 25. 7 18 19 13 12 � Northrop Copyright © 2007, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited. Public.Administration.Textbooks Professional public-administration journal articles are a common outlet for academics and professionals to keep up on the latest research and trends in the field. Articles can be as- signed in class or incorporated into lectures. Another common outlet on what is essential to the public administration field is textbooks. While one can avoid keeping up by not reading all journal articles, it is hard not to read the book assigned in class on both the professor’s and student’s sides. So if one were seeking to learn about the essential topics in the field of public administration, what would you learn by reading the textbooks? In this instance, we looked at how often computers or information systems were mentioned in current public-administration textbooks. Three texts were
- 26. chosen based on their most current printing date of 2005. Table 2 indicates the remarkable lack of attention that these textbooks give to computing. Similar to the three general public-administration journals studied earlier, computing is just not a textbook topic of major importance. An additional concern, besides the amount of attention given to computing in these texts, is how it is treated. As Table 3 indicates, computing does not have its own chapter except loosely in Starling’s textbook. Computing as a topic also appears to not have any consistent rubric under which it is treated. Such inconsistent treatment suggests that computing has not been integrated into all areas of public administration and, in fact, has not even found a home in one area. Need.for.a.Book.on.Computing.for.Public.Administrators Without a doubt computing has permeated the practice of public administration at all levels of government in the United States. NASPAA has recognized this by requiring all accredited MPA programs to include in their programs information management, including computer literacy and applications. Yet in spite of the importance the work world and NASPAA has put on computing education, the two tables in this chapter show that textbooks and general Note: *Percentages (in parentheses) are calculated using number of textbook pages as bases (i.e., excluding appendixes, references, and indexes).
- 27. Table 3. Appearance of computing topic in public administration textbooks Textbook.name.and.author Number.of.pages.mentioning. computers. or. information. systems.and.percentage* Public Administration Concepts and Cases by Stillman (2005) 0 Chapter.in.which.pages.appear Managing the Public Sector by Starling (2005) 10 (2) Chapter 12, “Information Management” Public Administration the New Century by Greene (2005) 2 (.5) Chapter 1, “Understanding Public Administration” L�p Serv�ce? � Copyright © 2007, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print
- 28. or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited. public-administration journals barely treat computing as a topic worthy of mention. Con- sequently, there is the strong sense that we all say computing is important, but it is more lip service than actual service. If it is truly accepted as important, computing should be a common research topic in our leading journals, a common topic in our textbooks, and thus a topic on which we are working hard to build a common body of knowledge. This is not true today, 21 years since we as a profession formally recognized computing’s importance. How can there be a common theme or treatment to computing education if the textbooks and respected journals offer minuscule help or encouragement? A major way to begin correcting this dismal state is the present publication of an edited book on information technology and computer applications. This author also refers the reader to the articles that mention computers, listed at the end of this chapter. Articles going back to 1985 from the three journals are listed there. Management.Issues A master’s in public administration signifies the recipient has the skills to manage people and tasks in an environment of both internal and external political demands and responsibili- ties. What are some key issues about which an MPA graduate should be conversant when it comes to managing in a computerized environment? First and
- 29. foremost is the fact that the computerization of a task does not necessarily lead to payoffs and more than likely will underachieve compared to expectations. It is important to understand what factors affect payoffs and then address how to deal with them. The following section briefly points out factors that have been shown to influence the usefulness of computer applications. Quality.of.Data An absolute condition for achieving payoffs from computerization is that the data must be accurate. A system to control input errors and to change data must be instituted. In contrast, the length of time to get information from a computerized task does not need to be made as short as possible. Data that can be quickly retrieved are very nice, but data that many users think take too long to be retrieved will still be used if they are considered useful. Training.. Managers must devote more resources and ongoing thought to training. Based on an infor- mal survey of over 450 public employees, this was one of the top two lessons that was a constant theme from department to department, application to application, and employee to employee (Northrop, 2002). One obviously needs a training program to teach users how to use new applications. Another related consideration is having a way to train new hires in ongoing applications. In addi-
- 30. tion, an initial training program should not be considered the end of training. Follow-up � Northrop Copyright © 2007, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited. training programs or help sessions need to be routinized; training should be considered an ongoing process. Then there is the issue of who should do the training. There is no clear answer whether in- house trainers or external trainers are best or whether professional trainers or just experienced employees are best (Northrop, Kraemer, Dunkle, & King, 1994). Professional trainers bring experience in conveying application knowledge, but sometimes an employee who uses the program is better at answering questions about how to use the program within the context of the work product. Resources Computerized applications may be able to provide all sorts of new and valuable informa- tion to decision makers. However, the information is only useful if the organization has the resources to take full advantage of the new information. To illustrate, a computerized manpower application system can outline where and how many police officers one needs
- 31. to deploy at a certain time of day across the city. If the police department has that many officers available, all is well and good. If not, whether due to limits on force size or just scheduling variations, the computerized manpower information will not help much in the fight against crime. What.One.Automates When one is automating a task or upgrading a task system, the success of the present system to do the work needs to be considered. Often an organization just automates the way they presently do a task. If, for example, the present way one tracks the names of people who should be paying child support only finds and receives payment from 20% of the list, then the automated system will likely not do better. Therefore, an evaluation of the extent to which policy goals are currently being met should be required before a task is automated or upgraded. Who.to.Involve.in.Adoption.Decisions Oddly enough, some organizations never consult the very employees who will use the new computer application to see what they need and to get their input on the weaknesses of the old application. Employees from all levels who will use the application should be asked for their input, from line personnel to managers. Purchasing.a.Customized.System
- 32. Experience at the federal, state, and local level point out that purchasing an information system is rife with risks. Millions have been spent on systems that were delivered years after being promised or that never worked. Choosing a company and writing a contract should be done with much care. Consider purchasing a customized system as similar to L�p Serv�ce? � Copyright © 2007, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited. choosing and working with a contractor to remodel one’s house. Payments should not be made until each stage is approved. A final payment should be held back until the developer fixes the little problems in the system. Expect to pay more if the organization changes its specifications of the system but builds into the contract a cost. A bonus can be offered if the system is finished before the agreed‑upon date, and penalties can be assessed if the system is delivered after the expected date. Above all, ask for references and check them. Send a representative to other organizations that have contracted with the system‑development company. Do not just call. Remember that line staff may have a different perspective than a manager; all input is relevant. Management.Support
- 33. This is the second most frequent lesson passed on by over 450 public employees (Northrop, 2002). Management must be supportive of the computer application. Staff personnel have been known to just not use the application because management has given the signal indi- rectly that they do not see the usefulness of the application. One way that management can effectively show support is to actively use the application or the generated reports. If staff members have a question about the application, management should be able to answer the question even if this only means referring the staff to someone else who can help. Manage- ment must show they care about staff knowing and effectively using the application. It is up to management to sell the usefulness of the application to employees. Security Security has been considered a major management concern since the early computerization security of data. If data are accessible and changeable by inappropriate personnel, major legal issues involving rights compromise the usefulness of the computerized database. Depending on the department or agency, security issues vary. For example, police field reports once entered should not be able to be changed at will by any patrol officer. Incident reports must be protected from being expunged or altered to protect the integrity of the court case from bribes or favoritism. Personnel files need to be more widely accessible to change to update
- 34. job titles, benefits, and addresses. However, the extent of access to personnel information must also be limited. The security needed for some national computer databases, such as that for social security, is monumental. Conclusion A PA graduate needs hands-on skills in computer applications. Said graduate also needs to be conversant with the issues involved in successfully managing information technology and computer applications. Professional journals do offer useful articles on information technology, even if they are typically few in number. However, general PA textbooks are not a source for building one’s �0 Northrop Copyright © 2007, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited. knowledge in this important area. Thus, edited books, like the present one, are critical to provide a common grounding in computer education for PA graduates. References Brudney, J., Hy, R. J., & Waugh, W. L. (1993). Building microcomputing skills in public adminis- tration graduate education: An assessment of MPA programs.
- 35. Administration & Society, 25, 183-203. Cleary, R. (1990). What do MPA programs look like? Do they do what is needed? Public Administra- tion Review, 50, 663-673. Crewson, P. E., & Fisher, B. S. (1997). Growing older and wiser: The changing skill requirement of city administrators. Public Administration Review, 53, 380-386. Forester, J. P., & Watson, S. S. (1994). An assessment of public administration journals: The perspective of editors on editorial board members. Public Administration Review, 54, 474-482. Kraemer, K. L., & Northrop, A. (1989). Curriculum recommendations for public management educa- tion in computing: An update. Public Administration Review, 49, 447-453. Lan, Z., & Cayer, J. (1994). The challenges of teaching information technology use and management in a time of information revolution. The American Review of Public Administration, 24, 207-222. Moon, M. J. (2002). The evolution of e-government among municipalities: Rhetoric or reality? Public Administration Review, 64, 515-528. National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration (NASPAA) Ad Hoc Committee on Computers in Public Management Education. (1986). Curriculum recommendations for public management education in computing. Public Administration Review, 46, 595-602.
- 36. Norris, D. G., & Moon, M. J. (2005). Advancing e-government at the grassroots: Tortoise or hare? Public Administration Review, 65, 64-75. Northrop, A. (2002). Lessons for managing information technology in the public sector. Social Science Computer Review, 20, 194-205. Northrop, A., Kraemer, K. L., Dunkle, D. E., & King, J. L. (1994). Management policy for greater computer benefits: Friendly software, computer literacy, or formal training. Social Science Computer Review, 12, 383-404. Poister, T., & Streib, G. (1989). Management tools in municipal government: Trends over the past decade. Public Administration Review, 49, 240-248. Further.Reading Journal Articles That Mention Computers Allcorn, S. (1997). Parallel virtual organizations. Administration & Society, 29(4), 412-439. Bajjaly, S. T. (1998). Strategic information systems planning in the public sector. The American Review of Public Administration, 28, 75-86. L�p Serv�ce? �� Copyright © 2007, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of
- 37. IGI Global is prohibited. Barth, T. J., & Arnold, E. (1999). Artificial intelligence and administrative discretion. The American Review of Public Administration, 29, 332-352. Bolton, M. J., & Stolcis, G. B. (2003). Ties that do not bind: Musings on the specious relevance of academic research. Public Administration Review, 63, 626-630. Botner, S. B. (1985). The use of budgeting management tool by state government. Public Administra- tion Review, 45, 616-619. Bovens, M., & Zouridis, S. (2002). From street-level to system- level bureaucracies: How information and communication technology is transforming administrative discretion and. Public Admin- istration Review, 62, 174-184. Bozeman, B., & Pandey, S. K. (2004). Public management decision making: Effects of decision content. Public Administration Review, 64, 553-565. Brainard, L. A., & Siplon, P. D. (2002). Cyberspace challenges to mainstream nonprofit health orga- nizations. Administration & Society, 34, 141-175. Bretschneider, S. (1990). Management information systems in public and private organizations: An empirical test. Public Administration Review, 50, 536-545. Brown, M. M., & Brudney, J. L. (1998a). A “smarter, better, faster, and cheaper” government: Contract- ing and geographic information systems. Public Administration Review, 58, 335-346.
- 38. Brown, M. M., & Brudney, J. L. (1998b). Public sector information technology initiatives. Adminis- tration & Society, 30, 421-443. Brown, M. M., & Brudney, J. L. (2003). Learning organizations in public sector? A study of police agencies employing information and technology to advance knowledge. Public Administration Review, 63, 30-43. Brudney, J. L., Hy, R. J., & Waugh, W. L., Jr. (1993). Building microcomputing skills in public ad- ministration graduate education: An assessment of MPA programs. Administration & Society, 25, 183-203. Brudney, J. L., & Selden, S. C. (1995). The adoption of innovation by smaller local governments: The case of computer technology. The American Review of Public Administration, 25, 71-86. Brudney, J. L., & Wright, D. S. (2002). Revisiting administrative reform in the American states: The status of reinventing government during the 1990s. Public Administration Review, 62, 353-361. Buyers, K. M., & Palmer, D. R. (1989). The microelectronics and computer technology corporation: An assessment from market and public policy perspectives. Administration & Society, 21, 101-127. Carroll, J. D., & Lynn, D. B. (1996). The future of federal reinvention: Congressional perspectives. Public Administration Review, 56, 299-304.
- 39. Cats-Baril, W., & Thompson, R. (1995). Managing information technology projects in the public sector. Public Administration Review, 55, 559-566. Caudle, S. L. (1990). Managing information resources in state government. Public Administration Review, 50, 515-524. Cleary, R. (1990). What do MPA programs look like? Do they do what is needed? Public Administra- tion Review, 50, 663-673. Cleveland, H. (1985). The twilight of hierarchy: Speculations on the global information society. Public Administration Review, 45, 185-195. Comfort, L. K. (2002). Rethinking … Read Chapter one attached Read my peers discussion comment on the chapter and type a response following this criteria: Respond to two other student’s article summarizations with your opinion of their articles in 50 words for each summarization. Responses such as, “I agree” or “Good idea” are not acceptable and will receive no credit. The response must add to the scholarly dialogue presenting the reasons for your opinion and supporting documentation cited. Peer #1 After reading chapter one in our textbook which speaks about the importance of computing in an MPA program (masters of public administration). We are pointed with the fact that back in 1985 there was a special computing education committee that had made a recommendation to the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration (NASPAA) that there needed to be a sixth skill which would be computing
- 40. added to the five other skills (Garson, 2020). This accreditation would not apply to the classes now or before but starting in 1988. There was research done across three highly respected journals and six textbooks. In the research of these journals and textbooks, it was found that computing was barely a topic in any of these journals or textbooks. With no consistent rubric or chapter topic on computing there needed to be changes made to make sure the education on computing was taught in the MPA program (Northtop, 2020). Garson, G. D. (2007). Modern public information technology systems: issues and challenges. Hershey, PA: IGI Pub. Northrop, A. (1977, April 1). Public Administration: Computing Education in Public Administration Journals and Textbooks - Alana Northrop, 1997. Retrieved May 10, 2020, from https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/089443939701500 105 Peer #2 Computing is vital for the public sector. However, computing in the public sector has historically not gotten the attention of college textbooks or academic research. Even though the workforce and the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration (NASPAA) expressed the need for more education and focus on computing, this simply did not happen (Garson, 2007). Research shows the topic of computing was very limited in journals and textbooks. Also not only were there limited chapters dedicated to computing, but each subject area also did not touch on computing either (Garson, 2007). This has become an issue because the public sector relies on computing. Public sector jobs will be “affected by technology advancements and innovations” and thus employees in the public sector may be behind due to lack of education surrounding computing (Impact of technology, 2019). References Garson, G.D. (2007). Modern public information technology
- 41. systems: issues and challenges. Hershey, PA: IGI Publishing. Impact of technology on the public and government sector. (2019, September 20). Mitrefitch. Retrieved May 10, 2020 from https://mitrefinch.com/blog/impact-of-technology-on-the- public-and-government-sector/