Adoption and Efficiency of Web-Based Decision Support Systems Within eGovernment: A United Arab Emirates Case Study

Problem Statement

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Order now

The governments primary goal is to give services and goods in the most effective and efficient way to its citizens (RabaaI, Zogheib, AlShatti & Jamal, 2016). Globally, the governments are grappling with the challenge of promoting e-government initiatives. The governments are encouraging the populaces to use and access public services using the internet and to achieve this; then the Internet must be accessible for all classes of individuals and organizations (Khorshid, 2004). Electronic government is referred to as the utilization of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to improve services and promote governance. On the other hand, a decision support system is an interactive information system that provides information, models, and data manipulation tools to help make decisions in semi-structured and unstructured situations (Khorshid, 2004). The United Arab Emirates does not have a closed system for the government support decision process. There is interaction with higher authorities and their advisory committees through policy directives and linkages. (Khorshid, 2004).

Decision Support System (DSS) is an all-inclusive phrase used to explain computer applications that augment the operators capability to make decisions (Riad, El-Adl, Mamoun & El-Bakry, 2012). In specific terms, the term is typically used to define systems that are computer-based and are meant to assist decision makers to utilize knowledge, data, and communication and information technologies in detecting hitches and finding solutions to them in the decision-making process (Riad, El-Bakry & El-Adl, 2010). Decision support systems can be classified into seven comprehensive groupings including Data-Driven, Communication-Driven, Knowledge-Driven, Spreadsheet-based, Document-Driven, Model-Driven as well as Web-based Decision Support System (Narayanasamy & Velmurugan, 2008).This paper has a keen focus on the Web-based DSS system which is used via a web browser.

The current economy is multifaceted, exceptionally dynamic and continually evolving. At such the decision-making process used for performance and achievement concerns should be optimised. As the society grow and administration is obligated to conform to the new social transformations, it is paramount that governments optimise their activities and cope with the resources available in an economical and efficient way (Peculea & Chitescu, 2015). There is the need for a transparent decision-making approach, proper management, and sound institutional administration structures. The quality of the decisions made is dependent on management, processing, and exploitation of data, as well as internal and external information. The data flow is quite significant, and its management is beyond human capability. To this end, it quite crucial to develop an information system that permits for adequate data management necessary for supporting the process of decision making.

A government DSS is reinforced by general ICT infrastructure contingent on the eGovernance technology (Khorshid, 2004). Principally, decision support functions of the government signify a constituent of the e-government scheme, and they profit from its cutting-edge ICT. Various governments of the developing nations have been employing information technology for above four decades (Mishra & Mishra, 2012). However, in e-government, computer support to government activities goes beyond automation of the internal working environment in government by data processing to support and transformation of the external mechanisms of administration by both data processing as well as data communication (Al-Nuaim, 2011). eGovernance provides a novel way forward to advance government courses, create relations with civil society, establish appropriate linkages with citizens and interact with the outside world. Electronic governance improves the government processes, connects citizens with the household sector and creates external connections with community and private business services.

A government is a functional model of the society (Rabaai, Zogheib, Al Shatti & AlJamal, 2015). To this end, every regulatory feature of the society concerning to the level of the referential is demonstrated, executed and activated in the referential. Different components of the society interact with the referential authority over organizational and technical channels using specific procedures and rules (Khorshid, 2004). Organizational rules, channels, and procedures change periodically under the new legislation and social evolution while the set of technical channels including postal mails, telephone, teller and postal mail has recently been extended to the internet and ICT bringing forth the concept of e-governance (Conklin, 2007). eGovernance needs interfaces, resources, procedures and other components. eGovernment focuses on facilitating the governments operations as well as the distribution of services and information (Sandoz, 2009). eGovernment offers improved services, provides efficiency, offers government accountability and transparency, enhances decision making as well as ensuring better access to public utilities.

The common theme when defining electronic government is the detail that there is the usage of communication technology and particularly the internet to enhance service conveyance to the populaces, government agencies and businesses and ensure that there is efficiency in interaction and access of the services from the state, local and federal governments (Abu-Shanab & Khasawneh, 2014). There is an association between DSS and the electronic government where the state encourages citizen participation in the making of the decision and ensuring that the government is more accountable, effective and transparent (Chan, Song, Sarker & Plumlee, 2017). The challenge has been finding the appropriate decision support system to that can be incorporated into the government layers or components and also the utilization of the suitable DSS into eGovernment. Furthermore, most eGovernments have not incorporated the DSS into their frameworks or systems.

Policy-makers, senior managers and strategic development planners in the government sectors utilize data, information, and knowledge to make decisions (Khorshid, 2004). Data represents measurements of activities, events and transactions recorded, verified, classified and stored without conveying particular information. Information is the data that has been decoded and transmits a precise message to the receiver and can be used to draw conclusions and inferences (Mishra & Mishra, 2012). Knowledge is focused on understanding, accumulated learning, experience and expertise and applies to a particular activity or problem. Knowledge is the most progressive and effective support that is computer-based and its used in making proper decisions.

Most of the eGovernment platforms are applying the Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) methodology to integrate between clients applications and different services (Riad et al., 2010). The benefits of SOA are high-degree distributed, business-centred, rapid flexibility, service reusability and loose coupling of service (Riad et al., 2010). However, the challenge has remained how the government officials will take their decisions into updatable electronic society. The rapid transformations have a remarkable influence on the making of decisions. Few investigations have worked on providing an explicit and clear DSS framework inside the e-government. This study aims at handling this problem as it is imperative to include the DSS within the electronic government framework.

Issues and Challenges

In most circumstances, policy analysts or senior government officials or are confronted with a particular problem that calls for immediate attention. At such, the DSS team need to focus on developing a simple analytical database as well as a particular quantitative decision support model or tool. A web-based DSS allow for online exploration of data and other statistical activities at the right time analysis and aids in the generation of the reports required when making decisions collaboratively (Adla et al., 2012).

History of DSSThroughout the last forty years, DSSs have evolved from simple systems that were based on models to multi-faceted units that are quite innovative. In the 1960s, most of the DSS were centred on the expensive and powerful supercomputer that offered managers organised and regular reviews. In the 1970s and as an outcome of MIS theory developments, DSS advanced into more sophisticated computer-based structures that reinforced production, marketing, advancement and even logistical purposes. DSS grew in popularity and in the 1980s it attracted academic interests as many researchers worked on developing the framework for Decision Support System (Power, 2007). In the 1990s, there was a paradigm shift, which resulted in a more complex system that incorporated client or server capabilities and advanced database technology. Many organisations started upgrading their network infrastructure, and with the advent of the internet, the Decision Support Systems were completely adopted.

Web-based DSS

The single user interface paradigm of the web, its growth of open standards as well as distributed interface has led to its significant growth (Lu & Ruan, 2007). Web browsers have enabled easy access for several operators to access various information sources. Most precise, the Web technologies have delivered a novel platform for information distribution on decision making and function as the desired choice for the DSS supply. Web-based DSS have catered for user accessibility and flexibility difficulties and also opened up the DSS abilities to a wider operator group (Hillegersberg & Koenen, 2014). They used web technologies to provide the process of decision-making among various people who are geographically distributed. Web-based DSS allows for geographical freedom as the user can utilize it from any location at any time. Usually, the DSS is incorporated into the existing systems and applications in Web domains including the Internet, business extranets, and corporate intranets. For instance, it can assist business managers, the policymakers in government and populaces in the making of decisions via an electronic government service scheme.

The Web-based DSS conglomerates the web infrastructure with the typical DSS structures. Most of them are constructed using the three-tier architecture (Lu & Ruan, 2007). By a web browser, the decision makers send a bid to a web browser by the utilization of the hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) (Lu & Ruan, 2007). After web browser processes the request, it is displayed in the browser. Web-based DSS have minimized the technical blockades to make information relevant to decisions and avail decision support tools to utilize in locations that are geographically distributed. With the help of the Web infrastructure, business-wide DSS can now be executed at a moderately lower price in decision makers that are at different geographical locations. (Abdou, Lewis & Al Zarooni, 2013). In e-government, the web-based DSS encouraged public participation because any citizen regardless of the geographic location has a platform to ensure that their voice is heard.

Establishing Web-based DSS increases the utility of decision information and DSS in the government (Abdou, Lewis & Al Zarooni, 2013).Web-based DSS enhances quick conveyance of decision making frameworks and analysis of the best practices as well as promoting more steady decision making on decision...