Cloud Computing and Public Administration Research Paper

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Total Length: 2480 words ( 8 double-spaced pages)

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Abstract

This essay will cover information systems and decision-making in public organizations. Information systems management has become part of the decision-making process in the public sector. Public organizations have begun utilizing information systems management in order to provide the statistics and information needed to generate decisions quickly while also maintaining a level of informed policy that allows for evolution of public organization decision-making in today’s world. Although there has been some resistance to the changing of how decisions are made, big data for example, can be a new way to aggregate many forms of data and present it in an easy-to-absorb manner for informed decision-making in public organizations.

Introduction

Public organizations have evolved in recent years. They have developed ways to cope with fast decision-making through use of information systems. Information systems management gained importance in the public sector because of the mounting pressure on these organizations to perform (Karim, 2011). Statistics and other valuable data can be analyzed and presented to decision-makers allowing for quick response time and fast implementation of policy. This however, was not always the case.

Before the push towards information systems, decision-making in public organizations relied on written reports and interviews (Karim, 2011). Although these things are still pertinent today, they are transformed into usable and easily absorbed that proves more effective than regular paper methods. The rise of information systems comes as public organizations have begun to rely less on traditional methods and more on the ability of allowing people the access needed to quick and effective analysis of data, yielding better decision-making outcomes. This essay will focus on the background of information systems and decision-making in public organizations and how information systems can be used specifically, to improve the already evolving decision-making process.

The selected recommendation involves the use of cloud services to create an easy to access means of collecting and distributing information. Cloud services are a recent innovation thanks to the increase storage capabilities seen in the last decade and the improvement in online services (Chang, Walters, & Wills, 2015). These improvements have produced a quick and effective means of data exchange without the worry of compromising security. Although there may be some additional concerns over data breach, thanks to cloud services, big data usage can increase in public organizations and may lead to more innovations in the pursuit of informed decision-making.

Background

The roots of information system in public organizations is in the formation and use of management information system. Back then in the late 90’s, there was a desire to create free and easy exchange of data between governmental organizations. Because that information can be seen as power, that information needed to be made available, but also safeguarded to avoid any problems. Therefore, several agencies preferred to maintain autonomy over such information. For instance, job training agencies had to assess state’s job training programs, and needed the data from several state agencies to do so. “However, despite obtaining verbal agreements from the top managers of the agency, the lower level programming staff delayed the sharing of data for months” (Garson & IGI Global, 1999, p. 30).

With the lack of security features and convenience for data exchange, public organizations began to implement management information systems to allow them access to the data needed to generate informed decision-making. Without this kind of management of data, it would be difficult today to perform some of the necessary functions in organizations because of the extra processes that were needed before implementation of information systems that made decision-making slow and tedious.

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Therefore, information systems allowed people to improve their decision-making abilities due to time and convenience.

Information systems also improved thanks to the use of the internet (Garson & IGI Global, 1999). The internet provided a means of exchanging and sending data that was fast, convenient, and led to further innovations. The internet helped bring a revolution in decision-making thanks to the expansion of information systems (Garson & IGI Global, 1999). It continued throughout the years and has evolved into what it is today. Today, information systems has cross over to introducing cloud service applications to allow even greater ease with information exchange.

Importance of the Issue

The decision-making process involves use of information that can lead to constructive and divisive assessment. Although some data can lead to improved and effective evaluation, other data may not. It is important to realize that different kinds of data may be non-necessary in relation to decision-making, especially regarding public organizations that may not require measures to assess profitability. One article highlights the differences between data and how training and management ability can lead to specific decision-making outcomes.

The findings indicate that two SPMS components, namely, the importance of non-financial performance measures and the use of operational efficiency measures, have significant positive associations with performance information use for strategy implementation and strategy assessment decisions. The extent to which SPMS models were used is found to be positively associated with performance information use for strategy implementation, but not for strategy assessment, decisions. Furthermore, the relationships between SPMS variables and strategic decision making are moderated by information systems/data limitations and management’s commitment to attaining strategic goals (Abdel-Maksoud, Elbanna, Mahama, & Pollanen, 2015, p. 528).

Decision-making outcomes have become heavily reliant on data that can be accessed, evaluated, analyzed, and transmitted quickly. Information systems allows for the delivery of that information quickly and permits performance to be easy thanks to software and hardware made to collect and examine data without complex and tedious calculations. Software can create outcomes and statistical data presentations quickly and easily through formulas, giving the option of presenting the analyzed information in colorful charts and graphs (Abdel-Maksoud, Elbanna, Mahama, & Pollanen, 2015). It is thanks to these innovations that decision-making can grow into what it needs to be now. If information systems do not continue to improve and public organizations do not continue to adopt new methods, decision-making could lag due to lack of available resources and applications to make the process of data collection and analysis easier.

Discussion of Possible Solutions

Cloud computing services in public organizations is a growing trend. Researchers aim to identify what can make cloud computing services more feasible regarding decision-making. One article had modeling results that demonstrated user behaviors and intentions that were mainly influenced by a cloud service’s perceived features. “Also, these features were found to be the significant antecedents of cloud computing usefulness and ease of use. The findings should guide governments' promotion of cloud public services to increase user awareness by enhancing usability and appeal and ensuring security” (Shin, 2013, p. 194). This is an interesting gap in literature that may show how important it is to identify potential problems concerning new technology adaptation. If cloud computing seems difficult for some….....

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