An evaluation of e–Government as a support system in public schools
Abstract
The objective of the study was to develop a framework for the implementation
of a Business Information Management System in order to increase the
efficiency of the knowledge management strategy in the ultimate quest to
deliver administrative support to public schools at the Gauteng Department of
Education within the Sedibeng East District Office geographical area. A
literature investigation was done on the concepts of e–Government, eplatforms,
information technology and enablers to determine if Government
models are working effectively and efficiently. Based on the findings of the
literature study, a questionnaire was designed and used to measure the
efficiency of the knowledge management strategy in the base of
administrative support to public schools.
Government to Government models are the ability to interact and support
services through the availability of e–platforms in the ultimate support, and
sharing of knowledge through effective knowledge management. Knowledge
in an organisation alternates between tacit and explicit knowledge as it goes
from an idea to explicit knowledge that can be shared throughout the whole
organisation and in the process gives the necessary administrative support to
public schools and learners. Proper managed and implemented systems are
important for the management of knowledge in an organisation. Knowledge
management is a never–ending cycle that starts at discovering knowledge and
goes through generating knowledge, evaluating knowledge, sharing the newly
found knowledge to leveraging the knowledge. This cycle forms the heart of a
knowledge management model like the different education e–platforms that is
available. It was concluded that the knowledge in an organisation can be
managed with the help of one standardized e–platform model throughout the
entire Education Department. Knowledge in an organisation is a very
important resource and ought to be strategically managed. The knowledge
management strategy starts by determining what knowledge is needed and
what is available in the organisation. The chosen standardized model will
form the central part of a successful knowledge management strategy. The
test for the success of a knowledge management strategy is determined with
a knowledge audit.
The state of the knowledge management strategy at Gauteng Department of
Education, Sedibeng East District Office was assessed by employing
convenience survey questionnaires to extract the data. Sedibeng East District
Office and therefore the Department of Education, still have a long way to go
in order to optimise the management of knowledge. The key area of concern
is a lack of a written knowledge management strategy and policy which
results in informal e–platform usage and therefore different ways of managing
knowledge. A large portion of the indecisiveness seen in the analysis of the
questionnaires could be attributed to the lack of a formal knowledge
management strategy. It was further concluded that a knowledge gap
assessment is the start of the knowledge management strategy and will give
direction to the strategy. The culture at Sedibeng East District Office was not
tested to determine if the staff will be supportive of a knowledge management
strategy. However, the survey indicated that much needed administrative
support to public schools needs to be formalized in order to optimize the
services and standards of support. A practical knowledge management
framework is proposed in order to assist the Department in the
implementation of a knowledge management strategy and bridging the gaps
found after analysing the questionnaires.