Ali Rokhman Rawuh Edy Priyono Human Resources Competence

Human Resources Competence in E-Government in Local Government

Ali Rokhman, Rahab Jenderal Soedirman University - Indonesia Rawuh Edy Priyono, Rahab Jenderal Soedirman University - Indonesia Abstract E-government is a very strategic media for local governments to accommodate the global demand. E-Government can be a gateway for local governments to make their services accessible from anywhere without location-based. Therefore, a local government must have qualified human resources who have competence in Information Technology (IT) in order to maximize the benefits of e-government. This paper discusses the competence of IT specialist in managing e-government in Kebumen regency, Central Java province, Republic of Indonesia. A survey has been conducted to explore the level of competency of IT specialist in managing e-government at the various levels of Kebumen regency government. The survey showed that the majority of IT specialists are not IT graduates. This phenomenon has a consequence of their low competence. The majority of IT specialist's competence still needs to be improved. The study recommends the need for realignment in the recruitment and placement of IT specialists that are better suited to the needs of e-government implementation. A series of training to improve competency is also very necessary to be held either for IT specialist at operator levels or system developers. Key words: local government, e-government, human resources, IT specialists Introduction E-government is a government program to develop electronic-based governance service and to conduct a transformation to facilitate society activities and business people to realize a knowledge-based economy. It is expected that through egovernment the structuring of management systems and work process within the government can be realized by optimizing the utilization of information and communication technology (Brewer et al., 2006;Rokhman, 2005; Soendjojo, 2005; Rokhman, 2003). One of the obstacles in the implementation of e-government in a state is related to the readiness of human resources in terms of mentality, knowledge and skills in using information technology (Rokhman, 2010; Rossel et.al, 2007; Indrajit, 2007). Human resources are vital in the implementation of e-government, 106

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especially in developing countries (Slamet et al., 2007; Pina et al., 2010). The competence of government officials in utilizing e-government is an important factor for the success of e-government (Rokhman, 2006; Sali, 2011). Kebumen Regency, which is part of Central Java province, started implementing e-government policy formally in 2005, which was marked by the launch of E-Kebumen (Anggono, 2008). Based on the results of a survey of egovernment in Kebumen in 2006 by the PDE & Regional Archive of Kebumen regency, it is concluded that the implementation of e-government is still having problems in the field of human resources, especially related to the low utilization of information technology both for government officials and for the public services users, both public and enterprises (E-Government Master Plan Kebumen, 2008). This finding is consistent with the opinion Hsieh & Chris Jiun Sheng (2006) who suggest that the skills and competencies of individuals to technology is a contributing factor in the process of adoption of a technology. Human resources competence relates to the ability of using information technology will have an impact on the successful implementation of e-government in local government. Therefore, this study aims to diagnose competency of Kebumen regency government officials in managing e-government, as well as to explore the supporting factors and inhibitors in the management of e-government, especially related to the competence of the employees. Theoretical Background The Definition of e-Government E-government initiatives in Indonesia have been introduced through the Presidential Decree No. 6/2001 date. 24 April 2001 on Telematics (Telecommunications, Media and Informatics), which states that government officials should use telematics technology to support good governance and to accelerate the process of democracy. In a simple language, e-government is the use of the internet and intranet to conduct the government affairs and to provide better and faster public services which is public service-oriented. Electronic government or egovernment is the use of information technology by the government to provide information and services to citizens, as well as other matters relating to governance. Egovernment will change old patterns of manual administration into information and communication technology-based governance. The World Bank Group (2001) defines e-government as the use of information technology by the government agencies (such as Wide Area Networks (WAN), Internet, Mobile computing) in order to build the relationships with the community, businesses, and other government agencies. Electronic government is the 107

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process of business transactions between society and government through the use of automated systems and the internet network, which is more commonly associated with the World Wide Web (Legislative Analyst's Office, 2001). Berryman (2004) defines e-government which is associated with the process that is on-line, e-service, eadministration and e-democracy. E-government is meant to provide ease of communication and transactions between the government and its citizens (G TOC), government and business organizations (GtoB) and inter-governmental agencies (GtoG) and government and their staffs (GtoE) (Keng & Yuan 2005; Javidian and Mollayaaghobi, 2011). If these three concepts is concluded, then the egovernment is a process of government system using information and communication technology as a tool to provide ease of communication and transaction processes to citizens, business organizations and between agencies government as well as the staff. Therefore efficiency, effectiveness, transparency and accountability of government to the people can be achieved (Slamet. et al., 2007; Sarabi and Khanfar, 2010). Methodology This study uses an action research conducted for three years, in which the results of the first year will be the basis for the activities of the second year, and then the results of the second year would be the basis for the activities of third year. Action research is a form of self-reflective inquiry undertaken by Participants in social situations in order to improve the Rationality and justice of (a) their own social or educational practices, (b) their understanding of these practices, and (c) the situations in the practices are carried out (Carr & Kemmis, 1986). This paper is the first report of the year. Action research in this study uses the following Davison, Martinsons, & Kock design (2004). In the first year of the research, a diagnosis on competence of civil servants in Kebumen regency in managing e-government and an analysis on various factors that support and inhibit the competence of human resources of the government apparatus in implementing e-government will be done. In the second year of the research, an intervention in the form of e-government training in a variety of competence in accordance with the recommendation of the findings of the first year will be done. In the third year there will be an evaluation on the interventions conducted in the second year, and then any necessary improvements will be conducted. The location of research is Kebumen regency government, Central Java Province. The respondents of this study are the IT specialists comprise of 22 people who have responsibility for managing e-government on each unit. Techniques of data collection are by using questionnaires, interviews and focus group discussions (FGD). A questionnaire was used to determine the extent of IT specialist competence 108

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in managing e-government. While the interviews and FGDs were used to determine the factors that inhibit and enhance the competence of government apparatus human resources in implementing e-government in Kebumen regency. Data are analyzed using both quantitative and qualitative descriptive technique. FINDINGS Basic competence in e-government In managing e-government, and IT specialist should have basic competency in Information and Communication Technology (ICT). These competencies need to be owned by the manager of e-government in the operator level. These competencies include the operating system installing, hard disk formatting, managing networks, managing and maintaining websites. The following table presents the list of competence and performance. Figure 1. Basic Level Competence of IT Specialist
Competence Type Percentage 64

Installing the Operating System Formatting the hard disk 64

Installing and uninstalling program Upgrading program 64

73

Connecting the computer to the network

59

Repairing computer connection to a network 45 Understanding hardware Posting news to the website Managing website 45 50 64 68

Setting the printer to the network Using the database program Creating a blog41 N=22 IT Specialists 27

The table above informs that for the most basic ICT competencies such as installing operating system, formatting the hard disk, installing and uninstalling programs, upgrading programs, understanding hardware, and posting news to the site, the majority of IT specialists in Kebumen regency government has high 109

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competence. However, for more advanced competencies such as using a database program, and creating a blog, most of them have a very low competence. Advanced level of competence in e-government Furthermore, in addition to the above basic competence, the study tries to explore a more complete and advanced competence in the management of egovernment that should be owned by the IT specialists. These competencies include: (1) information system Development, (2) graphic design (3) open source (4) web development, (5) web programming languages, (6) the concept of e-government and regulation, (7) database development, and (8) networking. According to the survey, the IT specialists' competencies can be presented in the following table. Table 2. Advance Level Competence of IT Specialist

Competencies Percentage Information system development Graphic design software Open source software 27 Web development software 18 18 14

Web programming language 14 Concept and regulation 18 5

Database development software Computer network N=22 IT Specialists 9

The table above shows that the majority of IT specialists of Kebumen regency government do not have advanced competence of e-government management. Of the eight types of competence that must be owned, on average only 15 percent of IT specialists mastered those competencies. The competence in database development software is an alert because among 22 IT specialists only 5 percent has the competence. Competence in the field of computer network is still very urgent to be improved because of the 22 IT specialists only 9 percent categorized as having competence. 110

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DISCUSSION The above results inform that the IT specialists owned by the Kebumen regency government have very low in both basic and advanced competencies in the management of e-government. It is due to the presence of some factors that support as well as inhibit the effort in improving their competence. Those factors are, among others, the aspect of the preparation of human resources, and employee's perceptions towards ICT. Preparing Human Resources In the implementation of e-Government in Kebumen regency, as described in the tables above, one of the real problems at an early stage is the capability of human resources. This is a typical problem in the implementation of e-Government, especially in developing countries (e.g. Heeks and Davies, 1999; Kraemer et al. 1992). The development of human resource competencies can be done from the recruitment process of the employee, the regeneration of the employee, and staffing systems with competence basic. Some initiatives can be taken to resolve the issue, such as: recruitment system done based on requirements, employee training, reward and punishment system, the clarity of the main tasks and functions and clear career path. In order to solve the problem of individual capability, information technology training can be done regularly. Each Head of Department should even be accompanied by a trained IT specialist. In addition, some professionals need to be invited to be a consultant in accelerating the implementation of e-government. The sense of entrepreneur needs to be invested to all staff to provide the best for Kebumen regency in encouraging the diffusion of e-government to the village level, therefore supervisor at village level is required as the agent of technology transfer. Employee Perceptions on ICT Each individual has a different perception associated with technological innovation. The difference in perception would lead to differences in attitudes and acceptance of the innovations. It also occurs in Kebumen regency government officials in perceiving ICT in the process of e-government implementation. Research related technology innovation identifies the characteristics of innovation as the perception of adopter to innovation that have an influence on the adoption of innovation (Roger, 1983). According to the theory of innovation stated by Roger (1983), individual perceptions will shape attitudes towards innovation, which finally led to the decision to adopt or reject. A decision to adopt means implementing the innovation. The perception of adopter potential to ICTs is an important determinant factor in ICT adoption. Roger (1983) identified the characteristics of innovation that include: relative advantage, applicability, complexity, compatibility, observability. 111

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In a meta-analysis of the literature related to the characteristics of technological innovation, Tornatzky and Klein (1982) tested 10 characteristics of innovations frequently used in some studies. These characteristics include five characteristics proposed by Roger (1983) plus the cost Characteristic, communicability, divisibility, profitability, and social assessment. Thong (1999) examined the influence of relative advantage, compatibility and complexity to the possibility of adopting Information system. His findings indicate that these three factors have positive influence on the possibility of adoption of Information system. Relative advantage is the extent of innovation perceived as being better than its predecessor (Roger, 1983). Meanwhile, according to Kwon and Zmud (1987) relative advantage is the rate of adoption of an innovation perceived as something that provides greater benefits to the organization rather than maintaining the conditions that exist today. Sub-dimensions of relative advantage include: the ability to gain benefit, cost reduction, reduce discomfort, savings in time, cost allocation effectiveness and accelerate return on investment. Relative advantage can be measured related to greater potential profit but cannot be assessed with other factors such as ease of use, social status, and satisfaction (Roger, 1995). Some researchers claim that the relative advantage significantly influences the adoption of innovation (Prekumar and Robert, 1999). The results of research conducted by Thong (1999) states that the relative advantage is a factor that determines the decision to adopt information systems. Lin (2006) found that the adoption of electronic data interchange (EDI) is related to the perception of the owners/leaders on the relative benefits of the technology and the level of compliance with the pre-existing system. Cragg and King (1993) states that relative advantage perceived by the technology is the most important factor for adopting IT in a small business. Rational decisions in an organization in adopting an information technology involve a process of evaluation of the benefits of that technology. Information technology will provide many relative advantages relative to those who adopt in terms of reducing the time spent on tasks and better service to customers. In the context of competition, the relative advantage will create motivation for adopting relevant IT for business (Thong, 1999). Perceptions of corporate leaders that IT will provide a relative advantage to the business relating to the efficiency of time and cost, increased productivity of the company and the improvement of quality of work will encourage small business leaders to adopt IT. Compatibility is the extent innovation perceived as consistent with the existing values, the needs and past experiences of potential adopters (Roger, 1983). Tornatzky and Klein (1982) as quoted by Lin (2006) in the meta-analysis found that compatibility is an important factor in the adoption of innovation. Tornatzky and Klein (1982) defined compatibility as conformity with the values or norms of the 112

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potential adapter or the possibility to demonstrate compatibility with existing practices of adopter itself. This definition is not only compatibility perceived or thought by individuals but rather demonstrate both practical and operational compatibilities (Thong, 1999). If an innovation is suitable with the company's environmental and labor practices, the company will likely have a tendency to adopt innovations. Most studies suggest that compatibility has a positive relationship with innovation adoption (Grover, 1993; Seyal & Rahman, 2003; Soh, et al., 1997; Thong, 1999). Moore and Benbasat (1996) indicated that compatibility and relative advantage are the most influencing factors on innovation adoption. Premkumar and Robert (1999) conduct an empirical study to investigate the adoption of information technology for small businesses in rural areas of America. Their research classified technology into four groups, they are: online data accessed-mail, EDI and the internet. Research results show that compatibility variables only affect the adoption of online data access, and do not have significant effect on other IT groups. Thong (1999) in his research found that the compatibility of the information system has a positive influence on the possibility of adopting information system, on small scale businesses in Singapore. For the case of the adoption of Internet technologies in small businesses, Lee (2004) found that the compatibility of the Internet technology has a direct and positive effect on the adoption of Internet technologies. Meanwhile, Lin (2006) found a positive and significant relationship between compatibility and the tendency of SMEs in Taiwan to adopt electronic commerce. The use of computers and IT can bring significant changes in working practices in business (Thong, 1999). Small businesses are likely to adopt IT, if the technology is appropriate (compatible) with existing work practices in the organization. Based on the conclusions of the study it is assumed that the compatibility of IT and the business carried out has a negative effect on the possibility of adopting IT. A complexity is the extent an innovation is perceived as something that is considered difficult to use (Roger, 1983). Unlike other technology characteristics, complexity variables have a negative relationship with the adoption of innovation (Lin, 2006). Some studies have examined the relationship between IT adoption and complexity found that complexity has a negative effect on IT adoption (Chong & Bauer, 2000; Karahanna et al., 1999; Soh et al., 1997). Thong (1999) conduct empirical studies on information systems in small businesses. Research results show that small business leaders will adopt the SI in his company when SI is considered easy to use.

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The complexity of a technology innovation will create uncertainty to the success of its implementation, thereby increasing the risk of adoption (Groger, 1993). The development of standards and protocols as well as the diversity of software and hardware causing the implementation of IT in small businesses become more complex (Thong, 1999). The perception of the complexity of IT is assumed to affect the decision to adopt IT negatively. The more complex a technology is perceived by the leader of a small business then the possibility to adopt IT to the business is getting smaller. On the other hand, if IT is perceived as a simple and easy to use technology, the trend of small businesses leaders to adopt IT is greater. Based on the conclusions of the study it is assumed that complexity has a positive effect on the possibility of adopting IT. CONCLUSION Human resources competencies in the development and management of egovernment are divided into two categories, they are: basic competencies and advanced competencies. Of the two types of competencies, most of IT specialists owned by the Kebumen regency government have a low level of competence. This situation is caused by some factors such as the recruitment and the placement of human resources, as well as perceptions of human resources on the ICT. In order to solve the low level of competence, a reformation in the recruitment and the placement of the employee is needed by considering the needs of e-government, and there should be a training to improve their competence.

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