Starting the week with a reading list can be challenging for someone like me who doesn’t enjoy reading. But I’ve realized how interconnected everything is. Every morning, my phone is right there—whether I’m tweeting, scrolling Instagram, or replying to my boss. And guess what? It all shapes my political views and influences policy formation. Politics is no longer just about people in suits making decisions behind closed doors.
From “The Tools of Government in the Information Age”, we’re witnessing a transformation. And the punchline? It’s Us! Everyday citizens and netizens play a bigger role, whether inside or outside organizations.
The article explores the tools of government, focusing on the impact of the Information Age on conventional governance. Three conventional tools are explained: government tools as institutions, politics driving tool selection, and a generic catalog of tools. While Salomon argues that government tools are seen as organizations central to the new governance, these three classifications don’t cover all the possible ways of understanding state instrumentalities. Still, it explains its focus well. In the broader reading, I believe that future governance will be driven by three main factors:
- Technology and Data: Both are seen as very essential tools, formulating more responsive and accurate policy. AI helps analyze economic trends in my workplace, showing how technology supports decision-making.
- Policy: As IT becomes more integrated, policies must evolve. Governance should be evaluated at every stage. Data security, especially with rising ransomware attacks, is crucial.
- Communication: Although not explicitly discussed, several parts of the article highlight the importance of public communication, especially in terms of openness and transparency. In Indonesia, “Netizens” play a big role in shaping policy, though the result isn’t always in their side. I think media will continue to shape public perceptions, and innovation in communication will be key.
These readings helped me understand key challenges for future governance:
- IT tools in policy-making: Managing internal data within institutions remains a challenge despite IT’s importance.
- Continuous evaluation: While ideal, it’s hard to implement with short decision-making deadlines. Older generations believed IT could solve everything, but that’s not always the case – “hyper-modernist”.
- Business process: As IT supports the organization, it’s essential for the government to review business flow for better efficiency. This technology will decentralize power and control, especially in non-hierarchical societies.
The article gave a clear view of how technology fosters more responsive policies and offered additional insights: (i) Good leadership: Effective planning leads to better governance, improving productivity, and ensuring well-organized processes and (ii) Change management: Transitioning to IT requires effective change management to bridge generational gaps.
Although the articles aren’t recent, it provides a clear view of earlier hopes for governance in the digital age. Some scholars stated that IT changes the governance structure, but others believe that this is only a reflection of previous things without revolutionizing them. The world is evolving, though IT development in my country is still “stuck” in governance. I believe each region adapts differently, but governance is about “fairness”, thus every country should strive for the same progress.
Reading Source:
Hood, Christopher, The Tools of Government in the Information Age’, in Robert Goodin, Michael Moran, and Martin Rein (eds), The Oxford Handbook of Public Policy (2008; online edn, Oxford Academic, 2 Sept. 2009)
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