Introduction
It is a very difficult task to draw a complete map of all the digital opportunities occurring as a result of the application of e-management since these opportunities are related to e-business activities and the job openings in various organisations. The activities encompass electronic marketing, services, financial transactions, and advertisements, as well as many other activities conducted via the Web. Digital opportunities may be classified into two categories:
- Electronic operations opportunities. These utilise network technologies such as extra- and intranet as well as the Web itself. Through network usage, they set direction for management strategies and procedures. Also, they impact the chain of values and the support activities being conducted. Among the support activities, one can enlist the following: project planning, managing data to boost efficacy, data flow acceleration, and computerisation of activities and operations in environments, both internal and external to the organisation.
- E-marketing opportunities. Such opportunities administer websites and, as a result, help access the global market. The access, in turn, facilitates customer involvement and instant feedback from across the globe with minimum effort and expenditures. This reinforces inclusion of the organisation in the e-business world and considerably expands the temporal and spatial boundaries.
Electronic Management in Arab Countries
Organizational Culture Limitations
Organizational culture limitations refer to the array of what the employees of an establishment commonly regard as traditional and valuable and the ways they express it. This culture develops with the growth and development of the organization and reflects the variety of circumstances in which it exists, i.e., social phenomena, trends in local and global economy, cultural tendencies, etc.
Challenges of E-Management
Being aware of the organizational culture and the way this culture is maintained proves a valuable asset in developing action plans and the means of electronic management tools implementation.
Arab Administration Culture and E-Management Limitations
The word “culture” can be explained as development in terms of brain capability, which can only be achieved through frequent exercise and application of the knowledge to practice. Arab culture, therefore, can be understood as the product of every single Arab mind. Arab culture consists of Arab tradition that encompass every dimension of existence. Their ethnic and cultural background notwithstanding, those working in management within Arab culture refer to it frequently. Administration culture, at that, has to expand in order to assist Arabs with the necessary contraptions for innovative thinking and not lagging behind the technological development. It is up to the culture to equip Arabs with mental capabilities that help in the development and implementation of electronic management systems.
Social and Economical Limitations and Obstacles of E-management. Transferring to e-management is part of the inclusion into the information economy world and it is also an important step towards building an information community. With the emergence of such thoughts and the rising of new forces and functions, societal formations undergo a significant paradigm shift towards the incorporation of new technologies.
If the attitude towards e-management is acceptable, the chances of success at the level of organisations and at the level of society at large will be clear.
The industrial revolution was the force that facilitated the modernization of the Western society. From the 21st century perspective, it is the technological revolution that is directing the whole world “beyond modernity”. Western societies are actively employing the Internet of things and swiftly turn onto online societies. Similarly, technological revolution is stimulating the Arab world to shift towards comprehensive development and sustainability. The crisis of the Western modernity is stipulated largely by the rush for material profit. Arab development should avoid such pattern of action because, on the background of it, social and cultural values are suppressed.
The implications of this are directly concerned with the change in societal and economic structure that attempts to implement IT. For significant changes to occur, the attempts of IT usage should be combined with cultural changes. The combination will help avoid the suddenness in socio-normative changes at the base. Moreover, the societal perspective of Information Technology usage prevents electronic management and communication from weakening.
The Arab world will only prove successful in sustainability and economic growth on two conditions. Firstly, a clear direction should be set for the implementation of Information Technology. Secondly, upon formulation of those strategies, electronic management and commerce should devise communication methods and raise funds for IT implementation.
Advantages of E-management
Many companies today still adhere to the traditional paper world of management. That may be because there are significant technical, financial and operational barriers to overcome to move to e-management. Below are the advantages of moving to an electronic world of management:
Ease of Access
An employee can retrieve the document from any PC once it is scanned – provided, of course, that the employee is authorized to access these files. In contrast to easy retrieval, papers should be stored in separate rooms and can only be retrieved by manual search and later brought to the worker that had asked for it. During the transportation, the paper documents can be seen by other workers which casts doubt upon the safety of the whole undertaking. Consequently, the documents in electronic format are easier to handle, retrieve, and transfer.
Text Search Function
Upon the scanning of a document, the OCR has the text thoroughly examined. The contents of the document are digitized. The text can be searched by the worker who needs it since it is stored together with the initial file. Such feature allows the company to search, for instance, all mentions of a key word or name in all files contained in the base. Consequently, a collection of file present in the form of a database allows for faster text operability and convenience.
Cost Efficiency
For the majority of businesses, a shift towards the digitized documentation is an optimal way to cut back on unwanted expenditures. Considering that the files are stored as a unified database, there is no necessity to invest in the storage rooms, supplies, and the real estates. In case an off-store facility is utilized, the prices for storing and retrieving the documents are equal. Also, the clerks who file the documents should be paid their wages, and the downtime for retrieving the particular documents by hand results in extra expenses. Digitizing the documentation, in its turn, requires a one-time expense. When the files are processed into digital format, the storage does not require financial maintenance.
Additional Document Security
Data that should not be distributed carelessly requires additional effort. Mainly, it consists in securing the information, which becomes automated when digital file management systems are implemented. Paperwork has to be locked up in rooms and watched over. In contrast to that, one can encrypt the digitized files – again, a one-time expense – and control the access to them. Passwords are probably the most common means of control, as well as some other authentication control tools. Once embedded, an electronic file cannot be lost or stolen easily.
The Organisational Performance in E-management
“E-management system is the system that through its application the effective and optimal operations would be achieved in every institution, organisation and project” (Sirefi, 2007).
Many performance management systems adapt from or quote some of the recently-developed methodologies. These can include, for instance, “Balanced Scorecard,” TQM, etc. Performance Measurement (PM) uses a quantitative approach to efficacy of the actions and constitutes a bigger system with the same title.
Relevant works in the field of public sector performance management practise a unified approach to defining the performance measurement approach. The literature considers it relevant to talk about the three Es. The three Es stand for Economy, Efficiency and Effectiveness. If the performance measurement methodology is correctly understood by the implementer, they should consider measurement and assessment of the three Es. The first one consists in regulation of supplies and delivery of inputs, mainly the human and financial resources. The other two are focused on the performance and the results achieved; the success of this or that undertaking is measured primarily by the beneficiaries and clients response. At that, the outcomes in the long run appear complicated to measure and evaluate.
Historical Background
Performance management and measurement systems received their development as tools of keeping update on whether an establishment requires organisational control. The latter is the process of ensuring that an organisation is on its pursuit of certain plans of action leading to goal-achievement (Maher, 2010). The main function of the goals should be to proclaim the vision of an establishment. Another manifestation should be done in terms of its strategy. At their commencement, performance measures held in view mainly the “inputs” aspects, specifically finances. It was a practice that later received a considerable amount of constructive critique and mostly abandoned.