Advance Search

Web-based technologies as key catalysts in improving work productivity and creativity: the case of the Zululand District Municipality

the case of the Zululand District Municipality

Blessing Mbatha
University of South Africa
Keywords:
Copyright and Licensing:
Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

Share:

How to Cite

Web-based technologies as key catalysts in improving work productivity and creativity: the case of the Zululand District Municipality. (2009). Communicare: Journal for Communication Studies in Africa, 28(2), 82-95. https://doi.org/10.36615/jcsa.v28i1.1695
Crossref
Scopus
Google Scholar
Europe PMC
  • Articles
  • Submited: October 16, 2022
  • Published: December 1, 2009

Abstract

The article reports on the usage, benefits and challenges posed by Web-based technologies to
civil servants in Zululand District Municipality. Many countries have invested in information and
communication technologies (ICTs) as a means of pursuing their organisational goals. This article
is informed by the diffusion of innovation theory. Through a survey, key government departments
in the Zululand District Municipality were sampled employing systematic and purposive sampling
techniques. Questionnaires were administered to 52 civil servants. Fifty responses were received,
which translates to an overall response rate of 96%. The findings reveal that while various Webbased technologies are available in all participating government departments in this survey,
the numerous challenges identified indicate that utilisation is still a problem. Yet despite these
drawbacks, the respondents expressed great eagerness to enhance their ICT skills in order to use
Web-based technologies for their own empowerment and also for work productivity. Despite the
constraints and challenges encountered in the application and use of Web-based technologies in
these government departments, a wide range of Web-based technologies have been adopted to
facilitate the exchange of information in the sector.

Pdf
Pdf

Article Metrics Graph

Article Views | PDF Downloads
Chart Graph | Range Graph

References

  1. Bhargava and Krishnan. (1999). The World Wide Web: Opportunities for Operations. Research and Management Science. Retrieved August, 20, 2008, from http://www.smeal.psu.edu/ faculty/hob2/Pub/Papers/Internet/joc-web-orms.pdf
  2. Brews, P.J., & Tucci, C.L. (2003). Internetworking: building Internet-generation companies. https://doi.org/10.5465/ame.2003.11851815
  3. Academy of Management Executive, 17, (4), 8-22.Casarin, P. & Fourie, L.C.H. (2005, August). The diffusion of Web-enabled business in South Africa. In proceedings 7th Annual Conference on World Wide Web Applications, Cape Town, South Africa, p21-32.
  4. Clarke, R. (1999). A primer in diffusion of innovations theory. Retrieved March 13, 2005, from http://www.anu.edu.au/people/Roger.Clarke/SOS/InnDiff.html
  5. Data Protection Staff Handbook. (2003). Data protection staff handbook. Retrieved February 22, 2009, from http://dfpni.gov.uk/publications-how-we-make-decisions-internal-communicationsdata_protection_staff_handbook
  6. Deitel H.M. & Deitel P.J. (2005). How to program. (6th ed.). Pearson Education: New Jersey.
  7. De-Kare Silver, M. (2000). E-shock. London: Macmillan.
  8. Docktor, R. (2004). Accelerating e-government: readiness at work. Retrieved September 22,
  9. , from http://unpan1.un.org/intradoc/groups/public/documents/
  10. Ghana Resources Centre. (2008). ICT project managers attend workshop in Ghana. Retrieved
  11. October 10, 2008, from http://www.iicd.org/articles/ict-project-managers-attend-workshopin-ghana
  12. Greenfield, D.N. & Davis, R.A. (2002). Lost in cyberspace: the Web @ Work. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 5 (4), 347-353.
  13. https://doi.org/10.1089/109493102760275590
  14. Gurstein, M. (2003), Effective use: a community informatics strategy beyond the digital divide. https://doi.org/10.5210/fm.v8i12.1107
  15. Retrieved August 10, 2008, from http://www.firstmonday.org/issues/issues8_12/gurstein/index.html
  16. Hanna, N. (2003). Why ICT matters for growth and poverty reduction. Retrieved July 21, 2008, from http://topics.developmentgateway.org/ict/sdm/
  17. Holum, A. & Gahala, J. (2001). Critical issue: use technology to enhance literacy instructions.
  18. Retrieved July 22, 2008, from http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/content/cntareas/reading/li300.htm
  19. Kling, R. (1999). What is social informatics and why does it matter? D-Lib Magazine, January. https://doi.org/10.1045/january99-kling
  20. Retrieved March 10, 2008, from http://www.dlib.org/dlib/january99/kling/01kling.html
  21. Kuye, J.O., & Naidoo, G. (2003). Electronic technology and service delivery in the South African public service. Retrieved August 12, 2008, from http://www.up.ac.za/dspace/handle/2263/5480
  22. Lewis, C. (2004). Negotiating the Net: the case of South Africa. Retrieved September 19, 2008, from http://www.cidcm.umd.edu/ntn
  23. McConnell International. (2000). Risk e-business: seizing the opportunity of global e-readiness.Retrieved July 23, 2008, from http://www.mcconnellinternational.com/ readiness/
  24. Malik, D.S. (2006). Java programming: program design including data structures: United States of America, Thomson Course technology.
  25. Mutula, S.M. & Van Brakel, P.A. (2006, September). Internet and WWW applications for the digital economy: skills sufficiency, policy and legislative environment in Botswana. In proceedings of the 8th Annual Conference on World Wide Web Applications, Bloemfontein, South Africa. p23-35.
  26. Paliouras, G., Papatheodorou, C., Karkaletsis, V., Spyropoulos, C. and Tzitziras, P. (2004). From
  27. Web usage statistics to Web usage analysis. Retrieved August 12, 2008, from http://iit.demokritos.gr/~paliourg/papers/SMC99.pdf
  28. Porter, M.E. (2001). Strategy and the Internet. Harvard Business Review, 79,(3), 62-78.
  29. Ramsay, E., Ibbotson, P., Bell, J. & Gray, B. (2003). E-opportunities of service sector SMEs: an
  30. Irish cross-border study. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, 10, (3), 250-264.
  31. Rockman, I.F. (2004). The importance of information literacy. Retrieved August 22, 2008, from http://media.wiley.com/product_data/excerpt/78/07879652/0787965278.pdf
  32. Rogers, E.M. (1995). Diffusion of innovations (4th ed.). New York: Free Press.
  33. Stanton, J.M. (2002). Company profile of the frequent Internet user. Communications of the ACM, 45 (1), 55-58.
  34. https://doi.org/10.1145/502269.502297
  35. UNESCO. (1998). Harnessing information technology for development in Africa. Retrieved August12, 2008, from http://www.unesco.org/educ/educprog/lwf/doc/IAl.html
  36. Websense Inc. (2000). FLEXIBILITY: The evolution of employee Internet management. Retrieved August 11, 2008, from
  37. http://www.websense.com/products/resources/implementation/ World Economic Forum.
  38. (2003). Development community - World Economic Forum Consultation Report on e-Readiness Southern African. Retrieved March 12, 2009, from http//www.weforum.org
  39. World Summit on Information Society Civil Society Working Group. (2004). World summit on information society: draft declaration of principles. Retrieved August 22, 2008, from http://www.wsis-pct.org/prepcom2-declaration.html
  40. Zulu Kingdom. (2004). The Zulu Kingdom. KwaZulu-Natal. Retrieved March 12, 2009, from http://www.kzn.org.za/kzn/
How to Cite
Web-based technologies as key catalysts in improving work productivity and creativity: the case of the Zululand District Municipality. (2009). Communicare: Journal for Communication Studies in Africa, 28(2), 82-95. https://doi.org/10.36615/jcsa.v28i1.1695

Send mail to Author

Send Cancel

Custom technologies based on your needs

  • ORCID
  • Crossref
  • PubMed
    • Clarivate