Training and Learning

traInIng and learnIng E-governance requires constant training and learning on the part of employees. In order to guarantee the smooth functioning of e-governance, public administrators must make sure that they have both up-to-date technology and properly trained personnel. Korac-Kakabadse et al. (2002, p. 52) emphasize the importance of learning, without which the organizations may face vulnerabilities. However, learning phases receive the least amount of attention from scholars and managers because organizational learning efforts are costly in terms of both time and effort, and have the least visible impact in the short term (Argyris 1999; Argyris and Schon 1996). The long-term consequences for the lack of learning can be farreaching, and, in an extreme case, can destabilize the organization. At the same time, the important challenge for public leaders is to motivate employees to train and learn continuously. Public leaders have to deal with the challenges of resistance to adopt the new technology and they must acknowledge their responsibility to motivate employees to learn and train. The organizations can provide different kinds of incentives for training and learning the new technology. Many organizations are now making use of Webinar and other e-technology to train employees. Public leaders can make training a part of the job and successful training may be a prerequisite for promotion. The important challenge for an organization is to make training valuable and motivating to the employees.

However, any training must be worthwhile in order to motivate personnel. One of the major elements of the training is to develop the competence in written communication, which is a crucial aspect of e-governance. Administrators need to be concise and to the point in their dealings with citizens. Written communication can easily be misconstrued by the people because there is the absence of face-to-face communication, which can have a devastating effect on citizens. It can demoralize and diminish the motivation of the individuals and may discourage them from contacting the authorities. The other aspect of the written communications is in respect of etiquette in communicating with individuals. Written communication must be respectful and free from threats, and discrimination. It must also be oriented to the needs of culturally diverse people and free from biases or idiomatic language. In a globalized world, the administrators have to deal with a wide range of people from different languages and cultures.