JBS Vol 16. Num 1_2. 2014 - Technology vs. Institutions: Towards Institutional Reform in Digital Bangladesh

Information technology for governmental reform has reached a new level of synergy in recent years. Public organizations are rushing to reorganize and adapt to the new technological environment. This paper argues when a rational technological system is institutionalized in terms of becoming the central element that has to be maintained by the organization, the constraints inherent in technology can make institutions less adaptable to social values given the changing demands of society. Since institutions are the embodiment of the public they serve, institutional reform should first deliberate the positive human and social elements within institutions and find ways to utilize technology to improve the public institutions and service to citizens. The paper argues that meaningful institutional reform requires culture to play the central role in refocusing institutional attention towards a deliberative democracy. We should rely on the actors themselves who make decisions rather than upon technology that efficiently acts on those decisions.