1. Users If you are a secretary, you might have had the experience of arriving to work one day to find a new typewriter on your desk, whether or not you even wanted it. A salesperson would not call on you if you had no influence over what product was purchased. However, if you and you co-workers submit numerous complaints about missing or problematic features of the new replacements, the salesperson might be faced with a very expensive customer service problem to solve. A user is the end consumer of a product. 2. Influencers Perhaps in this case, the office manager was consulted with regard to features or specifications to set in the purchase of new typewriters. Although the office manager might have no decision making authority with regard to the purchase, whatever specifications that s/he requests could be used without change in making the purchase. A salesperson might need to be aware of these influencers-a special trick is to get the influencer to write a specification list that happens to match the seller's product features! An influencer is someone who has influence over what is purchased 3. Deciders In this case, some middle manager, ignorant of the needs of secretaries, might have made the decision as to when and what to purchase. The point of this statement is that the marketer or seller must be aware of how it is that decisions are made and often must focus some or all efforts at whomever it is that makes decisions in the organization. Note, however, that decision making authority does not necessarily mean that this person exerts any influence on what is purchase The company president might be the only person who signs all purchase requisitions, and therefore has ultimate decision authority, but might otherwise merely sign some requisitions without question or involvement. a decider is someone who ultimately has authority if or what to The final purchase transaction might be left to a purchasing agent who otherwise has no involvement in decision making. A sales agent for an office equipment supply house might help an organization to decide what brand of typewriters would be best, but that organization could then allow the purchasing agent to find the best deal on that brand, and the best deal with regard to price might come from a competing office supply house. A responsibility of salespeople, then, is often to maintain good, trusting, long term relationships with the purchasing agents in prospective buying organizations, whether or not they have purchased in the past. a buyer is someone who arranges the transact 5. Gatekeepers Why do salespeople often give secretaries little gifts of chocolates or flowers or an occasional free lunch? A secretary can be nice or nast ty in information in either direction. The prospective buyer's secretaries can be helpful in providing names, telephone numbers, and office hours of key members of a buying center in an organization. They can also be helpful in passing messages from the salesperson to members of the organization. A gatekeeper could include anyone in the organization who can control the flow of information 6.3 Electronic government 63. 1Introduction The vision of Electronic Government(EG) is one where Government, business and citizens work together for the benefit of the nation The achievement of this vision calls for the application of information and multimedia technology to improve the productivity of the Civil Service. The collaborative environment and smart partnerships between the various parties have fostered the development of Malaysia's multimedia industry and will assist the country in marching steadily into the information age1. Users If you are a secretary, you might have had the experience of arriving to work one day to find a new typewriter on your desk, whether or not you even wanted it. A salesperson would not call on you if you had no influence over what product was purchased. However, if you and your co-workers submit numerous complaints about missing or problematic features of the new replacements, the salesperson might be faced with a very expensive customer service problem to solve. A user is the end consumer of a product. 2. Influencers Perhaps in this case, the office manager was consulted with regard to features or specifications to set in the purchase of new typewriters. Although the office manager might have no decision making authority with regard to the purchase, whatever specifications that s/he requests could be used without change in making the purchase. A salesperson might need to be aware of these influencers - a special trick is to get the influencer to write a specification list that happens to match the seller's product features! An influencer is someone who has influence over what is purchased. 3. Deciders In this case, some middle manager, ignorant of the needs of secretaries, might have made the decision as to when and what to purchase. The point of this statement is that the marketer or seller must be aware of how it is that decisions are made and often must focus some or all efforts at whomever it is that makes decisions in the organization. Note, however, that decision making authority does not necessarily mean that this person exerts any influence on what is purchased. The company president might be the only person who signs all purchase requisitions, and therefore has ultimate decision authority, but might otherwise merely sign some requisitions without question or involvement. A decider is someone who ultimately has authority if or what to purchase. 4. Buyers The final purchase transaction might be left to a purchasing agent who otherwise has no involvement in decision making. A sales agent for an office equipment supply house might help an organization to decide what brand of typewriters would be best, but that organization could then allow the purchasing agent to find the best deal on that brand, and the best deal with regard to price might come from a competing office supply house. A responsibility of salespeople, then, is often to maintain good, trusting, long term relationships with the purchasing agents in prospective buying organizations, whether or not they have purchased in the past. A buyer is someone who arranges the transaction. 5. Gatekeepers Why do salespeople often give secretaries little gifts of chocolates or flowers or an occasional free lunch? A secretary can be nice or nasty in passing information in either direction. The prospective buyer's secretaries can be helpful in providing names, telephone numbers, and office hours of key members of a buying center in an organization. They can also be helpful in passing messages from the salesperson to members of the organization. A gatekeeper could include anyone in the organization who can control the flow of information. 6.3Electronic Government 6.3.1Introduction The vision of Electronic Government (EG) is one where Government, business and citizens work together for the benefit of the nation. The achievement of this vision calls for the application of information and multimedia technology to improve the productivity of the Civil Service. The collaborative environment and smart partnerships between the various parties have fostered the development of Malaysia’s multimedia industry and will assist the country in marching steadily into the information age