Information management in the Malaysian Inland Revenue Department : issues and plans for improvement

Ahmad Faisal bin Zakaria

Abstract

The aims of this thesis are (i) to identify problems in the area of information management that affect the Malaysian Inland Revenue Department (MIRD), and (ii) to propose a way forward for dealing with them.The problem-identification part of the project triangulates data obtained from documentary analysis, observation in the MIRD, and interviews with three groups of stakeholders: management, employees and the public. The MIRD's activities are found to be characterised by conflicting views over government bureaucratic, management-cultural and legal issues, and by coercion in the form of racism. In addition, a substantial - section of the Muslim population disagrees with the whole concept of the secular concept of tax-paying, preferring to pay a religious levy. These problems are adversely affecting public perception of the MIRD, resulting in loss of cooperation. However, hope for improvement is provided by senior management's commitment to change, an ongoing project to upgrade information management, and the existence of mechanisms for communication which can be developed.As a result of the analysis of problems, the researcher has devised a new Information Management Model, the Participative Information Management Model (PIM) which, it is argued, could help improve the situation. The model draws heavily on Ackoff's methodology of Interactive Planning, but the approach is modified by the inclusion of measures for addressing, prior to enactment, the problems of coercion which would frustrate participation. By improving communication and participation within the MIRD, and between the MIPD and the public and the Federal government, it is hoped that a situation can be created in which most of the issues currently confronting the MIRD will be capable of solution by the stakeholders themselves.

Citation

Ahmad Faisal bin Zakaria. Information management in the Malaysian Inland Revenue Department : issues and plans for improvement. (Thesis). University of Hull. https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/4210737

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: Aug 15, 2011
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 22, 2023
• Keywords: Management; Political science; Public administration; Information science
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/4210737
• Additional Information: Department of Management Systems and Sciences, The University of Hull
• Award Date: Nov 1, 1996