Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 14

Case Study Example The government wanted to establish a knowledge-based economy and technology-oriented, efficient and well-equipped libraries were one of the main pre-requisites for building such an economy. The advance in information search technologies was rendering the old libraries defunct, thus the call to upgrade them to meet the present and emerging needs of library users. The change was massive in that there was an overhaul of the entire management style from hierarchical to team-based approach. The culture of the library was also changed. From strategic standpoint, the change was aimed at increasing the competitiveness of public libraries by making it customer-centric, which would be equated to profit maximization in for-profit organization. The Singapore library system’s â€Å"customer† is the general public, which includes students, people with small business enterprises and individuals of various ethnic backgrounds. The â€Å"product† offered by the library include books and other collections that facilitate learning and promote cultural heritage. Initially, service delivery was through queuing for services and there was a lot of inefficiency. In order to reduce the lines for services, a self-service system was implemented in which self-checkout machines were used. Unlike the traditional libraries, the change ensure that Singaporeans accessed the libraries anytime and from anywhere by making available electronic information to users, which they could remotely access. The traditional service delivery remained unchanged. This is because the aim was to use technology to improve rather than replace traditional service delivery system. The retention of the traditional service delivery system was not a change failure, but an intentional move by the NLB. The major components of the change effort included the government, the community, the management and the entire staff of public libraries. The government provided financial support required for the