Paperless Office Management: A Feasibility Analysis for Saudi Arabia Government Offices: Case Study in Ministry of Labor

Abstract

This paper aims to propose paperless office management policies for Saudi public offices. It proposes policy and implementation strategy for Ministry of Labor, as this ministry directly deals with citizens and foreign workforce. Recent statistics shows that in 2010, the Middle East alone consumed 18 million tons of paper in private and public sectors for various business correspondence and education activities. This extensive consumption of paper is causing two major problems for Saudi Arabia, Middle East as well as the world at large. Firstly, widespread use of paper results in decrease in productivity and efficiency. Secondly, paper manufacturing industry is a major contributor to environment degradation, green house gas emission and pollutions. The report proposes five course action plans to develop a paperless office. This policy is proposed in accordance with Basic methods of Policy Analysis and Planning of Patton and Sawicki. Because this policy can face legislative and cultural barriers, a thorough implementation plan is required to ensure maximum success. Saudi government can benefit from this policy in various ways such as, increased success rate of ‘Nitaqat’ program.