TOPIC: Examination of record management practices to enhance effective and
efficient administration at Rongo University, Migori County, Kenya.
1.0 INTRODUCTION
This chapter covers the background information, statement of the problem, objectives, research
questions, justifications, scope and the limitations of the study.
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Records management is an essential component of office administration. An effective records
management program allows the organization to render better customer service, provides legal
defensibility and leads to improved profitability. Hence, it is necessary to award high priority to
records management to avoid organizational challenges that may arise owing to poor handling of
office records (Robles & Langemo, 2016). As much as people try to deny it, office organization
has a distinct link with productivity. The quicker an organization can locate a file or important
legal document, the more productive it will be (Peters, 2011. That does not, however, mean that
employees have to be neat freaks in order to be productive. It simply means that an organization
needs to learn more effective ways to handle its daily paper flow (Shaver, 2011). It is a manual
or automated information system having the necessary functionality that enables it to carry out
and support the various records management processes such as collection, organization and
classification of records to facilitate their retrieval, distribution, use, disposal or preservation.
There are several steps you can take to make sure your records management program is effective.
1. Document Retention
Knowing which of your records to keep, and for how long, is essential to ensuring legal and
regulatory compliance. To manage records properly, your business should have a comprehensive
document retention policy. If you’re in the beginning phase of drafting a policy, consult with a
records management professional who can offer guidance on industry-specific and general
regulatory requirements.
2. Indexing and Categorization
It’s important to know exactly where your information is at all times. Every document you
maintain should be accurately indexed and categorized. At any point in the information lifecycle,
you should be able to locate each and every file and distinguish between active files and archival
documents.
3. Secure Storage
Protecting documents from disaster and unauthorized access is a pillar of records management. A
commercial records center that meets National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) and State of
California Department of Public Health (CDPH) standards is an ideal facility for safeguarding
your records from physical damage. Specialized climate and fire protection systems within the
records center should be utilized to protect your vital business documents for decades. Advanced
access controls, intrusion prevention systems, and barcode tracking technology limits access to
authorized staff within your organization.
4. Final Disposition Reviews
Just as you should review how long to keep documents, you should also know when to destroy
them. Final disposition dates represent the expiration date of legal statutory periods. Partner with
a NAID AAA Certified shredding company to make sure expired records are destroyed securely
and within a strict chain of custody. They will provide locked collection containers that allow for
confidential disposal and collection of sensitive documents. When the containers are full, a
background-screened shredding technician collects the contents and either destroys your
documents on site or transports them to a plant-based shredding facility for destruction.
5. Employee Training
Every person in your organization should be up to speed with your company’s records
management policies and procedures. Distribute written copies of your records retention policy
so employees don’t have to guess whether a file or important data should be stored or destroyed.
Schedule ongoing training sessions to keep staff up to date on evolving compliance and privacy
protection regulations and trends. The more you educate your employees on records management
best practices, the more your organization can handle information in a secure and organized
manner.
Management practices.
Management practices usually refers to the working methods and innovations that managers use
to improve the effectiveness of work systems. Common management practices include:
empowering staff, training staff, introducing schemes for improving quality, and introducing
various forms of new technology.
Management’s origins are conventionally traced to Frederick Winslow Taylor, a man whose
single-minded obsession with efficiency led to the original management theory of note:
Scientific Management, but whose mechanistic thinking has now been superseded by a greater
concern for people and the environment.
good records management program: recognizes the value of records and records management;
manages records strategically; provides sufficient resources for records management; recognizes
the link between records and technology; manages records effectively and accountably; provides
appropriate access to records; and stores records appropriately and disposes of them regularly.
To guarantee efficiency, effectiveness and to enable organizations like universities to survive in
the accountability period in which we live today, records must be actively managed throughout
their life cycle. This needs to be done via a record management program which is the main
implementation vehicle for the records management policy whose aims and objectives must be
aligned with those of organizations to which it refers, (popoola 2000).
Rongo university has so many records which requires different record management practices and
policies adhered to in order to ensure their life cycle is enhanced i.e. from creation to
disposal .Records available in the universities are: correspondences, accounting documents,
personnel files, pay roll, minutes of meetings (senates, university council, faculty and
departmental boards meetings) students’ registration, students’ admissions and examination
records, inventory of facilities, budgetary information, list of courses offered, time-tables for
lectures, speeches, legal documents, deeds, financial records, letters (appointment, confirmations,
admissions, sick leave, queries) and so forth. Accurate and timely availability and use of the
records on these would reduce the common problems of management in universities, such as:
1. Difficulty in finding information needed to take a decision or to respond to inquiry
2. Delays in payment of staff emoluments and fringe benefits
3. Piling up of administrative matters causing discontent among staff, students, etc.
4. Improperly registered students in school registers and records
5. Inaccurate demographic figures resulting in either lack of places/spaces for students or
wastage of
spaces/places available
6. Inability to forward students reports/records or release results on schedule (Nwankwo, 1985).
Adequate management as can be seen from the above definitions involve five principles:
planning, organization, staffing, supervision and control. Planning involves determining the aims
of the university services, setting targets for attaining the aims and preparing realistic decisions
to ensure that the objectives will be reached through rational and reasonable use of available
resources (Penna, 1964). It also involves policy formulation, stating objectives and goals of the
university, budgeting, preparation of program of services as well as procedure and methods.
Organization implies organizing both the human and material resources together towards the
actualization of the set objectives or goals. This will help to give one sense of direction within
the university.
1.2. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM.
Records management is an important activity in all organizations. Poor management of records
can lead to difficulties in retrieval of information, with volumes of records clogging up office
space. This situation undermines the effectiveness, accountability, and efficiency of the
organization’s functions, leading to poor decision making, corruption, fraud, and abuse of the
rights of the citizen (Sichalwe, Ngulube & Stiwell, 2011). Records in Rongo university suffer
from arbitrary or random destruction, unprotected from disaster, heaps of files without proper
arrangement, clogging of students files. There is also lack of management principles which cover
records from their creation through their use to their final disposition. The absence of
management principles in the university gives more doubt as how university administrators and
other professionals have been handling and taking administrative decisions. It is therefore,
necessary to look at the management of university records, in order to find a way forward. The
problem of this study put as a question is: how are the records managed to enhance effective
administration within the university?
Much of the archives at Rongo university are not computerized which makes the performance of
duties more difficult, costs organization ‘s time, money resources, and makes them vulnerable to
security breaches, prosecution and embarrassment. The poor effectiveness and efficiency in
operations may be as a result of poor records management, and if the organization does not
embark on proper records management Practices it will lead to low organizational effectiveness
and efficiency. Therefore, this study will attempt to address the existing challenges and gaps to
improve the records management Practices at Rongo university admission office.
1.3. PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
The purpose of the study was to investigate and explore records management practices and
trends in Rongo University and for how long students’ records are kept after students have
graduated, to meet their retention period. It sought to determine the practices and forms in which
the records are maintained within the institution and how academic references are made using the
records to accomplish the mission and the vision of the institution that is the core function of
the university.
1.4 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The objectives of this study were to:
i. To identify different types of records kept at Rongo university admissions office.
ii. To identify the importance of the records management Practices at the university admission
office.
iii. To examine the challenges faced with management records at Rongo university admission
office
iv. To propose solutions for effective records management Practices at the university admission
office.
1.5 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
This study sought to answer the following research questions:
i. What are different types of records kept at the University admission’s office?
ii. What is the importance of the records management Practices carried out at the university
admission’s office?
iii. What are the challenges faced with management of records at Rongo university
admission’s office?
iii. What are the solutions for effective records management Practices at the University
admissions office?
1.6 JUSTIFICATION
The study was basically to identify and explore the records management practices in the
institution. The study was to be conducted mainly within the admission’s office which is
responsible for managing all the active records in the university. The study would be beneficial
to the institution because it would be able to identify the gap in the records management and also
provide the proper solutions in the institution to improve efficiency of records management. Also,
the findings intended to compliment other existing studies and contribute to the body of
knowledge in records management field. The research findings also hoped to form a firm
foundation for other researchers in the field of records management. The study also helps
researchers in the field to know how long students’ records are kept until their retention period is
met, at Rongo university, Migori county Kenya.
1.7 THE SCOPE OF THE STUDY.
1.7.1 Subject Scope
The study was confined to the different aspects of the Records Management Practices at the
university admission’s office, the challenges it faces as well as strategies to counter these
challenges.
1.7.2 Geographical Scope
The study was conducted at Rongo university located at Migori county, Kenya.
1.7.3 time scope
The study was focused on the time period from October 2021-April 2022.
1.8 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
The study was limited to the university admission’s office where all active records are
maintained. This study was conducted within the institution main campus since there were no
other satellite campuses that are constituent to this university.
The study was limited to some information that are confidential which cannot be shared by the
university staffs because of the security mechanisms that have been put in place in managing
confidential information.