OST184 Records Management
Chapter 1
What is Records Management?
What Are Records?
According to ARMA International (Association of Records
Managers and Administrators, Inc.) - an association for
information managements professionals)
A record is stored information, regardless of media or
characteristics, made or received by an organization
that is evidence of its operations and has value
requiring its retention for a specific period of time.
According to ISO 15489 (International Organization for
Standardization) – worldwide federation of national
standards organizations)
Information created, received, and maintained as
evidence and information by an organization or
person, in pursuance of legal obligations or in the
transaction of business.
What Is Records Management?
•
Management is the process of using an
organization’s resources to achieve specific goals
through the functions of planning, organizing,
leading, and controlling.
•
Records management is the systematic control of all
records from their creation (or receipt) through their
processing, distribution, organization, storage, and
retrieval, to their ultimate disposition.
•
Records management is also known as RIM
(Records and Information Management). Records
and information management involves organizing
information for retrieval.
Why Is Records Management Important?
•
The proliferation of information, legislation, and storage
of information all contribute to a growing problem for
individuals, organization, institutions, businesses, and
countries.
•
How is information managed to meet the needs of the
people who need it?
•
With so much information produced daily, how is
specific information accessed when needed?
•
Business must have up-to-date information:
− in the right form.
− at the right time.
− in the right place to make management decisions.
What Are the Legal Considerations for
Records Management?
• As companies rely increasingly on information stored on
a variety of media, records managers must be certain
that their companies’ recordkeeping systems are legally
acceptable to governmental agencies and courts of law.
• Compliance issues are a concern to many organizations.
• Records management professionals are working
together in organizations such as ARMA International
and AIIM to optimize the effectiveness of records and
information management to their organizations.
Legislation balances and protects:
− An individual's right to privacy.
− Public’s access to information.
− Quest for national security.
See page 17 in
book for legislation
related to records
management.
How Are Records Classified?
By type of Use By Place of Use
By Value
• A transaction
• External records
document is a
are created for
record used in
use outside an
an
organization.
organization’s
• Internal records
day-to-day
contain
operations.
information
• A reference
needed to
document
operate an
contains
organization.
information
needed to carry
on operations of
a firm over long
periods of time.
• Vital records usually
not replaceable; highly
protected.
• Important records
usually replaceable
but at great cost;
highly protected.
• Useful records usually
replaceable at slight
cost; medium degree
of protection.
• Nonessential records
have no value after
initial use; lowest
degree of protection.
Why Are Records Used?
•
•
•
Records serve as the memory of a business.
They document the information needed for complying with
regulations and the transactions of an organization.
Records are retained because they have one of four
values:
− Administrative: Helps employees perform office
operations. (handbooks, policy/procedure handbooks)
− Fiscal: Used to document operating funds and other
financial processes. (tax returns, purchase/sales orders)
− Legal: Provide evidence of business transactions.
(contracts, deeds, articles of incorporation)
− Historical: Documents the organization’s operations and
major shifts of direction over the years. (minutes of
meetings, corporate charter, public relations documents)
Trends in Records and Information Management
1.
Electronic records - stores a record on electronic media.
2.
Electronic mail - documents managed across networks.
3.
Document imaging - images of paper scanned in electronic
format.
4.
Internet (WWW) - worldwide hypermedia system
5.
E-commerce - electronic method to conduct business
communications/transactions over networks and computers.
6.
EFT (Electronic Fund Transfer) - electronic payments and
collections; paycheck deposited automatically.
7.
EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) - communication between
two companies through computers.
8.
ECM (Enterprise Content Management) - technologies, tools,
and methods used to capture, manage, store, preserve, and
deliver content/information across organization
What Are the Records Management
Functions?
• Planning - establishing goals and the
methods required to achieve them
• Organizing - arranging tasks, people, and
other resources needed to meet the goals
• Leading - managerial behavior that supports
the achievement of goals
• Controlling - measuring how well the goals
have been met
The record life cycle is the life span of a record as
expressed in the five phases.
Life Cycle
of Records
Programs for Managing Records
•
Well-defined goals understood by all workers.
•
Simple, sound organizational plan.
•
Efficient procedures for managing each of the five
stages in the record life cycle.
•
Well-trained staff.
Sometimes the program is centralized, and in other
cases, decentralized.
Centralized: records are physically located and
controlled in one area
Decentralized: records are physically located in the
departments where they are created and used.
Problems in Records Systems
A records system is a group of interrelated resources –
people, equipment, and supplies, space, procedures,
and information – acting together according to a plan to
accomplish the goals of the program.
Problems:
− Management
− Human problems
− Inefficient filing procedures
− Poor use of equipment
− Inefficient use of space
− Excessive records costs
Careers in Records Management
• Opportunities exists in every type and size of office.
• Opportunities also exists in the marketing of records supplies
and storage equipment.
• In major corporations, there are levels: (1) Managerial Level; (2)
Supervisory Level; and (3) Operating Level
ARMA International
•
•
Association of Records Managers and
Administrators, Inc.
An important professional group for records and
information managers. It
− Improves educational programs in schools and
industry.
− Provides on-the-job knowledge about records and
information management.
− Provides information on careers and job banks.
− Provides online learning opportunities.
ARMA web site address
http://www.arma.org