Records as a strategic resource

Records as a strategic resource

Affendi Bin Iezara

Faculty of Information Management

ajamfend@yahoo.com

2014844538

Abstract

Records as a strategic resources is defined that records as medium to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the organization, it becomes a strategic resources that provide for future used. Records as a strategic resources was divided into four point which is business system analysis and records management,  this is explain that the records managements is used for the business system analysis. The process  of  redefine , finding the business objectives and major activities through  record management.  Training for records  management  professionals.  To provided good strategic resources must begin with good staff and skill that require. The records management professional require skill and comprehension to handle the task and to manage the records. Thus the training to improve the staff skills and to provided good services . And  the other point is  impacts of managing records as a strategic resource. Most of the public response that the record management is had big roles in one organization.

 

Keyword: Business record, record management and strategic resource.

Introduction

                               

Record surely can be identified in most of organization but the practices of record management  maybe only some of the organization is familiar with it. Record management is  systematic administration of records and document  information for its entire life cycle from create stage, whereby the records is created by the creator . Then the stage is distribute , the records  is shared out and can be access. Then use stage,  the records  can be use and access.  For the maintain stage , the records is need to maintain by authorized person for the future used and for the last stage is, dispose stage, before enter the dispose records need to appraisal first, the records  will be sent into archive or records center. Records have a life cycle involving the active, semi-active and inactive stages. This  stages  represent the value of record itself. In the business worlds , the most vital is the evidence of every transaction, through review of the evidence of each transaction , this can minimize the risk of failure. “In our business the live records needed for day-to-day operations are decentralized, and I should imagine that this is so with most large businesses. Each departmental manager is responsible for deciding action to the records” S.A Tasker, 1958. So the define  in show  how  important  the  record  itself  in the business organization, the records should be monitor day by a day, it is a life of each transaction.  However, Lesley A. King (1997) stated that “Good records management has an important role to play in ensuring the competitiveness, efficiency and continuity of an organization’s business whichever domain or sector it happen to be in. Record also came with variety type of records, it is not only in formed of paper based, some of it in audio visual type, or in electronic formed. But  it same as a record that protect the integrity of the information. In the paper, will discuss Business system analysis and record management,  Training  for the record management professional  and The impact of managing records as strategic resource. 

 Business system analysis and records management   
    

According to   International Institute of Business Analysis, 2016 define  that  Business Analysis is the practice of enabling change in an organizational context, by defining needs and recommending solutions that deliver value to stakeholders. In  the  area  of  business , understanding the concept of business is very  important  to lead to the successful. Each of the employee in the organization should   know or understanding the business objectives.  “And  the  records management here to provide a information to the business system through the record that had been keep. It is a popular process improvement approach among several competing approaches such as six sigma, business "restructuring, core process redesign, business process improvement, and continuous improvement “(Zellner, 2011).  Howe ever,  However  Tsubosaka Tatsuya, 1991 said that “all walks of  business  and government agencies have come to consider management information  and  indispensible "management resource", along with those resources of people, money and things, and there has come to be a demand for efficient management of it" .. This is  represent  that  important of  defining the business of the organization,  the organization information is show the real objectives and strategies of the organization. However , International Record Management Trust , (1991) mention  that is an analytical framework that involves analysing organisations as systems or the process of systematically and objectively gathering information about business systems and subjecting that information to formal analysis. This includes identifying broad organisational goals and supporting business areas and processes, and business process definition and decomposition.

And what does the link between business analysis and the record management?  The record management is the tool for the business system analysis. It is a material that provided  thus  the information to conduct business system analysis. Business system analysis important to increase the effectiveness of  the one organization. Record  management  is whole range of activities which an organization should perform to properly manage its records. Cornwell Management Consultants (2001) define a record as a document produced or received by a person or organization in the course of business and retained by that person or organization. International Record Management Trust , (1991) mention  Records, then, are much more than static artifacts or forms, although the forms they take often follow the functions they serve. They have information content, structure and context. Take away any of these crucial elements and there is no longer a record. When all three elements come together, the records provide evidence of the informational inputs and outputs of the many transactions that form part of the dynamic processes of organizational systems.  In other hand, The evidence of each transaction become a medium of references to conduct business system analysis. 

   Training for records management professionals   
     

Record management profession is one of the difficult task, does this profession required skills and difference education needed. Most of the modern country, they have been develop the record center as a main of information agencies. Thus this records center is provided or produced a people who are very expert in record management field, and some of university they had been provided field for student who is interest and meet the requirement to enroll the record management field. But most of the organization that was recruited the record management staff, does the problem came with staff with poor understanding in record management will be sent to attend for training. According to C.H Thompson 1961, he was mentioned that the training will be divided into two parts that is first, the principles and practice of record management and, secondly, the equipment used in the job. The principles of record management should give our trainees a broad view of the place of record management in administration the service this renders in the transaction of business. The trainees must realize where they fit in the scheme of things, here they acquire a sense of purpose and realize the importance. The equipment used in job is the range of equipment available for record and registry work. Staff  learn  the advantages and disadvantages of each in the dispassionate atmosphere of the training room rather than from the persuasive salesmen of such equipment.  

C.H Thompson 1961 was highlight the training that should be attend by record management professional is filling  and  vocabulary training.  This is because this type of training at that time was very require by records management, thus the filling was including indexing, classification, storing, thus this skill that records manager must had.  However  for  the new era of  record management,  some of the training should be add up for the record management professional, such as facilitating the development of filing systems and retention and disposal schedules and maintaining these to meet administrative, legal, and financial requirements. In addition, should  providing a policy framework for how people are expected to manage their records and use the system in place.

  Impacts of managing records as a strategic resource

By indentified how good of one organization is review the managing record of it. How does the managing record work in one organization. More proper managing records is more smooth the transaction in the organization. According to Zawiyah Mohammad Yusof, 2009, he was taking the survey the roles of the record management.

All respondents claimed they know about records management, the functions of records and the effects of records on institutions. This tables is shown based from data  collection  by Zawiyah Mohammad  Yusof  in his article. Based from the data collection, most of public identified the existence of the record and they  had  identified that records give and impact in success or failure of the organization.

            For the Impact of the of  managing  records , these can be view by economically. Through good practicing of record management , surely produce economically in term of  reducing the  operating cost, the organized filing system help to save the handling process of the records. A good records management system is essential for supporting financial management, accountability and transparency  (Palmer, 2000). Others is exchange reduction of time require. A proper filing system can facilitate retrieval and delivery of information to users as fast as they need.

Beside that impact of managing records as strategic resource is,  support better management.  Implementation of records management  unquestionably will managing resources effectively, According to Palmer (2000), the role of records management system is that it acts as a control system  that reinforces other control systems such as internal and external auditing. The record  environment  that allows opportunities to commit fraud, once fraud, once fraud is detected; records can provide a  trail for investigators to track the root of corruption. However, for records to be useful in this capacity, they must be accessible. However, for developing strategic plan, According to Sanderson & Ward (2003) the importance of records management is increasingly being  recognized  in organizations. It is therefore the responsibility of records managers to ensure  that  they gain the attention of decision-makers in their organizations. Gaining recognition is all about convincing management of the role of records management as enabling unit in an organization. And effectives decision making, Langemo (1995) was highlight that record management further defines a record as the memory of the organization, the raw material for decision- making and the basis for legal defensibility

   Conclusion

The four elements that had been discuss is a point under record as strategic resources. Through identify the three  major this elements, shown that the record as strategic resources of the one organization. Records is the main heart of the one organization, by understanding the characteristic of the records that is unique, static, contextual, organic and official, this can describe how important of the record in one organization, it is an evidence of the one transaction and protect the value of the organization, especially in business major. Through the good business analysis, regulatory requirement, training for records management professionals and the impact of the record management, it was bring the organization one step ahead to claim as a successful organization, because good record managing represent good transaction in the organization.

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