Issues and Challenges in Records Management

Abstract

This paper seeks to investigate problems, issues and challenges in records management both as a profession and academic discipline. As a profession, records management has been established but as academic discipline, it is relatively at its infancy. Records management differs from other academic discipline as it moves from practicle to theory. Thus, records management faces various problems particularly the theoretical aspects since this discipline has to borrow theories from other discipline. As a profession, this field also encountered problems as more often than not, this profession does not received priority and support from the organization higher authority though many agreed that records management could help organization in many aspects. Also, records management suffers from misleading perception, a non promising career, ill recognition, inappropriate position and governance, conflicting approach and lack of monitoring and enforcement. This paper discusses these issues which can be catogerised into two. First, records management as a profesion, and second, records management as an academic discipline. What are the factors that hinder records management (though it has been widely accepted as professional) from adoption and what make it far from the heart of many organizations though it is evident that the practice could give many untold advantages and benefits.

Full text

Issues and Challenges in Records Management
Zawiyah Mohammad Yusof
Department of Information Science
Faculty of Information Science and Technology
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
Abstract
This paper seeks to investigate problems, issues and challenges in records management
both as a profession and academic discipline. As a profession, records management has
been established but as academic discipline, it is relatively at its infancy. Records
management differs from other academic discipline as it moves from practical to theory.
Thus, records management faces various problems particularly the theoretical aspects
since this discipline has to borrow theories from other discipline. As a profession, this
field also encountered problems as more often than not, this profession does not received
priority and support from the organization higher authority though many agreed that
records management could help organization in many aspects. Also, records
management suffers from wrong perception, a non promising career, ill recognition,
inappropriate position and governance, conflicting approach and lack of monitoring and
enforcement. This paper, discusses these issues which can be categorized into two
aspects. First, records management as a profession, and second, records management as
an academic discipline. What are the factors hinder records management (though it has
been widely accepted as professional) but is still far from the heart of many
organizations which in turn affect its implementation and adoption by many parties.
Introduction
Records management is a by function field i.e. as a profession and also academic
discipline. As a profession, records management has been established but for the latter, it
is still at its infancy. Records management both as profession and academic discipline
was borne in the developed country particularly the US and the UK.
When records management is seen to have direct relation to accountability and
transparency, improve the quality of public service delivery and able to help
organizations to equip themselves easily in acquiring quality certification, many
organizations not only in the developed countries, begin to adopt the programmed. From
the profession aspect, though it has been acknowledged as professional but many are
unaware of its importance whilst as an academic discipline, there are confusions as this
disciple moves from practical to theory. This is in contrast to other academic discipline
which works on the theoretical framework before embarking on the practical aspect. As a
profession, this field can be divided into two functions. First, records management deals
with daily operation or transaction, and second, records management is for managing
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national heritage for research and historical purposes. The latter become the main interest
of the archive institution (International Council on Archives, 2005).
Records as Assets
Advances of technology have changed the form, medium and format of information. This
requires a new management strategy. In the era which gives emphasis on online activities
such as online shopping and banking, and electronic public service delivery (e-
government), recorded information has now become valuable assets. This recorded
information needs to be managed and administered systematically and effectively (ever
ready and available to be accessed whenever needed to help in making decision, updated
and accurate) is central to the development of a competent organization. Records carry
information needed by business for daily operations which differs a successful organist
ion from a problematic and less competent one.
But, despite the role and the power that the recorded information possessed, not many
organizations manage and administer record in their custody on various reasons mainly
because of lack of awareness, knowledge and perceived that records management is a less
pressing requirement and can be caste aside as there are many other task and requirement
that need priority.
The information society regards the recorded information as having more value and
compared to other resources such as capital, manpower fixed asset (land and building).
This asset (recorded information) ought to be valued, insured and shown in the balance
sheet and ought to be managed and administered accordingly, conforming to the
international standard. Also, it must be discussed at the higher level in the organization
besides being used for strategic planning and decision making to avoid past mistake to
reoccur. Besides that, the recorded information can also be used as performance indicator
in monitoring the organization progress and development.
Though the efficiency of organization today is strongly associated with the usage of
information technology and communication (ICT), but ICT solely without effective
approach in planning and managing recorded information could not guaranteed success.
To boost competencies, organization ought to use the information embedded in records
that it creates and possesses. Records need to be managed and administered so as to be:
i. Ready available. Information in records must be accessible for used at any
time it is needed.
ii. Relevant. The information that is created, used, maintained and stored must be
relevant to the decision making in the process to achieve the organization objective.
Therefore, the creation and maintenance of information ought to be guided by policy
and the objective of organization.
iii. Updated. Information contained in records must be updated from time to time
so as to enable organization to make well-informed and accurate decision.
iv. Accurate. Information must be free from mistake. Error in the recorded
information could affect the decision made.
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v. Fulfill the user need. The information created and maintained by organization must
always able to meet the need of the user/client. Users need different information
based on their functions and responsibilities.
vi. Easy to use and understand. Information ought to be available in an appropriate
medium and format besides easily understandable.
vii. Reliability. Information must be reliable. The validity and reliability of information
should not be questioned as information possessing and processing unreliable and
invalid information will shoo away clients and users.
The role of information is increasingly critical. Organization can be at risk for making
decision based on insufficient information. This shows that information needs investment
especially in the form of qualified and trained manpower to manage, ample and
appropriate to ensure the safety and security of the recorded information. In addition,
information also needs efficient management, proper equipment and suitable environment
to assure long lasting.
A. Records Management as Profession
Records management (a technique for managing information for daily operation and
transaction) is suddenly popular in this part of the world when the government of
Malaysia embarks on e-government. The government of Malaysia strives to improve the
nation’s delivery of service in order to be looked and perceived as accountable and
transparent in all aspects of administration and the management of the nation resources.
In order to improve the efficiency of service delivery to the people (citizen), the
government of Malaysia has planned a scheme called electronic government focusing on
the usage of ICT to channel all information and public services to its citizen. E.
government (comprising of electronic services: MyEG1, MySpeed2 and KOMMS3;
electronic acquisition; generic office environment; manpower management information
system; project monitoring system and electronic labour exchange) has prompted the
requirement to adopted records management program nationwide. The previous State
Secretary General Shamsuddin Othman urged records management to be practiced by
organizations in parallel to government aim to develop knowledge society k-economy
and e-government. E-government focuses on the handling of documents and electronic
information. Both document and electronic information management need to be based on
records management principle and complying to the accepted standard to ensure the
reliability, integrity and accessibility of records at any time needed.
Organization ought to hire professional to handle records management programme. As
for now, many organizations do not employ trained personnel as do their counterparts in
1 MyEg – Electronic Payment and Electronic Government. This is a civic portal which provide a single
point of contact for government related services, community-based information and services. MyEG
strategy is geared towards assisting the public in accessing information, executing critical transactions and
interacting with civic institutions that have a direct impact on Malaysian’s day to day activities. This
include federal and state agencies, schools, community groups and local businesses.
2 MySpeed – Provide service for testing Internet speed, bandwidth test, broadband speed test and
connection quality.
3 KOMMS (Konsortium Multimedia Swasta Sdn Bhd) – One of the three companies entrusted with the
implementation of services (e-portal provider). Its primary mission is the implementation of multiple
delivery channels will connect people with the government .
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the developed countries. Records management becomes the responsibility of clerical staff
and often supervised by Information System officer.
In general, records management as a profession does not receive appropriate attention.
This is due to the fact that organization particularly Public Service Department
(responsible for the development of human resource) does not give high priority to the
Endeavour as no post is created for records management. It is managed at spare time.
There is no requirement for professional to handle it. Organization managed to survive
and function without records management in place.
Clerical staff does involve in making decision. In the contrary, records management
complying with international standard involves decision making in meeting the
organization policy and objective. As such, records management is hardly teen to board
meeting as it is not represented by appropriate personnel.
1. Lack of Policy
A systematic, effective and efficient records management needs policy. Policy is a
statement serves as a roadmap to guide organization in making decision and appropriate
action in records management initiative. Policy is also a way to choose from several
alternatives to guide and ascertain current and future decision. Policy help in arranging
new strategy to guarantee success in the long run (Torres, 2006). Thus, Records
management needs a policy so much so that a framework can be established. The
importance of policy in records management is emphasized by ISO-15489 whereby
policy help to guide procedure and training to ascertain records are retained and managed
accordingly as indicated in its statement “An organization … should established,
document, maintain and promulgate policies … for records management …”
It is important to outline a creating a system which can identify the requirement to keep
records (type of content, medium, storage, business process) at policy planning stage.
This system ought to be in accordance with laws and regulations and audit requirement
other than extensible and flexible to accommodate future needs. Information access is
also to be taken into account. Without policy, organization does not know what to be
retained and destroyed.
In a survey in US carried out in June 2006 funded by Xerox Global Services, reports that
63% from 741 companies do not analyze risk awaiting them as a result for mismanage
their electronic information, 40% are not clear in the approach or procedure to comply
with legal requirement and only 34% agreed that organization understand what is
electronic records and how it should be kept (Swartz, 2007). Without policy,
organizations are notable to for post, training and budget.
A study by Umi (2007) reports that although almost surveyed organizations (25 public
agencies in Klang Valley) takes the initiatives materialize e-government, but not all
organizations do have policy which directs such initiatives. A study by Kamarul (2005)
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reveled that in 85 surveyed government agencies in Kedah State, only 4 organizations did
mentioned about records management and 5 organizations were given allocation to
manage electronic records. This is an indication that the materialization of e-government
initiatives is a long way to go. The government of Malaysia need to pay prompt attention
and give more emphasize if the government seeks for an accountable, transparent and
efficient service delivery. A sound policy could ensure records management is listed in
the agenda for administration and the management of organization.
2. The Placement of Records Management in Organization
The placement of records management in organizations is often determined by the
organizational political environment. It is common that records management is placed in
administration department. It seems logical as records management supports the
administration to run smoothly by ascertaining administrative and operational
information is available when needed. In other organization, records management is part
of information service unit that incorporate other information function such as
information resource centre while others are located under information technology as it
function in parallel to the computer department.
It is important and absolutely perfect to locate or place records management under
information management department since information is now regarded as crucial
resource for organization. Information must be managed to enhance its value. Thus it is
critical for organization to manage its recorded information to ensure the success of
organization.
Wrong placement of records management will not gain any niche which in turn will be
left to anyone willing to handle it. The placement of records management is rather
misleading. This leaves severe impact. Organization do not feel the responsibility to
manage records to improve accountability, transparency, competency, efficiency and
survival but otherwise regards records as something insignificant and not important to be
discussed at board level.
It is the reverse in the US. Organizations are reminded the legal implication on them
should they failed to managed their records systematically and efficiently. The
introduction of Sarbane Oxley in the US draws attention of many professional bodies
related to records as it change the mode of records management in the nation.
In Malaysia, the business of records management is placed under the auspices of Ministry
of Unity, Culture, Arts and Heritage Malaysia. Such a placement does not connote the
power and role of recorded information in determining the success and failure or
organization and far from improving the accountability and transparency of organization
particularly in the public domain. The term heritage implies that records are only
relevant for history. This is the main reason organizations in Malaysia are not keen to
embark on records management because today’s organization prioritizes strategic
planning to reap maximum benefit and advantage. Such a placement also contradicts
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against the effort of government to promote the development of k-society and e-
government with concern much about information.
In the contrary, information is now regarded as assets and power and always become the
interest of competitors and business intelligent. As such recorded information should be
correctly placed and governed as it needs special safe precautions and strategy in
managing it to eliminate unauthorized party to have access to it. Unintentional
destruction of vital records or records has been accessed by unauthorized party will led to
disaster and catastrophic nightmare to organization. It is the recorded information that
they possessed that differ them from the problematic organizations.
2. Approach
As a profession, records management is developed and expanded by two different
approaches.
i. Archival approach (practiced in the UK) – records are managed for history,
research, evidence and heritage.
ii. Business orientation (Practiced in the US) – records is managed for the
competency of business, help in making decision, to self defense, as evidence, to
improve excellence and efficiency and help organization to run smoothly. Recorded
information helps organizations to exhibit transparency, credibility and accountability
to gain confidence and trust from clients in its products/ services.
Due to the differed approach, records management give different impact. The first
approach resulted records management not seen pressing as records is rarely consulted or
retrieved fort daily operation of business. Therefore, many organizations do not give high
priority in the creation, usage, maintenance and disposal of records. Records is only
consulted when there is a need to commemorate or celebrate an event.
Organization ought to use the second approach. Records is needed to help improve the
ability to make well informed and accurate decision making by avoiding past mistakes.
Records also improved competency, better business transaction improved accountability
and transparency.
4. Change in Perception
There are several factors that contribute to the change of perception on records
management. Perception is important. In the past records are considered as unwanted
piles of papers. It’s lost or destruction is not alarming. But now, the inability to trace or
access accurate, timely, reliable information contained in records leave severe implication
to organization. Records has now regarded as assets that is capable of:
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i. Improve recognition by society on the value of information as resource. This
phenomenon helps to create awareness to adopt records management which
involves recorded information.
ii. Improved the society awareness on accountability, resulted in organization
becomes more sensitive on the requirement that every organization ought to have
the ability to produce accurate records as evidence to the policy and activities. In
Australia, emphasis is given to the impact of Information Freedom Law on
document control. The law which was introduced in 1970 and 1980 urged public
organizations to take effort in updating their document control so as to comply
with such legal requirement.
iii. The increasing interest in storing information in both electronic and paper format
impose pressure to records manager in determining the future direction of records
management. Professionals in the area are aware that they could be cast aside if
they continue with the conventional records management. They need to accept the
fact that today recodes management skill is required to develop an efficient
control system for electronic records.
iv. The availability of IT to increase document control is becoming significant to the
operation of records management. A progressive records management continues
to monitor new IT development and to work collaboratively with computer expert
in using IT to increase control on recorded information. The most likely
technology involve are such as computer, communication network, electronic
mail, scanner, facsimile machine, magnetic and optical storage.
v. No example of organization’s failure due to poor records management
vi. Records are not considered as the organizational life blood
vii. It is perceived that the national archives only emphasize on public records.
viii. Business records are only regarded as supporting business activity without any
social role.
5. Laws and Enforcement
i. Laws pertaining to records are not enhanced and enforced.
In Malaysia, it is the National Archives Act (Akta Arkib Negara) that particularly states
records management. Emphasis is given specifically to public records though it is implied
to private records. This is in contrast to US where a involving a conglomerate known as
Enron act as a catalyst to introduce a new Act known as Sarbane-Oxley Act 2002 or
Public Company Accounting Reform and Investor Protection Act of 2002. SOX is
legislated to handle company that destroy any document that serve as evidence to its
transactions. This is clearly indicated in the statement below:
SOX does stipulate that a company - will - maintain records and that the
managers of the company will practice due diligence when it comes to the
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maintenance and backup of these records. … the new law also creates
protections for "whistleblowers" at publicly traded companies and imposes
new criminal penalties relating to fraud, conspiracy, and interfering with
investigations. … the following documents are provided to help records and
information managers informed of the development of regulations related to
the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and their potential impact on how organizations
manage their information:
Record Management, the protection of data, offsite storage plan and storage
of data, fall within the purview of the contingency planning
team. Established plans need to follow the guidelines of SOX in order to be
compliant with the mandates.
Sarbanes - Oxley stresses on seven 7 factors relating to electronic records management.
These are:
- Good records maintenance to support financial report
- Document must be made available/ supplied at any time requested
- No document is tempered nor destroyed
- Validitate the accuracy of financial statement
- Validitate internal control system
- Report any changes in material on real time basis
- Comply with other financial policy requirement.
It obvious Sarbane-Oxley gives serious implication to records management in the US.
In Malaysia, there is no specific laws on business records management but instead
embedded in various Acts and Regulations. There is only one document pertaining to
standard, policy and guideline issued by MAMPU in 2003 namely Standards, Policies
and Guidelines – Malaysian Government Interoperability Framework (MyGIF). Other
Acts concerning information are such as Personal Privacy Act, Electronic Transaction
Act, e-Government Activity Act and Communication Act.
Though it is stated in the companies Act that business organizations are required to
produce document as evidence at any time requested by the governing body, but the
penalty imposed is not severe. Thus companies prefer paying the penalty to having
records management in place.
The implication from poor enforcement resulted records can be accessed by unauthorized
people and destroyed particularly those relate to high profile case.
ii. Records are inspected/scrutinized if organization is under suspicion. As the result, the
implementation of records management is only discretionary (Robek, Brown &
Maedke, 1987).
Australian Province of Victoria has moved a step forward by stating that any action to
destroy document that v can be used as evidence in legal proceeding is considered as
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crime. According to Crimes (Document Destruction) Act 2006 (Vic) (Act), all types of
documents (paper and electronic) including DVD, sound and data recording (The
Information Management Journal, 2007) should not be destroyed without permission and
before the life cycle complete.
6. Training and Education
The personnel handling records management ought to have proper training because
recodes management needs individual who can appreciate records in making decision.
The current curriculum on information studies does not imply that records management
received ample training. Only UiTM and UKM offer records management module under
Faculty of Information Studies and Faculty of Information Science and Technology
respectively.
B. RECORDS MANAGEMENT AS AN ACADEMIC DESCIPLINE
1. No established theory. Move from practice to theory.
Records management develops as a unique field multidiscipline in nature as it shares
knowledge and skills from various fields such as management (facilities, staff and
equipments); information science; archives management; legal studies; system analysis
and information technology. E.g. both library scsience and records management involve
in organizing information for access purposes other than a requirement to monitor the
location of information. But library science focus on published information where as
records management deal with records created and received by organization bearing
operational and legal value. This is different from archives with emphasis on preserving
document for historical and research purposes.
Literature in the area suggests that the development of records management as an
academic discipline is at infancy started in 1970s. But as a profession, records
management had started very much early in ancient time. Records management as
academic field is lack of strong and established theory as it borrows and adapts theories
from other adjacent discipline like library science and archives.
A Nightmare to Organization
Pech & Mathew (1993) asserts there are nine factors contribute to business failure
particularly the small scale ones. These area the absence of financial planning; do not
creates business records; do not understand or do not refer to business records; poor
financial management; poor debt management; poor inventory management; poor in
fixing cost and price; poor marketing research; and over borrowing. Small scale
businesses often do not have a standard records management system; do not safeguard
vital records from natural and man-caused disaster such as fire, and vandalism. Apart
from that, small scale business do not practice records classification, separation of actives
9

records from the inactive ones besides keeping vital records together with actives records
without safe measure.
Corporate governance needs business organization to report and informed their activities
to government, share holders and society as a whole. This in to comply with legal
requirement and convince share holders to invest in the company.
In addition, they are ignorant that the requirement to create and retain records is a legal
requirement. Thus, records are not used in planning operation and future business growth.
Keeping records only occupy space which can be used for other pressing purposes.
In the past, records is perceived as unwanted piles of papers. There is no serious impact
if records are lost or destroyed. Such a perception is misleading since records are not only
related to inactive information but also active information needed for the continuity of
organization activity.
In parallel to the effort of government developing e-government, k-society and k-
economy, records management ought be given attention and paradigm shift. Both private
and public agencies should be able to correlate survive efficiency and effectiveness with
the ability to make well informed decision making. A timely, effective and efficient
decision is turn depends on the ability to acquire current, accurate and reliable
information contained in records.
Organization be it private or public, has been overloaded with documents which majority
never been consulted. Have you heard of utility company failed to trace equipment
maintenance records needed for security check; account department failed to gather
information to process invoices on time; the destroyed engineering firms computer-aided
design files (due to computer failure) were not able to be restored as the result of not
making backup copies; medical clinic destroyed medical records despite keeping them
for evidence should the clinic is prosecuted for practicing unethical practice; and inability
of access to unique historical data regarding scientific experiment by universities as a
result of keeping the records in medium no longer readable by computer? These are
examples of absence of controlled recorded information.
Conclusion
In Malaysia, the importance of records management is exaggerated when the government
emphasizes on the development of e-government initiative and quality certification.
Records is believed capable of improving accountability and transparency of the
government (Wamukoya, 2000). Under the e-government environment electronic records
management plays significant role as the basis of well informed decision making and
actions ought to be based on the created, possessed and retained records. Unfortunately,
electronic medium records management does not adopt the same principle as the paper
medium ones. Paper records are perceived as documents for evidence and historical
purposes while the electronic ones served as documents responsible for the effective,
efficient, speedy and competent government.
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The perception on records management also need to change. Records management ought
to be seen as a responsibility other than merely to comply with relevant laws and
legislations. It is the current and the easy access of information that drive a competent
organization. Records management plays a significant role which enable to integrate
various recorded information content. Records management has three domains need to be
implemented such as business domain (private), accountability domain (public) and
cultural domain (as heritage, history and research).
Records management in Malaysia is problematic as there is no Acts and Regulations
specifically regulate on records management. There is no enforcement, no comprehensive
and easy to implement policy, no training and support from higher authority. From 25
agencies surveyed by Umi (2007), 46% do have policy, 22 % without policy and 32% not
sure whether they have policy in place to govern records management. This is in contrast
to what has been found by Williams and Ashley (2005) who report that 85% of the
surveyed respondent are aware of the policy and 64% agreed that their policy emphasized
clearly on electronic records management.
Though the e-SPARK project driven by the National Archive Department intended to
establish policy and guideline for electronic records management in Malaysia, but the
focus is still specified on public records. Private agencies need to be injected with
awareness that the creation and management of records are legal requirement. Failure to
comply with the relevant laws and regulations means risks are awaiting them.
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