CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study

Records management is a branch of management which deals with identification, capturing, storage, retrieval and destruction of records to facilitate organisational growth (Rowley & Hartley, 2008). Records serve as the memory centre of organisations. They indicate daily transactions of organisations (Read & Ginn, 2011). Moreover records management system ensures timely response to customers’ needs prevents loss of information and maximises efficiency use of information (Peggy, Yao, & Gameli, 2015).

Institutions create records to support the activities they carry out. However, if these records are not managed properly, they will not provide the necessary support and information might be lost causing problems for the institution. To provide an efficient and effective administration that ensures that institutions run as smoothly as possible, there should be proper management of records. International Organisation for Standardization (ISO) 15489 (2001) explained records management as the field of management responsible for the efficient and systematic control of the creation, receipt, maintenance, use and disposition of records, including the processes for capturing and maintaining evidence of an information about business activities and transactions in the form of records. The University of Bamenda generates large volumes of physical and electronic data and documents on a daily basis. Undoubtedly, these documents and data are of high importance and as such need to be strictly preserved. Universities are legally bound to retain and preserve documents as a record of their activities and proceedings (Adu, 2014).

The formal practice of records management has a surprisingly interesting history. Over centuries ago, attitudes and processes were far less methodical, and records were retained in a haphazard fashion, if at all. Changing laws, technologies and the needs of an increasingly interconnected world have spurred businesses and government to increase their records management systems in recent decades (Access, 2019). Records management is a fundamental activity of any given organisation. Records are vital to every aspect of governance process and institutions of all kinds should highly embrace records management. What actually keeps the public service going in any modern system of government is having recorded information, which is used for planning, decision making and controlling. For any effective planning, decision-making and controlling to take place, there must be timely access to records (Amina, 2011).

According to Kulcu (2009), records are created and maintained to meet the goals and objectives of an organisation. Records are the memories of an organisation and are used in decision making and the basis of legal defensibility. Without records, governments would find it difficult to address social issues such as poverty, crime, social grants, AIDs, land information, and even the provision of basic services such as water and electricity (Makhura, 2005).

Records that are properly managed and made accessible to citizens enhance a free democracy for governments. Records are not only essential to the government or for historical purposes, but also through archives enables citizens to exercise their rights and criticize the strengths  and weakness of their government (Kemoni, 2008). According to Mnjama (2003), records management practices in African countries run in falling systems. Mnjama (2003) further notes that the falling records management systems in African countries drag behind the developments of individual governments. The state of the records management has contributed to increased corruption cases, inefficient and poor governance. Like other countries, the Cameroon National Archives and documentation service is responsible for all government records and assisting government agencies in managing records in an internationally accepted manner. Records should be stored in a manner that enables quick retrieval.

Effective records management practices by governments leads to effective and efficient public procurement process based on the recorded information in records (Michael, 2009). Many African countries and developing countries lack systematic approach in the management of records. Poor records management undermines transparency and accountability hence leading to corruption and loss of public funds. According to Fust and Graf (2002), sound management of records is a base for all governments to provide public services and enhance democracy in a state. Without proper information, a decision maker is never certain about the outcome of her decision according to Kennedy et al. (1994). And since record management is concerned, information must flow throughout the organisation in such a way that it can be tapped when it is needed.

An activity that has proved beneficial is Records Management. Shepard and Yeo (2003) argue that, RM is the field of management responsible for the efficient and systematic control of the creation, receipt, maintenance, use and disposition of records.” The implementation of IT systems broadened the field of Records Management and allow the people to manage the records electronically and from distance. Electronic Records Management is both the electronic management of paper records and electronic records. Naturally, nowadays, the type of records is different than how it was in the past. Many documents exist in electronic form while in the past, they existed in paper form. However, the necessity, the usefulness and the aim of Records Management remains the same and this is to boost and to enhance the business process and organisational activities. We can characterize Records Management as a necessary activity that helps to improve an organisation and it can be a part of the culture of an organisation. The aim of this management is to provide to the people the information that is needed easily and quickly (Johnston and Bowen, 2005, p.134). The storage and the use of the produced records offer many opportunities to the organisation that adopts it.

The primary function of records management is to facilitate the free flow of records through an organisation and to ensure that information is available rapidly where and when it is needed. To carry out this function needs an efficient and effective records management program. Any organisation established, public or private needs to document its activities and this can only be done by creating records. Records contain information relating to organisation’s activities captured in reproduction form during the organisations course of administration. Records display and confirm the decision taken, the actions carried out and the results of such actions, they support policy formation and management decision making, it protects the interest of the organisation, the right of the employers, clients’ citizens and helps the organisation to conduct its business and deliver its services in consistent and equitable ways (Langemo, 1995). Record management is crucial to all organisation. Unless records are managed efficiently, it is not possible to conduct business, to account for what has happened in the past or to make decisions about the future. Records are a vital corporate asset and are required to provide evidence of actions and decisions.

Traditionally records were held on paper, microfilm or microfiche, but now they are predominantly created and held in electronic format or within electronic systems. The core concept underpinning records management theory is that of the lifecycle, which sees records having a series of phases from creation to final disposition ultimately resulting either in their controlled destruction or being retained on a permanent basis as an archival record. The process of changing records, the media on which records are stored and the ways records are used have changed greatly since the 1980s. (Olufemi, Rita, Olusoji and Peter, 2020)

According to Sanderson and Ward (2003) the importance of records management is increasingly being recognized in organisations. It is therefore the responsibility of records managers to ensure that they gain the attention of decision-makers in their organisations. Gaining recognition is all about convincing management of the role of records management as enabling unit in an organisation. According to Shepherd (2006), organisations use records to support accountability, when they need to prove that they have met their obligations or complied with the best practice or established policies.  An unmanaged record system makes the performance of duties more difficult, costs organisations all and makes them vulnerable to security breaches, prosecution and embarrassment.

Performance is achieving organisational objectives, according to Annick Bourguignon’s definition. Effective performance in every organisation requires the establishment of an effective records management program. This means that, organisations should determine the type, nature and structure of records to be created and the technologies to be used, preserve records and making them available to meet organisational expectations, comply with legal and regulatory requirements and ensuring that records are maintained in a safe and secure environment. Organisations should ascertain how long records are to be kept and identify opportunities for improving the effectiveness and efficiency.

The University of Bamenda uses records to do its daily transactions and operations. Paper-based records are popular in the University with a limited number of electronic records. UBa has Schools and Faculties whose records are managed by record managers, clerks, administrative assistants and secretaries. The records are maintained and stored in their respective departments. Poor records management practices would have some effects. Some of these include, poor decision making caused by incomplete information, time wastage in searching for information, money wastage in storing records, severe legal liabilities. Records are however not being handled and kept properly in the University of Bamenda. Poor filing methods, lack of space, misfiling and poor records organisation poses a threat. These factors indicate that, records management is very essential to an organisation and records need to be taken proper care of. Thus, poor records management practices could affect performance in the University of Bamenda.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

Records management is an important activity in all organisations. 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 organisation’s functions, leading to poor decision making, corruption, fraud, and abuse of the rights of the citizen (Sichalwe, Ngulube & Stiwell, 2011). Records are essential instruments in every institution particularly in reference to the performance of institutions. Similarly, organisational problems in relation to planning, administration, organisation, control, and monitoring are also increasing resulting to the need for improved records management practices among institutional administrators, educationist, policy makers, and planners.  Records in public institutions suffer from likelihoods of loss due to improper storage, unprotected disaster, and random destruction. These organisations also lack control guidelines that cover the management of records from their creation to their disposal (Abdulrahman, 2015).

It has become a recurrent issue for records to be irretrievable when required especially in tertiary institutions of most developing countries (Fabunmi, 2004). Equally, the problem can be observed in literature as Bakare, Abioye, and Issa, (2016) also observe that there is a startling rate of loss and misplacement of records that contain useful information, which can guide in decision making, especially in public institutions. In another study, Abdulrahman (2015) also states that lack of effective records management can lead to problems such as difficulties in information retrieval for administrative decision making, inaccurate demographic data and improper registration of employees, which may lead to missing out of employees on important communication.  In the University of Bamenda, it is difficult to get marks and records of students and former students because of improper records management. Students queu up for marks and problems relating to marks but cannnot be attended to because of poor filing methods. Students complain about the ommition of their names from graduation lists which is not supposed to be so. If a good records management system of student files exists in UBa, these names can be produced without any problem.

Lack of proper records organisation which is one of the cornerstones of good records management is given little attention in UBa. Staff collect documents and file anywhere without respecting particular methods of filing. When there is need for administrative files, staff move around collecting information that they once had but could not file it properly. Administrative records are supposed to be filed in a specifc location to ease retrieval when need arises.

The University of Bamenda also face the problem of records security. Storage areas are not secluded, they are so open in a way that anybody can have a glance of what is filed. Poor retention and disposition methods and lack of record backups in the University of Bamenda. Manual records are supposed to have backups elsewhere in either electronic or manual formats while electronic records have manual backups as well. The University of Bamenda  also lacks sufficient space to store some records given that new records are generated on a daily basis. This consequently has resulted to loss interms of money, time and energy. There are cases of missing or loss of records within the organisation, which lead to wastage of so much time trying to locate them and loss of vital documents. The time taken when searching for a file or document can result into loss of hours and cause setbacks to the organisation. Therefore the need to keep proper records by managers will not only save time but also save organisational cost. These cases of document loss are as a result of misshelving and missfiling of documents.

Records Management is very essential in all dimensions of an organisations performance. When records management in the University of Bamenda is effective, then performance will improve. The University of Bamenda comprises of various offices which perform diverse duties and functions for the growth of the University. All this can be very difficult without effective records management policies and procedures put in place. This therefore raises the problem of what exactly are the records management policies, procedures, systems and methods put in place in the University of Bamenda and whether or not they are effective. Despite all these, the situation remains the same. These problems never seem to be solved. It is on the basis of all these problems that this study is there to provide solutions to the problem.   

1.3 Research Questions

In the course of this study, the following questions are raised.

1.3.1 Main Research Question

The main question of this research is:

• How does records management influence organisational performance in the University of Bamenda?

1.3.2 Specific Research Questions

This study had the following specific research questions:

• How does records creation influence the performance of the University of Bamenda?
• How does records storage influence the organisational performance of the University of Bamenda?
• How does records retrieval influence organisational performance of the University of Bamenda?
• What is the influence of records retention and disposal on organisational performance of the University of Bamenda?

1.4 Objectives of the Study

The objectives of the study have been categorized into general and specific objectives. 

They include;

1.4.1 Main Objective

The main objective of this study is to determine how records management influence the  performance of The University of Bamenda.

1.4.2 Specific Objectives

The specific objectives are to:

• Evaluate how records creation influences the performance of The university of Bamenda.
• Evaluate how records storage influences performance in The university of Bamenda.
• Assess how records retrieval influences performance in The university of Bamenda.
• Evaluate how records retention and disposal influences performance in The university of Bamenda.