Records Management Journal

Ajiboye, Bosede Adebimpe ; Alegbeleye, Olubunmi Gabriel ; Okonedo, Sarah ; Oyedipe, Wuraola Janet ; Emmanuel, Sunday Oluwafemi ; Alawiye, Mariam Kehinde

2016 Records Management Journal

doi: 10.1108/RMJ-01-2015-0005

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to examine records management practices as factors influencing the administration of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion). Design/methodology/approach – The study adopted the causal-comparative research design of the ex post facto type. The multi-stage sampling technique was used to select the sample for the study. A four-point Likert scale questionnaire that ranged from strongly disagree, disagree, agree and strongly agree was used to collect data. Three research questions were raised and answered. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Findings – The outcome shows the various records management practices that the Church engaged in which include the creation, maintenance, ease of access to, use, preservation and final disposal of the records. Other findings of the study also revealed the joint influence (positive relationship) of records management practices (records creation, use, maintenance and retention or disposal) on the administration of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) to be significant which follows that there is a significant positive relationship between records management practices and administration of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion). Also, it is only record use ( β = 0.27; t = 5.53; p < 0.05) that has a significant relative influence on the Church of Nigeria’s (Anglican Communion) administration. Others like record creation or received ( β = 0.02; t = 0.28; p > 0.05), records maintenance ( β = −0.06; t = −0.93; p > 0.05) and records retention or disposal ( β = 0.11; t = 1.76; p > 0.05) have no significant influence on the church administration. Therefore, it is only records use that can predict or influence the administration of Anglican Church positively. Originality/value – The study is the original findings of the authors.

Ifould, Peta ; Joseph, Pauline

2016 Records Management Journal

doi: 10.1108/RMJ-03-2015-0011

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide a unique perspective into user difficulties working with the functional business classification scheme (BCS) to register, search and retrieve corporate information at the Western Australia Police (WA Police). Design/methodology/approach – This paper is a single case study. Questionnaire and interview data were collected and analysed from a sample of ten EDRMS users on their perspectives of working with the BCS. An interpretive analysis methodology was used, and inductive reasoning was used for thematic analysis and sense making of the textual data from the transcripts. Findings – Although the research participants were confident working with the BCS, they reported difficulties finding an appropriate folder that matched the information to be classified and deciding where to file the information. Participants reported that the design and structure of the BCS and training were identified as areas needing improvement. Research limitations/implications – Paradigm shifts in the record-keeping role from the professional to the user may have some bearing on the difficulties users face when dealing with their record-keeping responsibilities. The participants provided comments and suggestions for how to make the BCS more user-friendly, more meaningful and more aligned to the business processes of the users that are practicable and workable solutions for the records professionals to implement. Practical implications – This paper provides a unique user perspective of a BCS, their difficulties working with it and how these difficulties can be resolved in a government organisation. Originality/value – This paper provides a unique user perspective of a BCS, their difficulties working with it and how these difficulties can be resolved in a government organisation.

Mosweu, Olefhile ; Bwalya, Kelvin ; Mutshewa, Athulang

2016 Records Management Journal

doi: 10.1108/RMJ-03-2015-0012

Purpose – Public sector organisations in the developing world contexts have hugely invested in procuring information management systems such as the electronic document and records management system (EDRMS). The procurement and implementation of these systems come at a huge cost to taxpayers. Unfortunately, most of these systems remain white elephants due to reluctance by the anticipated users to adopt and use them in their information management endeavours. This study aims to understand Action Officers’ perceptions of, adoption and/or usage of the document workflow management system (DWMS) at the Ministry of Trade and Industry in Botswana. The DWMS is one type of EDRMS. Design/methodology/approach – The survey uses a questionnaire distributed in Gaborone, Botswana to gather data on the perceptions of anticipated users of the DWMS. The study used a modified form of UTAUT as a theoretical lens to explore user’s perception on the adoption and use of DWMS at the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Botswana. The population of the study was 68. A total of 53 (86.89 per cent) out of 61 users of DWMS were purposively sampled and responded to the questionnaire. The rest took part in interviews. Findings – Negative attitudes to computers, computer anxiety, the complexity of DWMS and its incompatibility to current working practices influences Action and Records Officers’ unwillingness to adopt and use the DWMS. Research limitations/implications – This study was limited to the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI)’s Department of Corporate Services, so its findings cannot be statistically generalized to the MTI as a whole. Another limitation relates to the secretive nature of staff in some government departments which lead them to provide partial information related to the study. Finally, the additional technology adoption factors discovered from interviews (i.e. computer anxiety, incompatibility of DWMS to current work practices, negative attitudes to system use and complexity of the system) have not been empirically tested to ascertain their validity. This provides an opportunity for a future study to empirically test the said additional factors. Practical implications – To mitigate the lower DWMS adoption and usage, robust change management and communication were identified as some of the critical factors that should be considered. The identified factors may be used in drafting a model to aid the implementation of DWMS in Botswana or in a contextually similar environment in the developing world. Originality/value – This study provides empirical evidence from an original study.

Cocciolo, Anthony

2016 Records Management Journal

doi: 10.1108/RMJ-04-2015-0014

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to evaluate strategies to appraise email correspondence to select significant email for permanent preservation without capturing trivial or personal emails. The strategies were tested on the actual email accounts of selected individuals occupying important roles within an important cultural institution in the Northeastern USA. Design/methodology/approach – Treating this art museum as a case study site, email messages are manually appraised for retention using a rubric. Following the appraisal, strategies for expediting this appraisal process, using what is learned from the manual appraisal process, are explored. Findings – A major finding of this study is that sent mail is almost always significant, although preserving only sent mail, or preserving sent mail in combination with inbox items that have been acted upon (replied to or forwarded), are not sufficient to capture significant correspondence. Rather, a social network approach holds the most promise to accelerate the process of email appraisal. Originality/value – This study provides empirically grounded strategies for appraising email for permanent retention.

Tumuhairwe, Ronald ; Ahimbisibwe, Arthur

2016 Records Management Journal

doi: 10.1108/RMJ-06-2015-0024

Purpose – Procurement records are critical for the effective execution of the procurement process and have been applied as tools to measure compliance and performance of Public Procuring and Disposing Entities (PDEs) by the regulating authority in Uganda – the Public Procurement and Disposal of Assets Authority (PPDA). However, the state of records in various Ugandan PDEs depicts poor records management. This situation has adversely affected the effective creation, usage and storage of public procurement records. This compromises the value and importance of records within the procurement process, with most documents being unavailable and unreliable. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between procurement records compliance, effective risk management and records management performance in Ugandan PDEs. Design/methodology/approach – The study adopted a quantitative research design and used a cross-sectional survey. The researchers developed a questionnaire on the study constructs of procurement records compliance, effective risk management and records management performance using measurement scales derived from previous empirical studies which were modified to suit the current study. Findings – The results indicate quantitative evidence of significant positive relationships between procurement records compliance, effective risk management and records management performance. Findings also reveal that procurement records compliance and effective risk management are significant predictors of record management performance. The results also suggest that effective risk management has a stronger influence on records management performance than that on procurement records compliance. Research limitations/implications – The study context is sub-Saharan Africa, and the findings are, therefore, limited to that context; they reflect existing knowledge in other contexts. The use of a standard questionnaire limited the ability to collect views about information outside the questions asked. The study was only cross-sectional, and the study variables could not be analyzed over a long time. Common methods bias remains a potential threat; future studies should use different source data. Practical implications – Custodians of procurement records, that is, procurement officers, records officers and accounting officers for Ugandan PDEs need to pay special attention to prevailing records laws and policies to minimize risks associated with the poor management of records, as well as improve performance in the management of records creation, storage, retrieval, access and the preservation of vital records. Originality/value – The study contributes to an important area which has not been given attention in the context of sub-Saharan Africa, especially Uganda where there is a difficulty of linking the value of records management to business processes due to a lack of quantitative evidence.