INS2603 ASSIGNMENT 1 SEMESTER 2.

INS2603 ASSIGNMENT 1 SEMESTER 2. Introducing Information Management. Information refers to information that have been composed as well as facilitated or handled inside a particular setting or circumstance. Information management (IM) is the collection and management of information from one or more sources and the distribution of that information to one or more audiences. This sometimes involves those who have a stake in, or a right to that information. Management means the organization of and control over the structure, processing and delivery of information. Rowley (1998) state that information management includes organisation-wide information policy planning, the development and maintenance of integrated systems and services, the optimization of information flows and the harnessing of leading-edge technologies to the functional requirements of end-users, whatever their status or role in the parent organisation (INS2603 Only study guide 2013:4-5). 1.2. According to (IRMT 1999a:19) records management is the management of field of management responsible for the efficient and systematic control of the creation, receipt, maintenance, use and disposition of records, including processes for capturing and maintaining evidence of, and information about business activities and transactions in the form of records (INS2603 Only study guide 2013:8). It can also be defined as the area of administration concerned with the efficient and economical management of recorded information created or received in an organisation from the time of its creation to its ultimate disposal. However, in the light of electronic records, records management is regarded as processes that need to be in place to manage the records before they are created until their disposition (Harris 2000); (INS2603 Only study guide 2013:8). STUDENT NO: Page 4 Records management begins as soon as a records is created or received by an individual or organisation, and it is only completed when the record is destroyed or transferred to an archival storage place (ARM1501 Only study guide 2011:5). Controlling records throughout their life cycle forms the basis of records management and it is mainly concerned with the maintenance of current records of an organisation or institute (INS2603 Only study guide 2013:8). 1.3. Knowledge refers to the ability and skill of knowing how to use information. Knowledge consists of truths, beliefs, perspectives, concepts, judgements, expectations, methodology and expertise INS2603 Only study guide 2013:12). Knowledge management is defined as the explicit and systematic management of vital knowledge and its associated processes of creating, gathering, organising, diffusing, using and exploiting. It requires transforming personal knowledge into corporate knowledge, which can be widely shared throughout the organisation and appropriately applied (INS2603 Only study guide 2013:11). Knowledge management is the process of creating, sharing, using and managing the knowledge and information of an organisation (Girard 2015). Knowledge management is an applied structure covering all exercises and activities necessary to compose the information resources of an association and increase the value of them so they can be used advantageously by the association in accomplishing its objectives and destinations. It is the practice by which information is identified, organised and processed so that knowledge can be created, then disseminated and widely used in the organisation (INS2603 Only study guide 2013:11). 1.4. Archives are those records that have enduring value and that have been transferred into safe custody in an archival repository. Archives are basically records that are never again required for operational purposes by the making body and which have been exchanged to a STUDENT NO: Page 5 archives repository for perpetual protection (INS2603 Only study guide 2013:10). Archives Management is the area of management concerned with the maintenance and use of archives. It is concerned with the acquisition, care, arrangement, description and retrieval of records once they have been transferred from an organisation to the archival repository (ARM1501 Only study guide 2011:47). Once records have been selected and transferred to the archival repository, they become archives in the formal sense of the word (INS2603 Only study guide 2013:10). After the acquiring and receiving of archives from an organisation, archive management arrange and descript archives according to archival principles and practises and they preserve those archives. Question 2 Elements of a records management policy. An organisation’s records management policy, like any other policy, should be a statement of intent- what the organisation aims to do. The policy should be brief and not contain the operational detail. It should be in the same style as other organisational policies and typically would contain:  Scope  Policy statement or aim  Objectives  How the policy will be implemented  Responsibilities  Review mechanism  Sign-off or approval Both policy and the programme need to be documented and maintained in some form of manual, in paper or electronic form (Scammell 2003:194). STUDENT NO: Page 6 Contextual analysis and records survey If no records management programme or institutional procedures for records management exist within an organisation, the records manager/archivist should secure the interest and support of management in the mother institution or organisation by explaining the basic goals of records management. The first step is to draw up a proposal that outlines the need for and contents of a records management programme. Maher (1992:288) describes the following elements that should be included in the proposal: 1. a history of the organisation’s handling of records, including an account of problems caused by the lack of a systematic approach to records management, the potential cost savings and historical evidence of how records management could improve the organisation’s efficiency and ability to achieve its goals 2. an outline of the kind of programme required to address the challenges, including the list of elements of the records management programme, such as disposition schedules, vital records, forms and reports management 3. specifications of what resources will be needed, including administrative authorisation and policy support; personnel; space, equipment, services and supplies; a storage facility; and digital equipment and programs; and 4. a timetable for phasing in the records management programme, which should specify what should be done within the designated time frames (INS2603 Only study guide 2013:35). Question 3 Life cycle of a record. According to IRMT (1999a:15) a life cycle of a record is a concept that draws an analogy between the life of a biological organism, which is born, lives and dies, and that of a record, which is created, is used for STUDENT NO: Page 7 so long as it has continuing value and is then disposed of by destruction or by transfer to an archival repository. A records life cycle begins when relevant information arrives at or is created within an organization. There are four stages of the life cycle of a record. Creation stage: Records are created or received in the organisation in sustain of current business. They begin internally from correspondence, transcribed drafts or word or information processors and remotely from mail, computer printouts, media transmission frameworks, email messages, among others. Whenever a letter is written, an invoice prepared or an engineering drawing made, a record is created. Records are created at all levels of an organisation, from administrative staff to executive officers (INS2603 Only study guide 2013:28). During the creation phase, records could be controlled by forms management (which is standardising the creation, design, analysis and revision of forms or templates), correspondence management (establishment of uniform systems for formatting, preparing and processing correspondence) and copying management (determining how many copies may be needed and how they will be used and distributed, thereby avoiding unnecessary duplication of multiple copies) (INS2603 Only study guide 2013:28). Example: a secretary working in a department will create a record by typing all the minutes of the meeting attended on her computer for future referral. Distribution phase: If the process stopped at the creation stage, information would not be available to the people who require the information to perform their work-related duties and tasks. The distribution phase follows the creation phase. During this phase, the information is distributed to the appropriate people. Records are distributed internally and externally. Electronic mail, inter-office filing systems, postal services, special courier or direct access to computer STUDENT NO: Page 8 databases may be used to distribute the records (INS2603 Only study guide 2013:29). Example: a secretary working in a department will distribute the minutes of the meeting she created to the relevant people for revisions or for future referral.