OFFICE ADMINISTRATION AND MANAGEMENT
RECORD MANAGEMENT AND FILING
The office is responsible for maintaining the records for future reference. A good and systematic
preservation and maintenance of business records and correspondences is called filing.
Objectives of filing
1. To properly study the position of the firm
2. To keep accounts of progress in an orderly way
3. For business comparison
4. In case of disputes- documents often arises for the settlement of disputes in transactions
5. Policy making –past events, progress etc.are very necessary to decide future policies and
plans.
6. Legal Requirement certain records are to be kept for a number of years from the legal point
of view.
7. Evidence-records are good evidence in the court of law, in the case of suits
8. General use-
Records are really important for future use of the organization. Records are written data that are
made for possible future use. The records may be classified into:
a) Personnel Records
b) Correspondence Records
c) Accounting Records
d) Legal Records
e) Other business Records
Principals of Record Management
1. Verification- records can be verified whenever needed
2. Justification- Records must be maintained with some justifiable purpose otherwise it is
waste of money, space and time
3. Classification- records must be classified according to their use.it may be classified
chronologically alphabetically by subject etc.
4. Information- the required information must be available whenever needed
Office Administration And Management Lecture Notes
Mwai Agatha. A Page 1
, 5. Elasticity –the record system must be elastic in capacity so that expansion or contraction
of records is possible
6. Reasonable cost- the cost of record management must be a reasonable one
Filing
Filing is a process of classifying and arranging records so that they can be obtained without delay.
Advantages of filing
1. Often customers refer to their past letters or orders by writing only the data in such cases
filing serves the purpose of ready reference
2. When past records are maintained through good filing system they save time and also
increase efficiency
3. A proper filing system safeguards the documents against loss
4. Old or past records serves as reliable basis for future planning and action
5. Certain documents have to be kept in order to fulfill legal obligations
Objectives of filing
1. It keeps records, protect letters and documents
2. It makes past records easily accessible
3. It provides suitable storage function
4. Proper filing ads t economy in space
5. It improves the appearance of the office considerably
6. It is less expensive and consumes less time to take out the records
Characteristics of a good filing system
1. Compactness-it should not take too much space for the filing cabinets
2. Accessibility- Record cabinets should be so sited that it easy to file records or extract them
without having to disturb others.
3. Simplicity- the system should be simple to understand and operate
4. Safety- the right degree of safety should be given to documents according to their
importance. They should be protected against hazards like fire.
Office Administration And Management Lecture Notes
Mwai Agatha. A Page 2
, 5. Elasticity –the system should be capable of expansion when required
6. Cross-reference- reference should be provided where necessary.
7. Economy- the system should be flexible and capable of expansion when a need arises.
Centralized filing
Centralized filing refers to where all files belonging to various departments of the entire firm are
kept in one room and maintained by one or few personnel.
A centralized filing office is called a registry.
Advantages
1. Development of specialist filing staff
2. All files are controlled in one room
3. More supervision and control of files is possible
4. It ensures that all correspondences about the same subject are filed together
5. A uniform system of filing can be established throughout the organization.
Departmental Filing
Departmental filing refers to where inn a firm every department has its own filing systems.
Advantages
1. Filing are quickly made available as they are not too many
2. As every department keeps its files within the department, they are readily available
3. The filing system is not so large and therefore easier to handle
4. It does not need a specialist staff for filing and this reduces costs (labour)
Classification methods/systems
There are different classification systems. The classification system refers to the basis of
arrangement of documents in a folder. The documents can be classified by five main methods:
alphabetically, numerically, subject, geographical, chronological or some combination of them.
1. Alphabetically
Office Administration And Management Lecture Notes
Mwai Agatha. A Page 3
RECORD MANAGEMENT AND FILING
The office is responsible for maintaining the records for future reference. A good and systematic
preservation and maintenance of business records and correspondences is called filing.
Objectives of filing
1. To properly study the position of the firm
2. To keep accounts of progress in an orderly way
3. For business comparison
4. In case of disputes- documents often arises for the settlement of disputes in transactions
5. Policy making –past events, progress etc.are very necessary to decide future policies and
plans.
6. Legal Requirement certain records are to be kept for a number of years from the legal point
of view.
7. Evidence-records are good evidence in the court of law, in the case of suits
8. General use-
Records are really important for future use of the organization. Records are written data that are
made for possible future use. The records may be classified into:
a) Personnel Records
b) Correspondence Records
c) Accounting Records
d) Legal Records
e) Other business Records
Principals of Record Management
1. Verification- records can be verified whenever needed
2. Justification- Records must be maintained with some justifiable purpose otherwise it is
waste of money, space and time
3. Classification- records must be classified according to their use.it may be classified
chronologically alphabetically by subject etc.
4. Information- the required information must be available whenever needed
Office Administration And Management Lecture Notes
Mwai Agatha. A Page 1
, 5. Elasticity –the record system must be elastic in capacity so that expansion or contraction
of records is possible
6. Reasonable cost- the cost of record management must be a reasonable one
Filing
Filing is a process of classifying and arranging records so that they can be obtained without delay.
Advantages of filing
1. Often customers refer to their past letters or orders by writing only the data in such cases
filing serves the purpose of ready reference
2. When past records are maintained through good filing system they save time and also
increase efficiency
3. A proper filing system safeguards the documents against loss
4. Old or past records serves as reliable basis for future planning and action
5. Certain documents have to be kept in order to fulfill legal obligations
Objectives of filing
1. It keeps records, protect letters and documents
2. It makes past records easily accessible
3. It provides suitable storage function
4. Proper filing ads t economy in space
5. It improves the appearance of the office considerably
6. It is less expensive and consumes less time to take out the records
Characteristics of a good filing system
1. Compactness-it should not take too much space for the filing cabinets
2. Accessibility- Record cabinets should be so sited that it easy to file records or extract them
without having to disturb others.
3. Simplicity- the system should be simple to understand and operate
4. Safety- the right degree of safety should be given to documents according to their
importance. They should be protected against hazards like fire.
Office Administration And Management Lecture Notes
Mwai Agatha. A Page 2
, 5. Elasticity –the system should be capable of expansion when required
6. Cross-reference- reference should be provided where necessary.
7. Economy- the system should be flexible and capable of expansion when a need arises.
Centralized filing
Centralized filing refers to where all files belonging to various departments of the entire firm are
kept in one room and maintained by one or few personnel.
A centralized filing office is called a registry.
Advantages
1. Development of specialist filing staff
2. All files are controlled in one room
3. More supervision and control of files is possible
4. It ensures that all correspondences about the same subject are filed together
5. A uniform system of filing can be established throughout the organization.
Departmental Filing
Departmental filing refers to where inn a firm every department has its own filing systems.
Advantages
1. Filing are quickly made available as they are not too many
2. As every department keeps its files within the department, they are readily available
3. The filing system is not so large and therefore easier to handle
4. It does not need a specialist staff for filing and this reduces costs (labour)
Classification methods/systems
There are different classification systems. The classification system refers to the basis of
arrangement of documents in a folder. The documents can be classified by five main methods:
alphabetically, numerically, subject, geographical, chronological or some combination of them.
1. Alphabetically
Office Administration And Management Lecture Notes
Mwai Agatha. A Page 3
