IMPACT OF COMPUTER ON RECORD MANAGEMENT IN AN OFFICE

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.0     Background of the Study

Most offices and organization appreciate the importance of record management. Horn by (2001) defines record “as written account of facts, accounts put down as hey occur and stored small collection of data about a specific) that exists as a units of information in machine readable form facts know about the past or somebody or something”.

Samdanel (1998) defines record “as large of document e.g. letters, memorandum, report etc which are created, processed, stored and reviewed in any business organization or office. In other words, record management refers to the sum total of all activities designed to control the lifecycle of records from its disposition. Record management deals with the creation, distribution, presentation, maintenance, preservation, retrieval and disposal of records. Mills and standingford (1983) see record management as “a direct connection between the practical working and the clerical operations”. Record management entails the following:

v  To account for the goods which have purchased as far as practicable, to trace them through the business until it have been develop and changed to  the customer or client.
v  To report on stock bases and wastage
v  To report on transaction of an office
v  To report on goods held on ordered in relation to requirements for production and selling programmes.
v  To report on inactive stocks.
v  To provide information for department changing or costing purpose.
v  Computers are now found in every field of human activities from space explanation to literacy studies.
There are few or no area in an organization which are likely to escape the impact of computerization since business need for providing information are increasing in volume and complexity, the use of computer as a machine, which can receive, process present information in to it, at a very speed is essential. It is claimed that application of computer to record management in an office has made record management easier and more reliable. The concern of this study is, therefore to investigate the impact of application / utilization of computer an record management in the office.
1.1    Statement of the Problem
This research work mends to discover what impact the computer has on record management in today’s office. Also, we seek to determine and highlight the relative importance of computer as a means of keeping record over all other methods of record keeping like manual filling system and indexing etc.
1.2     Research Questions
The following question granted the study:
Ø  What impact does the computer have on record keeping in terms of reliability?
Ø  What impact does the computer have on record keeping in terms of speed?
Ø  What impact does the computer have on record keeping in terms of retrieval?
Ø  What impact does the computer have on effectiveness 0n record keeping?
1.3    Purpose of the Study
The purpose of this research work is:
-   To find out and show to the business world the record management features of the computer.
-   To determine its impact on the record management.
-   To determine its durability and reliability.
1.4     Significance of the Study The study will be off great importance to organization and most especially the secretarial personal to know the impact of computer on record management in an office and its effective and efficiency in organization and it will enable organization. Companies to appreciate the impact of computer on record management.    
1.5      Limitation of the Study
Some constraints faced by the research in the course of these study includes the following.
Ø  Financial constraint
Ø  Time constraint
Ø  Support’s busy schedule.
Ø  Depth of relevant literature.
However having summarized these challenges, the researcher was confident of the validity of the research work.
1.6   Scope / Delimitation
The research study focus. It attention on the impact of computer on record management in Federal Polytechnic, Offa.
1.7    Definition of Terms

Computer: is an electronic machine that receive instruction data as input, translate the data, process it, and present as out put to the user.

Record management: describe as the deployment of stored and retrieve information for the achievement of the objective with function of providing appropriate information and communication network to all sectors within and outside an organization.