Page 659 - Encyclopedia of Business and Finance

eobf_R 7/5/06 3:20 PM Page 636

Records Management

2. Paper
Characteristics of an ideal 3. Microfilm
information system
4. Computer
• The system minimizes elapsed time between a user's query and the
response from the system Technological advances in the record-keeping industry
have made it easier to store and retrieve records. Acceler-
• The more complete the information stored, the more useful the data
can be to the end user ating digital technologies are the storage mode of the
twenty-first century. Stored digital information is only as
• The more completely an information system can prevent "lost" files,
the more generally useful the system is to users permanent and accessible as the hardware and software
that give it intelligibility. The transitory nature of digital
• An information system should provide access to the same document
or file by more than one user at one time technology poses serious questions about how to archive
digital documents.
• The more a retrieval system maximizes pertinence while minimizing
redundancy, the more the system services the needs of the user Although migrating is not a practical solution, digital
obsolescence or loss can be overcome by periodically
• Retrieval queries should be possible in the official language(s)
migrating electronically to more modern systems. Soft-
• The information system should make provision for selective security ware used to manage archival collections will change every
three to five years. One approach to solving the problem
• The simpler a retrieval system is and the less training required to use
it, the more acceptable it is to the user of obsolescence and frequent migration is the online elec-
tronic records archive that scientists are developing.
• Additions, deletions, and updating of files should be as efficient as
possible Although expensive, this procedure will make it possible
to keep up with records that must be stored and ulti-
• Since work hours, particularly of managers, extend beyond prime shift
hours, the ideal system should be able to operate in non-regular hours mately converted.
at reasonable cost
A provider of collaborative intranet, extranet, and
electronic business (e-business) reported the release of a
Livelink (IRIMS) module. Livelink Enterprise Server is a
Table 1
highly scalable e-business application. The IRIMS module
is a fully integrated function accessed through a Web
browser. Its featured enterprise services include virtual
team collaboration, business automation, enterprise group
Unethical practices as well as new regulations demand scheduling, and information retrieval services.
accountability for actions taken in business and industry. The major developments affecting the micrographic
As a result of the risks faced by organizations, Theodore
and hybrid imaging systems field include:
Vander Noot (1998) suggested ten characteristics of an
“ideal information system” that should apply whether the • Consolidation
system is a computerized database or a file system or • Confusion
library (see Table 1).
• Accelerated acceptance of hybrid systems
There are two basic reasons for the increase in infor-
mation over the years. The first, modernity, has seen the • Technology substitution, with more applications
decline in small businesses as larger and more complex moving to electronic imaging or the Internet
businesses begin to dominate. A more modern democratic • Subsequent losses in business volume
government is seen as the second reason for the growth in
information. Both public and private organizations tend Organizations have traditionally relied on paper filing sys-
to collect more information than needed regarding their tems for document storage and retrieval. Paper records are
programs when providing the requested records for the extremely difficult to access because they have to be stored
government. in and retrieved from one place. An electronic document
management system solves many of the storage and
retrieval problems that arise in paper filing systems when
METHODS OF STORING
INFORMATION more than one person requires the same document at the
same time and retrieval rates are high. Indexing has been
Four methods are often used for storing information in
found to be of significant value to organizations because it
business and government:
facilitates faster retrieval of documents as well as reduces
1. A person’s brain cost.

636 ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BUSINESS AND FINANCE, SECOND EDITION