Monday 19 June 2017

MANAGING RECORDS AS A STRATEGIC BUSINESS RESOURCE


Managing Records as a Strategic Business Resource
Nur Syamimi Bt Rahman @ Wagi
UiTM Puncak Perdana

Abstract
            This article is about how to manage the records as a strategic business resource. Every work has to be manage perfectly so that the plan will going smooth. On this article will  reveal how managing the records are called as a strategic business resource. How the activities of managing records as a strategic business resources can affect the business and the organization.
Keyword : Business record, record management, strategic resource.
        
Introduction
Records as a strategic resources is defined that records as medium to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the organization, it becomes a strategic resources that provide for future used. Records as a strategic resources was divided into four point which is business system analysis and records management,  This is explain that the records managements is used for the business system analysis. Record as a strategic business resource is define that the the good managing as the medium to improve the business.  The process of redefine , finding the business objectives and major activities through  record management.  Training for records management professionals.  To provide good strategic resources must begin with good staff and skill that require. The records management professional require skill and comprehension to handle the task and to manage the records. Thus the training to improve the staff skills and to provided good services . The other point is  impacts of managing records as a strategic resource. Most of the public response that the record management is had big roles in one organization.           

What is Record management?
Firstly, what is the meaning of records? According to business dictionary, Records can be define as document that memorializes and provides objective evidence of activities performed, events occurred, results achieved, or statements made. Records are defined as a document regardless of form or medium created, received, maintained and used by an organization such as public or private, or an individual in pursuance of legal obligations or in the transaction of business, of which it forms a part or provides evidence. No organization could continue without funding, personnel and material supplies. Similarly, it could not operate if it did not keep accurate and accessible records. (IRMT, 1999; John, 2010).Records are created and received by an organization in routine transaction of its business or in pursuance of its legal obligations. According to Cornwell Management Consultants (2001) and Tagbotor (2015) define a record as a document produced or received by a person or organization in the course of business and retained by that person or organization. A record may consist of two or more documents.  The another meaning of records is all documented information, regardless of its characteristics, media, physical form and the manner it is recorded or stored. The example of record is accounts, agreements, books, drawings, letters, memos and many more. All those records are kept for evidence of intensions.
What is the meaning of managing the records? Every business or program must address well-defined objectives which will add value, either directly to the bottom line or toward the achievement of the organization’s goals and objectives.Managing records refer to a set of activities required for systematically controlling the creation, distribution, use, maintenance, and disposition of recorded information maintained as evidence of business activities and transactions. It is also the systematic control of records throughout their life cycle. Essential records management capabilities include assigning unique identifiers to individual records, providing safeguards against unauthorized changes being made to those records. In business, the organization usually receives and process many of the important information every day. All those important  information are kept  as a record. The unimportant information will be thrown or dispose. The important information will be kept for the evidence and future reference. The important information that are connected to an organization’s official business will be kept as a record. The good in managing records in business will help to ensure the historically significant records. Lesley A. King (1997) stated that “Good records management has an important role to play in ensuring the competitiveness, efficiency and continuity of an organization’s business whichever domain or sector it happen to be in.

Business system analysis and records management
            Business Analysis is the practice of enabling change in an organizational context, by defining needs and recommending solutions that deliver value to stakeholders. In  the  area  of  business , understanding the concept of business is very  important  to lead to the successful. This according to definition is International Institute of Business Analysis, 2016 that define the meaning of business system analysis. The business and the record management are important to make sure the business are successful. In the area of business, it is very important to understand the concept of business objectives. The record management in the business function to provide the information to the business system. However  Tsubosaka Tatsuya, 1991 said that “all walks of  business  and government agencies have come to consider management information  and  indispensible "management resource", along with those resources of people, money and things, and there has come to be a demand for efficient management of it" .. This is  represent  that  important of  defining the business of the organization,  the organization information is show the real objectives and strategies of the organization. However , International Record Management Trust , (1991) mention  that is an analytical framework that involves analysing organisations as systems or the process of systematically and objectively gathering information about business systems and subjecting that information to formal analysis. This includes identifying broad organisational goals and supporting business areas and processes, and business process definition and decomposition.
            What is the relationship between business system analysis and record management? Record management is as a tools for business. the record management provide the information to make the business become realistic and to conduct the business so that the business are going smooth. Cornwell Management Consultants (2001) define a record as a document produced or received by a person or organization in the course of business and retained by that person or organization. International Record Management Trust , (1991) mention  Records, then, are much more than static artifacts or forms, although the forms they take often follow the functions they serve.

Strategic Resource in Business and Record management
Strategic resources in are the building blocks of competitive advantage in business. (Victory Duff,2017). Many definition that describe strategic resource in business. Strategic resources are those things you need to run your business - they are mission critical - they include key personnel, equipment, buildings, knowledge, money particularly for cash flow. ( Sarah brown,2017). There is 3 basic strategic in business which is :

  •     Financial strength
  •     Enterprise knowledge
  •         Workforce
For financial strength, In small business, obtaining bank funding can be difficult. A company that has sufficient revenue to support the development of new products and revenue streams has a significant advantage over one that must finance every project. When such a company needs funding for a large project, it has the credit quality to make the task of finding funding somewhat easier than competing companies that carry a higher debt load. A strong financial position allows a company to take advantage of opportunities that arise, which contributes to its competitive advantage.  The record management in financial is very important because the management of record in financial will make the business more arrangement.
Patents, trademarks and proprietary processes are what helps a company out-produce its competition. Intellectual property also adds to asset value and makes obtaining financing easier. A company that has developed a more efficient and cost-effective way of producing a better product than its competition captures a strong market position because customers favor the product that represents the best quality for the money. A reputation for high quality also enhances a company's brand recognition, giving it further competitive advantage.
In a small business, management can't make mistakes or the company will flounder and possibly fail. Competitive advantage doesn't depend on good management alone, though. The workforce must be skilled, loyal to the company and stable. A company that is always looking to replace key workers spends valuable time training new hires. This presents significant opportunity cost as production slows to enable the new hires to develop the skill to work at peak production.

Conclusion
For the conclusion, the record as a strategic business resource is very relevant in the business. Business and record management are very strong relationships to make sure the business are success. The successful of business are the key to indicate the good record management.  There are three basic strategic resources in business which is financial strength, enterprise knowledge, and workforce. All these three basic strategic have strong relationship with the record management. These two combination will create the strong business in organization.
                
Reference
Anne Morddel, (1990),"Current records — records management as a service", Aslib Proceedings, Vol.42 Iss 11/12 pp. 287 – 292

C.H.THOMPSON, (1961),"TRAINING FOR BUSINESS RECORDS WORK", Aslib Proceedings, Vol 13 Iss 8 pp. 205 – 212

Delvin Grant , (2016),"Business analysis techniques in business reengineering", Business Process Management Journal, Vol. 22 Iss 1 pp. 75 – 88

Geoffrey Yeo, (2011),"Rising to the level of a record? Some thoughts on records and documents", Records Management Journal, Vol. 21 Iss 1 pp. 8 – 27

Henry N Kemoni, (1998),"The Impact of Records Centres on the Management of Public Sector Records in Kenya", Records Management Journal, Vol. 8 Iss 1 pp. 55 – 65

S.A. TASKER, (1958),"PRESERVATION OF RECORDS: STAFFING, STORAGE AND COSTS", Aslib  Proceedings, Vol. 10 Iss 10 pp. 235 – 242

Tsubosaka Tatsuya, (1991),"The Records Management Business in Japan", Records Management Journal, Vol. 3 Iss 2 pp. 40 – 42

Zawiyah Mohammad Yusof, (2009),"Nurturing attitudes for records management in         Malaysian financial institutions", Records Management Journal, Vol. 19 Iss 3 pp. 218– 230


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