LITERATURE REVIEW

ISO standard 15489: 2001 defines Records Management as the field of

management responsible for the efficient and systematic control of the
creation, receipt, maintenance, use and disposition of records, including the
processes for capturing and maintaining evidence of and information about
business activities and transactions in the form of records. Electronic record
is a digital record that can be manipulated transmitted or processed by a
computer. (IRMT, 1999).
Electronic records had implemented in many organization.

The

Electronic Record operations need the cooperation between Information

System staffs and record staffs. Obvious cooperation activities lead to
superior

efficiency

and

high

customer

satisfaction

(Heikkila,

2002).

Therefore, the more efficient the Electronic Record Management is, the more
satisfied the users feel (Fang-Ming Hsu et.al, 2009).
Gary P. Johnston (2005) said that Electronic Record can be viewed by
many people at the same time. This has benefits in terms of access: users in
different places can discuss the same record, or different users can use the
same record for different purposes.
To ensure the effectiveness of Electronic Record, various guidelines
have been developed by national archives and universities to assist
organizations effectively manage their electronic records. For example, the
National Archives and Records Service of South Africa (2006) developed
guidelines for managing electronic records in government bodies. The
guidelines cover areas such as statutory and regulatory framework for
electronic records, what electronic records are including, why electronic
records should be managed and electronic records management principles.
Other areas covered include managing electronic records residing in different
types of systems and the responsibilities of governmental bodies regarding
the management of electronic records. (Henry N. Kemoni, 2009).

Gary P. Johnston and David V. Bowen, (2005) identified the basic

benefits of Electronic Record, there are that a process (work) is done more
easily (less effort required); it is done more quickly; it is done with better
quality; it is easier to find out about it afterwards. Expanding on this,
measurable benefits could be summarized as being for the individual users
when the information is available whenever the user required.
Electronic Record also gives a greater quality of the information. Apart
of that, the electronic record also increase the efficiency and effectiveness at
work, the processes are better, easier and quicker. It will also gives
advantages by less blame and dissention when looking for lost information
and Electronic Record ensure that the evidence is available for what they
were asked to do and what they did.
Meanwhile, there are some benefits for the organization. The electronic
record will make the work is done more quickly than using the manual paper.
The staff also will complete a task that requires less effort, and then it will
indirectly improve the quality of processes and their outcomes. It will also
affect

the

compliance

with

laws

and

regulations

is

achieved

and

demonstrated.
Electronic record also give an impact to the society, the organizational
processes are open and can be understood and monitored. Besides that, the
organization also will comply with laws and regulations. For the society, the
electronic record also improved their quality of life. The society also can
access the historical record and they can rely the historical record.
Besides that, the research done by Johanna Gunnlaugsdottir, (2008)
founds that all of the records managers found ERMS user-friendly. Most of
their fellow employees agreed with them. There were also mainly three
elements that determined the success of the implementation. These were
support by their top management; demonstrate by their interest in the
project; with the electronic record, the staff will more excited to do their task.

The Electronic Record also user friendly proven by the staff use the system
by their own use. Lastly, the electronic record is user friendly looking at the
motivation of the employees.
While, the research done by Shadrack Katuu, 2000 concluded that
digitization is often seen as the more glamorous of the two mainly because
of its various benefits. Among of them is digitization will reduced time of
retrieval. With using retrieval tools such as databases and indices, it is
possible to have a faster access to the information than the traditional eyeon-paper scrolling through a hard-copy finding aid.
Secondly is, multiple access points. Retrieval tools also increase the
number of ways one can approach a record. For example, using a database
one could search for a record using a creators name, file name or date of
creation. Digitization also will provide the preservation of fragile hard-copy
records. A digitized electronic copy could be made available to users as
many times as necessary, allowing fragile paper copies of records to remain
safely in the institutions custody under ideal environmental conditions.
Another benefit is the ability to have enhanced digitized copies of hard
copy records. An example of this is what has been done at the United States
National Archives and Records Administration, where the nations most
important document, the Declaration of Independence has, in its digitized
form, been significantly enhanced allowing a much clearer image of an
otherwise deteriorating document from the 18th century.
Chosky, Carol E B. (2008) also makes a research that electronic
document management systems are being reworked to include records
management, but this has also meant working through business process. By
doing this rework, employees have an easier time registering documents into
system and rewarded by finding their documents more easily.
Umi Asma Mokhtar and Zawiyah Mohammad Yusof (2009) said that
the development of electronic records management in Malaysia is promising.

If in 2005, many government departments were unaware of the importance

of electronic records management policy, today, NAM has produced six
guidelines and policies for electronic records management:
(1) Electronic records management policy.
(2) General guidelines of electronic records management.
(3) Guidelines of electronic records management structured
environment.
(4) Guidelines of electronic records management unstructured
environment.
(5)

Guidelines

of

electronic

records

management

web

environment.
(6) Electronic records management specification.
Rob Docters et.al (2011) said that one source of under-realized value is
digital piracy, an interesting challenge. Some entertainment, business
information, and educational publishers face an 80 percent or more loss of
volume

to

illegal

copying

and

distribution

in

certain

markets

and

geographies. Such losses are often avoidable. To begin with: give users what
they want. Several business-to-business information providers (e.g. energy,
construction, legal) have found that simply allowing all customers use of
information through enterprise pricing immediately eliminated cheating

and

provided the information provider with an immediate uplift in revenue.

Research done by Kate Cumming and Cassie Findlay (2010) that the
strategies which are drawn for the managing electronic records guidelines
provide some simple but in effective means which are know your
information. Other than that, design your systems so that they can support
your business systems are not designed to maintain long-term. And also talk
to people. Then, limit the number of file formats you use and use file

formats. It also disposed of digital authorized retention and disposal

requirements and knows where all your information is.
According to Andy Moore, (2004) few of us think about recordkeeping
as a corporate responsibility. We assume that someone else is taking care of
that. There is only the vaguest awareness that systems exist to properly
retain and dispose of business documents and communications. But we are
extremely familiar with how we file and recall the things we need to do each
of our jobs. I would be lost without Outlook folders, but I couldnt care less
about records management.
All the creator of the record needed to know was where to drop
off the record and the rest was taken care of by the records clerk. With the
advent of electronic documents and records, all of that has changed and the
burden of classifying and declaring records has moved, by necessity, from a
dedicated records clerk to the knowledge worker who may think that records
management activities are important but may place it at the bottom of the
daily activities list by Bud Porter-Roth, (2006). Justus Wamukoya and Stephen
M. Mutula (2005) stated that this situation is complicated further by the fact
that at policy level, senior officials and legislators are often unaware of the
requirement to manage electronic records over time so that the evidence
base of government will be secure and accessible when needed by
authorized users.
Government authorities often have little knowledge about the
management of e-records. Officials are unsure as to whether the electronic
information they create and receive constitutes official records and if so how
they should deal with them. Similarly, IT experts tend to promote the use of
technology to create and share electronic information but pay little or no
regard to the preservation of this information as unchangeable evidence over
time (IRMT, 2003).The management of electronic records poses special
challenges that include the lack of awareness about the importance of e-

records and the dangers associated with their loss (e.g the loss of evidence,
risks to entitlements) by Andy Lipchak and John McDonald, (2003).
In the research by SUNY, (1999) reported that with the shift from paper
to digital information, many organizations find that their current electronic
records are not sufficient to support the evidentiary needs of their business
functions. According to GAO, (2003) most electronic records including
databases of major federal information systems remained unscheduled that
is, their value had not been assessed, and their disposition to destruction or
archives had not been determined.
Adequate employee awareness and training activities are keys to
ensuring that employees correctly carry out new policies and procedures and
understand how to use any new technologies associated with improved erecords management. This may include in-person or online training courses
as well as ongoing follow-up and training to ensure that employees
understand their part in ongoing records retention compliance by Doug
Robinson, (2008).
In

the

research

of

electronic

records

management

systems

implementation in the Pakistani local government (2008) reported the

employees need training to because staff were not familiar with more
advanced office computing. The workforce had to be trained in the usage of
such an automated system, and they had to be self sustainable so they could
continue the re-training process for new employees Johnston and Bowen
(2005) and OShea (1997) also reached the conclusion that training is
necessary in order to achieve implementation success. They based their
observations on studies in the UK and Australia. This suggests that there is
no difference whether ERMS implementation takes place in developing or
developed countries. Users do need training in order to adopt the new
system to their daily routines. As stated by Gregory (2005), Training should
rather be related to a change in the mindset of the employees suitable user

training and operational adaptability to digital processes hence had to be

provided.
The failure to create and maintain effective records systems was
motivated by staff had limited training or experience on record keeping work,
and hence record management (IRMT,2004). Today the culture of keeping
and management of physical records is being taken over by records
In electronic formats and as Wamukoya & Mutula (2005) noted sound
recordkeeping practices and training are increasingly being emphasized on
and demanded to enhance performance, transparency and accountability in
government.
Akotia (2000) in the Ugandan Ministry of Finance on the management
of financial records, the staff should be trained because skills needed to
manage

the

basic

elements

of

electronic

records

programmed

and

understood the functional requirements for record keeping. Studies by

Kemoni & Wamukoya 2000; Iwhiwhu 2005, and Egwunyenga 2009 confirmed
that the staff lack of basic skill to handle ERMS and they should be trained by
their employer.
Asogwa (2012)

in his recent study on the electronic records

management readiness of federal universities in Nigeria discovered that all

the staff in the Registry Departments has never had any training specifically
on records and archives management. Worthy (1984) and Mazikana (1998)
also affirmed that the two major challenges facing archives and records
institutions in Africa were inadequate personnel who are mostly not trained
in archives and records management. This lack of proper training and low
level of education made these personnel to suffer from declining monetary
remuneration and low morale profile.

Electronic Records Management (ERM) has become mandatory for

government agencies in applying electronic records in administration in line
with government policy to encourage E- government. Umi & Zawiyah (2009)
reported that not all government departments possess electronic records
management policy in which some electronic records are far from complete,
clear or easy to access. Many organizations are carrying out electronic
records management without any policy in place. Rick (2006) found that
records and information are not managed as agency business assets.
According to Raja Abdullah Yaacob (2007), policies, standard and procedures
are vital to ensure records management program can be implemented
efficiently and effectively in organizations.
Raman, Maniam, and Cheng (2007) confirm the accountable records
are required in any legal matter, which process finding, preserving, and
producing information in response to a dispute or lawsuit. However, Ahmad
and Othman (2006) describe that confusion over what exactly should be in
the law is also a problem. Thus, a good law should be emplaced for good
governance of the government records. According to previous research by
Uma and Zawiyah (2009), not all government departments have a policy on
electronic records management. However, the relationship between the
existence of and adherence to policy does not guarantee that the staff will
comply with the policy.
Griffin (2003) has observed that in many governments, policies and
guidance for managing the records of government are often non-existent and
the legislative and regulatory framework is often weak or out-dated. He also
says, in some countries the responsibility for managing the information on
which government and citizens depend is often not properly assigned or is
unclear. It is also important to note that the existence of a records
management policy that does not embrace all forms of records and
particularly electronic and digital records is inadequate.

A recent electronic discussion jointly commissioned by the IRMT and

the World Bank (2002) involving participants from across the Commonwealth
revealed that while many Commonwealth governments had developed
strategies for ICT development and electronic government, very few had
come up with laws, policies, systems, standards and procedures for
managing e-records. The participants therefore urged governments to take
appropriate steps to address these issues. In other words, as part of the egovernment strategy governments should strive not only to establish records
management legislation, policies and procedures across the public service
but also to integrate these with all business functions as a means of
supporting organizational accountability and governance.
List of sources:

The

human

side

of

ERMS:

an

Icelandic

study

by

Johanna

Gunnlaugsdottir

The benefits of electronic records management systems A general

review of published and some unpublished cases by Gary P. Johnston
and David V. Bowen

Where RM Should Report to Ensure Effective Electronic Records

Management by Choksy, Carol E B, PhD, CRM, PMP

Managing Electronic Record : an overview by Shadrack Katuu

Electronic records management in the Malaysian public sector: the

existence of policy by Umi Asma Mokhtar and Zawiyah Mohammad
Yusof

Efficiency and satisfaction of electronic records management systems

in e-government in Taiwan by Fang-Ming Hsu et.al

Pricing in the digital world by Rob Docters et. Al

Digital recordkeeping: are we at a tipping point? by Kate Cumming and

Cassie Findlay

Where RM should report to ensure effective Electronic Record

Management by Chosky, Carol E B.

Electronic

records

management

systems

implementation

in

the

Pakistani local government by Helle Zinner Henriksen and Kim Viborg

Andersen