WHY
THE IMPLEMENTATION OF DISPOSITION IS ESSENTIAL TO ORGANISATION?
Mohamad
Fathi Bin Borhan
fathiborhan@yahoo.com
Faculty of Information Management, Universiti Teknologi Mara,
Malaysia
Abstract
This
paper identifies the importance of disposition to organization. Record
management is the backbone of the organization because it involve from the
creation to the disposition. Managing records are
crucial because records are created daily especially in large organizations. A
systematic method in managing records will assist the smooth administration of
an organization and minimize the operational cost. Not all records need to be
kept because the cost of managing and keeping the records would have a huge
impact on the budget and would also require a larger space. Implementation of
disposition is essential to make the organization in a good shape. The
implementation of disposition consist different medium to make it successful
and effective. The disposition is based on preservation, destruction and
transfer of custody or ownership record.
Keyword: Record
management, Disposition, Preservation, Destruction, Transfer of custody
1.0 Introduction
Mäkinen and Henttonen (2011) stated that “records management is 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”. Any organization must have one form of record or another in order to function effectively and carry on with its services. Records are synonymous with every human activity. Records can be an important asset in the organization if it managed properly and will assist individuals and organizations in meeting their goals. Effective recordkeeping provides evidence of business transactions between individuals, groups or organizations and guarantees the transparency and accountability. Record management consists of the different phases in the life cycle of record. The life-cycle concept of the record is an analogy from the life of a biological organism, which is born, lives and dies and it’s same for the record where it’s created, used for as long as it has continuing value and then disposed of by destruction or by transfer to an archival institution (Thurston, 1999).
Figure 1: The
Life Cycle Concept of Records
Records life cycle begins when a discreet parcel of useful or relevant information arrives at or is created within an organization. At the current record stages, the records are regularly used for the conduct of the current business of an organisation because of their primary value such as operational value or financial value. In the semi-current phase, records are still used, but only infrequently, in the conduct of current business. Disposition is the other end of the life cycle, the point where information finally loses relevance and is irretrievably removed from the current information governance program. According to Aliza and Jamal (2009), records are controlled from their creation to their ultimate disposition. Nurussobah Hussin (2013) stated that disposition is the action taken with regards to records as a consequence of their appraisal and the expiration of their retention period. Records that have no value to organization are systematically destroyed where at the same time valuable information is protected and maintained accordingly to facilitate access and use.
2.0 Implementation of disposition
Every living thing will die except
the Almighty and that also applies in the record management. They will need to
be appraised to determine their value to the organization and the result from
the appraisal will determine the fate of the record whether to dispose or
transfer to the archive for their value to the organization. National Archives
Act 2003 stated that "disposal means the manner of managing the
segregation of records with a view to destruction, transfer or otherwise".
Once
the lifecycle of a record has expired, the record should be disposed in a safe
and secure manner. Disposition authorities that govern the
removal of records from operational systems should be applied to records on a
systematic and routine basis, in the course of normal business activity
(International Records Management Trust, 2006).
The
organization should implement its approved comprehensive records schedule by
issuing it as a directive, training appropriate employees to use it, and
carefully applying its provisions to both permanent and temporary records.
Disposition
is an integral part of records management and is the last stage of the life
cycle of records. An effective records disposition program
depends, at least in part, on the systematic creation and maintenance of organization
records. Wire (1997) stated that records management during the creation and
maintenance stages involves identifying records and establishing and meeting
recordkeeping requirements. According to
Nurussobah Hussin (2013) explained that the identification of
disposition status usually can be done before records created, before records
keeping system are designed, before disposal and when required. The
process to make a reference is more or less formal to the disposition authority
but it depends on the size and nature of the organization and its
accountabilities.
The implementation of disposition will
be effective and successful if the organization could refer to the records
retention, records inventory and destruction schedule of the organization.
Furthermore the record only can be disposed if they have authorization on the
disposal of the record. This is true for all records because only
scheduled records can be destroyed. An important part of
disposal management is periodic identification of all records that have
reached, or are about to reach, the end of the retention period specified in
the disposal schedule where this process should be done at least once a year
and more frequently if applicable.
3.0 Methods of disposition
All records, whether paper or
electronic, must be disposed in accordance with approved retention schedules.
While records should not be destroyed when there is still a need for them, it
is also important not to keep records longer than is necessary, to minimise
storage costs and enhance retrieval efficiency ("Records Transfer and
Disposal | United Nations Archives and Records Management," 2012). They
are three step of disposition which is preservation, destruction and transfer
of custody. According to National Archive Act 2003, preservation is "the
totality of processes and operations involved in the physical protection of
public records and archives against damage or deterioration and in the
restoration or repair of such records and archives". Preserving
records means ensuring that they are accessible for as long as required. We can
preserve paper records by carrying out safe handling, transporting, display and
storage in a controlled storage environment. For example, this figure show the
result of preservation
Figure 2: Brisbane's
new Victoria Bridge (1893) before treatment.
Figure 3: Brisbane's
new Victoria Bridge (1893) after treatment.
There are few preservation strategies
such as copying, migration and conversion. Copying is the production of
identical copies within the same medium such as from paper to paper. Document
copying may occur for several reasons such as to preserve a copy of the
information on a fragile or deteriorating record, as an access copy to preserve
a heavily used original record and to exhibit a copy and preserve the original
record in storage. According to National Archive of
Australia, migration helps avoid obsolescence and ensures that the information
contained within records continues to be accessible and understood as long as
is required. Public Record Office Victoria (2010) explained that
conversion means converting a record from one format to another. Conversion can
be from one physical format to another physical format, from a physical format
to a digital format, or from one digital format to another digital format.
Examples of conversions are digitisation of a paper original and digitisation
of a microfilm
Destruction of records is the final
stage in records management whereby records which are no longer worthwhile or
needed in terms of administration, research or law are sorted and disposed of
in accordance with the set procedures. According to National Act 2003 stated
that destruction means "the act of destroying or eliminating any type of
records by any means". The destruction of physical record can be carried
out by method that matches the confidentiality level. Records
destruction should be authorised by appropriate officer in the organisation and
he or she should give the final internal approval for the destruction of
records. Each organisation should ensure that an officer is formally delegated
with responsibility for this process and that this delegation is documented.
The destruction of records should be irreversible, which means that there is no
reasonable risk of the information being recovered again or the record being
reconstituted and environmentally friendly.
Records should always be disposed of
with the same level of security that was maintained during the life of the
records. The destruction of highly sensitive, personal or confidential material
should be supervised by an officer of the organisation or by another authorised
agent if destruction has been contracted out. There also need for the
documenting the destruction of record such as certificate of destruction should
be issued if the destruction is undertaken by third parties.
Method of destruction
|
|
Physical record
|
Electronic record
|
Landfill
|
Digital file shredding
|
Incineration
|
Degaussing – the process of
demagnetising magnetic media to erase recorded data
|
Shredding
|
Physical destruction of storage media
– such as pulverisation, incineration or shredding
|
Recycling
|
Reformatting – if it can be guaranteed
that the process cannot be reversed
|
Pulping
|
Clear and overwriting
|
Figure 4: Method of Destruction
The disposal of records is the process
of assessing the value of records for future use, identifying those which have
enduring value and identifying how soon the remainder can be destroyed or
otherwise disposed of. The process can also involve the transfer of ownership
or custody of records and the alteration of records. Transfer of custody is
when the record is transferred out from the ownership of the business unit that
created them. According to National Archive of Malaysia, It is the process
whereby records, no longer active nor required by the department in its
day-to-day administration but having lasting and reference values, are
transferred from a government department or agency to the National Archives of
Malaysia. This is to ensure that the record can be well preserved. Nurussobah
Hussin (2013) stated that such the transfer of custody or ownership record may
consist of transfer to other organization with responsibilities for the record,
transfer to storage facility or archive and transfer to outsource or contractor
organization. This is different for electronic record where they need to
consider the hardware, metadata, standard, licensing agreements and data
documentation.
4.0 Importance of disposition
An organization shall
provide secure and appropriate disposition for records and information that are
no longer required to be maintained by applicable laws and the organization’s
policies (ARMA International's, 2014).
United Nations The Archives and Records Management Section (2012) explained
that the
destruction of obsolete or superseded records is an essential step in
maintaining a credible, reliable, and effective records system. Keeping
out-of-date records only creates confusion, making it difficult for personnel
to know which records are authoritative and which records are no
longer needed for business. One of the reason why the disposition of record is
important is because to avoid unnecessary cost. According to The
National Archives of the UK (2011) stated
that disposition avoids unnecessary storage costs incurred by using office or
server space to maintain records no longer needed by the organization. The
organization should regularly remove obsolete or redundant records and
information so the organization can effectively manage the availability of its
information assets at a reasonable cost. Furthermore, there are significant
costs around maintaining, preserving and presenting digital information back to
the user and the more information the organization hold the more expensive the
cost to manage (The National Archives of the UK, 2011). The
record will be disposed of as part of a planned system, through the
implementation of disposal schedules to ensure the retention of the minimum
volume of records consistent with effective and efficient operations. This
process to make sure the organisation do not keeping more records than it needs
because that will cost them in terms of storage cost. Furthermore, disposal makes
information easier and less costly to retrieve and use because the inability to
find information wastes time and money.
One of the significance of the
disposition is increasing efficiency by making it easier to find and use the
information that organization need. The destruction of
valueless records enhances the orderly storage of newer, more important
records. ARMA International (2014) stated that by doing the process of removing
redundant record will make the remaining information, which has on-going value
to the organization, more identifiable and accessible, enhance system
performance, and reduce the maintenance costs of storage, backup, and migration.
Keeping
too much information will impede the performance of recordkeeping system or
digital systems and make it difficult to find the information needed to carry
out the organization business functions. It is also hard to maintain large
amounts of information and ensure that it is complete, available and usable for
as long as organization need it. Keeping records for longer than necessary may
also increase the risk of inappropriate disclosure, and legal discovery or
freedom of information requests. It is supported by
United Nations the Archives and Records Management Section (2012) that
disposition reduces the risk that sensitive or personal information will fall
into the wrong hands. Other than that, eliminating surplus or redundant information
should also follow the information retention policies where it should provide or
suspending its disposition in the event ongoing legal process, audit, or freedom
of information requests. For example in Malaysia, the public record need to
have permission from the director general before it can be dispose.
Human resources also leads to importance
in record disposition with less time spent on processing, filing, retrieving
and less time wasted search for records. The National Archives of the UK (2011)
stated that disposition make finding and retrieving information is quicker and
easier because there is less to search. There are many records that have be redundant
in the organization but the organisation still kept the records and what will
happen? The unnecessary records will gets in the way of the important records
and make them hard to find what they want. The record can be dispose after the
organisation know how long they needs to keep the records for its own legal,
accountability or reference purposes. Achievement of an
orderly work environment is of benefit to members of staff.
Comparison of benefit
doing disposition according to different archive
|
||
The National archive of United
Kingdom
 |
National Archive of Malaysia  |
National Archive of
Australia
 |
Reducing storage and maintenance costs
|
To overcome space problem in the
office.
|
Reduces costs associated with managing
digital and paper information
|
Increasing efficiency
|
To create a systematic, effective and
efficient records management system.
|
Improves your agency’s understanding
of the information it holds
|
Supporting compliance by enabling
|
To save time and energy in record
retrieval.
|
Helps your agency meet the
requirements of the Digital Transition Policy by reducing paper information
|
To save costs of equipment and space.
|
Helps your agency more effectively
respond to Discovery orders and Freedom of Information requests
|
|
Implementation of disposition process in
organisation can be more effective and efficient they need to refer three medium which is record retention and disposal
schedule and record inventory. Alberta (2004) stated that records retention and
disposition schedule is a legal authority that describes the records under the
control of an organization that specifies how long and where they must be kept
as they progress through the phases of their life cycle, the format in which
the records must be stored and what their final disposition will be such as destruction
or archival preservation at the end of their life cycle. The records retention policy dictates how long a record should be
stored before it is destroyed. To develop an effective policy, the organization
must have a thorough understanding of the records that it stores across all
formats, including paper documents, electronic files, telephone call records
and social media. In the business record scope, the record retention and
disposal schedule is the list of records that have been created or received for
business activities and the duration the records should be retained for the
following business needs. Records retention schedule also displays actions that
should be taken at the end of the retention period such as destroyed or
reviewed for permanent preservation.
A records inventory is the foundation of
sound records management, and is often the first step in establishing a records
management program (Etherington, Przybyla, & New York
State Archives, 2003). Record inventory can provide an overview that will help
you manage these records in the future. By doing the record inventory, we can
locate, identify, and describe all records series held by the organization,
whether the records are in electronic, paper, micrographic, or any other
format. At the end of an inventory, we will have a good idea of the type and
quantity of records created and maintained by the organization and also how to
manage them more efficiently.
5.0 Conclusion
As
conclusion, implementation of disposition is very important in all
organizations for effective and efficient administration. The
implementation of disposition in organisation is important to make sure the
records are valuable and useable for the organisation. As every organisation
are intend to create new record every day for their business purposes the
disposition of unnecessary records are very effective. As
we know information is the vital strategic and operational assets of
organization to make decision making, support the business operation and as
evidence to the organization business activities and operation. It is very
important to preserve the records for the future use. Disposition will help to
clear the redundant or backlog file that contained in the organization so the
organization can make an efficient decision making and ensure the retention of
the minimum volume of records consistent with effective and efficient
operations. This is the reason why the implementation of disposition of record
is essential to organization.
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