CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

According to the state of Florida division of Library and Information services, (2010), the goal of records Management is to provide professional assistance to state and local government agencies, public and private institutions in managing the records and information required to take care of the institution in an effective and cost-efficient manner. An employee record management system provides an interface that enables capturing the data of employees so that it will be easy to retrieve information pertaining to them. It can also be described as an electronic filing system. Institutions and organizations generate and process information on an unprecedented scale, hastened by the rapid advance of technology. This has resulted in vast quantities of information and evolving principles of law governing the legality and admissibility of records created or maintained by this technology. Records and information managers must make every effort to be educated and informed so that the decisions they make are consistent with law and best practices.

An electronic record is any information that is recorded in machine readable form. Electronic records may  include databases, electronic mail, instant messages, scanned images, digital photographs, and multimedia files, numeric, graphic, audio, video, and textual information which is recorded or transmitted in analog or digital form such as electronic spreadsheets, word processing files,.  An electronic record keeping system is an automated information system for the organized collection, processing, transmission, and dissemination of information in accordance with defined procedures (Rule 1B-26.003(5)(f), Florida Administrative Code, 2010). A typical example is an employee record management system 

It is important for institutions and other agencies to establish policies and procedures to ensure that electronic records and their documentation are retained and accessible as long as needed. Agencies are required to include electronic records management objectives, responsibilities, and authorities in pertinent agency directives, or rules, as applicable.5 Agencies can begin to manage their electronic records by incorporating electronic records into any general agency records management policies they may have in place. In particular, the record of employees should be captured such that it will be easy to manage

1.1 Theoretical Background

There is need for the adoption of computers to facilitate the operations of organizations. This will bring about increased productivity, better information management and faster processing of data. Organizations are taking advantage of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to enhance present work steps to meet up to required standard. Databases of records of different departments can now be captured and  as with records in other formats, electronic records must be managed through their entire life cycle from creation, when the records are created or received; through their active life, when the records are accessed frequently (at least once a month); through their inactive life, when the records are no longer active but have to be retained for a period of time for legal, fiscal, administrative, or historical reasons; until their final disposition which could be destruction or preservation as a permanent record.

  1.2 Statement of Problem

Traditionally, paper records placed in a flat file is common place in institutions and organizations, once they were physically filed, they begin to take up valuable office space. This management typically consisted of transferring the records offsite to a records center facility or warehouse dumping ground where they were forgotten. This makes it difficult to retrieve information when they are needed and valuable information that may be needed information may be lost due to the poor practice of dumping the files. It is in view of this that this research study is conducted to design and implement an employee record management system.

1.3 Aim and Objectives of the Study

The aim of the study is to design and implement an employee record management system that will enable Akwa Ibom State Polytechnic to record the details of its employees such that it will be easy to retrieve needed information with few button clicks. The objectives of the study are;

• To develop a workable employee record management system
• To present the concept of electronic record management
• To present the need for an employee record management system
• To showcase the professional steps involved in creating electronic records such as an employee record management system.
• To present how to maintain the authenticity and confidentiality of electronic records such as an employee record management system
• To present the challenges in maintaining records
• To present the benefits of employee record management

1.4 Significance of the study

            The significance of the study is that it will provide a better means of managing employee records. It will facilitate the capturing of employee information so that it will be easy to manage. The report of any employee can be called up by entering the ID number of the employee. The research study will also be significant to other scholars and researchers seeking for valuable information on the subject of employee record management system and electronic record management as it contains professional accounts of electronic record keeping practice and management in developed countries.

1.5 Scope of the Study

This study covers the design and implementation of an employee record management system using Akwa Ibom State Polytechnic as a case study.

1.6 Organization of the Research

This research work is organized into five chapters. Chapter one is concerned with the introduction of the research study and it presents the preliminaries, theoretical background, statement of the problem, aim and objectives of the study, significance of the study, scope of the study, organization of the research and definition of terms.

Chapter two focuses on the literature review, the contributions of other scholars on the subject matter is discussed.

Chapter three is concerned with the system analysis and design. It presents the research methodology used in the development of the system, it analyzes the present system to identify the problems and provides information on the advantages and disadvantages of the proposed system. The system design is also presented in this chapter.

Chapter four presents the system implementation and documentation, the choice of programming language, analysis of modules, choice of programming language and system requirements for implementation.

Chapter five focuses on the summary, constraints of the study, conclusion and recommendations are provided in this chapter based on the study carried out.

1.7 Definition of Terms

Employee  A paid worker in an institution or organization, private or public.

Record  A collection of related fields. Also considered as an electronic file representing an entity.

Management  The organizing and controlling of the affairs of business.

Electronic Record  A digital record of information stored in a computer system or electronic storage device that can be accessed.

Back-up  A copy of computer data that is stored in another storage device sometimes in a different location