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4 Record Keeping

Introduction
In every office, hundreds of different kinds of transactions take place daily. In order
to run the business in a systematic manner, it is essential to keep a record of all these
transactions. The material and the data prepared for future reference is known as
record. Record includes the written letters, documents, correspondence, booklets,
illustrations, forms, work details, etc. In modern times, it is very necessary to prepare
records and to look after them carefully. Management of any organization is run on
the basis of different types of information and facts. This information and facts can
be obtained only from the records. Therefore, if no record of information and facts is
maintained, it becomes difficult to run an organization properly.

Record management

Record management is an important function of office management. Organization
needs to create, receive, preserve and maintain the increasing volume of records with
proper disposal system. An office must preserve and retain the records properly for
the future reference. These activities are only possible through record management.
Record management includes forms, reports, reproduction of written material, filing,
record retention, micro filming and related services.

Record management in its boardest sense concerns itself with the records
creation, distribution, maintenance, retention, preservation, retrieval and
disposal. S.P. Arora

Records management can be described as the management control of records.
- Littlefield

Objectives/Purpose of records management
There are four major purposes of records. They are:

1. To keep an orderly account of progress: By writing and preserving various
papers, documents, memoranda of different types of transactions (financial
as well as non-financial), the progress of organization is recorded. This can be
described as the historical function of records.

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