CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1     BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Record keeping occupies a strategic position in the efficient and effective management of the organization. In fact, it is central in the administration of the business organization because it documents the planning and implementation of appropriate information allowing proper monitoring of work. The approach is for records created in the course of day-to-day business of the organization to be stored and kept in hard copies as evidence of an action, decision or process. However, the process of record keeping provides a framework for keeping, maintaining and providing for the disposition of records and what is contained in them. They are therefore intended to benefit all members of staff by facilitating continuity and evaluation of services and preserving privacy. This framework is provided for by guidelines designed to educate people on decisions regarding professional record keeping. For instances, American Psychological Association (APA 2007) contains the “Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct” generally required for the maintenance of appropriate records of psychological services. Unfortunately, the Nigeria situation in the business of record keeping and management especially in most business organizations system has not been too successful because of lack of management components (Omeyi 1997). It is hoped that if these options are adopted in the business organizations, perhaps most if not all the problems associated with record keeping would have been addressed. It is on this premise that this research work set out to examine factor affecting effective record keeping in business organizations.
1.2   PROBLEM STATEMENT
Perhaps it would not be an overstatement to say that record keeping problems are common to the different levels of the business organizations. It is however becoming clearer that it is more pronounced because accurate, reliable and trustworthy records that fulfill evidential requirements are being created but not properly managed. This therefore becomes an issue of great concern to government, stakeholders and office managers, individuals and organizations. In the past, frantic efforts to improve the situation in many organizations through the introduction of computers and internet services as well as development of database management system do not seem to have helped the situation much because the record management system is still conventionally paper-based and manual in operation. Many management staff complains of funds, and material resources. The reality reveals gross inadequacy of qualified personnel, facilities, students’ explosion and space problem. This study is therefore a response to the challenge by striving to empirically identify these problems and well defined management options that could improve record keeping processes in universities especially in the study area.