In modern community, we depend so much on records whether for business, government or for social and philanthropic activities. Record management is to ensure that records are easily located with minimum delay and to retain them at reasonable length of time.

Records consist of registers, memorandum, letters, contract agreement, invoices, cheques, vouchers, statistics, price-list, catalogue etc.

Records can be said to be a “life wire” of any organization, therefore, each record should be properly stored so that its location and retrieval are easy whenever required.

Information is a pre-requisite for sound managerial decision-making in an organization. This is why filing and indexing are very important part of record management.

In the wake of this paper explosion, management face several pressing problems directly affecting its ability to use information that are of determining what records are necessary to the operation of the organization and that of taking effective measures to control the total records system. To cope with these important problems, information and records management programmes have been developed as a vital function of administrative office management.

Records management enables the organization to identify and protect the important documents of the organization and to eliminate the temporary useless papers with the least possible delay.

Filing duties left until the last minute rush, would lead to mistakes and probably filing documents in wrong files. Filing mistakes cannot be avoided completely, but they can be greatly reduced through the application of sound filing procedure and with the use of qualified personnel. The office(s) observe good filing practices and insist that other officers having access to the files should also observe this filing practice.

At a time, the management of records was considered to mean the storage, retrieval and protection of business papers-basically, filing. Today, of course, record management includes not only filing but also creation, control, use and disposition of records. Record management and filing are not the kind of responsibilities that are usually assigned to one officer or department in an organization but a duty of whoever is involved in handling of documents.

Everyone who handles business records need to be knowledgeable in the subject of filing and records management and also be aware of the importance of correct creation, storage, protection, control, use and disposition of records.

The scope of records management covers much more than the idea of filing records. In the words of Fries et al (1974) records management is a system of planning for and controlling the use of business records.

Tilleh (1987) defined records as correspondence, memorandum or other paper, books, maps, plans, photographs, films, microfilm, sound recordings, tapes,, computer cards, or other documentary materials regardless of their physical form or characteristics, that are made and received by any government agency or business organization in connection with the transaction of business.

In the words of Kahn et al (1971) “Records management includes not only filing but also the creation, control, use of disposition of records”.

Records management is not the kind of responsibility that is usually assigned to one person or department in a business organization.

Everyone who handles business records needs to be knowledgeable in records management and to be aware of the importance of correct creation, storage, protection, control use and disposition of records.

A knowledgeable manager should be aware of the complete life cycle of each record that is used in the organization and then make provision for its use and eventual disposition.

Kahn et al (1977) gave six stages involved in the life cycle of a business record and these are follows:

1. Creation or receipt
2. Use
3. Storage and protection
4. Retrieval
5. Transfer
6. Disposal

(i) CREATION OR RECEIPT

According to Kahn, this refers to the birth of a record. A large number of records handed daily within a typical organization such as letters, advertising copies, sales slips, cheques, bank statements, purchase orders, receiving tickets are all created by the process of one organization.

Without the records, the business simply cannot operate.

Even within an organization, departments send memoranda and other documents to one another to enhance the work of the organization, in all these records are being created.

(ii) USE

On the use stage, Kahn et al said, records are stored for one principal reason - for future reference. Correspondence received by an organization may either be put into use immediately or stored for future use. Since records are the basis upon which decisions are made, they have to be available for use as and when required. Kahn believes that a piece of record created should be made available for use.

(iii) STORAGE AND PROTECTION

On storage and protection, Kahn asserted that when the decision to retain business papers is made provision must be made for the storing and protection of the records during their useful lifetime.

Extremely important records such as legal papers, are stored in insulated cabinets capable of withstanding extreme heat in case of fire. Any record worth retaining should be properly housed or kept so that it can be located easily when needed.

(iv) TRANSFER

According to Kahn, a good records management programme demands a periodic cleaning out of files at interval and to keep the necessary files easily accessible (1974) subscribe to the view of Kahn on transfer of records by saying that transfer of records means “the removing of inactive materials from where they are being stored to create space for the more active materials”.

The question as to where to keep the inactive files, according to Kahn, may be located in a storage area such as basement or warehouse. The transfer of records should be done periodically. Kahn also holds the view that period transfer is the movement of papers at the end of a definite period of time from active to inactive files which could be at the end of a fiscal or calendar year.

(v) DISPOSAL

The last stage in records management cycle is the disposal of records. Kahn is of the view that all records that no longer serve a useful purpose should be destroyed.

The decision as to when records are to be destroyed is usually made by management. The policy is determined by legal requirements of the record to the firm. At any rate some definite plan should be set up by management for the periodic destruction of records that are no longer of value to the organization.

According to Kahn, are record disposition schedule should be drawn, listing all the files maintained by the office, how long a file maintained by the office, how long a file should be left in active status and inactive status and when they should be disposed off.

Records that are no longer of value to the organization should be destroyed to save space.

FILING

Filing as a major activity in records management is seen by Fosu and Odina (1975) as “the storing of letters, carbon copies of documents in folders, binders, drawers and cabinets especially designed for the purpose”.

Kahn et al (1971) defined filing as “the part of records management which deals largely with the classification arrangement and storage of business records so that they may be quickly located when needed.

Furthermore, filing as seen by Mills (1978) is “the process of arranging and storing original records or copies of them, that they can be readily located when required”.

Filing is required to ensure an effective records management programme in an organization. The secretary should be knowledgeable in the procedures of filing even when a secretary may work in a large organization where many of the company's records are maintained by a special filing clerk in a central filing department, he or she will be responsible for keeping his or her boss's personal files, and perhaps supervising the maintenance of the files in the department for which he or she is responsible.

According to Dallas (1975) filing in records management has to be carried out by the use of systems. The basic filing systems, he said are alphabetic, geographic, numeric, subject and chronological.

Alphabetic filing is the process of arranging documents according to the first letter in the name.

Numeric filing is a system which involves the use of number instead of names to file documents. In this system, a code number is assigned to each name or subject to be filed and they are filed in serial numerical order.

Subject filing is used when papers are categorized by subject rather than name. According to Kahn et al, subject filing is “the arrangement of records by names of items rather than by names of people, are conveniently situated and the files in the cabinets are easily located.

Dallas 91975) commenting in methods of filing suggested the vertical, suspension, lateral and plan filing methods. One or a combination of the methods can be adopted.

(i) VERTICAL FILING

On vertical filing, Dallas (1975) asserted that papers or documents are placed into files, which are arranged vertically. The files are effectively displayed with title strips on the edges. Paper can be placed in or taken out of the folders without the folders having to be removed from a filing cabinet. The files can be stored in cabinets, drawers, racks and shelves.

(ii) SUSPENSION

On suspension filing, Dallas (1975) said folders may be suspended vertically from metal runners and chassis rails suspend the pockets in such a manner that they are hold clear to the bottom of the drawer. The files are thus protected from a considerable amount of wear and tear, and no matter how heavily they are loaded, they retain their neat and companies or locations”.

In geographical filing, correspondence or papers are grouped or classified and filed according to the continent, country, region, town or even streets within a town. In this method, all correspondence from a particular geographical area are filed accordingly.

Chronological filing is when documents are filed according to their dates. Regardless of the system used, a good understanding of the alphabetic sequence is needed because all the basic filing systems are directly or indirectly based on the alphabets.

METHODS OF FILING

There are many methods available to file records. However, according to Denyer (1967) there are several considerations to be taken into account in choosing a filing method.

The method must be:

1. Quick and simple to operate
2. Suitable for the particular type of correspondence dealt with in terms of size and volume
3. Capable of being expanded or contracted when the need arises
4. Such that filing cabinets are conveniently situated and the file in the cabinets tidy appearance

(iii) LATERAL FILING

In this method, Dallas (1975) said that files can be kept side by side, unlike books in a shelf. The files are normally suspended from rails placed laterally in cupboard, racks or open shelves. They are connected with tittles holders which can normally be adjusted for the required angles of vision.

(iv) PLAN FILING

One plan filing, Dallas (1975) said that plans and drawings may be stored horizontally in flat drawers or vertically in storage cabinets.

In this method of filing, Dallas 91975) is of the view that a vertical plan cabinet occupies less than a third of the office space compared to horizontal cabinet of equal capacity.

CENTRAL FILING SYSTEM

Stanwell, Mills and Standing Fard (1978) define central filing as “the keeping and controlling of files together in one room”. In this system, a department known as the central filing department is established and a clerk or a number of clerks that is specialize in the filing of document are employed to operate the system.

According to Stanwell, a standardized procedure of filing can be established throughout the organization.

Accommodation and equipment are economically used in the centrally arranged filing cabinets. In the words of Stanwell, “central filing is often suitable for records that are not frequently required for reference purpose”.

DEPARTMENTAL FILING SYSTEM

Blackburn (1974) defines departmental filing system as a system “where departmental files are kept in the department is that they can be readily available to the department without having to go to the central filing department which is likely to delay quick referencing”.

In this system, departmental staff will have a better knowledge of the work of the department. The system is more suitable for confidential files. The filing system is not so large and therefore easier to handle.

PREPARING MATERIALS FOR FILING

Regardless of the system used for records storage, there are certain procedures and guidelines to be followed that will make the filing and finding of records easier and efficiently. Dallas (1975) put forward the following procedures and guidelines in preparing materials for filing.

(a) RELEASING AND INSPECTING PAPERS FOR FILING

Before a document is filed, the person responsible for it must release it. It should bear a “release mark” indicating that it has been acted upon and it is ready for filing. Thos mark may be the executive initials, a file stamp, a code or some other marking, adoptable by the office and it is usually indicated on the upper left corner of the correspondence.

Release marks constitute the authority to file a correspondence. If any piece of incoming correspondence does not have a release mark on it, it is not advisable to place it in the file.

(b) INDEXING

Indexing is a system of classifying records so as to make storage or retrieval efficient and easy.

Turner (1974) defines indexing as “selecting the caption or name under which the paper is to be filed and the order in which the units are to be considered.

From the indexing,, it is possible to file correspondence either under alphabetic, numeric, subject, geographic or chronological.

(c) CODING

According to Honna, Popham, Tilton (1978) indexing and coding means deciding where to file a paper and noting that decision on the face of the paper respectively. In the coding stage, the index caption is shown on the paper to be filed.

The name, subject or number in the document is usually underlined with a coloured pencil, so it will stand out.

(d) STORING

When the documents have been started, and arranged in an orderly manner, they are then carried to be cabinets, drawers, or shelves for storage.

The oldest document is in the rear of the folder and the most recent document is in the front of the file.

According to Dallas (1975) these procedure should be followed carefully to ensure a proper and effective records keeping and retrieval.

In view of the above, any organization, which undergoes these procedures, will have an effective records management.

More often, real estate agents are also referred to as property “salesmen”. However, compared to the work of typical door to door salesmen or street peddlers, the job of a real estate agent is a little bit more complicated. The product that they offer is not some tiny package which can be placed in a box or delivered by mail. They are not selling consumables, such as food products and drinks which can be easily sold with little sales or marketing skills. The product that real estate agents sell demands more commitment from a customer. For example, buying a house is not an easy decision. Before a prospective customer can make a decision to buy a house, he or she must be fully aware of the features, advantages and disadvantages of the house. He must be fully convinced that he is making the right choice in picking that house, or else the time and money he intends to spend will all be wasted. It is therefore the real estate agent’s role to guide the prospective buyer into making the right choice and eventually reach a firm buying decision.

For the reasons mentioned above, the real estate agent should be highly trained, knowledgeable about what he sells, updated about the developments within his industry, and most importantly, should be skilled at face to face selling. This aspect of face to face selling is very essential because to be able to sell high priced items such as houses, lands and properties, a greater amount of buyer-agent rapport is necessary. While retail sales can be very impersonal, real estate sales is a lot more different. One sales transaction may take one week, one month or even one whole year, depending on the nature of the real estate property being sold. This would mean that it is normal for any real estate agent to meet the same prospect over and over again before they both reach a buying agreement. It is thus important to develop a friendly, positive relationship with the customer.

The real estate agent must be an aggressive salesperson and he must be flexible to different kinds of buyers. He must be able to talk on the same level with his prospects, instead of acting servile and inferior. There are many sales jobs that literally demote people from salespeople to mere order takers. In real estate, agents are not just order takers. They initiate the sale, meaning, they ask questions that probe and uncover the buyer’s needs. After discovering those hidden needs, the real estate agent puts himself or herself in a commanding position by giving the customer various options to choose from. He or she may also recommend options that best fit the client’s needs.

Perhaps the most difficult and exhausting job of a real estate agent is prospecting for new customers. Prospecting is simply the process of finding new prospects for the business. Without prospects, even the most skillful real estate agent will not make a single sale. While the company often provides good advertising to gather prospects, it is still the real estate agent’s responsibility to generate leads on his own. He must be familiar with various lead generation methods and be able to develop a huge list of potential customers. At times, a real estate agent may also opt to do his or her own advertising campaign.

There are a variety of available prospecting methods and strategies to choose from. According to Tom Hopkins, a great real estate salesman, there are two basic categories – referral and non-referral prospecting.

Referral prospecting is a very effective method because it allows the real estate agent to get referrals from his existing buyer’s list. The referrals are already qualified buyers because they belong to the same income bracket as the existing customer. Each time the agent makes a successful sale, he asks for referrals from the happy satisfied customer. The customer then gladly gives the names of some of his friends or relatives who might also be interested in buying a similar property that he has bought. He may even introduce the real estate agent to the referral. Most veteran real estate agents don’t do prospecting anymore because they have already built a huge referral base.

For starting or rookie real estate agents, there is no substitute to non-referral prospecting. This is the act or process of finding and approaching prospects that are not referred to the real estate agent. In this prospecting approach, the chances of making a sale are lower and the risks of rejection are higher. The real estate agent will have to deal with total strangers, which is the main reason for the high probability of failure.

One example of a non-referral prospecting method is “cold calling”. In this prospecting method, the real estate agent either acquires or buys a list of prospects and starts calling them one by one. This method is sometimes called “cherry picking” (Good, 1986), because it requires an agent to make a lot of calls before generating a single prospect. To be able to do an effective cold calling campaign, the agent must be determined, aggressive, has good phone skills, not a quitter and he must have a good list of qualified prospects. For example, calling a list of people who are looking for a house is much more effective than simply calling people from the yellow pages or the national street directory.

Another prospecting method that real estate agents often use is the “ten foot rule”. This means that the agent finds ways to talk to any person who comes within ten feet of him. With the use of personalized calling cards and leaflets, the agent initiates conversations with the strangers that he meets everyday. To enhance the agent’s chances of meeting someone who is qualified to buy a house or property, he makes himself available in places where his ideal customers will likely be found. Attending conventions, social events and joining clubs or organizations are all useful to the real estate agent because it gives him an opportunity to meet different kinds of social contacts who might someday become buyers, or may at least give a referral or two. In Tom Hopkins’ book entitled How to Master the Art of Selling, he said that to be able to constantly generate prospects on a regular basis, a good salesperson should be able to “talk to ten people belly to belly everyday”. (Hopkins, 1982)

There are hundreds of other prospecting methods. Modern technology has given the 21st century real estate agent a great variety of prospecting options. The internet and other such means can all be useful for anyone who is trying to generate new leads for real estate.

Finding prospects is one exhausting job, but approaching and making the initial contact with them is another task! Once the real estate agent finds or meets a good prospect for real estate, he must smoothly guide the prospect to the realizing the possibility of buying property. Using many possible approaches, the agent finds ways to settle an appointment with the prospect with the intention of showing him a sales presentation. To be able to do this, the real estate agent must uncover a specific need of the buyer, or if the buyer is not aware of the need, the agent must make him aware of it. If this need is not present, it is the role and responsibility of the agent to create that need and convince the prospect that he needs to own a real estate property. Qualifying, or the art of finding specific information about the customer with the purpose of determining whether he is a qualified buyer or not, is very important. There is no use of selling to a person who is not qualified. Some factors to be considered during the qualifying stage are ability to pay, ability to make a decision, size of family, and compatibility of the need to the product or service being offered or sold. Finding this information and putting them into consideration are still part of the difficult task of a real estate agent.

It is also the role of a real estate agent to stimulate buying desire. This may be done by presenting what he is selling in such a way that it appeals to the needs and wants of the buyer. It is the responsibility of the agent to magnify the strengths and weaknesses of the property he is selling, and to minimize the problems and disadvantages in the eyes of the prospect. In some cases, the prospect may not know exactly what kind of house he wants or needs, or he may have trouble in making a decision. At any event that a prospect finds difficulty in choosing what’s best for himself, the real estate agent is in a position to recommend a house or property that best suit the needs, buying capability and preference of the buyer. To be able to do this, the agent must be extremely knowledgeable about the various options that he can provide to the customer.

Familiarity with basic laws, policies and rules that apply to real estate will also be helpful to a real estate agent. However, he is not required to be an expert at these laws, policies and regulations. His main expertise should be the ability to close sales. In many real estate companies, the total revenue heavily depends upon the monthly sales turnover generated by real estate agents in the field. Simply put, applying mastery of the sales process is one of the greatest and most important roles of real estate salesmen.

Age: 49
Nationality: Indian
Martial Status: Married
Children: 3

Education: University of Bombay
Worth: 63.2 Billion

Mukesh Ambani has taken the title for the richest person in the universe in 2008 with the net worth of 63.2 billion dollars. It was only going to be a matter of time before an Indian became the world's riches person, with two of them on the top five. Making his money from petrochemicals, oil refining, textiles, retail and biotechnology, Mukesh Ambani has become the richest person in the world. His biggest money maker has been in the past year based on the soaring Reliance stock prices. With the soaring prices rising by more than 700 points in one day Mukesh instantly became the richest person latterly over night. But Mukesh needs to watch out because he has both Bill and Carlos less then a billion behind him.

Carlos Slim Helu

Age: 50
Nationality: Mexican
Martial Status: Widowed
Children: 6
Worth: 62.2993 Billion

Carlos Slim Helu has overtaken Bill Gates, and is this year's second richest person in the world. He has the net worth of 62.2993 billion dollars. He is the owner of Latin America's largest mobile phone company America Movil. After the 26.5 per cent rise in the shares of America Movil during the second quarter Carlos has overtaken Bill Gates. The future looks bright for Carlos who is looking to expand his phone company and bring the money in by the millions. Congratulations Carlos!

William H. Gates III

Age: 50
Nationality: American
Martial Status: Married
Children: 2
Education: Harvard dropout
Worth: 62.29 Billion

Bill Gates, a Harvard dropout, is the richest man alive today with his net worth at 62.29 billion dollars. He is Microsoft's chief visionary and is the man who brought them to power. Recently, for the first time ever Bill did not offer a strategy outlook at last year's financial analyst meeting. Instead, Bill preferred to dive into innovative projects that he finds more appealing and fun. Today he is a man of many deeds who donates a lot of money to charity, through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The foundation is aimed at fighting infectious disease (hepatitis B, AIDS, malaria) and improving high schools. He is an inspiration and icon of Americans today and will be for the following decades.

Warren Buffett

Age: 75
Nationality: American
Martial Status: Married
Children: 3
Education: Columbia University
Worth: 55.9 Billion

The world's most beloved investor Warren Buffet has the net worth of 55.9 billion dollars in 2008. He has shares in many different companies including, Berkshire Hathaway, Coca-Cola, Geico, Fruit of the Loom, MidAmerican Energy, and home furnishing. Warren is also a very humble man who gave the majority of his Berkshire Hathaway shares to charity. The shares were worth about 32 billion dollars and it mainly went to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Warren is also a great American icon who knows the true meaning of charity.

Lakshmi Mittal

Age: 55
Nationality: India
Martial Status: Married
Children: 2
Education: St Xavier's College
Worth: 50.9 Billion

Lakshmi Mittal topping the list at the 3rd richest man in the world has the net worth of 50.9 billion dollars. He is known as the steel titan and owns the largest steal company, Mittal Steel. He inherited the steel company and it has been growing ever since. Mittal made a $23.7 billion bid for his largest rival, Luxembourg-based Arcelor, in an effort to spark more world steel consolidation from more companies. His plan has worked and has been selling his steal to high grade companies such as Ford. Recently he has bought a very large stake in a Chinese steel company. His company is on the rise and will be racking in the doe in the years to come.

1. Call a meeting of the directors (even if you are the only one) to do the following:

• adopt a constitution for the corporation – a set of rules that will govern almost any situation the corporation may encounter.
• adopt the share certificate that the corporation will use to issue shares
• adopt a corporate seal if you want to use one – they are optional
• appoint your officers
• issue shares to your shareholders
• assign your officers banking authorization
• decide not to appoint an auditor (unless you are a large corporation)
• waive the formal notice for this meeting

2. Now that the basics are set up you need to have the first meeting of the shareholders (even if you are the only one) to take care of the following:

• elect new directors (probably the same as the first meeting)
• confirm and adopt your bi-laws and constitution
• confirm you decision not to appoint an auditor

3. Your meetings are over now you need to set up a minute book to hold all your corporate papers. Stationery and office-supply stores sell corporate minute books complete with the necessary dividers. All your corporate papers from meetings, financial reports and shareholder records, addresses and annual returns as well as any other business related papers are stored in here.

You’re almost there now. Set up your payroll system, WCB, apply for a GST number, get your provincial licenses (if necessary), insurance plan and know your municipal regulations. When the paper work is done then plug in that ‘OPEN’ sign and get ready for business.