Chapter 1 THE PROBLEM Background of the Study The term records refers to all business papers, books, forms, maps and documentary materials which are evidence of the organization, policies, procedures, and operations of a business firm or a government agency. The early records were made of material that was abundant – clay. Thus, bills of exchange, promissory notes and the like were engraved on clay tablets, baked hard under the scorching heat of the sun, and stored in temple jars. With the invention of writing, early documents came to be written in the hand of the principal known as HOLOGRAPHS, from a Greek word, “holography” which means “the whole message” ( http://cmswatch.com/Feature/127 - RM - 101 Retrieved October 1, 2007). The importance of records has been recognized as early as the ancient times. More particularly its usefulness was practiced by those who engage in trade. In fact, it appears quite logical to believe that the early traders had a hand in the invention of writing, thereby making records and history possible. Writing was not invented all at once just as alphabetical writing did not come about till many centuries as of experimentation with crude pictographs. Records are not jus t files that are being kept but serve as the memory of any business organization. Saur (2005) adds that corporate memory consists of all the active and historical information in an organization that is worth sharing, managing and preserving, and use. Cor porate memory records include board, commission and committee minutes, contracts, ideas, regulations, technical reports, transaction reports, videotapes and films, memos, etc. It encompasses all of the many types of documented and undocumented information that organizational units require to function effectively. This information is used throughout the organization from executive management through the finance legal and personnel departments, to those involved in the engineering, manufacturing and marketi ng activities. Mapalo (1991) illustrated the role of records in an organization. She mentioned that: Events of the past, incidents of the present and even activities later in the future will be noted , remembered and observed or celebrated because the rec ords about them are kept and are retrievable. This is strengthened with what our national hero said, “In order to read the destiny of a people, it is necessary to open the book of their past”. People nowadays know what happened in the ancient times beca use historians were able to put into account events in the past through the records hauled. This enabled our young readers to learn and at the same time, appreciate endowments of a given country in a particular period of time or era. While it is true tha t the industry aspires for a paperless society, some institutions still use documents as a proof or evidence. Example of this is the accreditation or audit an organization may undergo with. Such accreditors may require documents three years back or five years back as part of the evidence. These are still considered as records. Records can be used as reference for an important transaction, source of information about a client, and for the easy access of data, making it very vital. As stated by Shrode an d Voich in the study of Lilian K. Passi, entitled Figure 1 Life Cycle of a Record (Source: The G.S. 132 Files, 2020) Figure 2 Research Paradigm INPUT Respondents and their demographic profile. Level of implementation of the records management of the municipal trial courts in Baguio City, La Trinidad, Itogon, Sablan and Tuba (BLIST). Level of implementation of the 5s of the municipal trial courts in Baguio City, La Trinidad, Itogon, Sablan and Tuba (BLIST) Problems encountered in municipal trial courts of BLIST as to records management. PROCESS Evaluation of the existing records management and 5s practice of BLIST Municipal Trial Court through survey questionnaire OUTPUT Identified: 1) Profile 2) Level of implement a - tion of records management of Municipal Trial Courts of BLIST 3) Level of implementa - tion of 5s of Municipal Trial Courts of BLIST PROPOSED Records Management for Municipal Trial Courts in BLIST Chapter 2 DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY This chapter presents a discussion on research design and methodology, population and sampling technique, data gathering tools, procedure, and statistical treatment of data. Descriptive research was conducted to illustrate and determine patterns or characteristics of variables in particular instances or events (Edralin, 2002). The descriptive type of research was adopted because this study involved gathering of information about present records management conditions of the municipal trial courts found in the BLIST are a. Different approaches were used in data gathering. First, a questionnaire was administered. Second approach was the use of personal observation on how records are managed, how files are kept, retrieved and disposed of at the different courts. The res earcher was a trainee in one of the courts here in Baguio City before, however, the methodologies used before might not be the same today. The observation helped her validate if the methods used before are still being practiced at present. Third approach used was the interview method. Data gathered were then tabulated, categorized, analysed and interpreted through appropriate statistical tools. Population and Locale of the Study The study focused on the records management of municipal trial courts situated in the BLIST area. BLIST was coined from municipalities near Baguio City. The 1990 earthquake prompted the creation of the BLIST area. Its objective is for the municipalities to share with each other their resources. BLIST area includes Baguio City, La Trinidad, Itogon, Sablan and Tuba. The table below shows a summary of the respondents of the study. Table 1 The Respondents Composition Personnel Baguio La Itogon Sablan Total MTC 1 MTC 2 MTC 3 MTC 4 Trinidad and Tuba Judge 1 1 1 1 - 1 1 6 Clerk of Court 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 7 Stenographer 3 3 2 3 3 2 2 18 Clerk 1 2 2 2 - 1 8 Process Server 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 7 Utility Aide 1 - - 1 1 1 1 5 Total 8 8 7 9 6 6 7 51 Chapter 3 PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA The data gathered are presented, with their corresponding analysis and interpretation in this chapter. The results were based on the answers to the questionnaires distributed to the selected respondents. The first section presents profile of the court employees being part of the respondents in this study. The second section shows the result on what is the present situation of the records management of the different trial courts. The third section shows the extent of practice in the trial courts of 5s. And lastly, from t he findings, problems were deduced. Respondent’s Profile. Shown in Table 2 is the profile of the respondents in terms of their position. Out of 80 targeted re s pondents, the researcher was able to gather 51 respondents only. Table 2 Respondent’s Profile In Terms of Position Position Frequency Percentage Rank Stenographer 18 35 1 Clerk 8 16 2 Clerk of Court 7 14 3 Process Server 7 14 3 Judge 6 12 5 Utility Aide 5 10 6 Total 51 100 There are seven courts being studied. At a glance, one will notice that stenographers have the most number of respondents. This is because for every sala or court room, there should be four (4) stenographers, especially if it is a court located in the ci ty. Second on the list are the clerks. A court room should have two clerks. Unfortunately, not all the seven courts were provided with two clerks. In fact during the time of the interview, it was found out that the utility aide in one of the trial acts also as the clerk because the clerk resigned as she was applying as a stenographic reporter in the city. In one of city courts, the janitor does the same. She performs also filing and stitching records. From the table, it can be seen that all the seven courts have clerk of court and process server. Notice also the number of judges. Since there are seven courts having studied, there are only six of them. La Trinidad Municipal Trial Court does not have any assigned judge as the judge recently retired. Acting judge is from the municipal trial court of Kapangan, who will start reporting a month after the floating of questionnaire. With Chapter 4 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS This chapter summarizes the important conclusions and proposed recommendatio ns. Conclusions Based on findings, the following are the conclusions on this research study: 1. Majority of the respondents are stenographers, college graduates, female, and have been in the service for 21 years of service for 21 years and more and learned about the records management in their current job. 2. There is full implementation of records management in the municipal trial courts in Baguio City, La Trinidad, Itogon, Sablan, and Tuba (BLIST) in terms of: a. creation and generation; b. reprodu ction and distribution; c. maintenance or retention; d. protection, control and storage; e. transfer and retrieval; f. archive and disposition. 3. There is full implementation of 5s in the municipal trial courts in Baguio City, La Trinidad, Itogon, Sablan, and Tuba (BLIST) in terms of: a. seiri; b. seiton; c. seiso; d. seiketsu; and e. shitsuke. 4. Problems encountered in the implementation of records management are in the area of Reproduction and Distribution (Other Type of Media), Maintenance (There is a particular person whose job is to handle the records in the office), Protection, Control and Storage (Records are locked with keys kept by staff in charge of the file) and Archive and Disposition (The office recycles records meant for disposition). Recomme ndations Based on the results and findings that this research generated, the following are recommended: 1. Profile of Respondents: Trainings on records management should be provided to the employees. REFERENCES A. B OOKS Adanza, Estela G. (1995). Rese arch Methods: Principles and Applications. Manila , Philippines: Rex Book Store Andolsen, Alan A. The Pillars of Vital Records protection, The Information Management Journal. Volume 42, No. 2. March/April 2008 Angeles, Conrado P. and Garcia, Rolando M. (1980). Handbook on Office Management. Quezon City: R.M. Garcia Publishing House. Bateman, Thomas, Snell, Scott A. (2003). Management: Competing in New Era. New York: McGraw Hill. Cascio, Wayne F. (2006). Managing Human Resources, Productivity, Qu ality of Work Life Profits. International Edition. New York: McGraw - Hill. Cooper, Donald and Schindler, Pamela (2003). Business Research Methods. USA: McGraw - Hill. Daft, Richard L. (2005). Management. 7 th Edition. Singapore: Thomson Asian. B. THESIS/DISSERTATIONS Gacad, Emily. (2006). Total Productive Maintenance (TPM): Its Effectiveness Among Implementing Companies in the Semi - Conductor Industry. Unpublished Dissertation, University of the Cordilleras. Gorospe, Joan S. (2014). Total Qua lity Management of Banks in Baguio City. 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JOURNALS Andolsen, Alan A. (2008). The Pillars of Vital Records Protection, The Information Management Journal. Volume 42, No. 2. March/April 2008 Baguio (Urban BLIST) Main Volume Final Report (1994). Al atec - Harris - Tym Consulting Group and Angel Lazaro and Associates. NEDA. The Economist (2005). Arthur Andersen Reversed and Remanded. June 2 Issue. D. ONLINE REFERENCES http://cmswatch.com/Feature/12 7 - RM - 101 . Retrieved October 1, 2007. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Records - manager Retrieved October 1, 2007