IT Systems Case Study Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

IT Systems Case Study - Assignment Example The institutional archives manager at Campus A learned the tough way that he could not inactively wait till electronic records were conveyed to his office for long-standing access and retention. A research of the records at the campus, aided by the National Historical Publication and Records Commission grant, discovered that over 90 percent of the data sets did not have adequate documentation, hence making archival evaluation impossible (Kahn, 2000, 332). Campus B The archives department at Campus B opted for a method to handling electronic records, which was extremely diverse from Campus A’s. Rather than working with groups all through the university system, the archives department opted to work with a minute group of mainly external experts on creating an electronic-record policy (Kahn, 2000, 336). The challenge to this is that it left out vital departments of the institution meaning that the final policy did not incorporate every department’s view about the endeavor (Kahn, 2000, 337). Also, the campus had limited resources unlike Campus A, which opted to use all the resources they could together for the endeavor. Unlimited resources translated into unlimited support for the system. Strategic Responses to the Challenges Campus A In response to the campus’ IT report, the institution archives director begun by strengthening internet record management in his office and also by seeking the assistance of relevant and significant offices and departments all round the institution. He also started to make use of a new budget-management scheme, which rewarded record-management endeavors all through the university system (Kahn, 2000, 334). The director’s initial move to deal with this problem was to add the role of electronic-record management to the archives department. The appointment of the electronic-record administrator in the archives department was a departure from normal practice whereby record management was housed in an administrat ive scheme. Campus B The archives department allocated a majority of its internal budget resources and a US$130,000 national grant for creating a conceptual strategy for managing electronic records (Kahn, 2000, 335). The money was largely used to recruit a small team and pay faculty to oversee pilot record-management plans and create policy. The archives department director also hired a counseling board which included national specialists in the field of electronic-record management. Just two people in the institution’s hierarchy—a university personnel director, as well as a university information resources administrator—were included on that board (Kahn, 2000, 336). This would assist the campus to come to grips with the policy and management concerns surrounding electronic records. Social Action Theory Social action, in sociology, is an act that considers the actions and reactions of people (or 'agents'). Max Weber considers that "an Action is 'social' if the p erforming person considers the behavior of others and is thus oriented in its course. Campus A Campus A’s archives department is situated at the library adjacent to the geographic center of the main campus. The department is in walking distance to several university