CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Introduction

An online personnel management system is a web based system that enables organizations to upload information about their employees so that their identity can always be verified. And the basic information about them and their work description can be easily managed. It is an electronic record keeping system that will aid the organization not to be dependent on flat files all the time for managing employee or personnel information. it is an effective means of electronic record management

According to the state of Florida division of Library and Information services, (2010), the goal of personnel  records Management is to provide professional assistance to state and local government agencies, public and private institutions in managing the records and information required to take care of the institution in an effective and cost-efficient manner. An employee record management system provides an interface that enables capturing the data of employees so that it will be easy to retrieve information pertaining to them. It can also be described as an electronic filing system. Institutions and organizations generate and process information on an unprecedented scale, hastened by the rapid advance of technology. This has resulted in vast quantities of information and evolving principles of law governing the legality and admissibility of records created or maintained by this technology. Records and information managers must make every effort to be educated and informed so that the decisions they make are consistent with law and best practices.

An electronic record is any information that is recorded in machine readable form. Electronic records may  include databases, electronic mail, instant messages, scanned images, digital photographs, and multimedia files, numeric, graphic, audio, video, and textual information which is recorded or transmitted in analog or digital form such as electronic spreadsheets, word processing files,.  An electronic record keeping system is an automated information system for the organized collection, processing, transmission, and dissemination of information in accordance with defined procedures, Florida Administrative Code, 2010). A typical example is a personnel record management system

It is important for institutions and other agencies to establish policies and procedures to ensure that electronic records and their documentation are retained and accessible as long as needed. Agencies are required to include electronic records management objectives, responsibilities, and authorities in pertinent agency directives, or rules, as applicable. Agencies can begin to manage their electronic records by incorporating electronic records into any general agency records management policies they may have in place. In particular, the record of employees should be captured such that it will be easy to manage. Moreso, managing it online will enable them to operate it from any part of the globe.

1.1 Theoretical Background

There is need for the adoption of online systems to facilitate the operations of organizations. This will bring about increased productivity, better information management and faster processing of data. Organizations are taking advantage of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to enhance present work steps to meet up to required standard. Databases of records of different departments can now be captured and  as with records in other formats, electronic records must be managed through their entire life cycle from creation, when the records are created or received; through their active life, when the records are accessed frequently (at least once a month); through their inactive life, when the records are no longer active but have to be retained for a period of time for legal, fiscal, administrative, or historical reasons; until their final disposition which could be destruction or preservation as a permanent record.

  1.2 Statement of Problem

Traditionally, paper records placed in a flat file is common place in institutions and organizations, once they were physically filed, they begin to take up valuable office space. This management typically consisted of transferring the records offsite to a records center facility or warehouse dumping ground where they were forgotten. This makes it difficult to retrieve information when they are needed and valuable information that may be needed information may be lost due to the poor practice of dumping the files. Personnel information can only be seen from the manual records, it cannot be viewed when the employee is not in the office. Also, other organizations that need information about the employees to verify their identity cannot do so in the absence of an online system. It is in view of this that this research study is conducted to design and implement an online personnel management information system.

1.3 Aim and Objectives of the Study

The aim of the study is to design and implement an online personnel management information system that will enable the Computer science department of Akwa Ibom state College of arts and science to maintain and record the details of its employees such that it will be easy to retrieve needed information with few button clicks. The objectives of the study are;

• To develop a workable online personnel management information system
• To develop a system that will aid in retrieving employee details online.
• To develop a system that will complement or can replace the manual way of managing personnel information.

1.4 Significance of the study

            The significance of the study is that it will provide a better means of managing employee records online. It will facilitate the capturing of employee information so that it will be easy to manage. The report of any employee can be called up by entering the ID number of the employee. The research study will also be significant to other scholars and researchers seeking for valuable information on the subject of employee record management system and electronic record management as it contains professional accounts of electronic record keeping practice and management in developed countries.

1.5 Scope of the Study

This study covers the Online personnel management information system a case study of computer science department Akwa Ibom state College of arts and science, Ikono.

1.6 Limitations of the Study

The following stood as limitations to the study:

Finance: The high cost of transportation to different libraries to gather materials and also the high cost of browsing the internet stood as challenge.

Materials: Few textbooks and materials pertain to the research work.

Limited Time: The time given for the completion of the research work was short.

1.7 Definition of Terms

Personnel  – A paid worker in an institution or organization, private or public.

Record – A collection of related fields. Also considered as an electronic file representing an entity.

Management – The organizing and controlling of the affairs of business.

Electronic Record – A digital record of information stored in a computer system or electronic storage device that can be accessed.

Back-up – A copy of computer data that is stored in another storage device sometimes in a different location.