Records management practices in the administration of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion)

Published date21 March 2016
Pages4-20
DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1108/RMJ-01-2015-0005
Date21 March 2016
AuthorBosede Adebimpe Ajiboye,Olubunmi Gabriel Alegbeleye,Sarah Okonedo,Wuraola Janet Oyedipe,Sunday Oluwafemi Emmanuel,Mariam Kehinde Alawiye
Subject MatterInformation & knowledge management,Information management & governance
Records management practices
in the administration of the
Church of Nigeria
(Anglican Communion)
Bosede Adebimpe Ajiboye
Automation Department, Federal University of Agriculture,
Abeokuta, Nigeria
Olubunmi Gabriel Alegbeleye
Department of Library Archival and Information Studies,
Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Nigeria
Sarah Okonedo
Serials Department, Federal University of Agriculture,
Abeokuta, Nigeria
Wuraola Janet Oyedipe
Readers’ Services Department, Olabisi Onabanjo Univeristy,
Ago-Iwoye, Nigeria
Sunday Oluwafemi Emmanuel
Cataloguing and Classication Department,
Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Nigeria, and
Mariam Kehinde Alawiye
College of Agricultural Management and Rural Development Library,
Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Nigeria
Abstract
Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine records management practices as factors
inuencing the administration of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion).
Design/methodology/approach – The study adopted the causal-comparative research design of the ex
post facto type. The multi-stage sampling technique was used to select the sample for the study. A four-point
Likert scale questionnaire that ranged from strongly disagree, disagree, agree and strongly agree was used
to collect data. Three research questions were raised and answered. Data collected were analyzed using
descriptive statistics.
Findings – The outcome shows the various records management practices that the Church engaged in
which include the creation, maintenance, ease of access to, use, preservation and nal disposal of the records.
Other ndings of the study also revealed the joint inuence (positive relationship) of records management
practices (records creation, use, maintenance and retention or disposal) on the administration of the Church
of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) to be signicant which follows that there is a signicant positive
relationship between records management practices and administration of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican
Communion). Also, it is only record use (
0.27; t5.53; p0.05) that has a signicant relative inuence
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/0956-5698.htm
RMJ
26,1
4
Received 14 January 2015
Revised 26 May 2015
14 July 2015
13 November 2015
Accepted 16 November 2015
RecordsManagement Journal
Vol.26 No. 1, 2016
pp.4-20
©Emerald Group Publishing Limited
0956-5698
DOI 10.1108/RMJ-01-2015-0005
on the Church of Nigeria’s (Anglican Communion) administration. Others like record creation or received
(
0.02; t0.28; p0.05), records maintenance (
⫽⫺0.06; t⫽⫺0.93; p0.05) and records retention or
disposal (
0.11; t1.76; p0.05) have no signicant inuence on the church administration. Therefore,
it is only records use that can predict or inuence the administration of Anglican Church positively.
Originality/value – The study is the original ndings of the authors.
Keywords Information management, Records management, Church administration,
Records management practices
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
We live in an information age in which information is at the heart of all endeavours and
serves as a key resource and an exploitable asset in the home and in the workplace, as
well as in the society at large. Information has been referred to as the fth resource of
production after money, manpower, machines and materials (McLeod et al., 2011). The
information which an organisation produces and receives during the course of its
business is recognized as a valuable and unique resource, which needs to be managed
and exploited as are other resources. Much of this information is extracted from records
that the organisation generates and receives during the course of conducting its
business.
As an organisational resource, records serve several functions in the operation of an
organisation. According to Popoola (2000), what actually keeps the civil service going in
any modern state is recorded information called “records”, which are used for
administration. Records management allows an organisation to document and retrieve
information that can be used for the purpose of reporting, assessing, planning,
monitoring and evaluation.
According to Lipchak (2002), good records management is essential for good
administration. It provides the vital information and essential evidence to enable
administrators to identify and understand problems and issues, make decisions and
take actions. In the same study, he also noted that good records management means
determining information needs, creating and acquiring information, distributing and
sharing records and information, evaluating and using information to identify and solve
problems. Hence, the study examined the records management practices in the
administration of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion).
The Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion)
The Anglican Church set its foot on the soil of Nigeria in 1842 through the Church
Missionary Society led by Rev Henry Townsend. The Church began in Abeokuta on 25
December 1842 through the then Rev Samuel Ajayi Crowther (a Yoruba ex-slave) from
where it spread the length and breadth of Nigeria (Usikaro, 2009). It has become the
second-largest province in the Anglican Communion, as measured by baptized
membership, after the Church of England. It has a current membership of over 18 m, out
of a total Nigerian population of 140 m (Anglican Consultative Council, 2011). The
Anglican Church is organized into 14 ecclesiastical provinces. It has rapidly increased
the number of its dioceses and bishops from 91 in 2002 to 61 at the present. The
administrative headquarters is located in Abuja.
The Anglican Church in Nigeria has always played a meaningful role in the
development of the nation and in the promotion of an ideal society that is based on the
5
Records
management
practices

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