Page 51 - Information Management 3rd Edition

filing system used.
copy
Step 6 – Sorting. Sort all the correspondence into groups according to the
Step 7 – Filing. Place the documents in the appropriate files or folders.
• Filing management
It is not only important to know how and when documents need to be filed, it is also necessary to know how to manage and control the place of filing. If no control is exercised, documents will get lost or fall into the wrong hands. The person who is responsible for the documents should do everything in his/her ability to safeguard the documents. It is always a good policy to grant access to the documents only to authorised personnel. It is also important to place a restriction on the number of people that have access to the documents. The control of documents entails:
– The control of access to classified material – Some documents are
irreplaceable. If these fall into the wrong hands, it can cause great harm to the business. Therefore, special precautions should be taken to ensure that this does not happen. One method to control access to classified material is to keep the filing cabinet locked at all times. Alternatively, classified material can be stored at a bank, locked in a safe or put on microfilm. In electronic filing, a password can be installed on the document. In addition to this, special filing procedures can also be used.
Chapter 3 – Managing Information
• The filing procedure
Here we use mail as an example of a document that is filed.
Step 1 – Identify the type of mail. Mail should be identified as incoming, outgoing or internal mail.
Step 2 – Inspection. Make sure that the mail is supposed to be filed. The correspondence must have been seen by somebody. Look for the initials of the addressee, a filing stamp or any sign that indicates that the document is ready for filing.
Step 3 – Indexing. Select an appropriate name or reference code. Incoming mail is normally filed under the name of the business on the letterhead or the name of the sender, if this is important. On outgoing correspondence, the name of the addressee is important. If the address on the inside of the lettePr consists rof the neame of th-e sendper and theubusiness, ibt is better to use the name of the business. The only exception is that of personal mail sent to a business address. Internal correspondence is filed according to the subject or contents of the correspondence. Check the contents of the correspondence to select the most appropriate subject. If more than one subject is suitable, cross-referencing should be used.
Step 4 – Coding. The name, subject, date and any reference code are
high
the filing system after being used.
Step 5 – Cross-referencing. The document is filed under the most appropriate
subject. A cross-reference card is placed in all the other relevant files. As
mentioned, the cross-reference card consists of a description of the document
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