CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY IN ZIMBABWE

FACULTY OF BUSINESS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (BBM & IT)

AN

INDUSTRIAL ATTACHMENT REPORT

SUBMITTED

TO THE FACULTY OF BUSINESS MANAGEMENT AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY BY RUDO MANHAMBARA

IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF BUSINESS MANAGEMENT & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (HONOURS) HARARE, ZIMBABWE 2010

CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY IN ZIMBABWE

FACULTY OF BUSINESS MANAGEMENT AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

The undersigned certify that they have read, and recommend to the University for acceptance, a research project entitled: A study on record management system used at ZB Bank (Zimbabwe) Ltd by Rudo Manhambara in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Bachelor of Business Management & information Technology (Honours) at the Catholic University in Zimbabwe.

. DEAN AND CHAIRMAN, FACULTY OF BUSINESS MANAGEMENT AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

. RECTOR

DATE: //20

CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY IN ZIMBABWE RELEASE FORM NAME OF AUTHOR: TITLE OF PROJECT: RUDO MANHAMBARA A STUDY ON RECORD MANAGEMENT SYSTEM AT ZB BANK (ZIMBABWE) LTD

DEGREE FOR WHICH PROJECT WAS PREPARED: BACHELOR OF BUSINESS MANAGEMENT AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ( BBM & IT) HONOURS. YEAR DEGREE WAS GRANTED: 2009

Permission is hereby granted to the CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY IN ZIMBABWE LIBRARY to produce single copies of this research project report and lend or sell such copies for private or scientific research purposes only. The author reserves other publication rights, and neither the research project nor extensive extracts from it may be printed or otherwise reproduced without the authors written permission.

Signed RUDO MANHAMBARA

DATE:

10 July 2010

PERMANENT ADDRESS: STAND 1232 ADYLINN DRIVE MARLBOUGH P. O. MARLBOROUGH HARARE ZIMBABWE

DEDICATION

THIS INDUSTRIAL ATTACHMENT REPORT IS DEDICATED TO

MY PARENTS, MR. AND MRS. A. M. MANHAMBARA

TABLE OF CONTENTS CONTENTS PAGE

DEDICATION i TABLE OF CONTENTSii LIST OF TABLES.iv LIST OF FIGURESv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTvi ABSTRACTvii CHAPTER ONE1 INTRODUCTION1 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 1.10 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY..1 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY..2 SPECIFIC RESEARCH QUESTIONS.2 THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY.3 DELIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY...3 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY4 HYPOTHESES GUIDING THE STUDY5 ASSUMPTIONS...5 ORGANISATION OF THE STUDY...6 DEFINITION OF TERMS...6

CHAPTER TWO.7 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE..7

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Carrying out a research project involves many individuals and/or groups of people. It could not have been completed without their continued support and co-operation. I wish to express my deepest gratitude to my project supervisor, Dr. L. M. Rwizi for his invaluable guidance and encouragement during all the stages of the study. In spite of his very busy schedule, Dr. Rwizi showed great interest in my work and was always available for frequent, unrushed and most stimulating tutorials during the four months of this study. Special thanks go to the Management of ZB Bank (Zimbabwe) Ltd., First Street Branch in Harare and personnel in the IT and Human Resources Departments of the Bank. It would have been impossible to complete the study without their co-operation especially during data collection. Personnel in the IT Department assisted me very much during the development and testing of an innovative software programme that the organisation could adopt for its record keeping system. Finally, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to members of my family, particularly my mom and dad for their continued financial, material and moral support throughout the study. I deprived them of love and financial resources that could have been used for more urgent family needs such as food and clothing at a time when the countrys economic environment was in very bad shape.

ABSTRACT The study sought to examine the system of record management that was being kept at First Street Branch of ZB Bank (Zimbabwe) Ltd. The study pursues a broad approach in exploring the management of company records and problems associated with it at the Bank. The main purpose of the study was threefold: To analyse from the relevant literature sources, the various systems of record keeping that organisations may employ; To make a systematic investigation of record management system(s) used at the First Street Branch of ZB Bank (Zimbabwe) Ltd and problems being faced with the system(s); and Develop a unique and more innovative software programme on the management of records that could be recommended for possible adoption by the Banks First Street Branch and perhaps other branches of the Bank as well. To carry out the study the researcher used a variety of data collection techniques such as participant observation, questionnaires, and interviews that were held with twenty key personnel in senior management positions, and in the IT and Human Resources Departments. The study was based on the survey and experimental research designs. The target population for the study was made up of seventy-five individuals. But due to constraints of time and financial resources, the researcher interviewed a sample of ten people in senior management positions. Questionnaires were distributed to another twenty-five from the IT and Human Resources departments. All the questionnaires distributed were completed and returned to the researcher. Simple random and purposive sampling techniques were used to select the studys participants. A pilot study was carried out on a convenience sample of ten respondents similar to the target population and under the same conditions as for those who were to be approached for questionnaire and interview data. Data from the pilot study were only used for the purpose of ensuring validity and reliability of the research instruments. Experiments were also conducted in order to develop a prototype software programme that, if adopted, would be unique to ZB Bank First Street Branch and ensure efficiency and effectiveness in the management of its records. A review of related literature suggests that there are many ways of record keeping that organisations may use. The study revealed that the First Street Branch of ZB Bank (Zimbabwe) Ltd still uses the outdated manual system that makes it difficulty to locate and retrieve information quickly. This is in spite of the fact that the Bank has a viable IT Department that is manned by well-qualified and experienced personnel. Several manhours were being wasted in trying to dig for the required records in the Bank. The management of an organisations records should be based on user friendly and more modern IT solutions and systems. Consequently, experiments that the researcher carried out at the First Street Branch of ZB Bank resulted in the development of a quick and easy to use software programme. In this regard, the researcher has recommended this new and innovative software programme as a practical solution to the many problems bedeviling the First Street Branch of ZB Bank and perhaps other branches as well.

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