E-record readiness – Can we build a contextual and conceptual framework for labour organisations in Botswana?

Abstract

Literature shows that by and large, most labour organisations’ activities are largely knowledge-based as well as information intensive and that the proliferation of e-records has brought about many challenges to labour organizations, many of which are unaware of the numerous issues pertaining to the creation, storage and retrieval and dissemination of e-records. Currently there are various assessment tools that have been put in place to assess the depth of e-readiness all over the world. However, most of these tools have been criticized for “varying definitions for e-readiness and different methods for measurement while others have been criticized for lacking the “information access” component but “subsumed under information and communication technology (ICT)”. In particular, most of these tools are said to be general in nature and that they are highly quantitative in measurement, focus on government agencies and do not emphasize the question of e-record readiness in the civil society or non-governmental organizations. The question, therefore, that needs to be addressed is whether the existing e-records readiness framework is appropriate for assessing e-records readiness in labour organizations and to what extent such a framework can be used as basis for understanding the management of electronic records in such organizations. This article therefore interrogates the usefulness of e-records readiness assessment tools in labour organizations in Botswana. Based on a literature review, the article seeks to review the content, context and implementation of e-records readiness tools in labour organisations in Botswana. The article concludes by calling for the development of a framework that “institutionalises knowledge about the e-records readiness process-es” in labour organizations for them to integrate fully in the envisaged e-environment in Botswana.