Project paper

Please review the description of the organization that is the subject of your semester project.  The description of that organization, Security Transport Professionals, Incorporated, (STP) is described in the instructions for Phase I that you have already completed.  

1. This phase will involve performing a records inventory.  The organization is far too large to undertake a records inventory for the entire company. You will need to make a determination of which program or division or functional area whether that be (a) the narcotic/drugs that you ship/store, (b) the top secret materials that you ship/store, or (c) the toxic or dangerous materials that you ship/store to include in its records inventory. Once you have made that determination, decide which of the managers/personnel previously identified that you will need to contact/interview and work with in order to complete the records inventory for the functional area that your group has selected. It will most likely include more than one of the personnel/departments listed above. As project manager you have decided to collect information using a two-step approach where you first send out survey questions and then once you have received the responses you will follow up by conducting interviews.   

• State whether you intend to focus on the narcotic/drug area, top secret materials for the government, or toxic or dangerous materials/chemicals. 

• Identify which of the above department(s)/areas/units that you will need to survey and subsequently interview, depending on which one of the three functional areas you have decided to focus your attention on.

• For the functional area that you have selected you want to be able to speak intelligently to the knowledge personnel within that department and ask appropriate and relevant questions. Therefore, you need to do some preparation and brainstorming before making contact with the departments/units that you have identified as essential. To that end, identify (using diagram, table, hierarchy chart, taxonomy, or other form that is most descriptive) the “record types” that you expect are created and maintained in each of the departments/areas/units that you have decided to focus on. Use descriptive names for each record type and tell the type of information that would be retained in each record type. This can be as specific as creating a taxonomy for the record if you should decide to do so (see Appendix A in your text book), or you may conduct research and determine what other structure would be appropriate in order to convey this information. The most effective way to convey this information to me would be in the form of a table that identifies the Record Type, Responsible Department, and the Event that triggers the creation of each record type. [For example, if we were dealing with a health care provider (WHICH WE ARE NOT, I am only using this unrelated example to give you an idea of what I want you to do), an example of a record type that your doctor’s office might keep would be an Insurance Record that would include things like information about the Insurer, information about the patient, information about the insured if different from the patient, information about the plan options and conditions of coverage, information about the insured history of using this insurance in the past and the prior payment record.] [Another example:  You will find a record type used on page 172 of your text book to describe a workers’ compensation insurance company’s accident/injury report as part of its record retention schedule.]

• Develop a Records Inventory Survey Form that you are going to use in surveying the departmental unit(s) you have identified above.  The purpose for your survey is to be able to identify the kinds of records (contracts, financial reports, memorandum, invoices, etc.), which department owns the records, which departments access the records, what application creates the record, where the record is stored physically and logically, date created, last changed, whether it is a vital record, and whether there are other forms of the record.  You want to be able to use this information to make decisions related to retention and disposal of the records.  Explain who will receive the survey and why. The survey will be sent about one month prior to the follow up interviews. This will allow for two (2) weeks to complete and return the survey and two weeks to tabulate and review it, and to tweak your interview questions, depending on the results of the survey.  Explain the rationale for the questions that you included in your survey.

• Develop an initial set of interview questions that you plan to use as a follow up to the initial survey that you drafted in (d) above. 

• Based upon the records you have identified above, develop a record retention schedule and for the record types.  Include in this the method of destruction when the record is marked for destruction.  Explain whether you are going to use event-based retention for any of your record types and if so why, and identify the triggering event.  For this question, you need to discuss the legal requirements and compliance considerations.  

THE RESEARCH PAPER:  While your research paper will undoubtedly include a number of tables, diagrams, lists and other illustrations, the paper is to be written in narrative form. The illustrations may be included in appendix at the end of the paper, or may imbedded in the body. But please don’t forget that the paper itself is written in narrative form.  Include citations to your research.  

The paper should be written in narrative form using the APA format.  Please use ample subsections or subheading as appropriate.  Your paper should have a 1-in margin on top, bottom, left and right margins.  The paper should be double spaced.  Use a cover page with a title, and the name of each team member who contributed to your project/paper.  Each page should have a page number in the bottom right margin.  The paper should also include a table of contents, which includes subject headings, subheadings or subtopics, references or sources, and illustrations as well as page numbers for each. 

For each major area or section of your paper explain identify the options you have considered, where applicable.  Discuss the alternatives you considered, giving pros and cons of each, and provide information from the research you conducted that assisted you in arriving at your conclusion as to why one alternative was selected over another. You MUST cite the sources for your research any time you make reference to your research, whether that be through direct quotations or in summary.  Your work should include no fewer than five (5) sources. While there is no minimum or maximum length for your paper ,excluding illustrations. 

 

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