Records management practices of hair salons in Dr. Ruth Segomotsi Mompati district municipality

Abstract

This study was necessitated by the fact that being labour intensive, hair salons provide partial solution to South Africa’s high unemployment, poverty and inequality problems hence need to be supported so that they can grow and continue performing their expected labour absorption role. Dr. Ruth Segomotsi Mompati district municipality in the North West Province of South Africa is a socio economically depressed area that depends on hair salons for employment. The prosperity of hair salons is therefore critical to the well-being of the inhabitants of the area. Unfortunately, proliferation of hair salon business in Dr. Ruth Segomotsi Mompati district municipality since the dawn of democracy in South Africa has created fierce competition for customers leading to lack of profitability and hair salons failures.

While many reasons can account for business failure in the face of intense competitive environment, there is consensus from the literature that in the current information economy, appropriate management of records allows for quick access to reliable information and this is key to business success. In fact, resource-based view (RBV) of the firm suggests that a company’s quick access to reliable information that is contained in its resources allows that firm to gain sustainable competitive advantage that allows for superior performance. This calls for proper management of a company’s records. Accordingly, it is crucial that managers/owners of hair salons recognise the importance of good records management in their businesses in order to continuously have timely access to accurate information.

Unfortunately, the researcher has informally observed a disturbing trend among some hair salons in Dr Ruth Mompati local municipality that flies in the face of what can be termed good records management. An informal visit to some of the salons in the region revealed an apparent laxity with which transactions were recorded. Worst still, Informal conversations with a few hair salons operators seem to suggests that records management may be a problem among hair salons as some even see it as more a liability than asset. This suggests that hair salons in Dr. Ruth Segomotsi Mompati district municipality might not be taking records management seriously. The question then is, how wide spread is this negative attitude towards records keeping in Dr Ruth Mompati local municipality? Or could this be the general sentiment in the hair salon industry as a whole?

The purpose of this study was to assess the status of records management among hair salons in Dr. Ruth Segomotsi Mompati District Municipality.

The key finding of this study is that most hair salons in Dr. Ruth Segomotsi Mompati district municipality do practice records management to a certain extent. However, there are certain records that hair salons in the area regard as of no importance and therefore are neglected. The study also revealed that those hair salons that engage in good records management outperform those that do not. The study further revealed that most of the salons keep paper records although they would prefer electronic format. Lack of access to computers was cited as the greatest problem in keeping electronic records. Details of the study including findings, conclusions and recommendations are presented and discussed in the main report.