文章基本信息

标题：Strokes...from the Penn
作者：Penn, Ira A
期刊名称：The Information Management Magazine
印刷版ISSN：1535-2897
电子版ISSN：2155-3505
出版年度：1996
卷号：Jul 1996
出版社：A R M A International

Strokes...from the Penn

Penn, Ira A

Forget litigation. Forget disaster recovery. Forget saving time, space, and money. The following notice, which appeared as a goodsized display ad in the Washington Post, says it all.

IMPORTANT

Xxxx Memorial Cemetery is updating it's [sic] records in an effort to better serve our community. If you or your loved ones own property in Xxxxxxx Memorial Cemetery, please contact Xxxxxx at xxx-xxx-xxxx.

Better serve the community? The property of your loved ones? Puhleeze! What these losers are really saying is:

HELP!

Xxxxxx Memorial Cemetery has no records management program. Therefore, our files are a complete shambles and we haven't a clue as to what's going on here. Not only do we not know who owns our empty plots, we're not sure who we've got in the ground. If you intend for this to be your final resting place, please let us know so that we don't have someone else resting in your spot when you arrive. If your Aunt Matilda is already here, we'd appreciate knowing that too, just "for the record."

I crossed-out the names to avoid embarrassing the organization. It doesn't matter who they are; the problem is a universal one.

The next time you're asked to justify your program, pull out the cemetery notice, show it to your boss, and repeat this mantra: Without records, there is no information; without information, there is no functionality; without functionality, we're as good as dead.