| Abstract [eng] |
The aim of the master thesis is to identify the reasons why organizations still use paper documents. Research methods – Theoretical analysis method. Scientific literature, scientific publications, scientific research, legal acts related to the use of paper documents in organizations were analyzed and described. Lithuanian legislation, the regulation of which does not improve the situation of paper document abandonment, was analyzed. For the quantitative research the empirical research method (quantitative survey) was chosen – the research was conducted by means of a descriptive survey, the respondents carried out the survey independently. The aim was to find out whether the same reasons apply in Lithuania as in foreign literature. Survey results. The study, which aimed to find out whether the reasons found in the foreign literature and in Lithuanian legislation are the same as the reasons for the use of paper documents in Lithuanian organizations, interviewed over 200 respondents, most of whom have used paper documents in the last month. The results of the survey showed that of all the reasons for the existence of paper documents in organizations, the most influential is the employees' habit of using paper documents. The most common factors that lead to the use of paper documents are reading large volumes of documents, signing documents and realizing thoughts. Respondents identified that in order to reduce the circulation of paper documents in organizations, improvements to information systems (integrations, process automation, etc.) and reduction of staff habituation to paper documents is needed. People are used to managing and owning paper, they prefer and understand paper versions, whereas information systems make it more difficult to read the content of documents than paper. Lithuanian legislation on document management is being updated, but too slowly, and is ambiguous or interpreted differently. Organizations may be confused about the possibilities of e-document management. With the goal of reducing the use of paper documents in the organization, it is important to change employees' paper habits, to communicate the goal properly, to encourage employees to join the goal and to collect feedback from them. It is also important to encourage as many organizations as possible to move towards electronic information management, to share good practices in moving towards electronic information management and to encourage public authorities to improve their e-signature and archiving services. |
