Chapter 2 Solutions: Filing and Indexing

Answers to the Chapter 2 exercises. Each answer is as long as its marks call for: a sentence or two for 1 mark, and five marks’ worth of explained points, tables or working for 5 marks.

Group A: Very Short Answer Questions (1 Mark Each)

1. What is filing?

Filing is the systematic process of classifying, arranging and preserving important office letters, vouchers, deeds, contracts and records safely, so that any of them can be located and retrieved quickly whenever it is needed in the future.

2. What is Misil filing?

Misil filing is a traditional Nepalese filing method in which all the documents related to a single legal case or subject are tied together in chronological order with a red or white cotton ribbon inside a thick Nepali paper cover; it is widely used in courts, Land Revenue Offices and District Administration Offices.

3. Which classification of filing requires a separate index?

Numerical classification requires a separate index, usually an alphabetical index card, because the files are arranged by number and only the index shows which number belongs to which person.

4. Define indexing.

Indexing is a guide, indicator or pointer that helps locate the exact position of a specific file, ledger account or document quickly, just as a book’s table of contents guides a reader to the right page.

Group B: Short Answer Questions (5 Marks Each)

1. Differentiate between Horizontal (Flat) Filing and Vertical (Upright) Filing in five points.

Horizontal and vertical filing are the two modern filing methods. In horizontal (flat) filing, files are laid flat one on top of another, while in vertical (upright) filing, folders stand upright side by side in the drawers of a steel filing cabinet. They differ as follows:

2. What is Alphabetical Classification of filing? Write any two merits and two demerits of it.

Alphabetical Classification is the method of filing in which files are arranged according to the first letter of the name of the person, firm or organization, in dictionary order (A, B, C … Z). Names that begin with the same letter are arranged by their following letters, just as words are in a dictionary, so a client’s file is found by going straight to the letter with which the name begins.

Merits:

1. Simple to understand: Anyone who knows the alphabet can file and find papers without special training. The clerk simply goes to the section for the first letter of the correspondent’s name.
2. Self-indexing: The names written on the folders themselves act as the index, so no separate index is required. This saves the cost and time of preparing and maintaining index cards.

Demerits:

1. Confusion among identical names: When several correspondents share the same name, such as Ram Bahadur Thapa, their files lie together and papers can easily be put into the wrong folder. Other details, such as the address, must then be checked to tell the files apart.
2. Lack of secrecy: Clients’ names are written openly on the folders, so anyone who opens the drawer can see whose files are kept there. The method is therefore not suitable for confidential records.

The chapter also notes one more merit, that new files are easy to add under any letter, and one more demerit, that it is difficult to estimate the space each letter will need.

3. Explain Numerical Classification of filing along with its advantages and disadvantages.

Numerical Classification is the method of filing in which each correspondent, client or file is given a unique serial number (1, 2, 3 … or 101, 102 …) and the folders are arranged strictly in numerical order. Since the folders show only numbers, a separate alphabetical index card is kept for each correspondent, showing the name, address and file number. To find a file, the clerk first looks up the name in the card index, reads the file number and then takes out the folder with that number.

Advantages:

1. High secrecy: Outsiders see only numbers on the folders and cannot tell whose file is whose without the index. This makes the method suitable for confidential records.
2. Unlimited expansion: A new correspondent simply takes the next unused number, and the new folder is added at the end. The existing arrangement never has to be disturbed.
3. No confusion among identical names: Even if many clients have the same name, each has a different file number, so papers are not misplaced between their files.
4. Number as a reference code: The file number can be quoted as a reference on letters and vouchers. Replies can then be filed quickly, and related papers are easy to trace later.

Disadvantages:

1. Indirect system needing a separate index: A file cannot be found directly; the clerk must first consult the alphabetical index. Preparing and maintaining the index adds to the cost and time of filing.
2. Transposition errors: Digits may be read or written in the wrong order, such as 142 for 124, and the file is then put in the wrong place. Once a file is misplaced in this way, it is very hard to trace.

4. What is indexing? Write any five differences between filing and indexing.

Indexing is a guide, indicator or pointer that helps locate the exact position of a specific file, ledger account or document quickly. Just as a book’s table of contents guides a reader to a page number, an office index guides the clerk to the exact cabinet, drawer and folder number. Common types are the book (page) index, loose-leaf index, vowel index, card index, visible card (strip) index and digital (electronic) index.

Five differences between filing and indexing are: