| Summary: | The characterization of function and authority relations of an entity provides
the basis for representing what has been termed the "external structure of
provenance." Such a representation enables an understanding of the administrative
context in which an organizational entity and its agents conduct their activities and,
in turn, illuminates the manner in which the records of an entity are created and
maintained.
The study applies a methodology enabling the mapping of the characterizable
elements of function and competence of an entity over time and through the
administrative hierarchy of its structure. Terms of analysis relating to the
application of the concept of function are established, as are those relating to the
structure of the entity. These provide a consistent means to identify the role and
status of juridical persons comprising the organizational entity and to illustrate the
nature of their activities in processes established to satisfy the entity's functional
requisites.
The municipal corporation of Richmond, British Columbia, is the subject of a
case study serving to confirm the validity of terms in which external structure can be
analyzed. The study first examines the purposeful nature of the entity's activities
through their functional characterization. It then examines the nature of authority
relations inherent in the entity's organizational design and manifest through
organizational process and role defining the nature of its structure. The study then demonstrates how the resulting authority relationships, along with the competences
of the entity, can be identified in processes of activity fulfilment as components of a
system of purposive activity representing the entity as a unitary, organic whole.
The functional-structural analysis of system provides the context for
understanding activity manifest through observable processes by elements comprising
the entity's organizational structure. The conceptual framework which results
establishes the basis upon which the whole of the records of a municipal corporation
can be viewed as constituting a fonds. The thesis concludes by examining some of
the implications of the analysis for various aspects of archival practice. === Arts, Faculty of === Library, Archival and Information Studies (SLAIS), School of === Graduate
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