ChatterBank5 mins ago
Committee Decisions
14 Answers
I'm on a charity committee and of late the committee meetings seem to be run in a bit of a nonchalant way. It's my understanding that there is a requirement for all decisions taken to be voted on and recorded in the minutes before being implemented. Please would someone confirm this or tell me otherwise - am very happy to be corrected! thank you.
Answers
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Decisions affecting the charities work should certainly be minuted. However, the degree of formality of a committee meeting can vary, suiting the inclination of members and importance of their work. For major decisions a vote is desirable, for those less important the chairman may sense enough support for a proposal without taking a vote.
I agree with JJ, I chair and committee and sit on others. For some major decisions, e.g. major expenditure or activity decisions, we formally propose, second, and vote (with the numbers of ayes and nays noted) - for other decisions, we say "all in agreement?" and just note the minutes as "it was agreed".
rsvp - you might find this site useful http://
In a section about effective meetings, I found this:
There are two common methods of making decisions:
1. By consensus; and
2. By taking a vote.
Some organisations have a strong commitment to consensual decision making and only take a vote in exceptional circumstances. Others routinely vote on issues.
Regardless of how decisions are taken, all committee members should be clear about exactly what has been decided and decisions should be clearly minuted.
In a section about effective meetings, I found this:
There are two common methods of making decisions:
1. By consensus; and
2. By taking a vote.
Some organisations have a strong commitment to consensual decision making and only take a vote in exceptional circumstances. Others routinely vote on issues.
Regardless of how decisions are taken, all committee members should be clear about exactly what has been decided and decisions should be clearly minuted.
The committees I've worked with have ran pretty much on the lines that boxtops describes but I've always insisted that anything involving money was always voted on and minuted strictly according too the rules,after all when you're handling other peoples money you've got to do everything in an open and accountable manner.
I have found this book helpful "The Right Way to Conduct Meetings". Easy to follow guidance on organisations, role of officers, committee meetings, AGM etc.
http://
http://
The minutes of a meeting should show how a decision was arrived at.
When a vote is taken it's common practice (but not essential) to provide full details. e.g: "The Secretary proposed that the date of the sponsored walk be changed to 15th November. Miss Higgins seconded the motion, which was subsequently passed by 7 votes to 2, with 3 abstentions"
When no vote is taken, the minutes should indicate that fact. e.g: "The date of the sponsored walk was discussed and it was decided, nem con, that it should be held on 15 November"
['nem con' = 'nemine contradicente' = 'without dissent']
It's standard practice for the first item on the agenda of any committee meeting (possibly after 'Chairman's welcome' and/or 'Apologies for absence') to be 'Minutes of the Last Meeting'. Rather worryingly, they are often simply 'taken as read', which is poor practice because it fails to give those present the chance to challenge their accuracy. (e.g: "Hang on a minute, Mr Chairman! I remember discussing the date of the sponsored walk but I most definitely didn't agree to fixing a date for it; I thought that we still had to decide on it at this meeting").
So, even if you can't change the decision-making practices of the committee you serve on, RSVP, you could at least try to improve the standard of the minute taking and ensure that the minutes aren't routinely 'taken as read'.
When a vote is taken it's common practice (but not essential) to provide full details. e.g: "The Secretary proposed that the date of the sponsored walk be changed to 15th November. Miss Higgins seconded the motion, which was subsequently passed by 7 votes to 2, with 3 abstentions"
When no vote is taken, the minutes should indicate that fact. e.g: "The date of the sponsored walk was discussed and it was decided, nem con, that it should be held on 15 November"
['nem con' = 'nemine contradicente' = 'without dissent']
It's standard practice for the first item on the agenda of any committee meeting (possibly after 'Chairman's welcome' and/or 'Apologies for absence') to be 'Minutes of the Last Meeting'. Rather worryingly, they are often simply 'taken as read', which is poor practice because it fails to give those present the chance to challenge their accuracy. (e.g: "Hang on a minute, Mr Chairman! I remember discussing the date of the sponsored walk but I most definitely didn't agree to fixing a date for it; I thought that we still had to decide on it at this meeting").
So, even if you can't change the decision-making practices of the committee you serve on, RSVP, you could at least try to improve the standard of the minute taking and ensure that the minutes aren't routinely 'taken as read'.
rsvp - I use the Businessballs site for all sorts of templates. It's very business-oriented but the section on here following on from "Meetings, Basic Rules" (scroll down) is all good sound stuff http://
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