Board Committees: Are They Constructive or Unproductive

Introduction

Most governance boards choose to set up committees for various reasons.

Contructive Reasons to Set Up Committees

Constructive purposes include; to seek advice, to complete research, to make decisions, to gain specific insights about one aspect of the organization, or to problem solve.

Unproductive Reasons for Setting Up Board Committees

Unproductive reasons include; to deflect issues away from the board and slow problem solving, to satisfy various parties needs to have an avenue for input without really having any real impact on decision making, or to have committees because other similar boards have them.

One Example of a Board Committee

Let’s look at one example. This University completed a governance review and make changes to its governance and administrative structures.

 

Example:

Advisory Committee on the Bookstore

1. Membership

(a) Dean of Student Affairs and Services (or delegate);

(b) Three undergraduate students, one appointed by the Memorial University Students’ Union, one by the Marine Institute Students’ Union, and one by the Grenfell College Students’ Union.

(c) One graduate student (to be appointed by GSU);

(d) An appropriate number of academic staff members, not to exceed five, who will include as far as possible balanced representation from the different discipline

groups (Arts, Science, etc.). At least one member must also sit as a member of

Senate;

(e) Manager, University Bookstore (ex-officio).

2. Terms of Reference

(a) To advise the Senate and the Dean of Student Affairs and Services (in his/her

capacity as supervisor of the Bookstore) on matters relating to the policy and of the Bookstore.

(b) To make representations to Senate and the Dean of Student Affairs and Services

(in his/her capacity as supervisor of the Bookstore) on behalf of the bookstore.

(c) To accept representations from students, staff, and faculty, in relation to matters of

a policy nature, concerning the Bookstore.

3. Governing Procedures

(a) The Committee shall elect its own chair annually from among voting members;

(b) The Committee shall meet at least once each semester;

(c) A quorum for the conduct of business shall be 33 1/3% plus one of the votingmembers;

(d) Either the Dean of Student Affairs and Services (or delegate) or the Manager,University Bookstore must be present in order for the Committee to transact business. www.mun.ca/senate/bylaws.php 12 August 2010

 

Analysis of Purpose of Board Committee

Now lets take a closer look at this example and answer a few questions.

Committee Size

1. It takes time for a committee to go through its growing pains and become cohesive, speaking with one voice and representing all voices. Optimum teams have 5-6 or no more than 8 members. Does this committee meet that standard?

Representation

2. To represent all voices and ensure none are marginalized, it is essential that all communities designated in the membership are represented in a meeting. This committee has the potential to have 10 full members and one ex-officio member. A normal quorum would be 50% +1 which would be 6. However, this committee only requires 33.3 % +1 of the members to be present for a quorum. That means that only 4 members need to be present. Is that number sufficient to ensure that all voices are heard and none are marginalized?

Team

3. If a group is truly a team and all issues are discussed thoroughly, should any one member be more important than another? This committee cannot transact business unless either the Dean of Student Affairs and Services (or delegate) or the Manager,University Bookstore are present.  What is the message contained in this statement? Is this a practice you would want to consider in your board?

Is this committee a board committee?

4. Governance committees have members which are board members. Would you say that this committee is a governance committee, a management committee or an advisory committee mainly to the Dean of Student Affairs and Services?

Selecting a chairperson

4. Teams work well when they can select their own leader. This bylaw permits  this practice. Do you permit your committees to select their chairpersons or do you appoint those persons? What are the pros and cons of each method?

Committees are effective when

Productive governance committees, with comprehensive terms of reference, save organizations time and money, and prevent friction among stakeholders and difficult working relations between boards and their senior executive members.