President (corporate title)

A president is a leader of an organization, company, community, club, trade union, university or other group. ^{[1] [2]} The relationship between a president and a chief executive officer varies, depending on the structure of the specific organization. In a similar vein to a chief operating officer, the title of corporate president as a separate position (as opposed to being combined with a "C-suite" designation, such as "president and chief executive officer" or "president and chief operating officer") is also loosely defined; the president is usually the legally recognized highest rank of corporate officer, ranking above the various vice presidents (including senior vice president and executive vice president), but on its own generally considered subordinate, in practice, to the CEO. The powers of a president vary widely across organizations and such powers come from specific authorization in the bylaws like Robert's Rules of Order (e.g. the president can make an "executive decision" only if the bylaws allow for it). ^[3]

Contents

• History
• Powers and authority
• Disciplinary procedures
• President-elect
• Immediate past president
• References
• Further reading

History

Originally, the term president was used in the same way that foreman or overseer is used now (the term is still used in that sense today). ^{[4] [5]} It has now also come to mean "chief officer" in terms of administrative or executive duties.

Powers and authority

The powers of the president vary widely across organizations. In some organizations the president has the authority to hire staff and make financial decisions, while in others the president only makes recommendations to a board of directors, and still others the president has no executive powers and is mainly a spokesperson for the organization. The amount of power given to the president depends on the type of organization, its structure, and the rules it has created for itself. ^[6]

In addition to administrative or executive duties in organizations, a president has the duties of presiding over meetings. ^[7] Such duties at meetings include:

• calling the meeting to order
• determining if a quorum is present
• announcing the items on the order of business or agenda as they come up
• recognition of members to have the floor
• enforcing the rules of the group
• putting all questions (motions) to a vote
• adjourning the meeting

While presiding, a president remains impartial and does not interrupt speakers if a speaker has the floor and is following the rules of the group. ^[8] In committees or small boards, the president votes along with the other members. However, in assemblies or larger boards, the president should vote only when it can affect the result. ^[9] At a meeting, the president only has one vote (i.e. the president cannot vote twice and cannot override the decision of the group unless the organisation has specifically given the president such authority). ^[10]

Disciplinary procedures

If the president exceeds the given authority, engages in misconduct, or fails to perform the duties, the president may face disciplinary procedures. Such procedures may include censure, suspension, or removal from office. The rules of the particular organization would provide details on who can perform these disciplinary procedures and the extent that they can be done. ^[11] Usually, whoever appointed or elected the president has the power to discipline this officer.

President-elect

Some organizations may have a position of president-elect in addition to the position of president. Generally the membership of the organization elects a president-elect and when the term of the president-elect is complete, that person automatically becomes president. ^[12]

Immediate past president

Some organizations may have a position of immediate past president in addition to the position of president. ^{[13] [14] [15]} In those organizations, when the term of the president is complete, that person automatically fills the position of immediate past president. The organization can have such a position only if the bylaws provide it. ^[16] The duties of such a position would also have to be provided in the bylaws. ^[16]

Related Research Articles

A board of directors is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organization, or a government agency.

Robert's Rules of Order, often simply referred to as Robert's Rules, is a manual of parliamentary procedure by U.S. Army officer Henry Martyn Robert. "The object of Rules of Order is to assist an assembly to accomplish the work for which it was designed [...] Where there is no law [...] there is the least of real liberty." The term Robert's Rules of Order is also used more generically to refer to any of the more recent editions, by various editors and authors, based on any of Robert's original editions, and the term is used more generically in the United States to refer to parliamentary procedure. It was written primarily to help guide voluntary associations in their operations of governance.

A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on the executive branch of the government, university or company. The name comes from the Latin term vice meaning "in place of" and typically serves as pro tempore to the president. In some countries, the vice president is called the deputy president. In everyday speech, the abbreviation VP is used.

A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more fully than would be possible if the assembly itself were considering them. Committees may have different functions and their types of work differ depending on the type of the organization and its needs.

An officer-elect is a person who has been elected to a position but has not yet been installed. Notably, a president who has been elected but not yet installed would be referred to as a president-elect.

A censure is an expression of strong disapproval or harsh criticism. In parliamentary procedure, it is a debatable main motion that could be adopted by a majority vote. Among the forms that it can take are a stern rebuke by a legislature, a spiritual penalty imposed by a church, or a negative judgment pronounced on a theological proposition. It is usually non-binding, unlike a motion of no confidence.

The International Council of Community Churches (ICCC) is a Christian religious association of ecumenically co-operating Protestants and Independent Catholics. Based in Longmout, CO, in the United States, it is the main organization of the Community Church movement. The ICCC is a member of Churches Uniting in Christ, the National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA and the World Council of Churches. In 2010, the ICCC had 148 congregations with 68,300 members. Membership is concentrated primarily in the Midwest. However, there are several congregations in California, New York, and Florida. According to the World Council of Churches, the council has 108,806 members worldwide.

World Conference is the highest legislative body in Community of Christ and is empowered to act for the entire church. It operates according to a principle known as "common consent" and is presided over by the First Presidency. The functioning of the councils, quorums and orders of the church are also considered an important part of the World Conference.

A casting vote is a vote that someone may exercise to resolve a tied vote in a deliberative body. A casting vote is typically by the presiding officer of a council, legislative body, committee, etc., and may only be exercised to break a deadlock.

The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the group or organisation, presides over meetings of the group, and conducts the group's business in an orderly fashion.

Parliament of Sierra Leone is the legislative branch of the government of Sierra Leone. It is principally responsible for making laws. The Sierra Leone parliament consists of 149 members, of which 135 members are directly elected from across Sierra Leone's 16 districts, while 14 are paramount chiefs appointed from the 14 rural districts. The parliament is led by the Speaker of the House; the position is currently held by Abass Bundu of the Sierra Leone People's Party. The current elected 135 ordinary members of parliament are composed of members of the All People's Congress and the Sierra Leone People's Party which are the two largest political parties in Sierra Leone.

The president of the Senate of the Philippines or is the presiding officer and the highest-ranking official of the Senate of the Philippines, and third highest and most powerful official in the government of the Philippines. They are elected by the entire body to be their leader. The Senate president is second in the line of succession to the presidency, behind only the vice president and ahead of the speaker of the House of Representatives.

An ex officio member is a member of a body who is part of it by virtue of holding another office. The term ex officio is Latin, meaning literally 'from the office', and the sense intended is 'by right of office'; its use dates back to the Roman Republic.

Deliberative assemblies – bodies that use parliamentary procedure to arrive at decisions – use several methods of voting on motions. The regular methods of voting in such bodies are a voice vote, a rising vote, and a show of hands. Additional forms of voting include a recorded vote and balloting.

In parliamentary procedure, a motion to appeal from the decision of the chair is used to challenge a ruling of the chair.

In parliamentary procedure, a motion to raise a question of privilege is a privileged motion that permits a request related to the rights and privileges of the assembly or any of its members to be brought up.

Debate in parliamentary procedure refers to discussion on the merits of a pending question; that is, whether it should or should not be agreed to. It is also commonly referred to as "discussion".

In a deliberative assembly, disciplinary procedures are used to punish members for violating the rules of the assembly.

In parliamentary procedure, requests and inquiries are motions used by members of a deliberative assembly to obtain information or to do or have something done that requires permission of the assembly. Except for a request to be excused from a duty, these requests and inquiries are not debatable nor amendable.

A motion to vacate the chair or motion to declare the chair vacant, commonly shortened to a motion to vacate, is a procedure in which a member of a legislative body proposes that the presiding officer vacates their office.

References

Further reading

• Bennett, Nathan; Stephen A. Miles (2006). Riding Shotgun: The Role of the COO . Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. ISBN   0-8047-5166-8.
• National Association of Parliamentarians, Education Committee (1993). Spotlight on You the President. Independence, MO: National Association of Parliamentarians. ISBN   1-884048-15-3.