In message <7CEE673EF74B4720829CBA46D820817B@geoffbqm5ccx41>, Geoff
Wicks <[email protected]> writes
--------------------------------------------------
From: "gdgqler" <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, February 07, 2011 9:53 AM
To: <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: [Ql-Users] Finally a reply
Perhaps the entire constitution of Quanta needs altering.
Now where did I hear that recently ;-)
I once was involved in rewriting an entire constitution. When Works
Council Law was changed in the Netherlands all Works Councils had to
rewrite their constitutions. We had a choice of either doing it
ourselves or employing an outside consultant costing hundreds of pounds.
As I was the only member of the council with the relevant skills and
experience I was given the job, but at the same time the council
appointed another member to be my mentor to check everything I did.
In practice I found I could still keep much of the old constitution in
the new one and I suspect that would be much the same in Quanta. There
were model constitutions published and I also had to keep checking the
new Works Council Law. In short in was a bit like "pick 'n' mix".
Basically Quanta would have to do is:
1: Look through the old constitution and get a rough idea of what you
would like to leave in and what you would like to leave out. Then have
an extensive consultation period to determine the main details. Do not
rush this - it is better to take your time than do a quick botched job.
(The lesson of the 2005 amendments.)
2: More than one person should be involved in the drafting. It is a bit
like a superbasic program. Few of us could write a superbasic program
that is totally bug free and that also applies to constitutions. Even
better if the draft constitution is proofread by a person or persons
not involved in the drafting.
3: Bear in mind that during the drafting matters could arise that need
further consultation or decision by the committee or members. When
writing the works council constitution I had to consult the council on
whether we should have a personal or list voting system and had to
prepare a paper on the merits and demerits of each.
For example in Quanta to maintain continuity the officers currently
have a three year period of office. You could have chosen instead for
all committee members to serve 2 years with one half of the committee
to face re-election in any one year. This is not a decision for the
drafters, but the committee and/or members.
4: Publish the draft constitution well in advance to allow time for
possible amendments, comments or objections.
A very time consuming process, but Quanta may find it worthwhile,
Best Wishes,
Geoff
Hi Geoff,
I agree with most of what you say, apart from keeping the "Term of
Office" feature.
Better to abandon that, all together, and just have all Board/Committee
members standing down every Year; and then putting themselves forward
again for a following Year (or not if they so choose).
This way you keep your good Board/Committee members.
The Treasurer Post is always a difficult one to fill.
When you find a good one, then keep them ... :-)
I would not object to being involved in drafting a new/revised
Constitution.
--
Malcolm Cadman
_______________________________________________
QL-Users Mailing List
http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
