--- "Chris, UK" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Trini wrote: > > In a lot of small communities, tango gets started > through people pooling their resources to form non-profits. Officers are often elected as a legal requirement to share a balance of power. That is how things are often done in the States. > "in the States" - no doubt. But I think you'll find, as I said, that phenomenon is largely confined to the tango third world. Perhaps in part because in established tango communities, "balance of power" and getting a share of it doesn't have quite as much appeal...
On the contrary, it becomes even more important, as I shall explain below. But first, please elaborate what you mean by "third world". You say it as if there is something wrong with being third-world. What do you mean by it? On issues about the balance of power. In larger cities, the monetary figures goes into tens of thousands of dollars. When this occurs it is critical that an appropriate structure be in place, especially for nonprofits, to protect the funds and property of the nonprofit. Since I'm much more familiar with for-profit corporations than I am with nonprofits, I'll discuss the issues in those terms. The underlying ideas, however still apply to nonprofits. A corporation is a legal entity (i.e., a "person") with its own rights. The structure and laws governing a corporation are intended to allow it to grow in perpetuity. The officers of a corporation (e.g., the chief executive officer, chief financial officer, chief operating officer, and director of marketing among others) have a fiduciary obligation to treat the money of the corporation with the same care as if it was their own (this is the legal standard). This is to protect the investors. These officers also report to the board of directors (comprised of both outside directors and company officers) who represent the shareholders. It's the board who hires/fires the CEO or the president of the company. Imagine what would happen if the CEO and the CFO was the same person. Of if the officers didnt have to report to the board. Or if the CEO was chosen by the officers of the company. Think of how easy it would be for the funds of the corporation to be siphoned away into a Swiss bank account. This is why independent auditing is such a big deal. The Big 5 accounting firm of Arther Anderson was dissolved after the Enron scandal because its accounting practices were not thought to be completely independent of Enron. In nonprofits, you can have one person doing the function of a CEO and CFO, but this can be dangerous since it would be so easy to doctor the bookkeeping. By now it should be pretty obvious why the balance of power is so important. There is also the potential problem of groupthink that is, people can be trying so hard to get along that they may not do what is actually best for the nonprofit. An example of this is the Bay of Pigs fiasco early in John F. Kennedys term. The invasion plans had been developed with Kennedys predecessor, and Kennedy sorta went along. When the Cuban Missile crisis came along, Kennedy secretly appointed his brother Robert to be a devils advocate to make sure that all information (not just the pros) were brought out before he made a decision. In terms of a tango community, people need to hold the officers of the nonprofit that they belong to accountable for their decisions. After all, its their own resources they are investing that they are trusting the officers to use wisely. But its also not just the funds, its goodwill (which is actually considered to be an intangible asset owned by the company). What tends to happen is groupthink people are not willing to challenge a decision they feel an officer made is bad because they may not want to rock the boat. When problems occur, say a community divides, people tend not to say anything and hope that things work out. I say: be active, say something, rock the boat, treat it with the same seriousness you do with your own investment. Because people will invest simply because they feel it is important to support their community. Whether you realize it or not, there are people in communities who have influence (i.e. community leaders) whether they realize it or not. This is true not matter how big the community is. You may not realize it until a crisis occurs. For this, tango communities might be ill-prepared. But I think Ive written enough for now. Trini de Pittsburgh PATangoS - Pittsburgh Argentine Tango Society Our Mission: To make Argentine Tango Pittsburghs most popular social dance! http://patangos.home.comcast.net/ ____________________________________________________________________________________ Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. http://mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ _______________________________________________ Tango-L mailing list [email protected] http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/tango-l
