Guest Brooke Posted March 21, 2019 at 10:32 PM Report Share Posted March 21, 2019 at 10:32 PM The president of our Board believes that they have the authority to make executive decisions unilaterally impacting the Chapter. My main concern is that they believe they have this ability when it comes to contentious issues. This is not delineated in our bylaws and to my knowledge is not granted by Robert's Rules but would love if someone can confirm or provide clarification. Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Brown Posted March 21, 2019 at 11:09 PM Report Share Posted March 21, 2019 at 11:09 PM 32 minutes ago, Guest Brooke said: The president of our Board believes that they have the authority to make executive decisions unilaterally impacting the Chapter. Who is this "they" that you referred to several times? Are you referring to the board or to a single individual, such as the president? If you are referring to a single individual, please use the pronoun "he" or "she". When you use the pronoun "they", we think you are referring to a group of people such as the board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atul Kapur Posted March 22, 2019 at 12:11 AM Report Share Posted March 22, 2019 at 12:11 AM Or use the singular of the verb "to have" as in, "they believe they has the authority" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Evangeline Posted March 22, 2019 at 12:24 AM Report Share Posted March 22, 2019 at 12:24 AM Context clues and mention of "president" at the start should make it clear to you that "they" referred to "he" or "she (the president). If you have the answer I think that's what would be most appreciated. @Richard Brown Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joshua Katz Posted March 22, 2019 at 12:40 AM Report Share Posted March 22, 2019 at 12:40 AM 2 hours ago, Guest Brooke said: This is not delineated in our bylaws and to my knowledge is not granted by Robert's Rules but would love if someone can confirm or provide clarification. The first part of this sentence is the key. Officers have such powers as are given to them in the bylaws. Thus, the President has such powers as are given in the bylaws, and no more. The only exception would be if a person or body (such as a board) both has a power, and has the power to delegate said power, and chooses to delegate it to the President. Failing that, the President has no inherent unilateral power to make decisions. Sometimes, officers act in excess of their powers, in the hopes that the appropriate body will later agree with them. When doing so, they run the risk that the deliberative body will not agree, and they will face discipline. Note: This answer depends on the assumption that "they" means the President. If there is a board involved (as in, the President thinks that the board has unilateral powers...) then the answer will probably still be that powers must be in the bylaws, but some details might change. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hieu H. Huynh Posted March 22, 2019 at 01:04 AM Report Share Posted March 22, 2019 at 01:04 AM The president has such authority only insofar as the bylaws provide it (RONR 11th ed., p. 456, ll. 27-28). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Novosielski Posted March 22, 2019 at 01:28 AM Report Share Posted March 22, 2019 at 01:28 AM 1 hour ago, Atul Kapur said: Or use the singular of the verb "to have" as in, "they believe they has the authority" Oh, they does, does they? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Novosielski Posted March 22, 2019 at 01:30 AM Report Share Posted March 22, 2019 at 01:30 AM 49 minutes ago, Joshua Katz said: The first part of this sentence is the key. Officers have such powers as are given to them in the bylaws. Thus, the President has such powers as are given in the bylaws, and no more. The only exception would be if a person or body (such as a board) both has a power, and has the power to delegate said power, and chooses to delegate it to the President. Failing that, the President has no inherent unilateral power to make decisions. Sometimes, officers act in excess of their powers, in the hopes that the appropriate body will later agree with them. When doing so, they run the risk that the deliberative body will not agree, and they will face discipline. Note: This answer depends on the assumption that "they" means the President. If there is a board involved (as in, the President thinks that the board has unilateral powers...) then the answer will probably still be that powers must be in the bylaws, but some details might change. But normally a board doesn't have the power to delegate its power, or am I misremembering? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joshua Katz Posted March 22, 2019 at 01:39 AM Report Share Posted March 22, 2019 at 01:39 AM 8 minutes ago, Gary Novosielski said: But normally a board doesn't have the power to delegate its power, or am I misremembering? I don't think you're misremembering, I think either you're misunderstanding what I'm saying, or I'm being unclear. Ordinarily a board does not have the power to delegate. What I tried to say was that if the board has the power to delegate, and chooses to delegate to the President, then the President will have such power. I do not mean to suggest that boards ordinarily have the power to delegate unless the bylaws grant it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Novosielski Posted March 22, 2019 at 01:46 AM Report Share Posted March 22, 2019 at 01:46 AM Thanx. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Martin Posted March 22, 2019 at 01:26 PM Report Share Posted March 22, 2019 at 01:26 PM 14 hours ago, Guest Brooke said: The president of our Board believes that they have the authority to make executive decisions unilaterally impacting the Chapter. My main concern is that they believe they have this ability when it comes to contentious issues. This is not delineated in our bylaws and to my knowledge is not granted by Robert's Rules but would love if someone can confirm or provide clarification. It is correct that nothing in RONR grants the President the authority to make “executive decisions.” Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shmuel Gerber Posted March 22, 2019 at 06:08 PM Report Share Posted March 22, 2019 at 06:08 PM 17 hours ago, Atul Kapur said: Or use the singular of the verb "to have" as in, "they believe they has the authority" I can't tell if you art being serious, but that is a ridiculous suggestion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benjamin Geiger Posted March 22, 2019 at 06:52 PM Report Share Posted March 22, 2019 at 06:52 PM 41 minutes ago, Shmuel Gerber said: I can't tell if you art being serious, but that is a ridiculous suggestion. Art thou? But in seriousness, yeah, even when "they" is used as a singular pronoun, it still conjugates as plural. Another option for the OP is to create people to fill the roles, a la cryptography's Alice and Bob. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joshua Katz Posted March 22, 2019 at 08:29 PM Report Share Posted March 22, 2019 at 08:29 PM 1 hour ago, Benjamin Geiger said: Another option for the OP is to create people to fill the roles, a la cryptography's Alice and Bob. Or, and I know this sounds crazy but go with me for a minute, use the gender of the actual President. 😉 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benjamin Geiger Posted March 22, 2019 at 08:32 PM Report Share Posted March 22, 2019 at 08:32 PM 3 minutes ago, Joshua Katz said: Or, and I know this sounds crazy but go with me for a minute, use the gender of the actual President. 😉 Alice and/or Bob works well enough when the actual president is nonbinary or nonexistent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shmuel Gerber Posted March 22, 2019 at 09:38 PM Report Share Posted March 22, 2019 at 09:38 PM (edited) 1 hour ago, Benjamin Geiger said: Alice and/or Bob works well enough when the actual president is nonbinary or nonexistent. When a nonexistent president starts to make executive decisions unilaterally impacting the Chapter, then they has real problems. Edited March 22, 2019 at 09:40 PM by Shmuel Gerber Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Novosielski Posted March 24, 2019 at 07:24 PM Report Share Posted March 24, 2019 at 07:24 PM On 3/22/2019 at 4:29 PM, Joshua Katz said: Or, and I know this sounds crazy but go with me for a minute, use the gender of the actual President. 😉 Perhaps the actual president is not forthcoming with this information. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benjamin Geiger Posted March 24, 2019 at 10:19 PM Report Share Posted March 24, 2019 at 10:19 PM On 3/22/2019 at 5:38 PM, Shmuel Gerber said: When a nonexistent president starts to make executive decisions unilaterally impacting the Chapter, then they has real problems. Nonexistent presidents may chair nonexistent hypothetical societies. Also, what you did there: I see it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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