CAT / FIA FBT Syllabus B. Business Organisation Structure, Functions - Chair & Secretary of a Committee - Notes ^{4 / 4}

Responsibility for the efficient running of the committee meeting rests with the chair.

While everyone has some responsibility for a well-run meeting, the chair will, in the end, make the greatest contribution to the success of the meeting.

The chair must ensure that all discussion is orderly, that every individual has an opportunity to participate and that a decision is made on each topic before proceeding.

The chair must ensure impartiality during discussions, maintain an open mind, and not influence the final decision.

If, for any reason, the chair feels compelled to join the discussion, other than to provide factual information to the assembly, or to express an opinion, he/she must vacate the chair during discussion on the topic and ask another director to chair the meeting.

When that topic is dealt with, the official chair may resume the position and continue with the meeting.

One of the busiest people at the meeting is the secretary.

This person is responsible for taking notes, documenting progress and procedures and eventually producing a set of minutes that accurately reflects the decisions made by the committee.

The secretary is responsible for having copies of the laws, policies and previous minutes (in the case of a continuation meeting) available should members of the committee require them during the course of the meeting.

One must also mention that the work of the secretary is not only during the meeting.

The secretary has different tasks both before and after the meeting.

Before the meeting the secretary must fix the date, book the venue, think for any refreshments needed and make sure there is also access for people with disability in case one of the attendants has such a condition.

S/he needs to prepare and issue the agenda and other relevant documents.

After the meeting, the secretary has the role of preparing the minutes and sending them to all members of the committee after having them signed by the chair.

Responsibility for correspondence rests with the secretary.