"Chairman of the Board" redirects here. For other meanings, see Chairman of the Board (disambiguation).
For the car produced by SsangYong, see SsangYong Chairman. For the Convenor of Crossbench Peers in the House of Lords, see Crossbencher#Convenor.
"Rotating chair" redirects here. For revolving chairs, see Swivel chair.
The chairman, also simply known as the chair,[1] is the highest officer of an organized group such as a board committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office is typically elected or appointed by the members of the group. The chairman presides over meetings of the assembled group and conducts its business in an orderly fashion.[2] When the group is not in session, the officer's duties often include acting as its head, its representative to the outside world and its spokesperson.
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Contents
- 1 Terminology
- 2 Public corporations
- 3 See also
- 4 References
- 5 External links
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Terminology
Other terms sometimes used for the office and its holder include chair, chairperson, chairwoman, presiding officer, president, moderator and convenor.[3][4][5] The chairman of a parliamentary chamber is often called the speaker.[6][7]
The term chair is often used in lieu of chairman, in response to criticisms that using chairman is sexist.[8][9][10][11] Although many experts maintain that use of the term chairman in not sexist because it is meant to encompass both genders, feminists argue otherwise, saying that using an andro-centric generic to stand in for all humans is asymmetrical and therefore biased, because men are allowed to represent all people while women are not. Feminists also say that psycholingual studies find that when people are asked to imagine which gender is represented by a male-specific term, they are likelier to choose men than women.[12]
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of English Usage says that although the gender-neutral "chair" is sometimes disparaged as a "makeshift word from the 1960s,"[10] it is commonly used today, and has been used as a substitute for chairman since the middle of the 17th century, with its earliest citation in the Oxford English Dictionary dated 1658-9, only four years after the first citation for chairman.[13] In his 1992 State of the Union address, then-U.S. President George H.W. Bush used chairman for men and chair for women. A 1994 Canadian study found the Toronto Star newspaper referring to most men as chairman, and most women as chairperson or chairwoman. The Chronicle of Higher Education uses chairman for men and chairperson for women. An analysis of the British National Corpus found chairman used 1,142 times, chairperson 130 times and chairwoman 68 times.[14] The National Association of Parliamentarians does not approve using "chairperson".[15] The Wall Street Journal, the New York Times and United Press International all use chairwoman or chairman for women, and forbid use of chair or chairperson except in direct quotations.[16][17][18] In World Schools Style debating, male chairs are called Mr. Chairman and female chairs are called Madame Chair.[19] The FranklinCovey Style Guide for Business and Technical Communication, as well as the American Psychological Association style guide, advocate using chair or chairperson, and never chairman.[20][21] The Oxford Dictionary of American Usage and Style says "the nonsexist forms are gaining ground and may well prevail within the next couple of decades." It advocates chair for both men and women.[22]
In the United States, the presiding officer of the "lower" house of a legislative body, such as the House of Representatives, is frequently titled the Speaker, while the "upper" house, such as the Senate, is commonly chaired by a President.
A vice-chairman (or deputy chairman), subordinate to the chairman, is sometimes chosen to assist the chairman[23] and to serve as chairman in the absence of the chairman, or when a motion involving the chairman is being discussed.[2] In the absence of the chairman and vice chairman, groups sometimes elect a chairman pro tempore to fill the role for a single meeting.[2]
The word chair can refer to the place from which the holder of the office presides, whether on a chair, at a lectern, or elsewhere. During meetings, the person presiding is said to be “in the chair”, the person is also referred to as “the chair.” Parliamentary procedure requires that members address the “chair” rather than the “chairman”, or by using a person's name. This is one of many customs intended to maintain the presiding officer's impartiality and insuring an objective and impersonal approach.[2]
Riddick's Rules of Procedure, among others, claim an etymology of chairman as derived from the Latin manus, or "hand", and use this to claim gender-neutrality for the word. Some etymologists consider this to be incorrect,[24] and many dictionaries claim that the word is from "chair" (a seat or office of authority) and "man", a person.[9][25][26] A further derivation could be from the Latin 'mens' (genitive mentis) = 'mind' making the meaning 'chief thinker', which is gender-neutral.
Public corporations
There are three types of chairman in public corporations.
- The CEO may also hold the title of chairman, resulting in an executive chairman. In this case, the board frequently names an independent member of the board as a lead director.
- Executive chairman – the chairman's post may also exist as an office separate from that of CEO, and it is considered an executive chairman if that titleholder wields influence over company operations, such as Steve Case of AOL Time Warner and Douglas Flint of HSBC. In particular, the group chairmanship of HSBC is considered the top position of that institution, outranking the chief executive, and is responsible for leading the board and representing the company in meetings with government figures.[27][28] Prior to the creation of the group management board in 2006, HSBC's chairman essentially held the duties of a chief executive at an equivalent institution, while HSBC's chief executive served as the deputy. After the 2006 reorganization, the management cadre ran the business, while the chairman oversaw the controls of the business through compliance and audit and the direction of the business.[29]
- Non-executive chairman – also a separate post from the CEO, unlike an executive chairman, a non-executive chairman does not interfere in day-to-day company matters. Across the world, many companies have separated the roles of chairman and CEO, often resulting in a non-executive chairman, saying that this move improves corporate governance.
The non-executive chairman's duties are typically limited to matters directly related to the board, such as:[30]
- Chairing the meetings of the board.
- Organizing and coordinating the board's activities, such as by setting its annual agenda.
- Reviewing and evaluating the performance of the CEO and the other board members.
Many U.S. companies have an executive chairman, and this method of organization is sometimes called the American model. Having a non-executive chair is common in the United Kingdom and Canada, and is sometimes called the British model. Expert opinion is rather evenly divided over which is the preferable model overall.[31]
Companies with both an executive chairman and a CEO include Ford,[32] HSBC,[33] Google,[34] and HP.[35]
See also
- Board of Directors
- European company law
- Executive director
- German company law
- Non-executive director
- Parliamentary procedure in the corporate world
- UK company law
- US corporate law
References
- ^ Gender across languages: The Linguistic Representation of Women and Men (IMPACT: Studies in Language and Society). Amsterdam: Benjamins. 2001. pp. 125. ISBN 9027218412.
- ^ a b c d Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised, 10th edition, Perseus Books Group, Cambridge MA, 2000
- ^ Sturgis, Alice; American Institute of Parliamentarians (2001). The standard code of parliamentary procedure (Fourth ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill. pp. 11. ISBN 978-0-07-136513-0
- ^ "moderator". Chambers 21st Century Dictionary via Search Chambers. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap. http://www.chambersharrap.co.uk/chambers/features/chref/chref.py/main?query=Moderator&title=21st.
- ^ Although convener means someone who summons (convenes) a meeting, the convener may take the chair. The Oxford English Dictionary (2nd edition 1989) offers this citation: 1833 Act 3–4 Will. IV, c. 46 §43 “The convener, who shall preside at such committee, shall be entitled to a casting vote.” This meaning is most commonly found in assemblies with Scottish heritage.
- ^ "Speeches: The many roles of the Speaker". Office of the Speaker, Parliament of New Zealand. 2006-02-01. http://www.parliament.nz/en-NZ/Admin/Speaker/Speeches/1/1/9/119e71c13d954e63bd049231bdee91e9.htm.
- ^ "About Parliament: The Lord Speaker". Parliament of the United Kingdom. Archived from the original on 2008-06-09. http://web.archive.org/web/20080609075343/http://www.parliament.uk/about/how/principal/lord_speaker.cfm. Retrieved 2008-10-23. "... responsibilities of the Lord Speaker include chairing the Lords debating chamber,..."
- ^ Marshall Cavendish Corporation (2010). Sex and society Volume 1: Abstinence - Gender Identity. New York: Marshall Cavendish Reference. pp. 300. ISBN 0761479066.
- ^ a b "Chairman". Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). 2006. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/chairman. Retrieved 2008-10-22.
- ^ a b Zinsser, William (2007). On writing well : the classic guide to writing nonfiction (30. anniversary ed., 7. ed., rev. and updated, [Nachdr.] ed.). New York, NY: HarperCollins. pp. 81. ISBN 0060891548.
- ^ "Chairperson". Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). 2006. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/chairperson. Retrieved 2008-04-27.
- ^ Kremer, Marion (1997). Person reference and gender in translation : a constrastive investigation of English and German. Tübingen: Narr. pp. 109. ISBN 3823349376.
- ^ Merriam-Webster's dictionary of English usage.. Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster. 1993. pp. 235. ISBN 0877791325.
- ^ Romaine, Suzanne (1999). Communicating gender. Mahwah, NJ [u.a.]: Erlbaum. pp. 309. ISBN 0805829253.
- ^ Zimmerman, Doris P. (1997). Robert's Rules in Plain English. New York: HarperCollins. ISBN 0-06-273476-8.
- ^ editor, Paul R. Martin, style (2003). Essential guide to business style and usage. New York: Free Press. pp. 41. ISBN 0743227247.
- ^ Siegal, Allan M.; Connolly, William G. (2001). The New York Times manual of style and usage (Rev. and expanded ed., 1st pbk. ed. ed.). New York: Three Rivers Press. pp. 62. ISBN 081296389X.
- ^ Martin, Harold; international, Bruce Cook; United press (2004). UPI style book & guide to newswriting (4e éd. ed.). Sterling (Virginie): Capital Books. pp. 43. ISBN 1931868581.
- ^ Quinn, Simon (2009). Debating in the World Schools style: a guide. New York: International Debate Education Association. pp. 5. ISBN 1932716556.
- ^ England, Stephen R. Covey, Larry H. Freeman, Breck. FranklinCovey style guide for business and technical communication (5th ed. ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: FT Press. pp. 27. ISBN 0133090396.
- ^ Gurung, Beth M. Schwartz, R. Eric Landrum, Regan A.R.. An easyguide to APA style. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: SAGE Publications. pp. 54. ISBN 1412991242.
- ^ Garner, Bryan A. (2000). The Oxford dictionary of American usage and style ([2d ed.]. ed.). Oxford [u.a.]: Oxford Univ. Press. pp. 61. ISBN 0195135083.
- ^ "vice-chairman". dictionary.com. http://dictionary.infoplease.com/vice-chairman.
- ^ "Chairman". wordorigins. http://www.wordorigins.org/index.php/site/2006/04/.
- ^ "Chairman". www.dictionary.com. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/chairman.
- ^ See also The American Heritage Dictionary, the Oxford English Dictionary, the online edition of the current Merriam-Webster dictionary, Word Origins by Anatoly Liberman (page 88), Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of English Usage (page 235)
- ^ [1]
- ^ [2]
- ^ [3]
- ^ Kefgen, Keith (2004-05-11). "The Non-Executive Chairman Comes of Age". HVS web site (HVS). http://www.hvs.com/Jump/?aid=1033. Retrieved 2011-04-03.
- ^ Behan, Beverly (2008-01-10). "Splitting the Chairman and CEO roles". BusinessWeek. http://www.businessweek.com/managing/content/jan2008/ca2008018_642807.htm. Retrieved 2011-04-03.
- ^ "Board of Directors". Ford Motor Company. http://blog.ford.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=141. Retrieved 2011-04-05.
- ^ "Board of Directors". HSBC. http://www.hsbc.com/1/2/about/board-of-directors. Retrieved 2011-04-05.
- ^ "Management Team". Google. http://www.google.com/corporate/execs.html. Retrieved 2011-04-05.
- ^ "HP Investor Relations - Board of directors". HP. http://h30261.www3.hp.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=71087&p=irol-govboard. Retrieved 2011-09-24.
External links
- Alice Sturgis; American Institute of Parliamentarians (2001). "19 Officers: The President ...". The standard code of parliamentary procedure (Fourth ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill. pp. 162–165. ISBN 978-0-07-136513-0
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Corporate titles
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| Chief officers |
- President
- Chief Accounting Officer
- Chief Administrative Officer
- Chief Analytics Officer
- Chief Audit Executive
- Chief Brand Officer
- Chief Business Officer
- Chief Channel Officer
- Chief Commercial Officer
- Chief Communications Officer
- Chief Compliance Officer
- Chief Creative Officer
- Chief Data Officer
- Chief Executive Officer
- Chief Financial Officer
- Chief Human Resources Officer
- Chief Information Officer
- Chief Information Security Officer
- Chief Innovation Officer
- Chief Knowledge Officer
- Chief Learning Officer
- Chief Legal Officer
- Chief Marketing Officer
- Chief Merchandising Officer
- Chief Networking Officer
- Chief Operating Officer
- Chief Procurement Officer
- Chief Product Officer
- Chief Risk Officer
- Chief Restructuring Officer
- Chief Science Officer
- Chief Stores Officer
- Chief Strategy Officer
- Chief Technology Officer
- Chief Visionary Officer
- Chief Web Officer
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| Other titles |
- Chairman
- Creative director
- Executive director
- General counsel
- Managing director
- Non-executive director
- Manager
- supervisor
- Team Lead
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| Related |
- Board of directors
- Corporate governance
- Executive pay
- Senior management
- Supervisory board
- Talent management
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Parliamentary procedure
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| Major concepts |
- Deliberative assembly
- Motions
- Main motion
- Quorum
- Session
- Chair
- Committee
- Committee of the whole
- Dilatory motions and tactics
- Minutes
- Second
- History of parliamentary procedure
- Principles of parliamentary procedure
- Voting methods in deliberative assemblies
- Floor
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| Subsidiary motions |
- Postpone indefinitely
- Amend
- Commit
- Postpone to a certain time
- Limit or extend limits of debate
- Previous question
- Lay upon the table
- Place upon the table
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| Privileged motions |
- Call for the orders of the day
- Raise a question of privilege
- Recess
- Adjourn
- Fix the time to which to adjourn
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| Incidental motions |
- Point of order
- Appeal
- Suspend the rules
- Objection to the consideration of a question
- Division of a question
- Consideration by paragraph or seriatim
- Division of the assembly
- Motions relating to methods of voting and the polls
- Motions relating to nominations
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Incidental motions
(Requests and inquiries) |
- Parliamentary inquiry
- Point of information
- Request for permission to withdraw or modify a motion
- Request to read papers
- Request to be excused from a duty
- Request for any other privilege
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Motions that bring a question
again before the assembly |
- Take from the table
- Rescind, repeal, annul or amend something previously adopted
- Discharge a committee
- Reconsider
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| Legislative procedure |
- Call of the house
- Hoist
- Majority of the majority
- Motion to pass on
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| Disciplinary procedures |
- Censure
- Declare the chair vacant
- Impeach
- Naming
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| Parliamentary authorities |
- Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (RONR)
- The Standard Code of Parliamentary Procedure (TSC or Sturgis)
- Demeter's Manual of Parliamentary Law and Procedure
- Riddick's Rules of Procedure
- Mason's Manual of Legislative Procedure
- Erskine May: Parliamentary Practice
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