Robert's Rules of Order: Simplified and Applied

434 Pages·2006·2.39 MB·English

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ROBERT’S RULES
of
ORDER
Simplified and Applied
Second Edition
by Robert McConnell Production
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ROBERT’S RULES
of
ORDER
Simplified and Applied
Second Edition
i
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ROBERT’S RULES
of
ORDER
Simplified and Applied
Second Edition
by Robert McConnell Production
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Robert’s Rules of Order:Simplified and Applied,2nd edition
Copyright © 2001 by Robert McConnell productions
Published by Wiley Publishing,Inc.,Indianapolis,Indiana
Published simultaneously in Canada
No part of this publication may be reproduced,stored in a retrieval system,or transmitted in any form or by any means,
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About the Author
Robert McConnell Productions is a multimedia company pro-
viding simplified information about parliamentary procedure
in the form of videos, books, magazine articles, and a Web
site: http://parli.com. The company published Robert’s Rules of
Order: Simplified and Applied in 1998, a book designed to take
the complexity and the mystery out of Robert’s Rules and to
explain it to users in plain, easily understandable terms.
The company also makes special interest videos in its own
production studio. To date, the company has made five
videos about parliamentary procedure. Parliamentary Procedure
Made Simple: The Basics is an 80-minute video produced in
1993. It has sold more than 12,000 copies worldwide so far.
The next video, produced in 1996, is All About Motions, a
140-minute video covering all the motions in Robert’s Rules of
Order. The third and fourth videos are a 32-minute How to
Conduct a Meeting and its Spanish companion version, the
46-minute Como Conducir Reuniones, the world’s first video
about parliamentary procedure made in Spanish. The fifth
video is Nominations & Elections, a video designed to keep
organizations out of trouble by showing them how to do the
electoral process correctly.
The company markets these videos through a combination
of direct mail brochures, targeted faxes, and a Web site,
http://parli.com, which was the first Web site about parlia-
mentary procedure on the Internet. The company also makes
and markets videos about France, Russia, and Cuba, and
produces custom-made videos for corporate clients.
Robert McConnell Productions has been in business since
1993.
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Contents
Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xvii
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xix
PART I: Meetings and Organizations
1 The Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
Structure of an Organization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
Applying Democratic Principles to Organizations . . . . . . . .4
Defining Parliamentary Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
Importance of Parliamentary Procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
Basic Principles of Parliamentary Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . .7
Taking Up Business One Item at a Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
Promoting Courtesy, Justice, Impartiality, and Equality . . .9
The Rule of the Majority and Protection
of the Minority . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
2 The Order of a Business Meeting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
Planning and Using Agendas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
Accepted Order of Business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
Creating a Specific Agenda . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
Adopting the Agenda . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18
Mailing an Agenda to the Members . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19
Consent and Priority Agendas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19
Quorum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20
How to Keep a Record of the Quorum . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22
What to Do When No Quorum Is Present . . . . . . . . . . .22
A Business Meeting in Action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23
Calling the Meeting to Order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23
Reading and Approving the Minutes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23
Reports of Officers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
Reports of Committees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26
Unfinished Business and General Orders . . . . . . . . . . . .28
New Business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28
Adjourning the Meeting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30
3 Presenting Business to the Assembly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31
Basic Steps in Presenting a Motion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31
Making a Main Motion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33
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