Talk:Policies - Experimental Draft

From Bikerowiki

Hey gang...

Here's some stuff I re-wrote on Consensus. Tell me what you think of my re-write and feel free to add/edit as you please...

Consensus Seeking Procedure

Bikerowave uses a consensus seeking procedure for decision making. On any decision the group first uses consensus procedures to seek unanimous support for a solution. If the consensus procedure becomes deadlocked with objectors who will not concede, then the decision making process can either move to a super majority vote or be set aside for later discussion.

In those cases where consensus cannot be achieved, there are two supported courses of action. In cases where the deadlocked entity is a committee or the board then the decision is referred to the next highest body, in this case the board or general body, respectively. In cases where the volunteer body is deadlocked, or the issue is not thought worthy of referral to a higher body, then the "neutral" decision of "no action" is taken. This allows the topic to continue to be discussed in the hope that a consensus will be achieved later.

In those cases where all efforts to resolve the conflicts surrounding an issue have failed, then decisions can be made through majority rule. However, since the Bikerowave makes every attempt to be a Concensus-Oriented organization, frequent use of this Policy is strongly discouraged.

Generally the board will be responsible for handling urgent decisions. In the event that an urgent board decision becomes deadlocked, the issue gets voted on by the volunteer body. If the body is unable to achieve an 80% supermajority, an interim committee will be formed and will be charged with making the decision. (I have a problem with this...) This committee will be comprised of representatives of all sides of any such issue. The actual Committee will be populated based upon equivalent percentages of the volunteer body espousing each position on such issues.

The purpose of such a committee is both, to assist the Board in coming to difficult decisions, and to simultaneously give the Volunteer body a sense of true representation. Because these issues are commonly agreed to be urgent, if the interim committee fails to achieve a supermajority, they must ultimately move to a majority vote. Once the issue has been decided, this Interim-Committee dissembles.

If decision makers act in bad faith they can easily tie up and cripple a consensus oriented system. Therefore, it is imperative that volunteers set-aside their personal feelings and act with the best interests of the organization as a whole, and make a genuine effort to seek consensus.

Also:

Suggesting Board Seats for:

• Scheduling (mainly) • Mechanics • Inventory • Beautification • IT

Judging by the amount of work that BunnyBubbles does for S&T, I think at the very least, that position warrants a Board Seat title. I think (all) these positions would also help keep the Board more in-touch with the Volunteer body. (and besides, they’re far more respectable names than ‘nipple’, or ‘bike-lube’!)

--Art 00:04, 23 April 2008 (PDT)