The term organisation refers to how your institution’s management and reporting or communication structures are set up. The organisational aspects of a support institution refer to the legal structure (ownership, partnerships, etc.), the hierarchical structure (e.g, board of directors, management and sub-ordinates) and the internal communication structure (member meetings, board meetings, financial and management reports).
The legal status of your institution and the local commercial law applied to it will define the bodies or organs that the institution will have to set up. Your bylaws or statutes will describe these governing bodies, their responsibilities and the democratic principles applied.
The management models follow some common democratic principles, e.g., annual member or shareholder meeting, establishing a management body, an executive manager and sometimes a supervising or controlling body.
In principal two basic models exist along many little differences and derivatives:
1) Francophone or German models
In this model the Board is separate from the management of the institution.
- A Board or “Conseil d’Administration” composed of non-executive members (working for other organisation and companies) selected for their experience and knowledge to advice on the strategy and management of the institution and advocate or represent the institution to the wider public. Sometimes instead of a Board the role may be undertaken by an individual called the Chairman or “Président”.
- A Director or Chief Executive is responsible for the Management of the institution, including day-to-day management, signatory or regulatory and legal engagements.
- A Treasurer or Deputy Director is responsible for financial management, bank signatory and accounts operation as well as asset management. The Treasurer or Deputy Director reports directly to the Board or the General Assembly.
- A Management Committee or “Directoire” would comprise the Director, the Deputy Director and other operational Directors, e.g., PR, Training, Sales, etc.
2) Anglo-Saxon Models
- A President or Chief Executive elected by the institution’s members is responsible for strategic management topics and for co-ordinating the institution’s efforts.
- A General Secretary is responsible for all administrative and day-to-day management operations, signatory for regulatory, legal and other engagements.
- A Treasurer or Finance Director is responsible for financial management, bank signatory and accounts operation as well as asset management. The Treasurer or Deputy Director reports directly to the Board or the General Assembly.
- The Board of Directors comprises the Chief Executive, the General Secretary, the Treasurer and other operational Directors, e.g., PR, Training, Sales, etc.
The statutes or bylaws will define your governing bodies and their basic responsibilities and duties. Yet, in some cases the “external” structure and legal representation of the institution might differ from the internal day to day management.
Examples: the CEO has not enough time for the daily management and assigns a special manager; the acting manager does not hold the legally necessary license and therefore an other person is formally nominated as executive director;.
The Legal Structure
The legal structure refers to the ownership set-up of the institution. It indicates the legal form of the institution and any affiliates, partnerships, joint-ventures, etc. Some institutions might for example have set up small regional offices being operated as separate legal entities or joint-ventures with another association.
Sample Organisation Chart demonstrating the legal or property structure