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Category: Reference
Description: A revised edition of the bestselling Robert's Rules in Plain English, which still stands as the most concise, most--user friendly guide to parliamentary procedure on the market today. If you've ever had to run a meeting according to parliamentary procedures, you know just how difficult it is to keep track of all the rules, much less follow them. Figuring out what to say and how to say it seems an impossible task. Robert's Rules in Plain English, 2nd edition, is the solution to that problem. Not only does it provide you with the essential, basic rules in simple, straightforward English, it also includes summaries, outlines, charts, and sample dialogues so you can see exactly how these rules work in practice. With an extended glossary and new chapters on electronic meetings and internet usage, Robert's Rules in Plain English, 2nd edition, is an authoritative, modern guide to running a meeting successfully and keeping it on track o Robert's Rules in Plain English, 2nd edition, makes the complex, overbearing web of parliamentary procedure easy to grasp for the average person. It is much easier to comprehend than its competitors, which enables readers to understand why these rules are in place, what the governing principles behind them are, and how to effectively implement the rules in your day?to?day meetings. o Robert's Rules of Order is required reading for members of unions, clubs, churches, civic and political groups, schools, governing bodies, and organizations of every type. Robert's Rules in Plain English, 2nd Edition, addresses this large, diversified market by offering clear, easy?to?understand directions that anyone can follow.
eBook Publisher: Harper Collins, Inc./HarperCollins e-books, 2007
Books By Dames Release Date: September 2007

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Available eBook Formats [Secure Mobipocket/Microsoft Reader/eReader (recommended)/Adobe - What's this?]: OEBFF Format (IMP) [389 KB]
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Parliamentary procedure came to America with our ancestors. The term refers to the rules that have evolved over time to facilitate the democratic transaction of decision making in an organized group.

American parliamentary procedure is based on the procedural rules used in the English Parliament. Early American parliamentary procedure consisted of what the early settlers remembered of those rules. The complex system of English parliamentary law had developed over time in an awkward and unsystematized manner by a process of decisions and precedents.

It is no wonder the colonists had difficulty in remembering specific and intricate details.

At the time of the founding of our country, each colony had its own ideas of procedure. During the Continental Congress, each colony had different rules regarding how delegates were to be elected, the number of people they should represent, and so forth.

This confusing state of affairs continued until 1801. Thomas Jefferson, while serving as vice president, saw the need for a written and uniform system of rules. He compiled the Manual of Parliamentary Practice, which was immediately adopted by both the House and the Senate to prevent needless haggling over procedure.

At the same time, Americans began forming many different kinds of organizations—political, cultural, scientific, and so forth. Jefferson's manual was too complex and beyond the ability of the average citizen.

It was not until 1876 that Henry Martyn Robert, a practical, precise, and civic-minded engineer, put together a small book of rules specifically designed for nonlegislative organizations. He wrote that his parliamentary manual was "based, in its general principles, upon the rules and practices of Congress, and adapted in its details to the use of ordinary societies."

That first Robert's Rules of Order was an almost instant success. Groups who adopted it as a parliamentary authority were now free from the hassle of struggling with the rules governing their meetings.

Today we can be a part of any meeting in any state and know that the rules will be the same if Robert's Rules of Order is the adopted parliamentary authority. Motions are amended the same way whether the meeting takes place in California or in New York.

Parliamentary law is the basis of all constitutional governments. By protecting and practicing correct parliamentary procedure, we also protect our democratic institutions. Parliamentary procedure protects the rights of people to join together to accomplish common goals and enables them to debate and take action in a fair manner with the least amount of controversy.

The rules of parliamentary procedure are based on common sense and logic. They have evolved throughout centuries of usage and custom. Parliamentary rules protect:

• the right of the majority to decide;
• the right of the minority to be heard;
• the rights of individual members; and
• the rights of absentees.

All of parliamentary procedure is built on the principle that there must be a careful balance of the rights of the organization as a whole, the rights of subgroups, and the rights of individual members.

Parliamentary procedure should be used to help and not hinder decision making. Robert said, "The assembly meets to transact business, not to have members exploit their knowledge of parliamentary law."

The Rights of the Organization Supersede the Rights of Individual Members

The organization has the right to make its own rules, which then must be observed by all members. Should a conflict arise between the rights of a member and the right of the organization to do its business, the rights of the organization prevail.

Copyright © 2007 by Doris P. Zimmerman.