Too
often I encounter learners who struggle with the concept of governance. This
idea does not need to be difficult to understand nor to implement. The idea of
governance is based on an older idea known as "rule of law". This
idea arose in the Enlightenment and has driven modern civilized society ever
since. The understanding of the rule of law is that everyone (people and
businesses) is subject to rules and regulations that keep mankind from
descending into chaos and anarchy. Governance is simply the modern terminology
for this concept. Other terms we use in this same sense are
"management" and "control".
Governance
at its heart has two basic forms. The first is Governance ("Big G").
This is the type of governance whereby established ruling entities (governments
and/or lawmakers and/or courts) create rules, regulations and policies
(statements of intention or expectation) to keep us all from going crazy and
destroying each other. We experience "Big G" governance in the form
of laws such as Sarbanes-Oxley, privacy laws and even traffic laws.
The
second form is governance ("Little g"). This form is the more general
idea whereby we (individuals and organizations) agree to abide by a set of
boundaries and behaviors to ensure sanity and success of both organizations and
individuals.
"Little
g" governance has four basic aspects:
· Accountability:
the aspect of governance where levels of authority duty are tied to roles and
processes and we hold individuals and organizations to established standards
and expectations.
· Transparency:
the aspect of governance where expectations and intent (policies) are made
clear to all and openness and honesty drive ethical behavior.
· Predictability:
the aspect of governance where standardization, consistency, repeatability,
process and procedure drive work.
· Participation:
the aspect of governance where those being governed play a part or a role in
their own governance.
A key
aspect of both forms of governance is the willingness of individuals and
organizations to abide by the terms and conditions established as part of
control, management or governance. If individuals or organizations are
unwilling to stay with the boundaries the system quickly begins to break down.
However, the system of governance cannot be punitive or oppressive or exist for
the sake of existing. Rather it must serve the greater good of keeping all
working as part of successful organizations or societies. Governance must be
flexible and adaptable to changes in the environment and adapt to the place and
times. Governance must be subject to continual improvement just like services,
technology and processes.
By
taking a broader view of governance as serving bigger interests your
organization and you can both benefit.
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