Committee
A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly.
A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly.
Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more fully than would be possible if the assembly itself were considering them.
Committees may have different functions and their types of work differ depending on the type of the organization and its needs.
A member of a legislature may be delegated a committee assignment, which gives them the right to serve on a certain committee.[1]
Purpose
A deliberative assembly may form a committee (or "commission") consisting of one or more persons to assist with the work of the assembly.[2]
For larger organizations, much work is done in committees.[3]
Committees can be a way to formally draw together people of relevant expertise from different parts of an organization who otherwise would not have a good way to share information and coordinate actions.
They may have the advantage of widening viewpoints and sharing out responsibilities.
They can also be appointed with experts to recommend actions in matters that require specialized knowledge or technical judgment.
Functions
Committees can serve several different functions:
1) Governance
In organizations considered too large for all the members to participate in decisions affecting the organization as a whole, a smaller body, such as a board of directors, is given the power to make decisions, spend money, or take actions.
A governance committee is formed as a separate committee to review the performance of the board and board policy as well as nominate candidates for the board.[4]
2) Coordination and administration
A large body may have smaller committees with more specialized functions.
Examples are an audit committee, an elections committee, a finance committee, a fundraising committee, and a program committee.
Large conventions or academic conferences are usually organized by a coordinating committee drawn from the membership of the organization.
3) Research and recommendations
Committees may be formed to do research and make recommendations on a potential or planned project or change.
For example, an organization considering a major capital investment might create a temporary working committee of several people to review options and make recommendations to upper management or the board of directors.
4) Discipline
A committee on discipline may be used to handle disciplinary procedures on members of the organization.[5]
As a tactic for indecision
As a means of public relations by sending sensitive, inconvenient, or irrelevant matters to committees, organizations may bypass, stall, or disacknowledge matters without declaring a formal policy of inaction or indifference.
However, this could be considered a dilatory tactic.[6]
Power and authority
Generally, committees are required to report to their parent body.
Committees do not usually have the power to act independently unless the body that created it gives it such power.[3]