For many of us, management is a word we’ve heard before...

what is the administration?

 For many of us, management is a word we’ve heard before; but unless or even if you find yourself on a Board or Club Committee chances are the idea is abstract to you.

So what is governance?

In the broadest sense of the term, governance refers to the policies, processes, systems, and controls that provide guidelines, direction, and parameters for those responsible for running an organization. Simply put, governance is the system by which an organization is controlled. Whereas the managers of an organization carry on its day-to-day operations or business as usual; managers represent the interests of the company’s shareholders and owners to set strategic direction and ensure management accountability.

How management works have a huge impact on the performance of any organization in business and sport. The key to organization-wide governance is clarity: aligning the purpose of why we are here with the strategic efforts of what, where, and when we do it, and the responsibilities of how we do it.

In traditional businesses, board governance communicates vertically to senior and line management, through operational personnel; and communicates with the various functional units and business units of the organization. In charity and community sports groups, however, the people responsible for governance are club committee members who are often the people who also do that job. There is a little-to-no separation between those who are governing and those who govern.

In many cases, such teams may fail for reasons of director or committee inexperience, conflicts of interest, failure to recognize or manage risks, inadequate or inappropriate financial controls, and generally poor internal systems and reporting practices'. u.

So take a moment and think about how your sports club is managed? Who sets the policies, procedures, and practices in your club? How many of these are locally determined, or inherited from the larger parent company? Who ensures that this process is followed? And what happens if they’re not followed?