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apt to be too large for constructive action
, since the time taken by a committee to 
resolve a problem tends to be in direct proportion to its size.
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PART B: BUSINESS ORGANISATION STRUCTURE, FUNCTIONS AND GOVERNANCE 
 
172
 
(b) Committees 
are 
time consuming and expensive
. In addition to the cost of highly paid executives' 
time, secretarial costs will be incurred. 
(c) 
Delays may occur if matters of a routine nature are entrusted to committees
; committees must 
not be given responsibilities which they would carry out inefficiently. 
(d) 
Operations may be jeopardised by the frequent attendance of executives at meetings
, and by 
distracting them from their real duties. 
(e) 
Incorrect or ineffective decisions 
may be made, if members are unfamiliar with the issues. 
Occasionally, there may be a 
total failure to reach any decision at all.
(f) 
The fact that there is no individual responsibility for decisions might invite 
compromise 
instead of 
clear-cut decisions. Moreover, members may avoid responsibility for poor results arising from 
decisions taken by the committee. Weak management can hide behind committee decisions. 
5.5 Using committees successfully 
(a) 
Well-defined areas of authority, timescales of operations and purpose should be specified in 
writing. 
(b) The 
Chair
should have the qualities of leadership to co-ordinate and motivate the other 
committee members. 
(c) 
The committee should not be so large as to be unmanageable. 
(d) 
The members of the committee should have the necessary skills and experience to do the 
committee's work; where the committee is expected to liaise with functional departments, the 
members must also have sufficient status and influence with those departments. 
(e) 
Minutes of the meetings should be taken and circulated by the 
Secretary
, with any action points 
arising out of the meetings notified to the members responsible for doing the work. 
(f) 
In order to conduct business and make decisions there is usually a minimum number of members 
required to be in attendance at the meeting. This minimum number of members is known as a 
quorum
 
and it is usually over 50% of members. 
(g) 
Above all, an efficient committee must provide benefits that justify its cost. 
(h) 
Finally, if at all possible, the committee should be allowed plenty of time to reach decisions, 
enabling members to form sub-groups.