IFSAM statutes

Article 1 – Mission

1. IFSAM is the International Federation of Scholarly Associations of Management. IFSAM’s mission is to promote research and teaching in the field of management and to exchange, contextualize and disperse iedeas and systems in this field all over the world.

2. IFSAM aspires to provide a truly global and efficient medium for this exchange, contextualisation and dispersal in the interest of humankind, in general, and of the management community, in particular.

3. IFSAM intends to achieve these goals by promoting the worldwide exchange of information and global communication, especially within the science community, but also between the science community and management practice. IFSAM plans to do this by creating and supporting networks and by taking on development responsibilities.

4. IFSAM has a range of key instruments in place in order to achieve these goals. IFSAM provides information on management research and management teaching performed in all of its member organisations, presents and discusses research findings, engages in a dialogue on standards of good research and disseminates new knowledge on successful teaching. This requires IFSAM to be visible on a global scale. Publications in various media and IFSAM’s biennial conference with delegates from all over the world help to create this visibility.

Article 2 – Membership

1. The membership of the Federation shall consist of:

· Full members

· Associate members

2. Full membership: The voting membership of the Federation shall consist of established national associations or a federation of (national) associations whose primary objective is the advancement of research and teaching in management. Criteria for a full membership are given in appendix 1.

3. Associate membership: Shall be primarily scholarly associations from developing countries with small numbers of management scholars. Delegates may attend council meeting but have no voting rights. It is expected that associate members will become full members at some future time. Criteria for associate membership are given in appendix 2.

4. Applications for membership have to be addressed to the president of the Federation.

5. Applications will be sent to the members of the Council who will be invited to approve applications by a one month electronic ballot.

6. A member may withdraw from the Federation on not less than a six months previous notice in writing.

7. A two-thirds majority of the Council may withdraw membership privileges from a member.

Article 3 – Council

1. The government of the Federation and its affairs shall be vested in the Council of the Federation subject to the provisions in these articles.

2. The council shall consist of the members of the Executive Committee of the Federation plus two representatives designated by each member association (so called national representatives) to express its’ views, to cast its’ vote and to deal directly with the president on Federation business. Normally the Council will conduct its business by electronic mail. In case there is more than one national association, membership on the council is restricted to two representatives. Each member association has no more than two votes in the council.

3. Each members association appoints each year two council members.

4. In all formal votes, the Council members will be allowed one calendar month to return their electronic ballot paper. Votes received late will not be counted. A majority vote is defined as meaning that the majority of the votes cast in time were in favour. A two-thirds majority is defined as meaning that at least two-thirds of the votes cast in time were in favour. Each voting form will permit an abstention to be recorded.

5. A formal vote on issues not covered by these statutes which is requested by at least three members of the Council of different member organisations will be taken by a one month electronic ballot.

6. In the event of any member association not paying its annual membership fee, levy or any other debt to the Federation within twelve months of the date of the invoice, such member shall not be eligible to either raise or vote on any issue or attend general meetings of the Federation until dues have been received.

7. The council can appoint working groups, or committees on specific issues.

Article 4 – General Meeting

1. A General Meeting of the Council of the Federation will be held every year.

2. A General Meeting is to be called on the occasion of each International Conference as provided in Article 8.1.

3. The president shall invite all members of the Council to the General Meeting.

4. The Council may hold meetings more frequently if considered necessary or desirable.

5. All working groups, or committees (see article 3.7) must prepare a report for the General Meeting.

Article 5 – Executive Committee

1. The Council shall elect by a majority vote an Executive Committee. The executive committee shall consist of president, president-elect, past-president, secretary and treasurer. The council can decide to elect a member at large in the executive. The membership of the executive and the membership of the council are not mutually exclusive.

2. The election of the executive committee takes place during a General Meeting. An exception on this rule can de made through a majority vote in a General Meeting.

3. The terms of office will be for two calendar years. The secretary and treasurer will be eligible for re-election.

4. The terms of office shall start on January 1^st of the year following the date of election.

5. All votes on persons will be taken in written form and are secret (see the exception in article 5.2).

6. In the election for office of members of the executive all members of the council have one vote. The candidate with the majority of votes wins. If no candidate receives the majority of the votes cast in the first ballot, then a second ballot must be held between the top two candidates.

7. President and president-elect are responsible for at least one nomination for open offices. The secretary has to send a call for nominations for open offices well in advance of a General Meeting.

8. The president (i) manages the Executive Committee activities, (ii) invites all embers of the Council to General Meetings, (iii) is responsible for an Annual Report to be prepared and circulated among the members prior to the General meeting following the year of the Report, and (iv) is responsible for the recruitment of new members.

9. The secretary is responsible for compiling and circulating the minutes of every General Meeting of the council, for preparing and circulating a newsletter at least twice a year and for maintaining an accurate membership list. The secretary may employ an assistant secretary on a full or part-time basis subject to the approval of the president. The secretary is responsible for administration and for carrying out the policies of the Federation under the instructions of the president.

10. The treasurer is empowered in the name of the Federation to accept and hold funds and property and to make contracts within the authority of the budget approved in advance in a General Meeting. The treasurer must prepare a budget proposal for approval by the General Meeting. Not budgeted expenses need approval of the president.

11. The treasurer shall cause proper books of accounts to be kept with respect to all money transactions and liabilities of the Federation. The accounts shall be audited annually by a professional auditor appointed by the Council and circulated with the Annual report in a General Meeting.

12. The executive is responsible for recruiting proposals for conferences.

Article 6 – Dues

All member associations shall pay an annual membership fee. The amount of dues for each type of membership (see article 2.1) shall be decided by majority vote of the Council, preferably in a General Meeting.

Article 7 – Information

All member associations shall provide the executive committee with a list of its members, the council members appointed by the member organisation, and other information as to its activities as requested by the executive committee.

Article 8 – International Conferences

1. An international conference of the Federation shall be held at least every two years.

2. At each conference a host association will be responsible for the finances, the physical location and domestic arrangements as approved by the Executive Committee.

3. The president shall appoint a chairperson of the program committee who will be responsible for the scientific program and will be an ex-officio member of any organizing committee. The president may delegate this authority to the organising association.

4. The program committee and the organizing committee shall submit a budget for the international conference to the treasurer of the Federation. If the budget is balanced, the treasurer may approve the budget. If the budget is not balanced, the executive committee may approve the budget if the deficit is not larger than the sum stipulated by the Council and not in excess of the cash on hand. If the deficit exceeds the cash on hand of the Federation, the budget has to be approved by the Council.

5. Rules with respect to profit and losses of international conferences are included in Appendix 3.

Article 9 – Reports

1. Every year each member association will be asked to provide reports (in English) on:

· Changes in constitutions or by-laws.

· Names and addresses of officers.

· The number of members.

2. Other information as reasonably required by the secretary.

Article 10 – Publications

1. The Federation publishes a Newsletter to be circulated to the members. The newsletter will be published at least once a year.

2. The Federation may publish an International Journal of Management and/or other specialized publications.

3. The executive nominates candidates for editorship (with respect to article 10.2), proposes editorial principles and financial arrangements. The council decides on that proposal.

Article 11 – Dissolution

In the event of the Federation ceasing to function, the remaining funds, after all debts are paid, will be returned to the current member associations in equal amounts unless otherwise decided by a two-thirds majority of the Council in a one-month electronic vote.

Article 12 – Changing Statutes

1. To change statutes a proposal must be done to a General Meeting of the council. For a change of the statutes a two-thirds majority vote in the General Meeting is needed.

2. To change or add or delete appendices also a proposal must be done to a General Meeting of the council. In this case a majority vote is needed in the General Meeting.