The Hollow Chairman
Hat of the Chairman of the Board
In any organisation, commercial or not for profit, the chairman is the highest elected or appointed individual by the group. He or she usually presides over meetings of the board and when the Board is not meeting or is not in session, the Chairman's duties very often include acting as the head or representative of the group to the public. The chairman is frequently described as "first among equals", and is appointed to the role of chairman by fellow board members, not by shareholders. The chair acts as an important link between the board and the CEO/company.
Hat wise, an executive Chairman of the Board is selected by a company's board to lead the board of directors, to preside over meetings of the board and lead the board to a consensus from the various points of view of the board members. The Chairman is also expected to be a fair and equitable good listener and a good communicator.
In the commercial world, including not for profit companies or businesses, his duties would include:
A full-time officeholder who typically leads the board and also takes a hands-on role in the company's day-to-day management
Helps the CEO to oversee all the operational aspects involved in running the company, which include project planning and development delivery, retail and leasing, sales, market research and many other areas within their extensive scope
Has overall responsibility for the company which involves engineering and controlling the company's current growth in and future expansion into international markets
In addition, oversees all projects' development activities and related businesses of the company, generating significant financial returns for the shareholders and driving sustainable development
The chairman's role includes also includes managing the board's business and acting as its facilitator and guide. This can include:
Determining board composition and organisation
Clarifying board and management responsibilities
Planning and managing board and board committee meetings
Developing the effectiveness of the board.
Religions are slightly different but the basic principles remain the same. The basic purpose of a Chairman of the Board does not change with the type of business being administered to, whether it is a commercial enterprise, a not for profit association, a group or even a philosophic group or religion.
The purpose and duties remain the same and are a vital, essential and integral part of the support mechanism to the expansion of the group.
The Church of David Miscaviage International
David Miscaviage, is holding the post of Chairman of the Board of the Church of Scientology. Yet, there appears to be no Board of Directors, no director to a board or duties observably being performed by the Chairman of the Board of Scientology international. No one to whom he is answerable to.
One cannot point to a board meeting at which he was appointed as Chairman of the Board and he seems to have appeared from nowhere and in the position which, normally would require considerable deliberation by an existing board of directors of a number of candidates before a selection took place.
No where is there an announcement from the Founder, L. Ron Hubbard, that David Miscaviage is 'appointed' to the board of Directors and no where is there any statement, that I could find, that the Board of Directors selected David Miscaviage as the Chairman of the Board.
No where do I see that the existing incumbent is performing the following expected duties of a Chairman of the Board:
Establishing and maintaining an effective working relationship with the board
Setting the tone for the board, including the establishment of a common purpose
Chairing board meetings efficiently and shaping the agenda in relation to goals, strategy, budget and executive performance
Obtaining appropriate information to present to the board
Ensuring contributions by all board members and reaching consensus when making decisions
Motivating board members and where appropriate dealing with underperformance
Instituting the process for appraising board members individually and the board as a whole
Indeed, since his "appointment" the church has taken on a different color to that which was proving successful under the leadership of the Founder. One could say that this is no longer the Church of Scientology International except in name. Rather it could be more accurately described as the Church of David Miscaviage international.
This can be gleaned by the results being obtained by the Church of Scientology International at variance to its mandate as provided by the founder L. Ron Hubbard
A considerable drop in popularity of the church
Continual attacks by individuals and groups and also by governments (notable French, German and Russian currently)
A mass exodus of staff and public from the Church over the past 10-15 years
Churches and course rooms empty by observations taken around the world
A radical change of the application of the applied philosophy from the original resulting in less effective results for customers, clients and adherents to the philosophy
A shrinking church instead of an expanding one
It is generally understood that a chairman can only be effective while he or she retains the confidence and respect of board members. In addition this can be extended to, in the case of a public company, the shareholders and the public.
The chairman bears the ultimate responsibility for the success or failure of any group for which he is responsible and current legislation recognises this.
Call for the Resignation of Miscaviage
In any commercial enterprise, such poor results, as is being currently being obtained by the current Chairman of the Board of the Church of Scientology International David Miscaviage would require the immediate removal of the Chairman. The fact that this is a Church does not detract from the requirement to be an effective leader.
Miscaviage has shown, by his actions, that he is, at best incompetent as a chairman, board member and leader and at worse deliberately working to suppress the church that Hubbard spent a lifetime creating and expanding.
"There are people who suppress. They are few. They often rise up to being in charge and then all things decay. They are essentially psychopathic personalities. Such want position in order to kill."
"... They arrived when they arrived, in charge of things, because nobody when they were on their way up said 'No'. They are monuments to the cowards, the reasonable people who didn't put period to them while they were still only small bullies and still vulnerable."
HCO P/L 7 December 1969
Ethics, The Design of
(OEC Vol. 1, p. 483)
It is incumbent upon the Church of Scientology International Board of Directors to face up to the incompetence of the current Chairman of the Board and call for his resignation for its own survival and to prevent the demise of the church totally.
References:
http://www.corporatedirector.co.uk/directors_roles_and_responsibilities.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Board_of_directors
http://www.companysecretary.com.au/board_briefings/CompanyChairman.pdf
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chairman#Non-executive
http://friendsofLRH.org
Policy Letter 7th December 1969 'Ethics, The Design of' by L. Ron Hubbard
