ABSTRACT
Associations are people coming together for a purpose. The purpose is either agreed tacitly or expressed in a written document. The written document, providing guidance to the governance of the association, may be a constitution, a charter, and articles of incorporation or authorising legislation. Associations operate through discussion, debate and persuasion and makes decisions on the basis of voting and/or consensus. Except in the case of very small associations, members usually elect a few of their number to be their representatives in a governing body that is authorised, usually through articles of incorporation, a charter, or authorising legislation, to act on behalf of the members. Employment hierarchies begin, in the simplest case, when a governing Board is authorised to employ an individual to work to achieve the association's objectives. It is important to understand the difference between associations and employment hierarchies because they have appropriately very different structures and decision-making processes.
