Board observation paper - working individually, (1) observe two local nonprofit cultural organizations’ board meetings, (2) read 6 articles from peer reviewed Arts Administration journals on the topics of board of directors and governance, and Carver (2006), and (3) prepare a ten-page paper comparing and contrasting what you read with what you observed. Final Paper Assignment – Choose ONE of the paper topics below to write your final paper on. Option 1: Comparing Nation-States Your assignment is to compare 2 nation-states, both of these must be our case countries (U.K, Germany, China, Russia, Brazil, Mexico, Iran). Your paper should be 8-12 pages long and NO LONGER THAN 12 PAGES. A good answer must include materials from class readings and lectures; you are required to include 2 outside sources as well. The outside sources must be peer reviewed sources. You must properly cite this material using Chicago style (this means including parenthetical references and a bibliography). Failure to properly cite your sources is plagiarism, please use a writing guide for citing sources and your bibliography. Your paper will be graded on the following criteria: -You must answer all of the questions and provide reasons for your choices; -You must demonstrate an understanding of the concepts and ideas we have covered throughout the course; -You must support your arguments with evidence/examples Good grammar and spelling will impact your grade. Likewise, the organization and clarity of your writing will impact your grade significantly. For each nation-state you should include the following information: 1) Political Culture: What kinds of political cultures do your nation-states have? Briefly explain the reasons behind these facts. Are the citizens participants, subjects or parochials? Do they adhere to any particular ideology more than another? 2) Managing Political Conflict: What kind of party and electoral systems do your countries have? How many, and what kind of parties? How are people able to organize and express their opinions? 3) Political Structures: Is there a presidential or parliamentary system? Is the political structure federal or unitary, how does this impact the citizenry? 4) Legitimacy: What kinds of cleavages and conflict exist in the nation-states? Are there problems with legitimacy as a result of any of these cleavages? Once you have outlined the basic information about your states you should begin to make some comparisons. 5) Comparison: What kinds of similarities or differences have you noticed by examining these two nation-states? Do these similarities or differences speak to any of the major issues we have outlined in the course, including the relationship between legitimacy and force as well as level of democracy? How is the comparison between these two countries useful or illuminating? A good answer will include the following: 1. An introduction in which you outline the way in which your paper will proceed. 2. A cle ...

1. Board observation paper - working individually, (1) observe two
local nonprofit cultural organizations’ board meetings, (2) read
6 articles from peer reviewed Arts Administration journals on
the topics of board of directors and governance, and Carver
(2006), and (3) prepare a ten-page paper comparing and
contrasting what you read with what you observed.
Final Paper Assignment – Choose ONE of the paper topics
below to write your final paper on.
Option 1: Comparing Nation-States
Your assignment is to compare 2 nation-states, both of these
must be our case countries (U.K, Germany, China, Russia,
Brazil, Mexico, Iran). Your paper should be 8-12 pages long
and NO LONGER THAN 12 PAGES. A good answer must
include materials from class readings and lectures; you are
required to include 2 outside sources as well. The outside
sources must be peer reviewed sources. You must properly cite
this material using Chicago style (this means including
parenthetical references and a bibliography). Failure to properly
cite your sources is plagiarism, please use a writing guide for
citing sources and your bibliography.
Your paper will be graded on the following criteria:
-You must answer all of the questions and provide reasons for
your choices;
-You must demonstrate an understanding of the concepts and
ideas we have covered throughout the course;
-You must support your arguments with evidence/examples

2. Good grammar and spelling will impact your grade. Likewise,
the organization and clarity of your writing will impact your
grade significantly. For each nation-state you should include the
following information:
1) Political Culture: What kinds of political cultures do your
nation-states have? Briefly explain the reasons behind these
facts. Are the citizens participants, subjects or parochials? Do
they adhere to any particular ideology more than another?
2) Managing Political Conflict: What kind of party and electoral
systems do your countries have? How many, and what kind of
parties? How are people able to organize and express their
opinions?
3) Political Structures: Is there a presidential or parliamentary
system? Is the political structure federal or unitary, how does
this impact the citizenry?
4) Legitimacy: What kinds of cleavages and conflict exist in the
nation-states? Are there problems with legitimacy as a result of
any of these cleavages?
Once you have outlined the basic information about your states
you should begin to make some comparisons.
5) Comparison: What kinds of similarities or differences have
you noticed by examining these two nation-states? Do these
similarities or differences speak to any of the major issues we
have outlined in the course, including the relationship between
legitimacy and force as well as level of democracy? How is the
comparison between these two countries useful or illuminating?
A good answer will include the following:

3. 1. An introduction in which you outline the way in which your
paper will proceed.
2. A clear, concise statement of your basic arguments. State this
in general terms, using concepts outlined in the question.
3. Examples from your issues and discussion should support
your argument. These should be used to support and
demonstrate your argument to the reader,
4. A conclusion in which you summarize the main points that
you discussed in the body of your paper.
Focus on writing which is clear and concise; assume that you
are writing for a reader that is unfamiliar with these concepts,
therefore, clearly define the concepts which you use. Use
subheadings when possible to break up the material and to assist
in organizing your paper.
Your paper must be written in Times New Roman font style and
include page numbers and top and bottom of page margins of 1
inch and right/left margins of 1.25 inches.
Observation Paper
The board of directors, plays a key role in determining the
success of the organization. An effective board can make the
organization better because it provides strategic leadership to
the organization. When a board lead the organization in the
right direction always is not too difficult to bring new blood
into the organization, thus make the organization become more
powerful (Kaiser, 2013). The position of every director in the
board is strong. They are able to make the decisions and actions
that determine the long-run performance of an organization,
they also take in charge of the development of inner resources
and the improvement of the functions to the organization (Agid,
2007). In a nut shell, the performance of an organization is
affected by the quality of the board of directors and governance.

4. “There are twelve helpful principles of governance:
Constructive partnership, mission-driven, strategic thinking,
culture of inquiry, independent-mindedness, ethos of
transparency, compliance with integrity, sustaining resources,
results-oriented, intentional board practices, continuous
learning, revitalization” (Aderson, 2006). These principles can
be used in an organization which provided an orientation packet
and presentation to the board, used to guide the board to the
right direction to make an improvement, and used to enhance
the effectiveness and performance of the board. With all that
mentioned above, a truly productive board understands its role
and responsibilities in the context of the entire organization,
and is willing to monitor its own performance on a regular
basis. If the board continuously make good effort on track, there
is a bright future for the organization. Next, I will compare and
contrast what I read with two board meeting I observed.
LeMoyne’s Board Meeting
On October 21, I attended LeMoyne Center for the Visual
Arts’ board meeting during 5:45 pm to 7:00 pm. There were
about 15 people in attendance. The board was seated in a circle,
with each member able to face each other member. The meeting
began with a preliminary discussion of issues discussed during
the last meeting and then follow the meeting agenda to proceed.
This board meeting was chaired by the president.
General Observation
In my observation, I have found several issues with
LeMoyne’s board. First, the board tend to be less diversified.
Second, the board not only plays the governance role but also
the managerial role. Third, the board did not use board meeting
time efficiently. Although during the meeting time the board did
bring up many issues, the board did not resolve these issues
satisfactorily. Fourth, the executive director did not do work
well, the executive director trys to let other board members pay
attention to her jobs, but since the board can not do executive
director’s jobs, the executive director should her own part well.
Related Literature

5. Diversity. With the rapid development of demographic and
economic, many organizations realized that they must move in
new directions (Kaiser, 2013). It is critically important that
having a board with diverse in an organization. A board with a
diversity of experience, expertise, and perspectives can serve to
a board spectrum of the population. LeMoyne was founded in
1963, however the board is not much diversity. As our
communities continue to change, if the organization want to
exist for a long time and develop continuously, it is very
important to have a diverse board in it. Diverse perspectives on
the board will improve the organizational ability to qualify the
requirements of the changing environment.
The role of the board. The board of directors plays the role of
governance in an organization. “The governing board is always
positioned at the top of the organization” (Carver, 2006, p.9). It
must clearly determine whose responsibility it is of an
organization. For example, determine the organization’s mission
and purpose are the board should engage; but for designing staff
jobs, it is not the board’s responsibility. If the roles are not
clear in an organization, it is more likely that the board
becomes the role of staff rather than the role of governance.
However, a small organization, such as LeMoyne, often have
this issue that the board of directors in both governing and
working position. If LeMoyne wants to develop and improve in
the future, it should keep these roles separate such as hire
professional staff so that the board no longer need to do all of
the staff’s works (Kaiser, 2013).
Use board meeting time efficiently. Since the members of the
board do not get paid for serving the organization, they must
want the board meeting time efficiently rather than waste it.
During LeMoyne’s boarding meeting time, the board members
have brought up many issues and discussed these questions.
Nevertheless, the board seems to be hurrying to the next part
without resolving those issues satisfactorily. If it is because the
lack of time, the board meeting time should be longer so that
the board members have enough time to resolve the issues rather

6. than just bring them to the board.
The relationship between the board and executive director. The
relationship between the board and executive director is very
important. They are roles of governance and management. The
jobs of board and executive director are truly separate, no
matter which one try to do the other’s job, it will greatly affect
the operation of the organization (Carver, 2006). For Lemoyne,
based on my observation, the board has involved in executive
director’s plans which should pay attention. “It is not the
board’s task to save the CEO from the responsibilities of that
job, nor is it the CEO’s task to save the board from the
responsibilities of governing” (Carver, 2006, p172). The works
supposed to be well divided. An effective board comes from two
totally different responsibilities which are board for governance
and executive director for management.
COCA’s Board Meeting
On November 19, I attended a board meeting of Council on
Culture and Arts (COCA) as an observer during 4 pm to 5:30
pm. There were about 19 people in attendance and plus one on
the phone. Similar to LeMoyne, the board was seated in a circle,
but they have offered some food for board members on the other
table. The board meeting was chaired by the vice president and
follow the meeting agenda to proceed.
General Observation
According to my observation, First, I noticed that when
COCA’s board member gave the reports to the board, the others
would actively in the discussion, they are able to recognize
problems and come up with solutions. It is particularly worth
mentioning that the meeting was pleasant thus it can be seen
that the relationship between members is harmonious. Second,
there is no president on the board. When the board addressed
this issue many members are willing to recommend and bring
new blood to the board. Third, the relationship between the
executive director and the board of directors is clear, they are
able to take their distinct roles in the organization. However,
there is no mention of strategic plan in the board meeting and

7. they do not have one.
Related Literature
Teamwork. Teamwork is very important to all of the
organization and the executive director is a key role to
encourage the board members be very actively involved in the
organization (Watts, 2010). A live and active working
environment can make the board work more efficiently. It's
worthwhile to note that it is easier to have competent persons on
the board than to make them as a team for good governance
(Turbibe, 2012). With this proactive interaction relationship
between the boards, as COCA’s board members were actively in
the discussion, the board of governance will improve to a
certain extent. In simple terms, if the board members does not
work together, it is not exactly a teamwork.
Ensure board members feel useful. To maintain an effective
board of directors, make the board members feel useful also a
very important condition (Kaiser, 2013). When a member feels
good about being a member in it and has contributed a
significant amount of contribution to the organization, he/her
will continue to serve the organization with their enduring
passion and would be happy to recommend to their friends and
associates that they join the board. That’s what I saw in the
COCA’s board meeting, they show the same enthusiasm when
ask to bring new blood to the board. It does take work for
making board members to feel engaged, hopefully COCA will
continue to maintain this state.
The executive director and board relationship. Like mention
before the relationship between the board of directors and
executive director is one of the most important topics in the
organization. To have an effective organization, it is significant
crucial for the executive director and the board of directors to
realize the responsibilities with their distinct roles (Carver,
2006). The board of directors primarily plays the governance
role and governs the organization, they provide counsel to
management but not involved in the day-to-day operation of the
organization. Managing the day-to-day operation is executive

8. director’s responsibility (Radbourne,1993). To avoid inhibiting
the organization’s effectiveness, this relationship needs to be
understand by the board of directors and the executive director.
In this respect, COCA did a very good job.
Strategic plan. A strategic plan contains a large amount of
information to support the organization and it need to be; it
focuses on fundamental choices and a commitment of resources
for chosen priorities to help an organization do a better job.
Although strategic plan is not a one-size-fits-all way to all
organization, it provides a right direction and outlines the
organization’s mission and purpose. A Strategic plan can be a
tool that is useful for forward thinking and also for the board
evaluate progress and changing approaches when moving
forward. Determining the organization’s strategic planning is
one of the responsibilities of a board of directors, it can not
only improve the board of governance but also create the
organization’s future. It is the exactly reason why COCA’s
board of directors should consider the strategic plan.
Conclusion
While it is true that having the right people on the board of
directors is vital for an organization, it is equally true that
having effective governance is also crucial important
(Shangying, 2008). Once the board members decide to be on the
board, the first task for them is understand their
responsibilities. For example, determine the mission and
purpose for the organization, bring adequate resources to the
organization, govern the organization effectively, choose the
executive director, etc. In other words, to be truly effective
board, board members need to know what is going on and what
to do. Excellent board of directors brings excellent governance,
excellent governance brings excellent organization.
Nevertheless, some organizations may exist some mistakes
board members make such as not taking diversity seriously,
confuse the roles of executive director and board, unclear
board’s responsibilities. The sooner the board realize these
mistakes, the sooner they can find ways to resolve them and

9. lead the organization to the right direction. Otherwise, these
mistakes would be problematic for the organization sooner or
later.
When an organization is on track and achieved good
results, it is board’s responsible that keep forward-thinking and
maintain its excellent leadership to guarantee the organization’s
long-term development. Keep in mind that new questions will
arise as time goes on. As an organization grows and expands,
the board of directors grows as well to make the organization
achieve success.