Every Fall it comes time for elections within my sorority. 12 sophomores will be elected to represent the house of over 150 women and take on the responsibilities left by the previous executive board members. This is an exciting yet scary time as the old executive board passes along its duties, and hopefully its knowledge, to the new board.
The process for elections is standard each year and consists of nominations, letters of intent, and speeches. Each candidate must self-nominate for a position on the board and then write a letter explaining their qualifications for that position. These letters are sent to the entire house to help inform their decision. On election day, each candidate presents a speech demonstrating their passion for the house and for the position for which they are running. The house then votes and each winner must have 2/3 support from the chapter.
In terms of transaction costs, elections are not very complex, but there is a lot of uncertainty that goes into the equation. Selection of a candidate is based solely on the letter of intent and the speech given. Most of the older girls do not know the younger members as well and therefore cannot make a decision based on actual experience.
Another transaction cost issue is difficulty of measuring performance. We do not know how well a candidate will perform until they are actually holding the position. We can measure their success at the end of their term, but by then it is too late. We have to trust that the letters and speeches truly demonstrate what each candidate will bring to their executive board position.
As the current President, there are a lot of coordination costs for me in particular. I have to disperse information to the chapter about the candidates running. I also have to set-up the time for elections and make sure that at least 2/3 of the chapter is present (similar to bringing buyers and sellers together, I have to bring candidates and voters together). There is also market research involved as I and the other executive board members have to meet with each candidate before they can officially run for their respective position.
A lot of work and transaction costs go into having a successful election; however without this dedication, the house would not be able to move forward to the new executive board. We try to design elections so that the best possible outcomes will arise, but there is always room for error. A candidate could have an amazing speech, but ultimately not be fit for the position in which they are running. My sorority is continually trying to improve our elections process and hope that the Fall 2013 elections will be a success.
There are a few things you wrote that I didn't quite understand. One was the the 2/3 requirement for each winner (end of second paragraph). What happens if the position is contested and the vote near evenly split? Is there a runoff?
ReplyDeleteAnother thing you mention was that it was sophomore members who ran for office. Is that a requirement? Why have comparatively younger members do this and not have upper class members with more experience not do this?
A third thing, which you don't explicitly address, is whether being an officer is something that people want and if so why they want it, or if they have to be roped into it and do it purely out of a sense of responsibility to the sorority.
I bring each of these up because while I am aware of the Greek system on campus, I really don't know its inner workings so while part of your job in writing the piece was to illustrate your experience with organizations, another part in any further piece you write is to educate the reader about things that you know about that the reader might not.
In response to your questions, the 2/3 requirement for each winner is necessary for the first round of voting. We usually have more than 2 candidates running, so if no candidate gets 2/3 of the vote, the two candidates with the highest number of votes are voted on again and then majority rules. Sorry I did not explain this very well.
DeleteThe reason that sophomore members run for office is because it is easier to have the executive board members be on board when living in the house. Members live-in their sophomore year and then the executive board lives in again their Junior Year. It has worked well in the past as the older members understand the process and respect the decisions of the older members. We have also found that the younger members are more engaged and therefore are more invested in the house and willing to put in more effort to create change.
Running for office is something that each member can decide for themselves. They must self nominate in order to run. While members may make suggestions for who they want to run, it ultimately comes down to the member to decide for themselves. It is important that a member who is running wants to run or else the necessary effort will usually not be put into the position if elected.
I hope this post was able to clarify some of your questions and feel free to ask about anything else.
I enjoyed reading your blog post. I liked the way you broke your description of the election activities down into the various transaction costs they represent. It’s very interesting to look at everyday activities in that way and consider all of the behind-the-scenes work that goes into making something like a sorority election happen.
ReplyDeleteI’m sure that as you said, just the time and effort spent in coordinating the elections must be huge when you’re trying to get so many girls together all at one time. In that regard, your explanation about why sophomores who are living in the house serve on the board makes a lot of sense; if they all live there, then that eliminates the transaction cost of having to gather everyone together for meetings. Within the elected positions, does the organization structure of president, vice-president, treasurer, etc. actually apply as far as the work everyone does? Or do people more so take care of completing whatever tasks need to be done?
Thank you for your response. To answer your question each position on the executive board is responsible for a certain aspect of the sorority. For example: VP Programming designs all the sisterhood activities that we have in the chapter, VP Finance takes care of all the money coming into the chapter through dues, VP Social Standards runs the standards board that governs the sorority. The only position that is involved in all aspects of the sorority is the President. As President, I oversee all other executive board positions to make sure they are doing their job.
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