A First Impression of the Carver's Policy Governance Model

A First Impression of the Carver's
Policy Governance® Model

Nipawin - September 19, 2000 - by: Mario deSantis

a model ...adopted by many of
our health agencies
Last week end I was casually reading the booklet "YOUR ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

AS A BOARD MEMBER⁽¹⁾" and I became dismayed at what Dr. John Carver and his wife

Miriam Carver were saying. Specifically, I am going to quote a passage of this booklet so that

we can have a feeling of outrage at their Policy Governance®⁽²⁾⁽³⁾ model, a model which has

been adopted by many of our health agencies, school boards and non profit organizations. This

is the passage:

Hands Off!!

"Hands Off!! Examples of What the Board Should Keep Hands Off
-Establish services, programs, curricula, or budgets
-Approve the CEO's personnel, program, and budgetary plans
-Render any judgments
-or assessment of staff activity where no previous board expectations have been stated
-Determine staff development needs, terminations, or promotions (except for the CEO)
-Design staff jobs or instruct any staff member subordinate to the CEO (except when the CEO has assigned a staff member to some board function)
-Decide on the table of organization and staffing requirements"

hold power
The above passage is very troublesome and it is reflective of an elitist and bureaucratic

leadership void of any creativity, beyond the interest to hold power at the expense of

everybody else. Now, we must know that many health district boards have adopted the

Policy Governance® model preached by the Carvers.

cannot
Can you believe that in accordance to the Policy Governance® model our health boards

cannot establish services, cannot establish health programs, cannot establish curricula,

cannot establish budgets, cannot approve the CEO's personnel, cannot approve program,

cannot approve budgetary plans... health boards cannot decide on the table of organization

and staffing requirements!

no say whatsoever
The communities own the health districts, yet the communities have no say whatsoever in

the running of their own health organizations; as usual, our specialists take care of the

health services: our CEOs, our health economists, Saskatchewan Health, and the Saskatchewan

Association of Health Organizations (SAHO). This is another magic of our reductionist

Premier Roy Romanow.

health districts are puppets
In our past articles we have been dealing with no-fault Tort reform and we have emphasized

the need to restore our individual rights taken away from our governments; and now I find

out that the Policy Governance® of our health districts tell their CEOs that they are above

the law, that they are above the Health Districts Act and that they are above their own

districts' bylaws. No wonder that our health districts are puppets of this government and

no wonder that health care is a gambling casino.

maintain the status quo
This is not what Timothy's Shire has described in his article "Chaos Theory⁽⁴⁾", this is

utter predetermined confusion caused by our corrupted leadership in their attempt to

maintain the status quo and exercise their greedy power. We must restore due diligence

and good faith to our governments, to our public agencies, to our schools, and to our

health districts.

socially responsible
We cannot continue to have no-fault governments along with their adopted Policy

Governance® model. We don't need models anymore, we need examples of good

leadership, we need examples on how to be more creative and socially responsible,

we need examples on how to learn more and express ourselves, we need to have back

our own individual rights taken away from this government.

-----------References/Endnotes:

General Reference: economic and political articles written by Mario deSantis and published in Ensign http://www.ftlcomm.com/ensign/authors/desantisNG.html

1.
-
YOUR ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES AS A BOARD MEMBER, Guide #2, page 13, by John Carver and Miriam Mayhew Carver, Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1996

2.
-
Dr. John Carver has been called the new guru of the Nonprofits. The wording Policy Governance® is a copyright of Dr. John Carver http://www.health.state.nd.us/gov/hotnews/leader/carvrbio.htm

3.
-
-
-
Policy Governance® Defined: "John Carver's Policy Governance® model is the world's only complete, universal theory of governance... The model enables boards to ensure that organizations achieve board-stated goals and conduct themselves with probity..." http://www.carvergovernance.com/model.htm

4.
Chaos Theory, by Timothy Shire, September 16, 2000

A First Impression of the Carver's Policy Governance® Model

Nipawin - September 19, 2000 - by: Mario deSantis

a model ...adopted by many of our health agencies	Last week end I was casually reading the booklet "YOUR ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
	AS A BOARD MEMBER⁽¹⁾" and I became dismayed at what Dr. John Carver and his wife
	Miriam Carver were saying. Specifically, I am going to quote a passage of this booklet so that
	we can have a feeling of outrage at their Policy Governance®⁽²⁾⁽³⁾ model, a model which has
	been adopted by many of our health agencies, school boards and non profit organizations. This
	is the passage:
Hands Off!!	"Hands Off!! Examples of What the Board Should Keep Hands Off -Establish services, programs, curricula, or budgets -Approve the CEO's personnel, program, and budgetary plans -Render any judgments -or assessment of staff activity where no previous board expectations have been stated -Determine staff development needs, terminations, or promotions (except for the CEO) -Design staff jobs or instruct any staff member subordinate to the CEO (except when the CEO has assigned a staff member to some board function) -Decide on the table of organization and staffing requirements"

hold power	The above passage is very troublesome and it is reflective of an elitist and bureaucratic
	leadership void of any creativity, beyond the interest to hold power at the expense of
	everybody else. Now, we must know that many health district boards have adopted the
	Policy Governance® model preached by the Carvers.

cannot	Can you believe that in accordance to the Policy Governance® model our health boards
	cannot establish services, cannot establish health programs, cannot establish curricula,
	cannot establish budgets, cannot approve the CEO's personnel, cannot approve program,
	cannot approve budgetary plans... health boards cannot decide on the table of organization
	and staffing requirements!

no say whatsoever	The communities own the health districts, yet the communities have no say whatsoever in
	the running of their own health organizations; as usual, our specialists take care of the
	health services: our CEOs, our health economists, Saskatchewan Health, and the Saskatchewan
	Association of Health Organizations (SAHO). This is another magic of our reductionist
	Premier Roy Romanow.

health districts are puppets	In our past articles we have been dealing with no-fault Tort reform and we have emphasized
	the need to restore our individual rights taken away from our governments; and now I find
	out that the Policy Governance® of our health districts tell their CEOs that they are above
	the law, that they are above the Health Districts Act and that they are above their own
	districts' bylaws. No wonder that our health districts are puppets of this government and
	no wonder that health care is a gambling casino.

maintain the status quo	This is not what Timothy's Shire has described in his article "Chaos Theory⁽⁴⁾", this is
	utter predetermined confusion caused by our corrupted leadership in their attempt to
	maintain the status quo and exercise their greedy power. We must restore due diligence
	and good faith to our governments, to our public agencies, to our schools, and to our
	health districts.

socially responsible	We cannot continue to have no-fault governments along with their adopted Policy
	Governance® model. We don't need models anymore, we need examples of good
	leadership, we need examples on how to be more creative and socially responsible,
	we need examples on how to learn more and express ourselves, we need to have back
	our own individual rights taken away from this government.

-----------References/Endnotes:

	General Reference: economic and political articles written by Mario deSantis and published in Ensign http://www.ftlcomm.com/ensign/authors/desantisNG.html

1. -	YOUR ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES AS A BOARD MEMBER, Guide #2, page 13, by John Carver and Miriam Mayhew Carver, Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1996

2. -	Dr. John Carver has been called the new guru of the Nonprofits. The wording Policy Governance® is a copyright of Dr. John Carver http://www.health.state.nd.us/gov/hotnews/leader/carvrbio.htm

3. - - -	Policy Governance® Defined: "John Carver's Policy Governance® model is the world's only complete, universal theory of governance... The model enables boards to ensure that organizations achieve board-stated goals and conduct themselves with probity..." http://www.carvergovernance.com/model.htm

4.	Chaos Theory, by Timothy Shire, September 16, 2000