Courts have held that all organizations, including business, professional, educational, and governmental, are subject to the principles and rules of common parliamentary law. As a result, ignoring or incorrectly applying parliamentary procedure can lead to embarrassment and lawsuits. Parliamentary procedure is the means by which organizations make decisions. RONR 1990 is an excellent resource for any association. The book includes sections on how to preside over an assembly, how to take minutes, how to hold board meetings, etc.
Most groups formally adopt written rules of procedure.
A parliamentary authority can be adopted by a bylaws provision that the current edition of a specified manual shall be the parliamentary authority. Such rules can then be supplemented or modified as needed. The conduct of business in an assembly often varies by its size. Annual meetings of members are typically formal in terms of the procedure followed. On the other hand, formal procedure in a meeting of not more than about a dozen members may actually hinder business.