The Engineer as a Presiding Officer

As leaders in their profession and in their community, engineers may he called upon to serve as the presiding officer for a professional or civic group. They should he prepared to chair on-the-joh committees, conduct public hearings, moderate the affairs of professional groups, and serve as the leader of civic associations. 

The basic principles of parliamentary procedure were clearly defined and practiced as early as the fifth century B.c. in Athens (15). Similarly, the Romans and other civilizations relied on rules of procedure in the conduct of their affairs. These groups were presided over by a chairman, followed a prescribed agenda, provided an opportunity for all those who wished to speak, passed motions, and voted on propositions before them. 

Parliamentary procedme evolved over several centuries in England, and many of those rules were used in Colonial America. In modern times, the most 

One of the fundamental principles of parbamentary procedure is majority rule. The voice of the majority decides is the way that Thomas Jefferson stated it (13). The principal reason for using parliamentary procedures is to determine the opinion of the majority fairly, efliciently, and in an orderly manner. 

A second fundamental principle of parliamentary procedure is that the apparent minority has a right to be heard— to oppose the position of the majority and to try to persuade others to agree with its point of view. 

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