A businesses needs rules and purpose to shape the goals that it's meant to achieve. One way this can be done is by accepting a constitution and necessary bylaws, which are essentially a statement of purpose and rules that have to be followed in the pursuit of that purpose. If a group is to accept these bylaws, it is important to follow certain procedures to make it fair.

Draw up a constitution and bylaws for the group. The constitution should have a statement of purpose, which lays out the purpose of the group and what its goals are. It's essentially a declaration. The bylaws are the rules that members of the group have to abide by, and they set out the nuts and bolts for how the group should conduct itself. All members who will attend the meeting should receive a copy of these documents for review.

Call for a vote. Whether you require a unanimous vote or a simple majority, members present in the meeting need to give a "Yay" or "Nay" for the adoption of the documents you've presented.

Make adjustments until all necessary members can agree to the adoption of the documents. If you need a majority but cannot get one, then ask for suggestions for changes to the documents that would make them more acceptable to the group at large. Once you have the necessary amount of support, the documents can be officially adopted and made a part of the group.

Tip

Make sure that you outline procedures for altering the constitution and bylaws in the documents themselves. Needs change, and policies need to be able to change with them.

Warning

If you are a business, then make sure that your constitution and bylaws don't violate any rules or laws already in place. If you are a government entity, then check to make sure that your laws and constitution agree with the laws you have to follow according to higher ranks of government.