PG360

PG360 - Test Your Understanding of Policy Governance® Principles

This PG360 quiz was originally developed by the International Policy Governance Association (IPGA)¹, and Policy Governance® is a registered service mark of John Carver (www.carvergovernance.com).

Need to brush up on the principles? Take the Board EXCELerator, Brown Dog Consulting's online board education program.

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* 1. Policy Governance® is:

A structure for non-profit boards

A principle-based operating system for governing

Especially useful for large organizations

A set of best practices for boards.

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* 2. Policy Governance® requires that boards:

Limit the number of committees

Not communicate with staff members outside of board meetings

Hire a CEO

None of the above

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* 3. Which of the following statements is correct?

The board decides on Ends but delegates decisions on means to the CEO

The board makes policy decisions on Ends and means (both executive means and board means) but authorizes its delegates (CEO and Chair) to make decisions within any reasonable interpretation of its policies

The board may decide on both Ends and means but usually sticks to the former

The board leaves it up to the CEO to decide what decisions he/she should bring to the board

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* 4. In Policy Governance®, the source of the board’s authority and accountability is the owners. “Owners” refers to:

Those on whose behalf the board determines the difference the organization is to make in the world

Stakeholders

The CEO and staff

The largest constituency

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* 5. Board members must represent the informed wishes of:

Customers

Stakeholders

Owners

All of the above

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* 6. Clarifying who the organization’s owners are is crucial because:

Identifying them is required by parliamentary procedure

The board must know from whom it derives authority and to whom it is accountable

They are an organization’s best source of funding

Organizations must prioritize service to those customers who are also owners

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* 7. The board’s position can be best described as:

The link between the owners and management

Advisor to the CEO

Accountable to the CEO

Between the CEO and the staff

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* 8. Board decisions comprise direction to:

Board and CEO

CEO and staff

Owners and senior management

Board committees and senior management

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* 9. Individual board members have:

More authority than staff members

No authority

As much authority as the CEO

Less authority than Executive Committee members

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* 10. The "one voice principle" refers to:

The need for board members to agree on a strategic plan

The board communication one message to the media

Making decisions by consensus

The board communication direction to the CEO and to other board subordinates

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* 11. The board’s Ends define:

At the least, the organizational results for specific beneficiaries and the worth of those results

Results for specific beneficiaries and the worth of those results

Organizational results for specific beneficiaries at what worth and may include the kind of data and the measures to determine compliance

All of the above

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* 12. The type of cost the board is not concerned about in Ends is:

Priority among results

Worth of the result

Cost of the means to produce the result

None of the above

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* 13. Ends:

State effect not effort

Don’t contain verbs

Are not specific

All of the above

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* 14. The broadest Ends statement or global Ends policy defines the area of achievement for an organization. The broadest Ends statement:

Describes the organization’s highest ambition

Is usually the organization’s vision of what should be

Uniquely describes the organization

None of the above

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* 15. The board:

Must never assume direct authority of operational matters

Must never assume an integral component of the CEO’s job unless it is prepared to be fully responsible for it

Must never relinquish accountability for owner linkage, written governing policies and assurance of executive and board performance

None of the above

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* 16. To be consistent with Policy Governance® principles, which of the following cannot be part of the board or board process:

Board treasurer

Staff

Executive Committee

None of the above

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* 17. Policy Governance® principles related to board means specify:

Appropriate board size

Type and roles of officers

Types of committees

None of the above

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* 18. Board means policies:

Are the board's opportunity to customize its job, practice and conduct

May leave any reasonable interpretation to the chief governing officer, by whatever title the position is called

Include board practice, process, discipline and value added, plus the board's relationship and accountability

All of the above

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* 19. Executive Limitations should address:

Everything the board believes is important

Everything the board might wish to forbid

Those things the board feels it must forbid on behalf of owners

Those means the board, acting on behalf of the owners, would find unacceptable for reasons of prudence or ethics, even if Ends were to be accomplished

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* 20. Executive Limitations are stated proscriptively because:

The board can allow far more than it needs to forbid, leading to fewer policies

It reminds the board to govern CEO means only through policies that specify unacceptable conditions based on prudence and ethics

The board can avoid approving CEO means, thus preserving distinct lines of accountability

All of the above

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* 21. Executive Limitations policies should be created:

To deal with all board member concerns about staff means

To make sure that the CEO does things the way that board members would prefer them to be done

To prohibit those means choices that the board would find imprudent or unethical whether or not they helped to achieve the Ends

To show stakeholders that the board is acting responsibly

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* 22. What does the concept of policy sizes mean?

A lower level (subordinate) policy describes the means used to achieve the higher level policy

A policy at a “higher” level is large enough that it includes all policy levels below it (subordinate levels)

A higher level policy is the introduction to a list of further details

All of the above

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* 23. Subsequent, more narrowly defined Ends statements:

Explain what the broad statement means

Further define results, beneficiaries and worth

Gives further direction to accomplishing the Ends

All of the above

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* 24. Does using Policy Governance require® delegation through a CEO or equivalent single organizational leader?

Yes

Yes under certain circumstances

Highly recommended for efficiency but not required

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* 25. The problem with holding more than one person accountable for policy compliance is:

Leaving no one accountable, activities required for policy compliance often overlap and issues can easily fall between the cracks

It is hard for the board to discover the source of any non-compliance

If the board receives differing accounts for the same delegation, the board ends up being the CEO

All of the above

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* 26. A true CEO role requires:

Someone other than the board

Accountability and authority

One person

All of the above

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* 27. Which of the following statements about CEO interpretation of Ends and Limitations policies is true:

The board should approve the CEO’s interpretation

The board must accept the CEO’s interpretation

The board should review the interpretation the CEO plans to use before the policy is scheduled for monitoring, to be sure the board agrees it is reasonable

The CEO should provide a reasonable interpretation of policy regardless of which monitoring method the board uses

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* 28. The right to make any reasonable interpretation is the CEO’s, but the board has the final decision on whether it is reasonable. How does the board do this?

Voting to see if the board would have interpreted the policy in the same way

Considering whether a reasonable person might have made such an interpretation, using rationale provided by the CEO

Deciding if the interpretation is consistent with what the board originally meant when it wrote the policy

Asking the board “expert” on the matter whether it is reasonable

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* 29. In order to allow the board to monitor achievement of Ends adequately:

Ends policies should include measurement criteria or indicators

Monitoring report should include CEO plans to achieve the Ends

Interpretation in monitoring report should include justifiable statement of what will demonstrate compliance

Ends policies must be in the SMART format (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and tangible)

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* 30. Which of the following statements about monitoring is true?

Direct inspection should be used only when the CEO is suspected of wrongdoing.

Monitoring is limited to times in the advance monitoring schedule.

The board has complete freedom to schedule monitoring or use any one of the three methods.

A purpose of monitoring is to give the board information to assist in coaching the CEO

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* 31. A good monitoring report, consistent with delegation to management within board policy controls, should not include:

CEO reasonable interpretation of what the policy means

CEO plans for achieving policy compliance

Evidence of compliance with a reasonable interpretation of policy

Rationale for why the interpretation is reasonable

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* 32. For which of the following methods of monitoring is the CEO expected to provide written evidence of policy compliance?

Internal or executive report

Direct inspection

External report or audit

All of the above

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* 33. If the board chooses to do an annual CEO performance appraisal, it should:

Ask staff and external stakeholders what they think of the CEO’s performance

Review the monitoring reports it has received and re-assess them to see if they still think the CEO is compliant with policy

Summarize the assessments it has already made as it assessed monitoring reports throughout the year, and identify any trends in CEO performance

All of the above

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* 34. To receive the PG360 answer guide, please provide your e-mail address below, thank you!

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* 35. Bonus question (not part of the PG360!): What is the name of the black and white dog? Hint: The answer is contained within the video, Policy Governance 101: 10 Principles for Effective Boards.

Marnie

Mimi

Millie

Minnie

¹The PG360 questions and answers were developed by Jannice Moore, Caroline Oliver, and Linda Stier, with assistance from then-IPGA CEO, Susan Mogensen. In 2018, the International Policy Governance Association changed its name to Govern for Impact. Brown Dog Consulting is not currently affiliated with Govern for Impact.

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* 1. Policy Governance® is:

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* 2. Policy Governance® requires that boards:

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* 3. Which of the following statements is correct?

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* 4. In Policy Governance®, the source of the board’s authority and accountability is the owners. “Owners” refers to:

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* 5. Board members must represent the informed wishes of:

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* 6. Clarifying who the organization’s owners are is crucial because:

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* 7. The board’s position can be best described as:

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* 8. Board decisions comprise direction to:

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* 9. Individual board members have:

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* 10. The "one voice principle" refers to:

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* 11. The board’s Ends define:

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* 12. The type of cost the board is not concerned about in Ends is:

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* 13. Ends:

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* 14. The broadest Ends statement or global Ends policy defines the area of achievement for an organization. The broadest Ends statement:

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* 15. The board:

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* 16. To be consistent with Policy Governance® principles, which of the following cannot be part of the board or board process:

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* 17. Policy Governance® principles related to board means specify:

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* 18. Board means policies:

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* 19. Executive Limitations should address:

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* 20. Executive Limitations are stated proscriptively because:

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* 21. Executive Limitations policies should be created:

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* 22. What does the concept of policy sizes mean?

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* 23. Subsequent, more narrowly defined Ends statements:

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* 24. Does using Policy Governance require® delegation through a CEO or equivalent single organizational leader?

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* 25. The problem with holding more than one person accountable for policy compliance is:

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* 26. A true CEO role requires:

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* 27. Which of the following statements about CEO interpretation of Ends and Limitations policies is true:

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* 28. The right to make any reasonable interpretation is the CEO’s, but the board has the final decision on whether it is reasonable. How does the board do this?

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* 29. In order to allow the board to monitor achievement of Ends adequately:

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* 30. Which of the following statements about monitoring is true?

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* 31. A good monitoring report, consistent with delegation to management within board policy controls, should not include:

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* 32. For which of the following methods of monitoring is the CEO expected to provide written evidence of policy compliance?

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* 33. If the board chooses to do an annual CEO performance appraisal, it should:

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* 34. To receive the PG360 answer guide, please provide your e-mail address below, thank you!

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* 35. Bonus question (not part of the PG360!): What is the name of the black and white dog? Hint: The answer is contained within the video, Policy Governance 101: 10 Principles for Effective Boards.

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* 36. If you have any questions or comments about this quiz, please let us know below. Thank you!