Definition of

Directive

Directory

The board of directors makes decisions regarding the company's budget.

Directive is a term that can be used as an adjective or noun. Its etymology takes us to the medieval Latin directivus , which in turn comes from the Latin directus .

A manager is classified as someone who has the capacity or power of direction : that is, who is in a position to give instructions, orders or rules. As a noun, a directive can be a regulation or a governing board .

The board of directors

A board of directors is the main management body of a company or organization . This is the team or committee of authorities that exercises command and leadership , establishing management policies and assuming responsibility for each decision.

Also called the board of directors or board of directors , the board of directors defines how the firm's resources should be used. Its purpose, ultimately, is the generation of value for the owners or shareholders of the company.

The board of directors is usually made up of various managers. Many times, especially in large companies, the position or position of executives is known by English acronyms: CEO ( Chief Executive Officer ), CTO ( Chief Technology Officer ), CFO ( Chief Financial Officer ), COO ( Chief Operating Officer ), etc.

What the board of directors does, ultimately, is define the corporate strategy to achieve goals and objectives. To establish the steps to follow, members have a meeting agenda: thus, in each meeting , assembly or session , the decision is made on how to act.

It is important to indicate that, sometimes, the operation of the board of directors is regulated by law . This occurs when the corporation in question has certain characteristics. In other cases, the board of directors acts in a more informal way.

Likewise, it must be considered that the board of directors can be a body that approves or rejects measures taken by the administration . This implies that the company's vision and mission are defined by another entity.

Analysis

The members of the board of directors must carry out an evaluation of the company's performance .

Norms or rules

A directive, on the other hand, can be a norm or a rule . The scope of these types of provisions depends on the context.

It is common for the directive to be a recommendation or provision issued by an official body for the development of an activity or procedure. What a guideline of this kind does is specify how certain actions must be carried out to be in line with legal provisions.

In the broadest sense, a directive is an instruction . Through this document, someone or an entity is told how to act.

Take the case of the so-called advance directive . This is a legal mandate that, in the United States , allows a patient to anticipate how decisions regarding their medical care should be made when they can no longer do so themselves. In this way, the person tells medical professionals and their family what type of treatments they are willing, or not, to receive. This advance directive falls under the Patient Self-Determination Act .

Regulations

A directive can favor regulation or control.

Directive Examples

Take the case of a football club. The coach informs the players of the implementation of a rule of conduct so that everyone behaves according to the values ​​of the institution. The prohibition of going out at night on the day before a match and the need to request permission to be absent from training are some of the directives.

In the event of an outbreak of trichinosis , on the other hand, the health authorities of a country issue a series of directives to sausage producers in order to avoid infections. They are asked, within this framework, to comply with current regulations and guarantee the safety and traceability of their products.

Let's now think about parents who will leave their 15 and 17 year old children alone at home for several hours . To try to minimize possible problems and inconveniences, they give several directives to their descendants: they must not invite friends to the house, they cannot listen to music at high volume and they have to maintain the cleanliness and order of the home. If they do not comply with these directives, the parents indicate, the minors will be punished.

The concept in European Union law

Within the European Union , a legal norm is called a directive that commits the members of the bloc to achieve certain objectives set by the European institutions within a certain period of time, although allowing the rulers of each nation to define how to reach the goal. fixed.

These directives imply transposition at a legal level: Member States give force to the directive by approving the implementation of the necessary measures. When the transposition is not carried out or is not correct, the State in question incurs a fault and is sanctioned.

An example of this type of directive is the norm that calls for applying the principle of equal treatment between women and men in access to services and goods . This directive dates back to the end of 2004 .