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==Origin==
The [[word]] ''governance'' derives from the [[Greek]] verb ''κυβερνάω'' [''kubernáo''] which means to steer and was used for the first time in a [[metaphorical]] sense by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plato Plato]. It then passed on to [[Latin]] and then on to many [[languages]].
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/14th_century 14th Century]
==Definitions==
*1:a. The [[action]] or [[manner]] of governing. The [[fact]] that (a person, etc.) governs.
:b. [[Controlling]], directing, or regulating [[influence]]; control, sway, mastery.
:c. in or under (a [[person]]'s) governance : subject to his [[control]]. So to have, hold, take in governance .
:d. The [[state]] of being governed; [[good]] order; esp. in to set in governance .
*2:a. The office, [[function]], or power of governing; [[authority]] or [[permission]] to govern; †the command (of a body of men, a ship).
:b. That which governs; governing [[person]] or [[body]].
*3:The [[manner]] in which something is governed or regulated; [[method]] of [[management]], system of regulations, often: A rule of [[practice]], a [[discipline]].
*4:a. Conduct of life or [[business]]; [[mode]] of living, [[behavior]], demeanour. Also pl. [[proceedings]], doings.
:b. Discreet or [[virtuous]] behavior; wise self-command.
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<center>For lessons on the [[topic]] of '''''Governance''''', follow [http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Category:Governance '''''this link'''''].</center>
==Description==
'''Governance''' is the [[act]] of governing. It relates to [[decisions]] that define [[expectations]], grant [[power]], or verify [[performance]]. It consists of either a separate [[process]] or part of management or [[leadership]] processes. These processes and systems are typically [[administered]] by a [[government]].
In the case of a [[business]] or of a [[non-profit organization]] governance relates to consistent [[management]], cohesive policies, [[guidance]], processes and decision-rights for a given area of [[responsibility]]. For example, managing at a corporate level might involve evolving [[policies]] on [[privacy]], on internal [[investment]], and on the use of [[data]].
To distinguish the term governance from [[government]]: "governance" is what a "government" does. It might be a geo-political government ([[nation]]-state), a corporate government ([[business]] entity), a socio-political government ([[tribe]], [[family]] etc.), or any number of different kinds of government, but governance is the [[physical]] exercise of [[management]] [[power]] and [[policy]], while [[government]] is the instrument (usually [[collective]]) that does it. The term government is also used more [[abstractly]] as a synonym for governance, as in the Canadian motto, "Peace, Order and Good Government".
As a [[process]], governance may operate in an [[organization]] of any size: from a single [[human being]] to all of [[humanity]]; and it may function for any [[purpose]], [[good]] or [[evil]]. A reasonable or [[rational]] purpose of governance might aim to [[assure]], (sometimes on behalf of others) that an [[organization]] produces a worthwhile pattern of good results while avoiding an undesirable [[pattern]] of bad circumstances.
Perhaps the [[moral]] and [[natural]] [[purpose]] of governance consists of [[assuring]], on behalf of those governed, a [[worthy]] pattern of good while avoiding an undesirable pattern of bad. The [[ideal]] purpose, obviously, would assure a [[perfect]] pattern of good with no bad. A [[government]], comprises a set of inter-related [[positions]] that govern and that use or exercise [[power]], particularly [[coercive]] power.
A [[good]] government, following this line of [[thought]], could consist of a set of inter-related [[positions]] exercising coercive [[power]] that assures, on behalf of those governed, a worthwhile [[pattern]] of good results while avoiding an undesirable pattern of bad circumstances, by making [[decisions]] that define [[expectations]], grant power, and verify performance.
[[Politics]] provides a means by which the governance [[process]] operates. For example, people may choose [[expectations]] by way of political [[activity]]; they may grant power through political action, and they may [[judge]] performance through [[political]] [[behavior]].
Conceiving of governance in this way, one can apply the [[concept]] to [[states]], to corporations, to non-profits, to NGOs, to [[partnerships]] and other [[associations]], to project-teams, and to any number of [[humans]] [[engaged]] in some purposeful [[activity]].[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Governance]
[[Category: Political Science]]