committee

n. group of persons appointed or elected to act upon some matter of business, board, council

A committee is a type of small deliberative assembly that is usually subordinate to another, larger deliberative assembly. Committees often serve several different functions:Governance: in organizations too large for all the members to participate in decisions affecting the organization as a whole, a committee (such as a Board of Directors) is given the power to make decisions.Coordination: individuals from different parts of an organization (for example, all senior vice presidents) might meet regular to discuss developments in their areas, review projects that cut across organizational boundaries, talk about future options, etc. Where there is a large committee, it's common to have smaller committees with more specialized functions - for example, Boards of Directors of large corporations typically have an (ongoing) audit committee, finance committee, compensation committee, etc. Large  academic conferences are usually organized by a co-ordinating committee drawn from the relevant professional body.Research and recommendations: committees are often formed to do research and make recommendations on a potential or planned project or change. For example, an organization considering a major capital investment might create a committee of several people to review options and make recommendations to upper management or the Board of Directors. Such committees are typically dissolved after issuing recommendations (often in the form of a final report).Project management: while it is generally considered poor management to give operational responsibility to a committee to actually manage a project, this is not unknown. The problem is that no single person can be held accountable for poor performance of the committee, particularly if the chairperson of the committee is seen as a facilitator.
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Noun
1. a special group delegated to consider some matter; "a committee is a group that keeps minutes and loses hours" - Milton Berle
(synonym) commission
(hypernym) administrative unit, administrative body
(hyponym) Economic and Social Council commission, ECOSOC commission
(member-meronym) commissioner
(derivation) entrust, intrust, trust, confide, commit
2. a self-constituted organization to promote something
(synonym) citizens committee
(hypernym) nongovernmental organization, NGO
(hyponym) vigilance committee

(v. t.)
One to whom the charge of the person or estate of another, as of a lunatic, is committed by suitable authority; a guardian.
  

(n.)
One or more persons elected or appointed, to whom any matter or business is referred, either by a legislative body, or by a court, or by any collective body of men acting together.
  

A term of parliamentary law which refers to a body of one or more persons appointed by a larger assembly or society, to consider, investigate and/or take action on certain specific matters. - (read more on Committee)