Bylaws of the Configuration Workgroup (plus Code of Conduct)

 

CWG bylaws: english translation of the (binding) german Satzung of the Configuration Workgroup e.V.  

 

ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION

Configuration Workgroup e.V.

 

§ 1 Name, location and financial year

 

1) The Association is known as the “Configuration Workgroup“, abbreviated as CWG.

2) The Association is recorded in the register of associations of the Wiesloch District Court and carries the designation “e.V.“ (registered organization).

3) The Association is based in Walldorf (Baden-Württemberg, Germany).

4) The Association’s financial year is the calendar year.

 

 

§ 2 Purpose and objectives of the Association, area of activity

 

1)    The Association provides an organizational framework for cooperation between users of the product configuration software of SAP SE, and with the management and product development for this sector.

2)    The aims of the Association are:

• Partnership-based coordination of interests and cooperation between users of the product configuration software and SAP SE with the aim of expanding and improving the software.

• Influencing the development policy and orientation of SAP SE in the interests of SAP users in relation to the development of new products, and the further development of existing products, services and guidelines, particularly in connection with variant configuration.

• Promoting the more effective utilization of the variant configuration software developed and marketed by SAP SE by means of a mutual exchange and the passing on of information and knowledge.

• The exchange of information between members will be mainly promoted at regular conferences (CWG conferences).

3) The Association is active globally and is not restricted to any one country or region.

 

 

§ 3 Non-profit status

 

1) The Association functions on a non-profit basis and does not pursue any commercial interests for its own purposes.

2) The Association’s funds may only be used for purposes in keeping with its articles of association. Members do not receive any financial benefits from the Association’s funds, apart from the reimbursement of travel costs and expenses to a maximum of the allowable tax limit and other costs directly connected with the Association’s activities.

3) No-one may benefit from expenditure which does not serve the Association’s purposes or from disproportionately high reimbursements.

 

 

§ 4 Membership

 

1) Members of the CWG are as a rule individuals who are employees of a company or an institution which uses SAP software or which is essentially oriented to the support provided by utilizing SAP variant configuration software. CWG members are expected to attend CWG events on a regular basis, participate in the work of the CWG, and in a lively exchange of information with the CWG community, and to meet their financial obligations. Members must behave fairly and professionally and demonstrate integrity in their dealings with each other.

2) CWG members are obliged not to divulge in either spoken or written form any verbal or written information designated as confidential which is made available at CWG events. This obligation to maintain confidentiality relates to all documents provided in the committees of the CWG which are specifically designated as confidential or via the CWG website.

3) The Association has full and associate members. Only full members can play an active role in meetings of members and are entitled to active and passive voting rights. With the approval of the board of directors, associate members may participate in meetings of members in an advisory capacity.

4) Anyone who actively supports and promotes the objectives of the Association as per § 2 can become a full member.

5) Any natural or legal person who supports and promotes the objectives of the Association as per § 2 can become an associate member.

6) The meeting of members decides to admit full members based on a written application to the board with a two thirds majority of the full members present.

7) A membership committee appointed by the board will decide on the admission of associate members on receipt of a written application. The committee must consist of a minimum of 3 people. The board may reject the application if there are important reasons to do so.

8) Full membership ceases on withdrawal from the board or the board of directors and becomes associate membership. Full or associate membership also ends on resignation, which must be notified to the board of directors in writing.

9) A full member can be expelled as a result of a decision by the meeting of members with a two thirds majority of full members present. Reasons for expulsion are a serious infringement by the member of the articles of association or the interests of the Association, failure to meet the membership criteria, or failure to pay the membership fee on request. Before the decision is taken, the full member will be given an opportunity to make a statement. The board of directors will take the decision to exclude an associate member on the basis of a simple majority.

10) When these articles of association are adopted, the following will apply: the founding members are full members. Members of the board of directors are also full members. All other existing members stay members.

 

 

§ 5 Contributions

 

1) The Association may require its members to pay contributions, generally in the form of an annual membership fee. The meeting of members fixes the level and payment date of the contribution.

2) Contributions will be used mainly to administer the Association and to organize meetings of members.

 

 

§ 6 Organs of the Association

 

The organs of the Association are

·         The meeting of members

·         the board

·         the board of directors

 

 

§ 7 Meetings of members

 

1) The board must call an ordinary meeting of members at last once a year.

2) An extraordinary meeting of members is to be called by the board if the interests of the Association should require this, or if requested by a quarter of full members who must state their reasons.

3) All full members are to receive a written invitation to attend the meeting of members at the latest two weeks before the date of the meeting and will be informed of the agenda. Invitations may be sent by email. Items for inclusion on the agenda must be submitted to the board in writing at least five days before the meeting. Additional items for the agenda will be announced at the beginning of the meeting. Applications for positions in the board or board of directors must be received by the board 3 weeks prior the membership meeting. 

4) The meeting of members can take decisions provided that at least 20% of the full members are present, plus 1 of the 3 members of the board. In the absence of a quorum, the board is obliged to call another meeting with the same agenda within four weeks as per 7.3. Decisions can be taken at this meeting provided that at least 2 members of the board are present.

5) Decisions are taken at the meeting of members based on a simple majority vote of the full members present, unless otherwise specified in these articles of association.

The meeting of members approves the

·         election of the chairperson of the meeting and the secretary,

·         replacement of the existing board, after presentation of the corresponding reports by the board and the auditors,

·         election of the board

·         election of two auditors,

·         election of the board of directors,

·         amount and payment date of membership contributions,

·         admission or exclusion of full members,

·         changes to the articles of association,

·         dissolution of the Association,

·         other proposals put forward by the board and the members.

6) Minutes are to be produced of every meeting of members, recording all decisions taken. The Minutes must be signed by the chairperson and secretary of the meeting.

7) Members may also represent other members. This must be documented in writing and dated. The right of representation must be signed by hand by the person being represented.

8) Further details will be covered by rules of procedure.

 

 

 

§ 8 The Board

 

1) The board consists of four members as defined under § 26 BGB, and these are

 

·         the chairperson

·         the deputy chairperson

·         the treasurer

·         the secretary

 

The members of the board represent the association individually. If planned legal transactions exceed an amount of EUR 1,000, the approval of all members of the board is required.

2) The board is elected by the meeting of members for a period of three years. Re-election is possible.

3) If the chairperson resigns early, an extraordinary meeting of members is to be called as quickly as possible to elect a successor.

4) The board is responsible for the ongoing management of the Association, unless these articles of association assign this task to other organs of the association. The board must abide by the decisions taken by the meeting of members.

5) Board decisions are to be taken on the basis of a voting majority of the members of the board present. The chairperson holds the casting vote. The decisions taken must be recorded in the minutes.

 

 

 

 

§ 9 Conferences

 

1) The board of directors decides on the location and timing of the CWG conferences. 

2) Apart from members, other individual participants who are not members of the Association may attend the conferences. These individuals will be permitted to attend the conferences by a majority decision of the board of directors.

3) The Association may charge a fee for attendance at a conference, and the board of directors will set the level and payment date of this fee.

 

 

 

 

§ 10 Changes to the articles of association and dissolution of the Association

 

1) A decision to make changes to the articles of association or to dissolve the Association can only be taken if a two thirds majority of the full members present is obtained. The wording of the changes to the articles of association or the decision on dissolution must be stated in the agenda.

2) If the Association is dissolved, all financial obligations must first of all be met from the Association’s assets. The remainder of the Association’s assets will be distributed by the board to non-profit organizations.

 

§ 11 Adoption

 

These articles of association will come into force on the day after they are agreed.

Agreed in Hamburg on April 26th, 2017

 

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CWG Code of Conduct
Created September 2018, Last Updated May 17, 2020
This Code of Conduct serves as a guide for users of the Configuration Workgroup e.V. (CWG) Website found at the url www.configuration-workgroup.com and all associated conferences.
The CWG Board of Directors defines the Code of Conduct as well as what is considered a breach of the Code of Conduct, and reserves the right to modify this Code of Conduct at any time and without notice.
The Code of Conduct outlines how users of the CWG website and conferences are expected to behave. By using the website or attending a conference, you agree to all of the terms and conditions outlined in this Code of Conduct and the Bylaws of the organization. Disregarding any of these rules may result in your expulsion from the CWG. CWG public spaces are defined as the entire CWG website, Conference venue sites and all presentations delivered at any CWG conference and stored on the website.
Note that the CWG reserves the right to change the structure and content of the website or conferences at any time.
Responsibility
The CWG will not be held responsible for actions, statements, comments, blog posts, or presentations made by the members of the CWG. Information published by the user is done under their sole responsibility. The CWG reserves the right to remove any and all content published by a user without prior warning.
It is the users sole responsibility to ensure they understand and comply with this Code of Conduct. Ignorance of the current Code of Conduct is not an excuse for violation.
The following points must be respected and will be enforced by the CWG Board of Directors using their sole discretion.
Code of Conduct
1. Generally speaking, it is forbidden to willfully harm any person or company engaged in the CWG.
2. When you participate in the CWG website or conferences, you must respect all CWG members and their guests.
3. All members shall treat each other in a professional manner with dignity, integrity and respect.
4. Member will not make any statements that can be considered inflammatory, defamatory,
racially or culturally insensitive. Basically, if you would not say something to your
mother, don’t say it to another member.
5. Members will not violate copyright laws of any country
6. Members will not violate intellectual property laws of any country
7. Members will not discuss any litigation, whether pending or complete in public spaces
8. At its complete discretion, the CWG Board of Directors and CWG website Moderators
reserve the right to remove any and all content that is considered unacceptable.
9. At any time, at its sole discretion, the CWG Board of Directors reserves the right to bring
any CWG member before a quorum of the Verein for discipline of violation of this Code
of Conduct, up to and including expulsion from the CWG
10. Complaints of any kind regarding moderation will not be accepted in public spaces. Send
all complaints to the email address forum-moderator@configuration-workgroup.com
11. All conversations with CWG personnel are considered private and confidential unless
approved for public release in writing by the CWG personnel in advance. Under no
circumstances will any part of the exchange be copy\pasted into a public space.
12. Users are responsible to ensure their accounts are secure. Passwords should be changed at
regular intervals. The CWG assumes no responsibility for breaches of user account
information.
13. CWG membership information shall not be used for any purpose without the CWG
Board of Directors express written permission in advance of any such use.
14. Editing or changing wording of another members post is not allowed at any time. Use the
Quoting functionality within the forums or simply copy\paste the url of the post you are
referring to.
Website Moderation
1. The CWG website will be monitored be a designated CWG Moderator team every day.
2. CWG moderators will utilize their best judgement in enforcing this Code of Conduct
3. Violations of this Code of Conduct will be dealt with immediately and may include
a. Deletion of the entire offending posting, blog entry, comment, or presentation
i. Deleted items will not receive any notification of deletion
b. “Unpublishing” of the entire offending posting, blog entry, comment, or
presentation pending clarification from the CWG Board of Directors
i. The status of Unpublished items will be determined by the CWG Board of
Directors. This status may or may not include
1. Publication of the item in question
2. Deletion of the item in question
3. Request for clarification from the author of the item in question
4. Request for edit of the item in question by the original author
4. CWG website moderators will NOT edit any post, comment, blog, or presentation. Any
and all edits MUST be made by the original author.
5. Decisions made by the moderators and CWG Board of Directors are final. There will be
no appeal.
6. The CWG reserves the right to amend, modify, remove, or add to this Code of Conduct at
any time with no prior notice.
Virtual Conferences
1. Virtual Conferences are paid events. Registered attendees of these conferences are not
authorized to share recorded presentations or live event access with anyone who did not
register. Flagrant unauthorized sharing is a violation of the Code of Conduct subject to
commensurate consequences.
2. Please note that presenters own their content and may reuse it (and grant others
permission to reuse it) after the conference. All presenters have been advised on our
guidelines for reusing their presentation content.
3. Like any in-person conference, please respect your fellow attendees. Disrespectful,
accusatory, or offensive comments (in verbal or written form) will not be tolerated.

May 2020