MEETINGS

meetings 1
 OBJECTIVES
At the end of the chapter, the
students will be able to:

 Plan business meetings

 Prepare documents related to business

meetings

 Participate effectively in meetings

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 DEFINITION OF A MEETING
The Business Dictionary:
 Formal or informal deliberative assembly of
individuals called to debate certain issues
and problems, and to take decisions.

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 DEFINITION OF A MEETING –
contd.
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopaedia:
 An act or process of coming together as an
assembly for a common purpose. [1]
 A meeting is a gathering of two or more
people that has been convened for the
purpose of achieving a common goal
through verbal interaction, such as sharing
information or reaching agreement. [

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 DEFINITION OF A MEETING –
contd.

 A meeting can be defined as a collaborative

work process designed to answer the who,
why, how and what of a particular objective.

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 MEETINGS AND CONFERENCES

 Necessary Meetings
– To solve a problem.
– To make a decision.
– Issues arise needs clarification.
– Information needs to be given to a group.
– Communication needs to occur quickly with a
large number of people.

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 Meetings…

 Meeting Effectiveness
– There is a definite need for the meeting.
– The purpose is stated and clearly
understood by all participants.
– The appropriate people are in attendance
at the meeting.
– An Agenda is prepared and adhered to.
– All members participate.
– There are outcomes achieved as a result
of the meeting.
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 Meetings…
 Meeting Types
1. Traditional Meetings
2. Electronic Meetings
 Traditional Meetings
• Staff Meetings
• Committee Meetings
• Project Team Meetings
• Customer/Client Meetings
• Board of Directors Meetings
• Management Meeting
• Conventions and Conferences
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 Staff Meetings
 An extremely common type of meeting is
one in which the executives meets with a
member of his or her staff.
 These meetings are usually scheduled on a
regular basis.
 The purpose of these meetings is usually to
handle routine problems that occur and to
review directions, plans and assignments.

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 Committee Meetings
 In most businesses, there are committees
or task forces operating.
 A task force is formed to deal with a specific
issue or problem.
 Once the problem is handled, the task force
is disbanded.
 A committee may be established for an
ongoing purpose.

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 Project Team Meetings
 These teams are organized around a
specific project to be accomplished.
 Once the project has been completed, the
team may be disbanded or take on another
project to be accomplished.
 (For example, a project team may be
organized to determine the type of
automation to be used in the mailroom).

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 Customer/Client Meetings

 These meetings generally will be with only

one or two people.
 (For example, a lawyer may meet with the
client to discuss the evidence in a case).

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 Board of Directors Meetings
 Most large corporation and organizations
operate with a board of directors.
 Boards meet once a month or less. The
chairman of the board conducts the
meeting, and strict procedures are usually
followed.
 An agenda is sent out before the meeting,
noting the items to be covered.

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 Management Meeting
 A meeting among managers
 Depending on schedule set, normally
weekly, first day of the week

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 Conventions and Conferences
 Conventions are usually formal, annual meetings
of members of a professional group.
 A convention can involve hundreds or even
thousands of people.
 A conference is a meeting in which there is a
discussion on certain issues or topics.
 (For example, a conference or seminar may be
held on topics such as conflict management,
communications , customer service, education and
etc.

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 Electronic Meetings
 Telecommunications technology provides
alternatives to face-to-face meetings
through several electronic options referred
to as teleconferencing.
 Teleconferencing is a general term applied
to a variety of technology-assisted, two-way
(interactive) communications via telephone
lines, fiver optics or microwaves).

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 (Cont’d)
 The three main types of teleconferencing
are:
 audio-conferencing,
 video-conferencing,
 data-conferencing.

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 Audio-conferencing

 Audio-conferencing is a type of conference in

which an unlimited number of participants use an
audio-conferencing unit to participate in a meeting .
 You may set up this call by contacting your local
telephone service, giving the individual the date,
time, names and numbers of the people who will
be participating in the audio-conference.

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 (Cont’d)
 Advantages of audio-conferencing include
the ability to:
 Assemble individuals on short notice,
assuming their schedules allow
 Connect individuals at any location,
nationally or internationally
 Use telephone technology that is readily
available to almost everyone

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 (Cont’d)
 A primary disadvantage of audio-
conferencing is the lack of visual input.
 However, visual input can be achieved
through the use of facsimile equipment
such as a fax machine.
 Visual messages can be written on an
electronic blackboard, it allows for
interactivity (information transmitted
from one location to another and acted
upon by participants at any location).
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 Videoconferencing
 Videoconferencing is a system of
transmitting audio and video between
individuals at distant location.
 Videoconferencing may be transmitted from
a PC-based application.
 Videoconferencing is interactive
(participants at all locations can see and
respond to other participants).

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 Data Conferencing
 Data conferencing enables two or more
people to communicate and collaborate as a
group in real time using the computer .
 Software is available to assist you in data
conferencing.
 This software allows participants to:

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 (Cont’d)
 Share a program running on one computer with
other participants in the conference.
 Exchange information between shared
applications through a shared clipboard, transfer
files, and collaborate on a shared whiteboard.
 Send files to conference participants.
 Chat with other conference participants by keying
text messages or record meeting notes and action
items as part of the collaborative process.

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 Virtual Conferencing
 Virtual conferencing links participants
through the Internet and chat rooms to
transmit information and discuss issues.
 A chat room is a special area established on
the Internet that allows a group of people to
converse on issues.
 The participants are at locations across the
world.

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 Preparing for a Teleconference
1. Reserve the conference room and necessary
equipment.
2. Notify the participants of the date, time, length
and purpose the meeting.
3. Prepare and distribute an agenda to the
participants well in advance of the
teleconference.
4. Prepare and distribute any related materials
well in advance of the teleconference.

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 (Cont’d)
 If the teleconference room is equipped with a fax
machine, telephone, electronic table or other
electronic systems for exchanging information
during the meeting, be sure these systems are in
operating condition.
 Arrange to have the person available or in the
room during the conference in the event of
technical difficulties. Arrange for technician help if
needed.

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 Roles of Office Professional for
Conference
 Before the Conference
– Arrange for Meeting Facilities
 Important to know how many people are expected for the
conference.
 Important to know how many people will be attending each
session so that rooms large enough to accommodate the
participants may be reserved.
 Determine what equipment is needed for presentations.
– Contact Speakers/Outside Speakers
 Contact speakers as early as possible, months in advance.
 Determine speaker’s fee.
 Ask the speaker to provide a resume

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 Roles of Office Professional for
Conference – contd.
 Make Hotel and Travel Reservations
 Plan and Conduct Registration.
 Assist with Planning and Arranging Meals
and Receptions.
 Prepare Evaluation Forms

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 Roles of Office Professional for
Conference – contd.
 During the Conference
– Being on hand to help solve any problems that occur.
– Assisting in getting messages to participants.
– Escorting speakers to the appropriate room.
– Preparing and distributing an attendance list.
– Collecting evaluation forms.
– Maintaining expense records.
– Must present an outstanding public relations image at all
times. Keep a smile on your face and handle even the
most difficult situations with poise and confidence.

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 Roles of Office Professional for
Conference – contd.
 After the Conference
– Responsible for cleanup and follow-up.
 Out-of-town guests and speakers are assisted with
transportation to the airport.
 Letters of appreciation are sent to the presenters/speakers.
 Expense reports are processed by conference participants.
– Responsible for seeing that the proceedings of the
conference are published and mailed to the participants.
– Keep a record of problems that occurred and make
recommendations for future conference.

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 Meetings…

 The Executive’s Role in Meetings

– Determine the Purpose.
– Set the Objectives.
– Determine who should attend.
– Determine the number of attendees.
– Plan/Set the Agenda.
– Establish the time and place.

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 Meetings…
 Role of Meeting Leader
– Make the purpose and objectives clear.
– Adhere to the Agenda.
– Manage time.
– Encourage participation from everyone. Limit
the domination of any one person in the meeting.
– Positively reinforce all individuals for their
contributions.
– Handle conflict.
– Bring closure to the objectives.

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Role of Meeting Leader…contd.
– Lead a balanced and controlled discussion.
 Keep the participants focused on the agenda.
 Encourage participation from everyone.
 Limit the domination of any one person in the
meeting.
 Positively reinforce all individuals for their
contributions.
 Keep the discussion moving toward the objectives
and outcomes determined.
– Evaluate the Meeting.

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 Role of Meeting Participants

 Before the Meeting

– Responding to the meeting notice in a timely
manner.
– Reading any materials sent out before the
meeting.
– Evaluating the materials sent out in relation to
the purpose of the meeting.
– Calling the executive to clarify any questions
that they might have before the meeting.

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 Role of Meeting Participants…

 During the Meeting

– Being on time.
– Adhering to the agenda.
– Making contributions.
– Listening to other participants’ contributions
and responding.
– Respecting the leader’s role.
– Not dominating the discussion.
– Taking notes, if necessary.
– Being courteous to each individual.
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 Role of Meeting Participants…

 After the Meeting

– May be responsible for some research, study, or
action before the next meeting.
– May also be asked to work in small group in
bringing back a recommendation to the next
meeting.

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 Office Professional’s Role in Meeting

 Before the Meeting

– Discuss the purpose, objectives, and general
expectations with the Executive.
– Gather information.
– Make calendar notations.
– Notify participants.
– Prepare the Agenda.
– Prepare materials for the Executive.

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 Office Professional’s Role in Meeting (Cont’d)

– Prepare materials for attendees.

– Order equipments.
– Determine the seating arrangement.
– Order food and beverages.
– Follow-up on the meeting notice.
– Check the room temperature.
– Prepare to present.

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 Office Professional’s Role in Meeting(Cont’d)…

 During the Meeting

– Greet guests.
– Take notes and minutes.
– See that food and beverages are served.
– Handle special problems.

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 (Cont’d)

 After the Meeting

– Prepare the notes or minutes of meeting.
– Perform routine follow-up duties
 Check the meeting room to see that it is left in good order.
Table and chairs should be restored to normal room
arrangement. All equipment should be returned.
– If the room needs to be cleaned, notify the cleaning
staff.
– Any individual who were not present but were given
duties or assignments at the meeting must be notified.

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 Office Professional’s Role in Meeting (Cont’d)

– Items that require future attention should be

written on the electronic calendar.
– Forms should be processed for those
participants who have incurred reimbursable
expenses.
– Any items considered for the next meeting be
noted on the next agenda.

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 Participating in Meetings
 Leading –
 All employees lead in their jobs; that is; they lead
by knowing the elements of their jobs, meeting
deadlines, improving how the tasks are completed
and working with people to get their jobs done.
 A good meeting leader conducts the meeting in an
assertive way that accomplishes the goals of the
meeting.
 (Assertive : positive or confident in a persistent
way).

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 Guidelines to develop a
nonaggresive/assertive
communication style

 Make the objectives of the meeting clear to all

participants.
 Be familiar with the background material and
have relevant documents at hand.
 Offer suggestions and ask questions during
the meeting.
 Always be willing to listen to the suggestion
from others.
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 (Cont’d)
 Keep the meeting on topic and moving
toward a solution or a consensus (common
agreement and mutual understanding).
 Ensure that all participants have an
opportunity to take part.
 Remain open to new and creative
approaches.

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 (Cont’d)

 Summarize the decision or plans that

have been made during the meeting.

 Identify clearly the responsibilities or

tasks assigned to each group member
in following up or completing plans.

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Seating Arrangement in Meetings
 The purpose the meeting should determine
the seating arrangement.
 The round table – when the leader is
seeking a true cooperative form of decision
making.
 This format reduces the appearance of
status differences between the participants.

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Seating Arrangeent in Meeetings -
(Cont’d)
 The U-shaped arrangement – larger meeting
– those that include 10 – 12 participants. The
leader may sit in the middle of the U to
maintain eye contact with all participants.
 Rectangular arrangement – allows the leader
to have good control because she or he sits
at the end of the table.
 Circular or oval arrangements – work best
when the purpose of the meeting is to
generate ideas and discussion and the
meeting is relatively informal.

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 Follow the Rules
 All ideas are recorded, no matter how
unrealistic they may appear.
 Criticism of ideas is not allowed until all
ideas have been expressed.
 Explanations and combinations of ideas are
encouraged.

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 MINUTES OF MEETING
 The minutes describe the action taken by
the group, and they provide the reader with
a concise record of what took place at the
meeting.
 The minutes should NOT be a verbatim
transcript of the meeting.
 VERBATIM: word for word/not an exact
copy of every word said.

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MINUTES OF MEETING – contd.
 The secretary take the minutes of meeting.
 When taking minutes, write down key points.
 Do not daydream.
 Minutes are written in past tense.
 The format vary from organization to organization,
but are usually very straight forward.

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MINUTES OF MEETING – contd.
 Notes, written in shorthand, are then typed
into a formal document.
 The person designated with taking meeting
minutes will sometimes also record the
meeting on a tape recorder.

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MINUTES OF MEETING – contd.
 Minutes must be prepared IMMEDIATELY
after the meeting has taken place.
 Ideally, to be distributed to the members
between 3 – 7 days after the meeting.
Distributed to both present and absent.
 Minutes are approved at the next meeting.

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 TERMS & PHRASES
 Apologies: excuses given in advance for
inability to attend a meeting.
 Adjournment: ending or closure
 Attendance list: a list is passed around to
be signed as a record of present.
 Consensus: agreement by general
consent, no formal vote being taken.
 Convene: to call a meeting.
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 TERMS & PHRASES – contd.
 Motion: a proposal formally made in a
meeting
 Nem Con: from Latin, literally, ‘no one
speaking against’
 Opposer: one who speaks against a
motion
 Proxy: literally ‘on behalf of another
person’ – proxy vote
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 TERMS & PHRASES - contd.
 Quorum: minimum number of members that
must be present for a meeting to be legitimate
and to commence
 Resolution: the name given to a ‘motion’
which has been passed or carried; used after
the decision has been reached.
 Seconder: one who supports the ‘proposer’
of a motion or proposal by ‘seconding’ it

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 TERMS & PHRASES – contd.
 Ultra vires: beyond the authority of the
meeting to consider
 Unanimous: all being in favour

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 Characteristics of Effective
Meetings
 The five steps for preparing and conducting
effective meetings, also known as the five
P's, are: purpose, plan, participants,
participation and perspective.
 Effective meetings can boost productivity,
employee morale and profits.

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 Characteristics of Effective
Meetings – contd.

Purpose clearly states the intent of the
meeting. Plan is the course of action during
the meeting. Participants include attendees
and facilitators. Participation is necessary
from the attendees and the facilitators.
Perspective is the objective the meeting
aims to achieve and a summary of the
agreements that result from the meeting.
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 Characteristics of Effective
Meetings – contd.
- Effective meetings are imaginative, participative, innovative and
engaging. They begin and end on time. Someone is assigned
to keep track of minutes and the agenda. Scheduled breaks
occur at designated times. Lively and positive discussions are
encouraged. Participants are allowed to evaluate the meeting.
Effective meetings end on a friendly note with the facilitator
ensuring harmony exists among the participants.

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 Characteristics of Effective
Meetings – contd.

Effective meetings preserve two of a

company's most valuable resources:
time and talent. Collaborative and
effective meetings energize employees.

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 Characteristics of
Ineffective Meetings

 Characteristics of ineffective meetings

include passive participants and a
regurgitation of previously discussed topics.

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 Characteristics of
Ineffective Meetings – contd.
 Poorly managed meetings have a negative
impact on employee morale, making some
become skeptical and pessimistic, while
others become apathetic and inattentive.
Ineffective meetings cost businesses billions
of dollars each year in lost opportunities and
lost time.

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 Characteristics of
Ineffective Meetings – contd.

 They damage the image of an organization,

highlight its ineffective management and
reduce productivity.
 Poorly run meetings waste time and fail to
generate ideas.

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 Frequency and Duration
of Meetings
 Peter Honey writes in the book "Improve Your
People Skills" that effective meetings are
ideally conducted a maximum of once a week,
usually for the same participants. The most
successful meetings are wound up in an hour
and typically do not extend to two hours.


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 MEETING PITFALLS
 Despite the best efforts and the strongest facilitator, meetings can
quickly spin out of control. Following are some common pitfalls that
beset meetings, launching them into downward spirals of inaction
and/or flawed decision making:
 The facilitator puts aside the meeting agenda for his or her own
personal agenda

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 MEETING PITFALLS – contd.
 The facilitator allows interruptions such as
telephone calls, etc.
 Loud group members are allowed to
dominate the meeting
 Decisions are made based on
generalizations, exaggeration, guesswork,
and assumptions.

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 MEETING PITFALLS – contd.
 Discussions consistently wander off the topic
 Key members of the group are not present
 Overly ambitious agendas
 Meetings that exceed previously agreed-upon time limits
 Minutes that are inaccurate or biased
 Too many participants
 Waiting for latecomers to arrive
 An unclear, or inappropriate, decision-making process. For
example, taking a vote when leadership and unilateral
action by a company's CEO is clearly needed.

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 Group Dynamics
 Group Dynamic refers to how people
interact and communicate, as in a meeting.

 Within the meeting environment, group

dynamic can play an important part in
reaching group consensus and decisions.

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 Group dynamics – contd.
 Group dynamics refers to a system of behaviors
and psychological processes occurring within a
social group (intragroup dynamics), or between
social groups (intergroup dynamics).
 The study of group dynamics can be useful in
understanding decision-making behavior, tracking
the spread of diseases in society, creating effective
therapy techniques, and following the emergence
and popularity of new ideas and technlogies.[

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 Group Dynamics – contd.
 A group is an entity, which has qualities that
cannot be understood just by studying the
individuals that make up the group.

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 Group dynamics…
Three Components of Group dynamics:
 1. Interaction
– It depends on the purpose of the meeting.
– Communication will be enhanced when group
members can see one another, when eye
contact can be used to gain attention or control
a participant and when participants can see the
leader and the visual aids.

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 Brainstorming
 A group technique used to facilitate and
generate ideas that lead to making
decisions or solving problems.

 The objective is to come up with as many

ideas as possible to solve a problem.

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 2. Exchange of Information
 It can be improved by the seating
arrangement and the willingness of the
leader to encourage open communication.
 Planning by the leader can set up to open
exchange of information among group
member by:
 Providing in advance materials that will be
discussed.

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Exchange of Information – contd.
 Arrange the room and seating to meet the
needs of the meeting
 Prepare visual aids that guide the
discussion
 Use an appropriate leadership style
 3. Relationships
 Use neutral language in the discussion
 Avoid placing blame
 Ask open-ended questions
 Use terms that all participants understand or
define those that are unfamiliar
 Allow allow participants to speak without
interruptions
 Maintain a pleasant facial expression
 Be open to new methods and ideas
 Components of Group
Dynamics - contd.

 The seating arrangement – as discussed

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 Components of Group
Dynamics - contd.
3. Relationship
 Relationship among the group's members will
play a critical role in the quality of the decisions
made.
 A good leader listens, asks questions, accepts
criticism, keeps the meeting on topic, and resolve
conflicts.
 Conflicts arise when participants have strong
opinions or hidden agendas (their own private
objective)
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