Copyright © 2008 Allyn & Bacon Meetings: Forums for Problem Solving 11 CHAPTER Chapter Objectives This Multimedia product and its contents are protected under copyright law. The following are prohibited by law: Any public performance or display, including transmission of any image over a network; Preparation of any derivative work, including the extraction, in whole or in part, of any images; Any rental, lease, or lending of the program. 1.Evaluate how individual, group, and organizational goals influence a meeting. 2.Create an agenda and adapt to various meeting formats. 3.Use situational knowledge to prepare for a meeting. 4.Develop/employ critical thinking skills to improve communication during a meeting. 5.Choose appropriate problem-solving methods to achieve goals. 6.Engage in effective decision making. 7.Recognize what triggers anxiety in group situation and improves your handling of it. 8.Evaluate group performances objectively.

Copyright © 2008 Allyn & Bacon Goal Setting Agenda: Guide that specifies what is to be discussed, when, in what order, and for how long. Roll Call: Attendance check. Quorum: Number of members required to be present for a group to conduct business officially. Reading the Minutes: Summarization of what took place in previous group meetings.

Copyright © 2008 Allyn & Bacon Goal Setting, cont. Special Committees: Temporary subgroups created to look into short-term or specific problems. Standing Committees: Permanent subgroups that concentrate on long-term developments in broad areas. Unfinished Business/New Business: Topics that were not agreed on at earlier meetings.

Copyright © 2008 Allyn & Bacon Goals Organizational Goals: Set at upper levels of an organization’s hierarchy and describe pathways to excellence. Group Goals: Goals that serve the mission and purpose of the group itself.  Process Goals: Goals that attempt to improve the working of the group itself. Individual Goals: Goals that group members have in addition to the group’s stated goals.

Copyright © 2008 Allyn & Bacon Situational Knowledge: Preparing for the Meeting

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Situational Knowledge: Developing Critical Skills

Copyright © 2008 Allyn & Bacon Analysis The process of tearing apart an issue and examining its component parts to see how they relate to the whole.

Copyright © 2008 Allyn & Bacon Reasoning Ability to pull various data together and draw sound conclusions from them. Deductive Reasoning: Moving from general truths to specific conclusions.  Syllogism: 3-part argument containing a general truth, a related claim, and a conclusion. Inductive Reasoning: Moving from specific statements to general conclusions. Example Reasoning: Making conclusions based on collecting specific cases and then making a generalization based on them.

Copyright © 2008 Allyn & Bacon Reasoning, cont. Sign Reasoning: Drawing conclusions from simple observations.  Hasty Generalization: Making conclusions based on small or nonrepresentative samples of data. Comparative Reasoning: Pulling together 2 examples and assuming that is true in the first case is also true in the second case. Causal Reasoning: Asserting that 1 factor is strong enough to produce an effect in another factor. Asking: “Why did that happen?”

Copyright © 2008 Allyn & Bacon Interpretation & Evaluation Interpretation: An extension of causal reasoning. Asking “Why did that happen” + “What does that mean?” Evaluation: Making judgments about information or data.

Copyright © 2008 Allyn & Bacon Communication Competence: Problem Solving

Copyright © 2008 Allyn & Bacon Problem Solving Defining a problem and generating solutions. 3 necessary qualities for competent problem solving:  Variety: Providing differing perspectives of the problem.  Simplicity: Arranging ideas logically and checking for repetition and relevance.  Usefulness: Focusing energies on ideas that will most likely result in the right direction.

Copyright © 2008 Allyn & Bacon Reflective Thinking 5-step process whose success depends on each member’s willingness to participate.  Introduce the Problem.  Define and Analyze the Problem. Problem recognition Development of problem statement Exploration Internal Summary  Establish Criteria. Overall strength Resources Ethics  Generate Possible Solutions.  Evaluate Possible Solutions.

Copyright © 2008 Allyn & Bacon Nominal Group Technique (NGT) Allows groups to discuss problems and solutions in a relatively structured setting.  Preparation  Silent generation of ideas  Round-robin recording  Discussion  Voting

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Delphi Technique Uses questionnaires to collect opinions and judgments from experts, who usually remain anonymous.

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Decision-Making Options Consensus: Unanimous agreement among group members concerning a particular decision. Voting: Imposing the will of the majority (in most cases). Risks having some members uncommitted to the decision hold a negative attitude toward the other members.

Copyright © 2008 Allyn & Bacon Anxiety Management During Meetings Potential Causes:  Closed forum vs. open discussion.  Do not know other participants.  Diversity (different backgrounds and communication styles).  When the objective is to resolve conflict or mediate serious arguments.

Copyright © 2008 Allyn & Bacon Evaluation Group Evaluation: Evaluating the effectiveness of the group.  Informational: Concerned with the task that the group is working on.  Procedural: Looks at how well the group’s activities and communication are coordinated.  Interpersonal: Emphasis is on how well the members of the group work with one another. Individual Evaluation: Evaluating the effectiveness of individual group members. Group Behavior Inventory: Identifies strengths and weaknesses of group behavior.