BUSINESS MEETINGS Learning Objective: How to conduct effective Business Meetings Modified lecture. Original example from: George Shell and Roger McHaney,

Conducting Meetings n Learning how to conduct effective meetings is important because: –Meetings are the place where most important corporate decisions are made –Managers spend a large part of their work week in meetings. In fact research shows that the frequency of meetings in companies has doubled in the last 10 years, possibly as a result of flatter organizations (larger span of control) –Meetings are expensive: Compensation for managers (who spend a lot of time in meetings) has tripled! –The higher ranking the manager, the more time (s)he spends in meetings and the more far-reaching the decisions made in the meetings.

Learning about Business Meetings n There are different philosophies about learning how to conduct effective meetings. We will approach the subject in 3 different ways: 1. We will use a training guide such as might be used in the corporate world. 2. We will use up-to-date knowledge/ theory on effective meetings found in recently published management textbooks 3. We will hold meeting(s) as prescribed by training exercises in the literature

Why hold a meeting? n What is the objective? –Is it observable? –Is it measurable? n What are the expected end results or outcome? n Is a meeting necessary to achieve this objective? n What would happen if the meeting was not held? n What other alternatives are available to meet the same objective?

Don’t hold a meeting n If you can't describe purpose/objective n If there is an alternative n When you have no time to plan or prepare n When key participants are not available When cost outweighs the benefits When cost outweighs the benefits

Types of Meetings

Improve meetings by - n Having Purpose and Objective n Identifying Problems n Generating Alternatives n Making Decisions