1. Communication & Organisation
Lecture 9
Business Meetings
Communication & Organisation Lecture 9

2. Communication & Organisation Lecture 9
Business Meeting
A communication event between two or more people, usually taking sufficient time to allow some dialogue.
Communication & Organisation Lecture 9

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Meetings?
May take place for many reasons e.g.:
Sales meeting with customer
Engineering project progress meetings
Brainstorming meetings
Strategy meetings
Supplier negotiation meetings
Meetings with the bank or with local government
Communication & Organisation Lecture 9

4. Communication & Organisation Lecture 9
Meetings?
Informal Meetings: These happen as we pass in the hallway or in the canteen.
They can be very useful for lobbying or bouncing ideas about. Also used for spreading rumours. They help grease the wheels of an organisation.
Usually FTF ( Face to Face) but may include duplex CMC such as the telephone.
Usually 2 people or maybe 3.
Communication & Organisation Lecture 9

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Semi-Formal Meetings: These may be called at short notice to address an issue of importance and perhaps agree actions. It may include a large group e.g Town Hall Meeting
Someone will call the meeting and probably act as chair person.
Sometimes this may include information transfer of importance e.g We have just won a life saving order from Company X…..
Communication & Organisation Lecture 9

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Formal Meetings: Are planned in advance and those attending given some idea of the purpose of the event, the venue and a start time.
But is that enough?………..
Communication & Organisation Lecture 9

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Survey Results
In multinational companies over 75% of formal meetings are held between colleagues and do not include customers, suppliers or other ‘outsiders’.
Over 40% of those asked indicated that the meeting was of no value to them ( in doing their job).
Communication & Organisation Lecture 9

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Reasons for Failure?
Poor preparation
Ill defined focus
Too many items to consider
Takes far too long
Goes off at tangents
Too many people ( some who contribute nothing)
Poor chairmanship
No agenda
No time limit ( and stuck to)
No ( or poor) records kept of actions agreed
No effective follow-up
Communication & Organisation Lecture 9

9. Communication & Organisation Lecture 9?
So, what can we learn from this? ?
Communication & Organisation Lecture 9

10. Communication & Organisation Lecture 9
Prepare
Meetings
Management
Follow-Up
Manage
Communication & Organisation Lecture 9

11. Preparing for the Meeting
What purpose is purposed for having the meeting?
Do reports have to be written – alert the report writer!
Who will contribute ( and who will not)?
Prepare an AGENDA(and agree it with all)
Are there regular items (yearly, monthly?)
Venue: Time? Place? Room availability?
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The AGENDA
Apologies for absence
Minutes of the last meeting (Accuracy)
Matters arising from the minutes ( Actions, progress etc.)
Substantive item 1 Substantive item 5
A.O.B. (Any Other Business)
Date for next ( follow-up) meeting
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Conduct of the Meeting
Meeting has to be chaired
Is the meeting constitutional? (Advertised? Quorate?)
Remarks addressed through the chair
Proper discussion (focussed)
‘Sense of meeting’; Vote if necessary
Each item to be followed by a decision & actions.
Meeting adjourned, concluded
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Minutes of the meeting
Minutes should reflect AGENDA
Accurate reflection of decisions (rather than the discussion)
Record (indexed?) to be kept in minute book or minute file
Audit trail should be possible from agenda...minutes...action taken
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Accuracy of Minutes
A permanent record of the decisions that have been taken
This constitutes the ‘authority’ of a decision i.e. bureaucracies are rational-legal
In large organisations, minutes are fed through into other committees
Matters of accuracy should be checked at the subsequent meeting
Communication & Organisation Lecture 9

17. Chairing of the meeting
When chairing a meeting, the chairperson needs to show impartiality at all times
Balance needs to be kept between democracy and efficiency
“Chairperson’s action” may be needed for urgent items arising from a meeting
Conflicts of interest should be declared at all times, particularly by the chairperson.
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After the Meeting
Was it worth while?
What was achieved?
What was NOT achieved
Is there a better way? E.g. Different venue; different people; shorter agenda; less/more frequent etc. etc.
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Questions ?
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Activity…..
In groups of 6 to 8 students
Form a meeting with a Chairperson and a Secretary( leave 2 persons as observers)
Discuss and agree a proposition (We agree/disagree that all degrees awarded at University College Winchester are better now that they are their own and not those of Univ of Southampton)
Observers to consider any rules that are broken and good principles followed.
Communication & Organisation Lecture 9