Panel Meeting Ethnographic Description - Case Study Example

Panel Meeting Ethnographic Description Name: ID: Date: 1.0 Abstract The report explains a panel meeting communicative event. The event is held at a nearby hotel called Comfy whereby the panel is expected to converge and discuss various things here and there. It has been a monthly routine that has never been skipped due to its importance to the organization. The panel membership has been overhauled recently with the introduction of new members into the board. Therefore, a new face is displayed when it comes to the running of the organization. More youth and women together with a disabled replaced the previously existed board members. The old have been dominating such positions over the years compared to today whereby we see the youth taking the wheel and running things in different fraternities. This is a food and beverages company developed by my father that sells out food stuffs to various distributors across the country. Regarding the panel meeting, I want to examine the various aspects of new governance, that is, the recent involvement of more youth and women into the board. The role played by each one in the meeting basing on gender and also age. I am interested in exploring and understanding the effects of the recent changes made concerning the panel on the way communication takes place at the meeting. How the variation displayed on the face of the board would have an impact on the use of language. Table of Contents 1.0Abstract 2 1.0Introduction 4 2.0Methods 5 3.0Description 7 3.1Purpose 7 3.2Participants 7 3.3The setting 10 3.4Norms 11 4.0Preparation 11 5.0Conclusion and Discussion 13 6.0Bibliography 15 1.0 Introduction Panel or for instance board meeting is an important practice undertaken by each and every organization. Any profit-based companies including institutions must have a meeting at least once in a year. According to Fenich (2008), it is through such events that an organization is able to assess its progress in terms of for example leadership or any other operational issues. In this case, the meeting is always held in form of a dinner at the Comfy hotel. The panel consists of 9 members; Chief executive officer, deputy chief executive officer and seven heads of departments. There is a plenty of outcomes to take note of in such a meeting whereby, the youth, old, women and disabled all at the same table conversing on important issues to be put into consideration. According to the theory of communication accommodation by Howard Giles, when people come together and converse, there are some adjustments to be made so as to accommodate other people. Such adjustments include, but not limited to speech, gestures and vocal arrangements (Coupland, 2007). Is this really the case in real life situations like the panel meeting case? The study proves to be an interesting one to me as I am the part and parcel of the meeting. As an inclusive figure, I find myself having a greater chance of success in the study. As it is, the people involved have a completely different perspective of viewing things, that is, from the old to the one with disability. The fact that they are at the same table discussing things over makes it even much more interesting to study the monthly routine. The paper is divided into two portions. First, defines the taken approach and what they contribute to the study. It is in this portion that the restrictions and obligations are singled out and clearly explained. The second part is the contextual outline whereby various aspects are defined. It includes; purpose, participants, settings, norms, genre, ends, instrument, key. 2.0 Methods As earlier stated, the study is conducted at a hotel referred to as Comfy. It is just a short distance from the organization’s premises. The hotel is spacious with ample parking space. Additionally, the environment is cool, full of trees providing a conducive environment for conducting a meeting. The meeting is in a form of dinner at 6pm since the hotel has minimal customers at that time, therefore, adding some quietness to the surrounding. The meeting is conducted every first week of the month enabling frequent assessment of the company’s progress. Dinner provides for optimal discussion and there is a tendency to better agreement unlike empty stomachs which acts as a distraction hampering effective communication ("Effective Business Communication in Meetings", 2016). The activity has been a norm to the company that is always conducted. Earlier, things were run differently as the old dominated the panel compared to one or even none of the youths or women present. The old where considered as more experienced and in a better position to work in an efficient way as the board members. This changed with the introduction of all aspects of people into the panel including the disabled. The participants will be defined fully in the next section. The old are always viewed as being conservative. They are characterized with tendency to resist change (Schermerhorn, 2010). Being a member of the panel, I have an upper hand in reaching out to all aspects of the research. Therefore, I can be able to explore the research in and out in a deep way compared to an outside researcher. Utilizing such an advantage is an important thing to me. In this kind of data collection, using participant observation is the most appropriate method (DeWalt & DeWalt, 2011). Such an approach is suitable since am one of the panel members present. I have to behave in a completely normal way while conducting my research. The aim is to create minimal awareness on the other present members that am carrying out a research. This is an important task that if not handled carefully, it may hinder the research process therefore the study can be considered a failure. It is only after the end of the meeting that I embark on my purpose. I would do that immediately as the sequence of events are still fresh and none or little is forgotten. Approaching the event is in an ethnographic view (Hymes, 2004). Also referred as thick description, it guarantees an in depth and wider view of the panel meeting. It would provide for the deep study when it comes to panel changes and the behaviors regarding the language usage. Among the many analytical structures, I use the Hymes (2004) “S.P.E.A.K.I.N.G” model to act as a guide to data collection and analysis. “S.P.E.A.K.I.N.G” analysis enables appropriate communication in situation whereby there is cross cultural differences. For instance, in the panel meeting, by having a knowledge of use of titles, a member is not acting disrespectfully if he/she calls another member by first name instead of the title. The aspect of social groups is evident in the panel domain. A restriction emerges when it comes to not letting the members know that you are actually carrying out a research without their knowledge. Such a situation raises ethical concern. To counter this I have to inform them that I would carry out a research soon but not disclosing the exact date to that I would be conducting the research. At least the panel will be having some knowledge that at some point I would be conducting such a study in future. 3.0 Description 3.1 Purpose It has always been a taboo of the organization to conduct the meeting every first week of the month. It is done frequently due to its importance for the organization. It during the meeting that issues concerning the company is discussed. Communication between the various heads of department is also enhanced ensuring that they are in good terms. It boosts unity in the company as they head towards a common goal (Hymes, 2004). During the other periods, the members are always busy at the company ensuring things are running as expected. The meeting outside the company fraternity, therefore, acts also as reliever of duty. 3.2 Participants The panel consists of 9 members. Company’s CEO is the chairman of the panel and he is assisted by a deputy CEO who acts on his behalf whenever he is not in. The participants are described below: George: He is the CEO of the company, therefore, the chairperson of the panel. He serves as the overall manager of the organization ensuring things are in line. He is an important figure with plenty of experience and old when it comes to age. Meryl: She is a woman, a role model to many. She is the deputy CEO of the company and assists George on matters concerning overall management. She is over 60 years therefore considered old. Meryl runs numerous businesses outside the organization. This displays her entrepreneurial capabilities. Kelvin: He is a young personnel heading the department of sales in the company. Hardworking in nature and therefore he was added to the panel recently as a figure of change. Godec: Another young fellow who is the head of inventory department. He manages stock and was currently added to the panel crew. Mercy: She is a long term service woman. Has been there in the panel for a long period of time. She heads the finance department. Rodic: He is a young guy recently added to the panel due to his potential in managing things. He heads heads the human resource department. Roberts: This is me. Am a panel member as an heir to the company. I have always been there as a board member. Peters: He is an hardworking guy, a disabled who can’t do without a wheelchair. He was introducedrecently into the panel. Peters heads the production department in the company having sufficient knowledge in the processing sector. Sharon: A youthful lady who was recently added to the panel due to her commitment when it comes to doing her job. She heads the marketing department in the company. She recently graduated and landed the job at the company. STRUCTURE OF THE PANEL Figure1: The structure of the panel 3.3 The setting The event takes place at the Comfe hotel as it is always done every first week of the month. It has been a recurrent process traced way back 2 years ago when the company was started. Wide glass windows provided a nice view of the trees outside. Colorful and attractive paintings on the walls of the hotel signified its class. Concerning the sitting arrangement, at the front end of the room is a table with chairs all around. There was a big watch on the wall right above the door. There was the special sit for the special member, peters, who is crippled at the other end. Kelvin, Godec, Rodic and Sharon always have the tendency of staying on one side of the table. Peters always at the other end permanently. Meryl and mercy are always seen sitting side by side as well as George on the chairman’s seat. There is some allowance of time whenever a member is not yet in for the meeting. Whenever the George is not available, Meryl takes his seat while Kelvin takes Meryl’s seat. This one indicates the tendency of the youth to take over leadership roles. Whenever both the George and meryl are not in, Mercy tend to take the leadership under her control indicating that the old always have the dominating role over the youth. 3.4 Norms Many norms exist in these panel meetings. One of it is that “ be on time”. However, another unspoken rule that exists in the community is arriving at the meeting within a certain time range. The two norms conflicts each other because of the different backgrounds of the participants. Some of them apply the first rule while the others emulate the second rule. The two norms, therefore, compete making it difficult to run things in the meeting. For instance when a member arrives late, those following the second norm would argue that he is not late while the others would consider him late. The meeting is part and parcel of the organization, therefore, it would be inappropriate for such a meeting is not carried out. Manners are important thing to be observed during such gathering. No one is expected to behave in a way that suggests absence of manners. For example a member is expected to switch off the phone or put it in a silent mode until the end of the meeting. George and Meryl are the ones who seem to take the obligation of ensuring manners are observed during the entire meeting. They usually point out the ones who deviate from such manners.The most frequent offenders are Godec and Mercy. They are mostly distracted by their phones while George and mercy are the obvious latecomers. Being in the same age bracket, they have acquired the habit of coming late to the meeting. 4.0 Preparation The venue, Comfy, is always booked the day before done by George. He ensures that the table is preserved for the meeting to happen the following day by conducting a pre-visit. The meeting is always scheduled to start at 6 p.m after the day’s work. The costs to be incurred are forwarded to Mercy who sorts the bills out. After the arrival of all the members, it’s the turn of the waitresses to serve the refreshments first and then after the meeting the actual dinner is brought to the table. The refreshments tend to trigger conversations. Commonly heard expressions include, ‘how was work today?’ with the George always the first to start the conversation. He feels the obligation of starting things over is his. I observed some conversation between George, Rodic and Mercy as below George: Where is Kelvin? Rodic: He texted me a minute ago saying he is almost arriving. George: These young guys seems not to know the importance of time! Mercy: Am sure he will be in any time now. George: okay, lets wait for him a little bit. Another notable conversation was between Godec and mercy as given below. Mercy: how are you Godec? Godec: Am doing good. How about you? Mercy: Me too. How was your day? Godec: You have already asked that. Mercy: Sorry . Just wanted to make sure you are okay. Godec is always a hot tempered guy despite the fact that mercy tried to make sure that he is doing okay at that time. Godec is a short guy in terms of height. Sharon and peters are the least contributors when it come to discussing. They bought possess a feeling of inferiority on the table. Kelvin, Godec and Rodic always try to bring out new ideas on the table for discussions. For example technological usage in the company. They also tend to be the most active guys in the conversations. When either Meryl or Mercy are not yet in the meeting, George is likely to extend the time allowance for the arrival unlike either of the younger members being late. 5.0 Conclusion and Discussion George, and Meryl are always the first ones to leave the meeting. Generally, the old are characterized to being always in a hurry (Schermerhorn, 2010). They always view time as not being on their sides. They are busy in nature. On the other side, the Kelvin, Godec, Rodic, Sharon together with mercy tend to lag behind after the meeting. They discuss the various trending issues from politics to development kind of stuffs. Mercy symbolizes the few old people who are ready to emulate change. She interacts with the young among the members of the panel. The young are always socially active. They engage each other in discussing things here and there ("Effective Business Communication in Meetings", 2016). Godec, is always in a angry mode especially when his contributions are taken lightly. He goes even to point of shouting here and there. This kind of behavior is characterized as short people syndrome. They tend to get offended easily when they feel they have been undermined (Hymes, 2004). George and Meryl tend to prioritize on their views and defending them firmly. Kelvin and Godec always have a rough time when it comes to persuading them to emulate their new views. This can be explained by the fact that the old are conservative (Hymes, 2004). They tend to resist changes and want things to remain the way it is or changed just a bit after a very long confrontation. They believe that they are always right. Peters and Sharon being the least contributors in the meeting shows that there is steal inferiority when it comes to female gender and the disabled in the society. The male are always in dominance with only a few female standing out. Peters chair is placed at the other end indicating that he is not given much importance in the meeting. George is assisted by Meryl as the chairman. This clearly shows the importance of a woman in leadership (Schermerhorn, 2010). Meryl is the first person to be consulted by George whenever he is to make decision. It’s an indication that a woman has a greater capacity when it comes to leadership if given a chance. This translates even to houses where they are the key figure in handling the house. It is said that, behind every successful man, there is a woman (Hymes, 2004). Mercy has always been playing an important role in calming things over. Whenever a misunderstanding arises in the middle of the conversations, he chips in and the situation obeys her and things embark to normal. This also indicates the strength of the female gender. Biasness is also a thing displayed as existing between the old and the young. During the meeting, whenever one of the old members have not arrived, there is a likelihood that the time allowance for arrival would be extended. However, this is not the case when the Kelvin, Godec, Rodic or Sharon are not yet in. They take the age as a superior tool that makes them look more important compared to other members. In the current society, gender equality and rights of the disabled has been hitting the headlines. Numerous efforts have been put in place to ensure that the gender and disabled issues are taken into consideration. Well, we have seen improvements but still there is the need to recognize the impact female gender and the disabled can have in driving the economy forward through their proper inclusion in decision making. 6.0 Bibliography Coupland, N. (2007). Style. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. DeWalt, K. & DeWalt, B. (2011). Participant observation. Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield. Effective Business Communication in Meetings. (2016). Smallbusiness.chron.com. Retrieved 2 May 2016, from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/effective-business-communication-meetings-2883.html Fenich, G. (2008). Meetings, expositions, events, and conventions. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson/Prentice Hall. Hymes, D. (2004). Ethnography, linguistics, narrative inequality. London: Taylor & Francis. Schermerhorn, J. (2010). Introduction to management. New York, N.Y.: John Wiley & Sons. Read More