5 Types of Formal Meetings That Might Be Held in a Workplace - Assignment Example

Manage meeting Formative assessments Activity 1 1. What are 5 types of formal meetings that might be held in a workplace and what purpose do they serve? Discuss in 85 words Annual General Meeting- This type of meeting occurs yearly and it is a meeting where the progress of an organisation or business is discussed the past year and the shareholders and employees also strategize what to do in the following year. Project meetings- People gather from various department working together to accomplish a specific task i.e. developing a new product. Staff meetings- This helps to keep the staff or employees informed concerning issues that affect their work. Sales Conference- Sales team and other employees gather together for a sales conference and the conference can be used to launch initiatives like announcing a new product and communicating to the employees about the plan of the company for the next year. Collaborative Meetings- This is a meeting where managers and employees come together and work closely on projects with external groups such as suppliers and business partners. This reinforces business relationships. 2. How do you ensure that the formal meetings you organise are productive and effective, not simply time-wasters? Discuss in 85 words Consider the desired outcome- Take some time to consider the reason why a meeting is necessary by identifying its purpose, the expected outcome from the meeting and the impact that you hope to have. Create an Agenda- The agenda outlines the plan of the meeting, what to expect from the meeting, the topics to be discussed, specifies the context and scope, the key issues and the goals to be achieved. It is best when the agenda is sent out before the meeting because it provides time for others to plan and prepare too. This helps to avoid wasting valuable time during the meeting. Identify the key and relevant persons that you need in the meeting and invite them. Present the issues in the agenda and stick to them focusing on the desired objectives. Ensure you have readily available reports and data needed. Start and end the meeting on time. 3. How could you determine the items that will be included on the agenda and how could you distribute agendas to the relevant personnel? Does this result in meetings that achieve their intended purpose? Explain and give examples to support your answer. Discuss in 50 words. Items included in the agenda is determined by the purpose of the meeting and the points to be addressed in the meeting that is allocated time so as to achieve the purpose of the broader meeting. The agenda is distributed to the relevant personnel who can be viewed as management resource. The personnel that the agendas are to be distributed to should be able to contribute through knowledge and experience or both. This means the persons attending should either be a good source of information or affected by issues in the agenda. I could distribute the agenda personally to the relevant personnel, or put a notice on board or through email. If the above is emphasised and implemented well, meetings will achieve their intended outcome with focus. Activity 2 You are about to hold a meeting for the management team in your organisation. A number of productivity problems/ issues need to be discussed and you have asked one of the managers to prepare a presentation (which includes a PowerPoint presentation) on what productivity means and how it can be increased/ improved. 1. Where would you hold such a meeting and why would you choose this venue? Discuss in 50 words. The number of members attending the meeting, whether the venue of the meeting is in good reach and the general purpose of the meeting are things to consider when choosing a venue. Any company of size has a room large enough to fit its management team and some larger organisations have auditoriums or boardrooms. Such places would be appropriate since they would provide space for presentation, good lighting, free circulation of air and usually no noise, therefore, distraction is minimal or none. 2. What equipment and resources (including hardcopy handouts) would you need? Discuss in 50 words. A laptop Projector for presenting the PowerPoint slides prepared. Loudspeaker Whiteboard and markers Chairs Handout for PowerPoint presentation Boardroom tables Screen Lighting Agenda Compiled research or report or any other relevant information. 3. How would you structure the meeting and what time frames would apply—taking into consideration the needs of the organisation, the problems that need to be resolved and the optimum time frames for effective meetings. Give reasons for your answers. Discuss in 50 words. I would ensure to schedule the meeting when the time suits the personnel who are expected to attend without having an undesirable effect on production. This will cause minimal disruption to work. I would allocate realistic time slots for each item in the agenda considering the total available time. This time frame will provide enough amount of time to meet the objective of the meeting by addressing the issues that need to be resolved. 4. When and how would you distribute the agenda? Discuss in 50 words. The meeting agenda can be sent through an email attachment or they can be printed and distributed to each member who will be attending the meeting. The meeting agenda should be sent out ahead of time to ensure the attendees knows what to expect. It also gives them ample time to prepare before the meeting and raise their concern if their expectation is not met by the objective of the meeting. The agenda should be sent at least two days before the meeting. Activity 3 1. Briefly describe (50 words) the methods you might use to prepare, proof, and distribute meeting documentation, notes or handouts. The meeting may be any kind of meeting including work-related, social, or sporting. Explain why you use these methods. I would involve the concerned parties in discussion forums or through chats in preparation. Also, doing research on the internet would help since information is readily available online. I would draft my presentation and print handouts. The meeting documentation can be distributed through email, company intranet site or be delivered to the relevant people. These methods are efficient for sharing information in this age and time due to the ease of access to computers in almost all situations. Also, printing hard copies for the people who are not comfortable looking at a screen for long. Double Checking the documentation to be distributed is a good practice to ensure that it is relevant and does not contain any spelling, typing or grammatical mistakes. 2. How can you ensure the meeting arrangements will meet your requirements or needs? Create a checklist that could be incorporated in a procedure relating to planning a meeting Book a venue and confirm before the day of the meeting and ensure the equipment and resources required are organized and working properly. Checklist for preparing a meeting. Have you: Identified the purpose of the meeting? Made sure you need a meeting? Developed a preliminary agenda? Selected the right participants and assigned roles? Decided where and when to hold the meeting? Confirmed space availability? Sent invitation the participants? Sent the agenda to the key participants and shareholders? Followed up invitees in person, if appropriate? Choose the decision-making process that will be used? (group consensus, leader’s decision, majority vote) Verified that all key participants will attend and know their roles? Prepared yourself (drafted presentations, printed handouts, etc.)? Activity 4 1. If a meeting deviates from its planned agenda, what can be done to bring it back on track? Discuss in 50 words. Remind the team of the meeting about the agenda of the meeting. The one facilitating the meeting, for example, a chairperson plays an important role here and should communicate with the members effectively to ensure all points are clear and bring the meeting back to order and follow the meeting’s agenda. The chair should follow up on topics brought up that were not in the planned agenda and may have to schedule another meeting to discuss this topic. This should be communicated to the team and especially to the ones who brought up the topics to ensure they feel that their opinions are respected and it will be discussed at a later time. In doing this, the meeting will be able to be back on track. 2. Why is a chairperson necessary? Discuss in 30 to 50 words. Someone has to be in charge. A chairperson ensures that the meeting sticks to the planned agenda so that decisions are made. Also, ensures the meeting stays on schedule and calls the meeting to order. 3. Who should chair meetings? Why? Discuss in 30 to 50 words. The chairperson could be any elected or appointed person. The chair should be able to control the meeting so the time is not wasted on irrelevant topics and that ensure that the meeting stays on track. 4. How long should each meeting last? Why? Discuss in 30 to 50 words. A meeting should take approximately 1 hour. Because after this time, people tend to lose focus and interest. Therefore, meetings should be well structured and managed to meet the agenda requirements without having people in situations that make them lose interest and bored. 5. How can active participation in meetings be encouraged? (50word). Active participation can be encouraged by acknowledging contributions, thanking people when they contribute, following through ideas and suggestions. Also, distributing agendas before the meeting helps people prepare and asking them to contribute information related to their ideas, role and needs. 6. Why are minutes necessary? (50 words) Meeting minutes are necessary because they provide a summary record of the discussion held at the meeting and what was agreed upon and inform the shareholders and the absentees of the processes and outcomes of the meeting. Also, they make it clear and match the action and duty to be performed therefore serving as an accountability tool. 7. What confidentiality issues might impact on the information discussed in meetings? (50 words) The information discussed in a meeting is subject to confidentiality act in most cases. That is, strategies discussed at sales meeting, information about a product or service discussed at marketing, promotion meetings or disclosed information about the financial reports at a management meeting should not be exposed or disclosed to a third party or unauthorized person especially persons outside the organization. Activity 5 Explain (50 words) how you would brief a minute taker at one of the meetings you might organise. The purpose and style of the meeting and outline the information you would share with the minute taker. I would brief the minute taker before the meeting and explain what is required, that is, in terms of the minute format and details. I would ensure the minute taker has a general outline of the meeting prior to the meeting. I would tell the minute taker to be attentive throughout the meeting and speak up if he or she has not understood about any decision that has been made and to read the minutes before dismissal at the end of the meeting to allow people to make comments or review what they said. The format and content of the minutes will vary depending on the purpose and style of the meeting. Activity 6 1. Describe (50 words) how minutes could be recorded, authorised and despatched to meeting participants. Minutes can be typed into a laptop or PC, transcribed by hand and typed later or recorded with voice recorder and typed after the meeting. Though recording every spoken word is not necessary. The minutes should be dispatched to the meeting participants as soon as possible after the meeting. Within a week after the meeting and if the meeting happens weekly the minutes should be dispatched within 24 hours. Minutes can be send via email, delivered to them in hard copies, fax, letter or can be placed in pigeonholes. 2. How would you determine what formatting procedures should be followed? (50 words) The formatting procedure will be determined by the organisation that I work for. The people that will be attending the meeting and the type of the meeting will also determine the formatting procedure to be followed. Activity 7 1. Describe (50 words) how a report of a meeting differs to the minutes. The report explain the outcome and includes the results of what was discussed in a meeting whereas the minutes provide an outline about what went on in the meeting. 2. Give an example of when a report of a meeting, rather than minutes, might be required. Discuss in 30 to 50 words. A report of a meeting may be required by board members, stakeholders, shareholders or the manager to provide an explanation about the outcomes of a meeting after it has taken place. 3. Why is it sometimes important for people who were not invited to attend the meeting to have copies of the minutes? Discuss in 30 to 50 words. The minutes can provide important information to the people who were not invited to attend the meeting. They can also contribute their ideas, different point of view and key points that may help in achieving the purpose of the meeting in general. Read More