Meeting Management
| Author | Brenda Reinsborough |
| Pages | 509-511 |
Page 509
Meetings have been considered very important from time immemorial. In fact, it could be said that virtually all of the great events in history resulted from meetings. Meetings undoubtedly started when the first cave dwellers met to make crude hunting plans. Today, meetings are essential means for achieving the communication necessary for the operation of virtually all organizations, large and small.
Just exactly what is a meeting? A meeting is a number of people assembled together, usually at a prestated date and time, to discuss a topic for the purpose of presenting information, swaying opinion, formulating a decision, practicing a skill, and/or developing a plan of action. Those at the meeting may belong to the same group, to different groups, or perhaps not to any group at all. A meeting might be called by an individual or by an organization. Usually the people meeting convene together physically within a designated area. Sometimes, however, meetings are held by people thousands of miles apart via telephone conference calls or video conferencing.
Many kinds of meetings are held in business. Probably the most common are staff meetings, project team meetings, process and procedure meetings, and quarterly meetings. In most large companies, hundreds of these meetings may occur weekly. Employees of all levels, including many below top-management level, attend them.
Most supervisors and managers hold weekly or biweekly staff meetings with their "direct reports." In these meetings, they communicate higher-level decisions that have been made, discuss progress of the team toward departmental or company goals, and answer any staff members' questions.
In most large companies, there are often project teams developed and facilitated by project managers. They are often comprised of people from different departments whose purpose is to design, develop, and/or implement a new product, process, or system. Project team members are assigned certain tasks to complete within stipulated time frames. Many of these people serve as part-time project resources in addition to performing their "regular" jobs.
These meetings are usually called to communicate new processes and/or procedures to a group of people who are affected. The communication includes an overview of the new process
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or procedure, the effect on that particular group of people, and steps to follow. A presentation-style format is used, with the presenter serving as the facilitator. At the end, a question-and-answer period usually follows.
Quarterly earnings are announced at...
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