MEETINGS: TYPES, PURPOSE, ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES!

A meeting is a coming together of (generally) three or more people to exchange information in

a planned manner and discuss issues set out before them to arrive at decisions, solve problems,

etc.

A meeting can be formal or informal. As regards a formal meeting there is set rules for
convening it and conducting it, with a written record of its proceedings. It requires a
notice which is a call, an invitation to attend it.

It has an agenda or list of things to deal with, and the outcome is systematically written
in the form of minutes. An informal meeting can be without any written notice, for
instance a staff union meeting in the lunch room to discuss a picnic.

A meeting has a convener who calls it and a leader or chairperson who directs it.

Types of meeting:

Meetings are broadly of three types:

(i) Informative, where the purpose is to give information to the participants about a new

scheme, product, etc.

(ii) Consultative, in which the members are consulted to solve a problem.

(iii) Executive, in which decisions are taken by those empowered to do so.

In practice, most of the meetings serve more purposes than one. Some additional classifications

of meetings are – meeting for negotiation purpose, meeting for giving instructions, etc.

Purpose of a meeting:

The purposes of holding meetings are listed here in a skeleton form:

To reach a common decision/agreement

To solve a problem
To understand a situation, exchange ideas and experiences

To inform, explain, present ideas

To give and get feedback on new ideas

To give training

To plan and prepare for action

To resolve differences and misunderstandings

To generate enthusiasm and seek cooperation

To review past performance and evaluate it

To create a feeling of continuity and solidarity in a body’s working.

In this mechanical age, union is strength, and united work is done by means of meetings. It is

estimated that worldwide, millions of meetings are conducted every day, and their number and

usefulness is on the rise.

That is why although many negative remarks are made about the use of meetings; on the whole

we find that meeting is a useful device of collective decision-taking and action.

Advantages of Meetings:

(i) Save time:

Since one can meet a number of people at a time interactively, a meeting can save time.

(ii) Addressing groups:

One can divide the audiences according to their background and need, and address them group

by group.

(iii) Cope with information explosion:

New technology and new regulations are coming thick and fast. Meetings enable us to cope

with this situation.

(iv) Social and emotional support:

Members get personal support from each other when they meet and exchange ideas.

(v) Feeling of being consulted:

Members get the feeling that they have been consulted and this is useful in getting their

intelligent and willing cooperation.

(vi) Democratic functioning:

Democracy aims at achieving all people’s welfare by all people’s involvement. This is possible

through meetings.

(vii) Idea development:

Ideas are systematically cross-fertilized, analyzed and improved by a group.

(viii) Defusing troublemakers:

By the collectivity of constructive forces, troublemakers can be isolated in a meeting and

positive action got going. The opponents of a plan get a forum to voice their opposition, which

can be overcome before a group of supportive people.

(ix) Bolder decisions:

Collectively we can take more adventurous decisions because of united strength.

(x) Various interest groups represented:

In a meeting many interest groups can be represented and minorities can also be given due

attention.

(xi) Preventing mistakes:

A meeting helps to avoid mistakes by a collective and many-angled focus on issues.

Disadvantages:

1. Time-consuming:

Meetings require a number of people to come together at the same time and place. This costs

time because other work has to be set aside for the sake of the meeting.

2. Inability to arrive at a decision:

Just as “two heads are better than one,” it is also true that “too many cooks spoil the soup.”

Multiplicity of views and personal stubbornness of members may prevent a meeting from

taking a decision which a chief executive may take alone.

3. Lack of seriousness:

Many meetings suffer from the drawback that members come unprepared and feel that the

others will do the thinking and talking. They feel they can take a free ride. “Everybody’s job is

nobody’s job.”

4. Inexpert chairing:

Just as an airplane is steered by a pilot, a meeting is piloted by the chairperson. His lack of skill

and personal failings/biases may fail a meeting.

5. Expensive:

Meetings are expensive to arrange – they require a place, paperwork, prior communication,

and travelling by the attendees.

6. Open to disruption:

A meeting is prone to being disrupted by an element that is opposed to its objective. There are

times when one passenger’s refusal to adjust himself delays the entire flight. The same for

meetings. The spirit of give-and-take may be missing in some participants.

Some of the major components of a business meeting are : 1. Notice of Meeting, 2. Agenda

of Meeting and 3. Minutes of the Meeting

Notice of a Meeting:

When a meeting is to be convened, a notice is required to be sent to all who are to attend it.

It should satisfy these conditions:

1. It should be under proper authority

2. It should state the name of the organisation

3. It should state the day, date, time, and place. Also, sometimes, how to reach the place

It should be well in advance. Some require seven days’ notice, some 48 hours’

5. It should state the purpose and, if possible, the agenda

6. It should carry the date of circulation and convener’s/secretary’s signature

7. It should go to all persons required at the meet

8. It should mention the TA/DA etc. payable and the arrangements for this

In practice, it is necessary to ensure that the notice has reached in time. This may be done

telephonically. Dispatch section and post are prone to delays

We often find that between the date of a letter from a major public organisation and the post

mark on the letter, there is a gap of 10-12 days. A notice that should reach seven days before a

meet should not reach seven days after the meet.

Agenda:
As stated earlier, an agenda is the list of items to be considered at a meeting. It is also called

business or order of business. It comes from the Latin word agendum (singular) which means

‘a thing to be done.’ But agenda (the Latin plural) is used as a singular noun.

It is the route map of the meeting. The specimen notices above already contain a hint of how it

is written. The agenda may be a part of the notice or may be attached as an annexure. The

convenor/secretary prepares it in consultation with the chairperson and gets his approval.

The items of agenda should cover all that is necessary to be considered at that time. Meetings

take time and effort to arrange; hence the agenda has to be well thought out.

The items may be devised from:

(a) Previous minutes

(b) Suggestions received

(c) Actions and events since last meeting

(d) Correspondence of the organisation

The agenda contains routine items as well as special ones.

Here are some guidelines for listing the items:

1. Apologies from absent members (need not be written previously)

2. Condolences if any (may or may not be written previously)

3. Reading and approval of minutes of the last meet

4. Matters arising out of previous meet’s minutes (this need not always be mentioned)
5. Urgent and non-controversial items

6. Matters requiring closer discussion and debates

7. Any new, on-the-spot items with the approval of the chairman

8. Date of the next meet.

The last item in a meeting is a vote of thanks to the chairman but this need to be mentioned.

The items are mentioned briefly or elaborately according to the practice or need.

The style used is as follows:

(i) Appointment of auditors

(ii) Induction of new members

(iii) Reading of minutes

(iv) Felicitating so-and-so on the award of Padmashri to him/her

OR

(i) To read and approve the minutes of the previous meet

(ii) To consider the advertisement draft

(iii) To organize a blood donation camp

(iv) To appoint sub-committees for sports competition and music competition

The agenda should be manageable within the time at disposal. Some clubs have a time limit

for the duration of a meeting (e.g. 90 minutes), which automatically dictates the scope of

discussion.

Minutes of the Meeting:

The minutes of a meeting are the record of the discussions/decisions therein. They have an

official status; they are useful in law, and in some cases required by law to be written. Minutes

are final when they are approved by the members of the group to which they relate, generally

in the next meeting, and signed by the chairperson.

Even if there are emotional moments in a meet, the minutes are written in an unemotional

manner, are cool, factual, impersonal, and impartial. Moreover, such are the demands of time

on most people that the minutes should be concise, boiled down to the essentials.
Only some organizations’ require that they record the detailed discussions as well (i.e. who

said what and what were the reactions… until the decision was reached). Normally, the body

of the minute’s records.

(a) The motions and amendments thereto

(b) The proposer and seconded of motions

(c) The details of voting, if any

(d) Recommendations

(e) Decisions/ resolutions

(f) Tasks assigned to individuals, sub-committees

The overall minutes should give:

1. The name of the organisation/ unit

2. Day, date, time and place

3. Number in order (e.g. 33rd meeting of…)

4. Names of chairperson and secretary

5. Names of members present

6. Names of the absent

7. Attendees by special invitation, e.g. auditor, caterer, etc.

8. Record of the transactions (on the guidelines given above)

9. Signature of secretary and, after approval, that of the chairman.

Tips for writing minutes:

The minutes are written generally by the secretary from the notes taken during the meet. He/she

can use the agenda as the framework for writing them and use short forms, shorthand etc. to

take quick and accurate notes. He may have to ask members to repeat their words to get them

right.

He should note down all the particulars needed for the fair copy of minutes. The items of the

minutes can be written under short headings such as are used in the agenda.

(As for reading them, some committees circulate them in advance and take them as read.

Otherwise the reader should read them loudly, clearly, and quickly.)

Style wise, they use one of these constructions:

a. It was resolved that the minutes of the previous meeting be approved.

b. It was decided that a sub-committee be set up to consider

c. Resolved that a blood donation camp be held on 15th August. (The verb is used in the

subjunctive mood: “be done, be appointed”, etc.)

Alternatively, the description is given in the past tense:

1. Minutes of last meet:

The secretary read out the minutes of the meet dated… and they were approved.

2. Donation received:

The chairman informed that he had received a donation of Rs. 50,000 from ex-member Mr.

Gopal Rathi.
At the time of approval, the chairman asks, “Do you accept the minutes as they stand?” OR

“Any matters arising out of the minutes?”

Your ability to write good minutes can earn you a prize position in an organisation. Also, if

you hold a position and do not know how to write minutes, you may face embarrassment.
Conferences:

To confer means to consult and a business conference is the coming together of people who

have a common business aim with a view to consult, advice or recommend. Compared to a

meeting, a conference is informal and often much larger. Its purpose is less well-defined than

that of a meeting.

An organisation may hold regular conferences (say annual) where the delegates get together to

exchange their views, discuss their experiences and pool together their ideas. Sharing is the

prominent feature of a conference.

Examples of conferences are — life insurance advisors’ conference, scooter dealers’

conference, small businessmen’s conference, paint manufacturers’ conference, etc.

The delegates are enriched by the presentations of formal speakers as also by the informal

discussions. For a committee to be effective it should have about seven members whereas a

conference may have 15-20 participants or more.

Advantages of conferences:

(i) Views and experiences are exchanged

(ii) Different sides of a common problem are presented.

(iii) The management may meet and consult with special groups such as dealers, clients, trade

union leaders.

(iv) Expert speakers may advise and illuminate the delegates.

(v) New developments and new strategies can be presented.

(vi) Doubts can be cleared.

(vii) Employees get motivated through participation.

Disadvantages of conferences:

(i) When employees are invited to a conference, their self-importance may overshoot and the

management may appear dependent on their views.

(ii) If an employee is called to a conference above his level of understanding, he may feel out

of place.

(iii) If the leader of the conference is ill-prepared, he may not do justice to the issues.
Types of conferences:

On the basis of purpose, conferences may be classified thus:

1. Informational conference:

In this type of conference, the object is to give information to the juniors. New policies, new

technologies, reorganization etc. can be conveyed down the line. This is a type of downward

communication.

2. Conference on a suggested solution:

A problem or situation facing the company is discussed with a possible solution. The

management generates a discussion on the suggestion to know its merits.

3. Problem-solving conference:

Here there is no ready solution but ideas are invited from the participants and thrown open for

discussion.

4. Conference for budgeting/ forecast/ estimate:

When a company wants to set a target and wants the employees’ cooperation, such a conference

is called. Taking into consideration the company’s overall goals, the budget/ forecast/ estimate

is discussed.

Since the employees are involved in the forecast, they can talk of their respective environments.

Also, it is easier to get their cooperation and commitment after such a conference.

5. Conference for training:

Training is an ongoing activity in a progressive organisation. Conferences are called to train

executives in new areas of expertise. A bank may arrange for training conference on industrial

rehabilitation for its field officers.