Planning and conducting meetings

These are face-to-face discussions that are held between two or more people to meet a desired objective,
solve problems, exchange information or make decisions

Purpose of meetings

1. To report on past activities.

2. To plan for the future.
3. Involve staff in decision-making.
4. To give instruction to staff.
5. Enhance interpersonal relationships.
6. Pass on management policies to staff.
7. To deal with conflicts and reduce tension in office.
8. To facilitate a two way exchange of ideas.
9. To unite the groups.

Types of Meetings

Functional business meetings

Are usually attended by management from different departments.

Downward briefing

Are used to relay information to staff.

Shareholders meetings

Also called annual general meeting.

Adhoc committee

A group of people from different sections, which meet together to solve a particular task after which they
disbanded.

Extraordinary meetings
When people are compelled t meet due to sudden crisis in order to make a decision

Meetings of voluntary associations

Clubs, societies etc.

Brainstorming meetings

Is held between junior staff and senior staff for a free exchange of ideas to come-up with a new strategy.

Informal meetings

To enhance good relationships and share ideas.

Members of a meeting

Chairperson

The most important person in a meeting without whom the meeting cannot take place

Duties and responsibilities

1. Presides over a meeting.

2. He officially pens a meeting.
3. Guides the direction of a meeting and ensures that the agenda is followed.
4. Controls the order of meeting.
5. Maintains Discipline.
6. He signs the minutes of meeting after confirmation.
7. Calls for a vote of decision.
8. He gives a casting vote when there is a voting deadlock.
9. Adjourns the meeting.

Secretary

1. He/she is in charge f all correspondences relating to meetings.

2. He/she prepares a notice to announce a meeting.
3. He/she prepares an agenda, which is a list of topics to be discussed.
4. He/she reads the minutes of the previous meeting to members.
5. He/she signs the minutes after acceptance.
6. He/she prepares the minutes which is a record of the meeting.
Treasurer

Only engaged when a committee is involved in receiving or paying money

The participants

1. They form a quorum. This is the minimum number of people to be present during a meeting.
2. They contribute ideas.
3. They elect officials and vote for motions.
4. They form sub committees.
5. They debate on motions.

Documents used in relation to meetings

The Notice of meeting

This is a written announcement of a meeting. It should be prepared at least one weed before the
meeting .It contains:-

1. Date of meeting.
2. Date of the notice.
3. Time of the meeting.
4. Venue.
5. Name of the organization.
6. The group that is invited for the meeting.
7. Sectary’s signature
Sometimes the notice is sent together with the agenda and minutes of the previous meetings as enclosures.

A sample Notice of meeting

 NOTICE OF A MEETING

A meeting of the company’s Social and Welfare Committee will take place in the Committee
Room on Wednesday 7 May at 10:30 a.m. items to be included on the agenda

Should be sent to the Secretary to arrive no later than 5.00 p.m. on Wednesday 16 April.

G Patel

Secretary 7 April

Enc: Minutes of meeting of 5 March 19

The agenda

This provides the list of items to be discussed during the meeting. It is usually attached to the notice. It
contains standard items and particular items

Standard Agenda items

1. Apologies for absence.

2. Confirmation of the previous meeting.
3. Matters arising.
4. Correspondence.
5. Any other business.
6. Date and time of the next meeting.

Particular items- items of discussion for that particular meeting

Sample Agenda

Agenda
 For a meeting of the social and Welfare committee to be held in the committee room on
Wednesday 7 May at 10.30 a.m.

1. Apologies for absence.

2. Minutes of the last meeting.
3. Correspondence.
4. Report from the recreational fund treasure.
5. Staff medical insurance scheme.
6. Any other business.
7. Date of the next meeting.
G Patel

Secretary 22nd April 19

Minutes

A record in writing of the proceedings and the resolutions of a meeting. The secretary writes them from
notes taken during the meeting. They begin by stating the time and place of meeting, then listing those
present and those absent with apologies and the go on to record in turn the topics discussed at the along
with resolutions passed.

Purpose of minutes.

1. To provide written account of a meeting.

2. Follow up of any decisions or resolutions made in meeting.
3. For future reference.
4. To ensure continuity for the sequence of meetings.

Essential features of minutes.

1. Should be brief and concise.

2. Should be complete
3. Same order as the agenda
4. Should be accurate.
5. Should follow regulations governing meetings.

A sample set of minutes

Minutes
For the meeting of the management council held on 20 th March 2000 commencing 10.00 am in the
boardroom.

PRESENT

Mr. Juma B.- Chairman

Mr. Mwangi C- Secretary

Mr. Kamau D.

Mr Brown E.

Mr. Green A

Min 1.0 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

Mr. Ouma

Min 2.0 PRELIMINARIES.

The chairman welcomed the management team and thanked them for being punctual

MIN 3.0 CONFIRMATION OF THE PREVIOUS MEETINGS.

Minutes of last meeting were read and accepted by members.

Min 4.0 MATTERS ARISING

Regarding minutes 6.0 purchase of a new bus. Mr. Brown the accountant REPORTED that the bus has
now been purchased.

Min 5.0 FINANCIAL REPORT

The financial report was read by Mr. Brown, the accountant and accepted by the members.
Min 6.0 PROPOSALS TO PURCHASE NEW COMPUTER

Mr Green the I.T manager proposed that old computers should be replaced as they are not Y2K
compliant,. Mrs Mwangi seconded him.

The matter was put the vote.

Results: -

In favor: 3

Against: 1

The motion to purchase new computers was passed. it was resolved that Mr. Brown would look into
estimated costs.

Min 7.0 ELECTION OF NEW SECRETARY

Elections were held by secret ballot. The following members were nominated:

Mr Brown - 3 votes

Mr Green - 1 vote

The chairman welcomed Mr. Brown as new secretary.

Min 8.0 A.O.B

There was no other business.

Min 9.0 DATE AND TIME OF NEXT MEETING

The next meeting will be held on 20th April 2000 in the boardroom

Min 11.0 CLOSING

The chairman declared the meeting closed at 12.00am

Signed ……………………….. Date…………………

Chairman

Signed ……………………….. Date…………………

Secretary.

Techniques of conducting meetings.

Preparation stage.

1. Secretary should prepare a notice to call a meeting seven days in advance.

2. Skeleton agenda should be made with standard agenda items
3. The agenda and notice should be distributed.
4. Secretary can invite contribution of members to be included in his/her final agenda.
5. Venue should be spacious, comfortable, private and accessible to all members.
6. Audiovisual equipment- secretary should arrange for necessary equipment and ensure it is
working.
7. Minutes of previous meetings should be distributed to members before the meeting.

Discussion Phase.

1. Proposals and motions can be introduced by members to inject new ideas.

2. Debates can be conducted to allow members to give their opinions.
3. Voting can be done to accept a motion. Accepted motions are called resolutions.
4. The chairman should exercise control of the meeting and allow each member tine to make his/her
button.
5. Any other business. This allows members to introduce any issues, which are not in the agenda

Conclusion Phase

i. Date and time of next meeting is decided.

ii. Chairperson declares the meeting closed

Follow up

a. The secretary should write a formal copy of the minutes immediately after meeting.

Interviews

An interview is said to have taken place when two or more people meet to achieve a predefined objective
through mutual interrogation. Asking and answering of questions usually characterize it.

Interviews are conducted for various reasons:

Employment purposes.

To get information (workers attitudes, working conditions, managerial effectiveness etc.)

1. To give information (periodic evaluation of as a means of communication.)

2. To evaluate a person.
3. Handle confidential matters.
4. Change behavior
5. Interact and improve relationships
6. Provide counseling services.

Common form of interviews

Job selection interviews-the purpose of a job selection interview is three fold:-Finding the most suitable
candidate for the job, ensuring that each candidate understands the job and any future prospects to be able
to decide whether he/she wants the job or not, and making all the applicants feel that they were given a
fair treatment whether they get the job or not.

Promotion interviews-conducted when an employee has applied for a job of a higher caliber within the
organization. They are conducted in a manner similar to selection interviews, and aim to establish
whether the applicant has the necessary qualifications and abilities to perform the job.

Appraisal interviews- these are a way of accessing the work done, or the progress made by individual
employees. Usually they are done at yearly intervals. Their results aid in planning promotions, training or
transfers. They may give employees a chance to comment on the organization procedures.
Instructional interviews- interviews used to issue instructions about new procedures. They involve
explanation and demonstration of the procedures concerned.

Disciplinary interview-these are the least pleasant, and are conducted when an employee has been
accused of committing a breach of the company’s policies. These should be conducted on the basis of
sound, factual knowledge the objective being to arrive at the truth.

Grievance interviews- takes place when an employee feels that another member of the organization has
treated him/her wrongly. These should be conducted on the basis of sound, factual knowledge the
objective being to arrive at the truth. In many organizations there is a clearly defined grievance procedure.

Decisions making interviews- these are essentially meetings between company members of equal status.

The structure of and interview

In preparation

1. Determine the objectives.

2. Prepare content if there is need e.g. a list of specific questions or general subjects.
3. Physical preparations to include obtaining a suitable room for the interview.
In the opening

1. Explain the purpose of the interview.

2. Establish the tone and the atmosphere of the interview e.g. formality or informality established by
the layout of the room, the number of interviewers etc.
In the middle

1. Ask the right questions.

2. Listen to the answers.

Types of interview questions

Open questions.

The type of who…what…where? etc. Require the interviewee to pit answers into complete
sentences.They encourage the interviews to talk at length and keep the interview flowing. They are
however time consuming and give the interviewer little control of the interview.
Closed questions

Yes no r questions that require short answers. These obtain answers only to the questions asked. Do not
allow the interviewee to express personality and makes easier for the interviewee to conceal information.

Probing questions

Similar to open questions, they aim to obtain a deeper meaning of an answer. This helps clarify issues,
and signify to the interviewee that the interviewer is listening.

Multiple questions

Two or more questions asked at once. These are used to encourage the interview to talk at length and to
test interviewee ability to listen and to handle a large amount information.

Guidelines in planning and conducting interviews

For the interviewer

1. Plan the interview- determine information needs. These are usually expressed in a list of
questions. Such a list should be prepared and used an outline.
2. Make the purpose clear- explain the purpose to the interviewee from beginning.
3. Put the interviewee at ease_ e.g. begin with some friendly talk or enquire about the interviewee
hometown, hobbies etc.
4. Let the interviewee do most of the talking- talk only t guked the interview and take care not to put
words in their mouth.
5. Guide the interview- ask questions and end answers.
6. Listen- and make it apparent that you are listening.
7. Keep a record – take notes during the interview or soon after the interview
8. End the interview- with a finalizing question, a friendly talk or outline next steps.

For the interviewee

1. Prepare for the interview- if you know the purpose of the interview you anticipate questions and
form answers. Also gather additional information instance about the company- its history, its
current activities etc. knowledge f the company can impress the interviewer.
2. Make appropriate appearance- what is appropriate varies with the situation. Observe standards of
dress and neatness. Your posture. facial expression and physical movement should give a
favorable impression.
3. Show interest- how you show interest varies with the occasion. However look at the interviewer
and give him or her undivided attention.
4. Answers correctly and completely- dishonest answers benefit no one.
 5. Practice courtesy- a major part of impression for every human contact.

Advantages of interviews.

1. Immediate feedback.
2. Highly interactive- ideas can be exchanged.
3. Non- verbal honestly and openness.
4. Helps change behavior.
5. Useful for handling conflicts.
6. Useful for confidential matters.

Problems involved in interviews

1. The interviewee is usually nervous.

2. Limited interview time
3. Artificial as both parties are at their best behavior.
4. Lack of training in interviewing and counseling.
5. Lack of honesty by the interviewee.
6. Interviewer might be prejudiced or judgmental.