OFFICE

ADMINISTRATION
MEETINGS
Miss Berry – Johnson
January and May/June CSEC Students
 MEETING
‘an assembly of people for a particular purpose,
especially for formal discussion’
 TYPES OF MEETINGS:
FORMAL
 General Meeting - A general meeting is open to members of the organization. These

meetings are usually held monthly or quarterly to present the opportunity for staff to liaise
and/or communicate with other members.

 Annual General Meeting (AGM) - An Annual General Meeting is a statutory meeting

held once per year. Statutory meetings are held by law i.e legally required. It is very
important meeting of shareholders to allow them to discuss their company’s annual report
and accounts, elect directors to manage the company and to agree on dividend payout
recommended by directors.
 TYPES OF MEETINGS:
FORMAL
 Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) - This is a meeting that can be called at any time by

the directors or shareholders to discuss some special issues or unexpected event which requires
the consent of all members. For example, an EGM might be called to approve some special
action such as to purchase another company or to make a change to a special arrangement
agreed at a previous meeting.

 Board Meeting - Board meetings are held throughout the year as required by the company’s

regulation. These meetings are convened to decide on important policies, approve financial and
other management decisions. They are attended by company directors and company secretary.
 TYPES OF MEETINGS:
FORMAL

 Committee Meeting - These are meetings held with small groups to make

decisions about a specific issue such as a proposed policy or organizing a

social event. Individual members who are not regular members of the
organization may be invited to serve on the committee because of their
expertise.

 Statutory Meeting - A statutory meeting is one that is required to be held

by law. For example, an Annual General Meeting.

 TYPES OF MEETINGS:
INFORMAL
 Staff Meeting - Staff meetings are less formal but play an important part in the
operation of an organization. They are held to inform staff of developments and
sharing communicating the way forward in light of management concerns. Staff
meetings are used as a forum for staff to express their feelings and opinion on company
policies and procedures.
 Departmental Meeting - These meetings are attended by staff from particular
departments. For example, staff from the marketing may be called upon to attend a
department meeting to discuss matters affecting the department or to convey decisions
made by the board of directors or senior managers. The meeting will be concerned
with deciding on strategies to be used to carry out the department’s toll in the overall
aim of the organization.
 THE IMPORTANCE OF MEETINGS AND THEIR
PURPOSE
Meetings are a useful form of internal communication when it is necessary
to hold discussions between groups of persons. They allow for the
exchange of ideas and collective efforts to solve problems and formulate
policies.
Meetings are held for the purpose of:
• Passing information on to others
• Getting information, advice and ideas from others
• Reporting on actions taken
• Negotiating problems
 ORGANIZATION OF MEETINGS
 Before the Meeting
 Set up a meeting folder to collect items related to the meeting e.g. list of those attending,
the agenda, notes and materials to be distributed.
 Book the meeting room as soon as you are aware of the date and time of the meeting
 Use your reminder systems e.g. calendar, diary, tickler file system
 Prepare the agenda after consultation with the chairperson about the items to be included
 Notify the meeting participants as soon as possible as to when and where the meeting will
take place and the purpose of it.
 Organize materials and equipment e.g. paper, pencils, projector, handouts etc.
 Prepare the meeting room by ensuring it is comfortable and adequately arranged to fit the
style of the meeting.. Lay out equipment and materials before the participants arrive.
 ORGANIZATION OF MEETINGS
 During the meeting

 Ensure that the room is properly ventilated.

 Have stationery for members

 Place ‘meeting in progress’ sign on the floor

 Ensure that members sign the attendance register

 Write the minutes of the meeting

 Assist the chairperson

 ORGANIZATION OF MEETINGS
 After the meeting
 Prepare the draft of the minutes for the chairman to review
 Ensure that there is a follow up on matters discussed at the
meeting
 Ensure that the room is left in order
 Remove signs
 Distributes minutes of meeting
OFFICIAL SEATING PROTOCOL
 The presiding officer should sit to the immediate right of the podium facing

the audience. To the immediate left of the podium should sit the
Chairperson, and to his/her left, the Secretary.

 Any special guest should sit to the immediate right of the presiding officer,

and then the vice president (or next in line to preside in the absence of the
presiding officer), to their immediate right. All other officers or committee
chairs may be seated in alternating order of hierarchy.
OFFICIAL SEATING PROTOCOL
 ROBERT’S RULE OF ORDER GOVERNING MEETINGS

 The Roberts Rule of Order is a set of rules or norms that governs the
conduct of meetings. It allows for everyone to be heard and for decisions to
be made without confusion.
 The norms usually follow the following order:
 i. Establishing a Constitution and Bylaws for the organization.
 ii. Structure of the meeting Agenda and debate.
 iii. Motions; including making, seconding, debating, modifying and
amending motions.
 iv. Sufficient majority and simple majority and which decisions are
appropriate to them.
 v. Establishment of a quorum. Definition of membership. Voting
rights of presiding officer and voting procedures.
 ROLES AND FUNCTION OF PERSONNEL ASSOCIATED WITH
MEETINGS

 Chair – This person is responsible for the correct conduct of the meeting. The Chair

presides over the meeting to ensure full participation of members, and that the
conventions of the meeting are followed.

 Secretary – The Secretary is responsible for sending out notices to members and

preparing the agenda. He/she is also responsible for ensuring the meeting room is
prepared to include seating; refreshments and writing material are arranged. The
secretary is responsible for recording and transcribing the minutes, as well as dealing
with correspondence and ensuring that decisions taken at the meeting are carried out
and actioned.
 ROLES AND FUNCTION OF PERSONNEL ASSOCIATED WITH MEETINGS

 Treasurer – This persons is responsible for all the financial matters of the meeting, it

involves ensuring payments due and owed are received and paid on time, maintaining
adequate cash flow, and preparing balance sheets and financial matters.

 Proxy – A proxy is a member who is authorized to vote on another member’s behalf if

that member is unable to attend a meeting to vote. However, this must be done in
writing and in accordance with the regulations of the organization.

 Ex-officio – This is a person who is a member of a meeting due to reason of his/her

office or official position. For example, a person from a parent company may be a
member of a meeting from one of the parent company’s subsidiaries.
 TYPICAL ORDER OF BUSINESS
 Call to Order
 Opening Exercises, if applicable
 Roll Call/Determination of a Quorum
 Adoption of the Agenda
 Reading and Approval of the Minutes of the Previous Meeting
 Reports of Officers
 Reports of Standing Committees
 Reports of Special (Ad hoc) Committees
 Special Orders
 Unfinished Business and General Orders
 New Business
 Adjournment
 IMPORTANCE OF MINUTES
Minutes are the official record of a meeting. It details the decisions
taken by the members. Copies of the minutes should be produced as
soon as possible after the meeting as what took place in the meeting
is still fresh in your mind. It should be proofread by the chairperson
before it is distributed to ensure there are no errors or omissions.
 FOLLOW-UP PROCEDURES
 Filing and indexing of minutes – A copy of the minutes should be filed

once they have been checked by the chairperson. They should be indexed
so that they can be easily located for future reference.

 Acting on decisions taken at the meeting – You should implement any

action that you were instructed to carry out by the meeting participants. If
the instructions were given to other persons check to ensure that they were
being carried out.
 FOLLOW-UP PROCEDURES
 Circulation of action sheet – Action sheets may need to be issued to those

who were not present at the meeting to advise them of the tasks they are
expected to do. As such, you should circulate the action sheet to the
members both those who were present and absent.

 Circulation of minutes – This is done after the minutes have been

transcribed, proofread and signed off on by the chairperson.

DOCUMENTS USED FOR
MEETINGS
 NOTICE OF MEETING
A notice is used to inform members that there will be a meeting and also to let them know the date,
time and venue of the meeting.
 AGENDA
An agenda is a list of items to be discussed during a meeting. It can be said to be a tool
or instrument used to control the meeting.
 CHAIRPERSON'S AGENDA
 A chairperson’s agenda contains more information than the ordinary agenda. A wide space is
usually provided on the right-hand side of the paper for the chairperson to make notes which
will assist him/her in the conduct of an effective meeting.
 MINUTES OF A MEETING
‘Minutes of a meeting’ is the term given to the written record of a business discussion at a meeting.
 MEETING TERMINOLOGIES
 Companies Act of relevant country – This varies from one country to

another. It is an act of Parliament which provides for the incorporation,

regulation and winding up if trading companies. It states the legal
limits within which companies may do their business, and how
shareholders, directors, employees, creditors and other stakeholders
(consumers. The community and the environment) interact with one
another under the internal rules of the organization.
 MEETING TERMINOLOGIES
 Management structure of companies – Management refers to the act of

organizing people to achieve desired goals and objectives. Management

involves planning, organizing, staffing, leading, directing and controlling,
for the purpose of achieving the organization's goals.

 Corporate records – A business record is a document that records business

dealings e.g. minutes of meetings, employment contracts, accounting data

and some memorandums and annual reports. These documents must be
easily retrieved when required.
 MEETING TERMINOLOGIES
 Officers, shareholders of companies – A company is a legal entity which is

granted a charter recognizing it as a separate entity from its owners. This

means that it can sue and be sued in its title name. An important feature of a
company is the status of limited liability. Having limited liability means that if
a company fails or goes bankrupt, the shareholders will only lose their
investment but not their personal assets. However, officers and employees
will lose their positions but will not be liable for debts that are owed to the
company’s creditors.
 MEETING TERMINOLOGIES
 Meeting proxies – Meeting proxies are procedures that are to be

followed for the delegation to another member to vote in his or her

absence. The person designated to vote on behalf of another person is
called a proxy, and the person who designates the proxy is called the
principal. The identity of the proxy and the principal must be proven
(authenticated) because the use of the process can be very influential.
 MEETING TERMINOLOGIES
 Ad hoc – This is committee established for a specific purpose (to carry out a task)

but cease to exist when the task is completed

 Verbatim – This means word for word; for example, a verbatim minutes is a word

for word record of a report or discussions verbally presented.

 Quorum – The quorum of a meeting is the minimum number of people required

to be present before a meeting can take place. For example, if the organization's
rule is that 50% membership is required for a meeting and there are 10 committee
members, 5 are required to form a quorum; if a committee has 7 members, 4 will
be required to form a quorum.
 MEETING TERMINOLOGIES
 Casting vote – This is the vote given to the Chair of a meeting to arrive at a

final decision when votes are tied or equally divided. However, the
chairperson may choose not to exercise this right and suspend or adjourn the
meeting until another time; a wise chairperson will always exercise the
casting vote to preserve the status quo.

 Adjourn – This means to place a meeting on hold until a later date.

 Postpone – To postpone a meeting means to put it off or defer` until a later

time.
 MEETING TERMINOLOGIES

 Cancel - This means to call off a meeting without the expectation of conducting it at

a later time. It also means to put off indefinitely.

 Proposal – This is a formal suggestion put forward by a member of the meeting for

consideration.

 Motion – This is a formal proposal put forward by a member of a meeting.

 Resolution – A resolution is a formal decision taken at a meeting by means of a vote.

A resolution is reached when members unanimously or the majority accept a motion.