Discussion board | Applied Sciences homework help

1. Effectively bring a meeting to a close and follow up appropriately.

eetings are a fact of life on the job. Between 11 million and 20 million business meetings take place each day in the United States.1 A typical American employee will attend 62 meetings per month,2 at an average length of 31–60 minutes per meeting.3 Perhaps even more astonishing is the fact that CEOs spend 60 percent of their working hours in meetings. Another 25 percent of their time is devoted to phone calls, conference calls, and events.4 Just because meetings are commonplace, that does not mean they are always worth the time and effort.5 In fact, hours spent in meetings are not always considered well spent. One research study shows that one half of 460 meetings in the United States are considered time wasted, resulting in an estimated salary cost of $37 billion per year.6 Beyond wasting precious time and money, pervasively inefficient meetings contribute to an overall atmosphere of cynicism. “Meetings matter because that’s where an organization’s culture perpetuates itself,” says William R. Daniels, senior consultant at American Consulting & Training.7 Meetings—whether they are good or bad—are a sign of an organization’s health. Efficient meetings can leave employees feeling energized and excited about their work, and are a crucial part of a productive business culture.8 This chapter introduces some methods for planning and participating in meetings that will produce efficient, satisfying results. We focus specifically on how teams operate in face-to-face and virtual meetings— that is, on those occasions when their members communicate simultaneously to deal with common concerns.

• Types of Meetings People meet for many reasons. Whether they occur in person or online, in most business and professional settings, meetings can be classified into three categories: information-sharing meetings, problem-solving meetings, and ritual activities. Of course, some meetings may serve more than one purpose.

227 Information-Sharing Meetings In many organizations, people meet regularly to exchange information. This type of meeting may adhere to the format of a regular meeting held at the office. Police officers and nurses, for example, begin every shift with a meeting in which the people going off duty brief their replacements on what has been happening recently. Members of a medical research team experimenting with a new drug may meet regularly to compare notes on their results. In many office teams, the Monday morning meeting is an important tool for informing members about new developments, emerging trends, and the coming week’s tasks. For example, Perkin Elmer 461 Corporation, a producer of scientific measuring instruments and precision optical equipment, schedules a weekly meeting of all corporate and top executives to keep them up-to-date on the activities of the company’s more than 20 divisions, which are located around the world. In addition to following this format, information-sharing meetings may take the form of conventions, workshops, or seminars. Conventions are large group meetings designed to facilitate discussion about a specific topic or area of common interest. It is likely that your professors attend professional conventions on a yearly basis to share their research with colleagues and learn more about what other researchers are contributing to the field. Workshops and seminars are types of meetings for smaller groups, where attendees improve their knowledge and skills of a certain task. The American Red Cross, for example, hosts a variety of health and safety training workshops for employees, including those on giving first aid, administering cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), and using an automated external defibrillator (AED). Problem-Solving and Decision-Making Meetings In other meetings, a team may decide to take some action or make a change in existing policies or procedures. With which supplier should we contract? Should we introduce a new product line? Should we delay production so we can work out a design flaw in our new keyboard? Where can we cut costs if sales do not improve this year? How can we best schedule vacations? Problem solving is the most common reason why business meetings are held. Because problem-solving and decision-making meetings are the most challenging type of group activity, considerable attention is given to this topic in Appendix III. Ritual Activities In still other meetings, the social function is far more important than any specific task. In one firm, Friday afternoon “progress review sessions” are a regular fixture. This apparently serious title is really an insider’s tongue- in-cheek joke: The meetings take place in a local bar and to an outsider look like little more than a TGIF party. Despite the setting and apparently 462 un-businesslike activity, these meetings serve several important purposes.9 First, they reaffirm the members’ commitment to one another and to the company. Choosing to socialize with one another instead of rushing home is a sign of belonging and caring. Second, the sessions provide a chance to swap useful ideas and stories that might not be appropriate in the office. Who is in trouble? What does the boss really want? ©Hero Images Inc./Alamy Stock Photo RF Other rituals for some organizations are enrichment-based meetings that allow employees to use part of their workday to discuss issues that bridge their work life and their personal well-being. For 228 example, companies such as Target, Nike, Google, and Apple offer their employees meditation and yoga classes with the hope of reducing stress-related maladies.10 As you read in Chapter 1, this sort of informal communication can be invaluable, and ritual activities provide a good setting for it. Finally, ritual meetings can be a kind of perk that confers status on the attendees. “Progress review committee” members charge expenses to the company and leave work early to attend the sessions. Thus, being invited to join the “meetings” is a sign of having arrived in the company.

• Virtual Meetings

463 The term meeting might conjure an image of people seated around a table, transacting business. In reality, in less than a generation, there has been a monumental shift in organizational life because of an influx of technological capabilities that have translated into changes in the workplace. This shift has resulted in many employees attending more virtual meetings than face-to-face get-togethers.11 Virtual meetings may be held in real time, so that everyone attends at the time when the event is scheduled regardless of their respective time zones, or they may utilize asynchronous communication so participants are able to contribute to the meetings at different times. Several types of virtual meetings can be used to achieve your goals for a meeting. No matter which type of format is used, virtual meetings offer several notable formats. First, they are an inexpensive way to gather participants and build engagement and productivity among teams.12 The conversation and documents/materials being presented during virtual meetings can often be recorded, which allows participants to replay portions of the meeting or catch up on a meeting that they have missed. Additionally, participants can be patched in instantaneously to answer questions or share information, which eliminates the need for individuals to sit through an entire meeting if they are needed only briefly. Of course, these types of meetings are not without some disadvantages. Being able to hold virtual meetings almost anywhere allows attendees to call or log in from noisy locations such as coffeehouses, airport lounges, and busy home environments, making individuals prone to distractions.13 Additionally, just as with face-to-face meetings, poor facilitation can make virtual meetings seem awkward and dull.14 Guidelines for hosting an effective virtual meeting are provided later in this chapter. Conference Calls Conference calls are essentially multiparty telephone calls. To begin a conference call, the party hosting the call (the “calling party”) may call other participants to add them to the call; however, many software platforms allow participants to dial a phone number and enter a personal identification number (PIN) that enables them to access a meeting. 464 Conference calls may be designed to allow callers to speak on the line during the meeting, or callers may only be allowed to listen in on the meeting. Businesses use these kinds of conference calls on a daily basis to meet with internal and external participants, as they are a useful way for parties to hash out details that would take much longer to settle via e-mail or a chain of two-person phone conversations. Common uses for conference calls include regular team meetings, training sessions, client meetings, project meetings, and sales presentations. For example, public corporations in the United States are required by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to provide quarterly earnings reports. Many of these corporations utilize conference calls to discuss the financial results with interested stakeholders. 229 Web Conferences Web conferencing takes place over the Internet, with participants connecting to the meeting using shared software. This software may consist of a web browser application that participants can access using the Internet, or it may take the form of a web browser or mobile application that requires downloading and installation. Although web conferencing typically takes place in real time, most software applications allow the presentation activity to be recorded for later viewing or distribution. Common features of web conferencing include the following elements: Audience tracking Whiteboard with annotation Instant messaging and text chat Live polling and surveys Slideshow presentations Live or streaming video Desktop, mouse, and keyboard sharing Automated e-mail Automated reminders and follow-ups 465 Promotion tools One type of web conference commonly used in a business setting is a webinar, or web-based seminar. A webinar is a presentation, lecture, workshop, or seminar that is transmitted over the Web with limited audience interaction. Webinars are great tools for professional development and training meetings. HootSuite, for example, hosts a variety of webinars approximately 1 hour in length on topics of interest to public relations professionals and social media managers. Webinars are discussed in more depth in Chapter 12. Video Conferences Videoconferencing provides real-time, two-way audio/video communication among users in various locations. This meeting format requires all participants to utilize video input and video output equipment, such as digital recorders and television screens or projectors. This setup differs from that used in web conferencing, as individuals do not connect to the meeting through a mutual website or application. Collaborative Technologies According to Hewlett-Packard Enterprise, the average person picks up a smartphone more than 1,500 times per week and engages with his or her phone for 3 hours and 16 minutes each day.15 The mobile environment is rapidly becoming the primary place where social networking, video viewing, reading, and location-based searching occur.16 The mobile revolution has also infiltrated the workplace, as many organizations are encouraging engagement by providing employees with tools to access and share information on the go. Examples of these tools include the following: Wikis are interactive websites that allow teams to add, remove, share, exchange, and edit/change content. Project management tools are apps that allow teams to develop a timeline and assign tasks to one another. One example, Trello, was discussed in the “Technology Tip: Apps for Teamwork” box in Chapter 7. 466 230 Internal social media (ISM) are online communities that are accessible only to members of the organization and incorporate the same tools as regular social media. Team communication platforms (TCPs) are instant messaging applications that provide a way for colleagues to stay connected, share files, and work across multiple devices without having to access their e-mail accounts.17 Most ISM platforms mimic the look and functionality of popular mainstream social networking sites; however, within the ISM platform, one may also have the ability to utilize blogs and wikis, social tagging, and document sharing.18 The adoption of such technologies has numerous implications for workplace communication. For example, they may influence interactions with new hires, knowledge sharing, and employees’ abilities to form relationships.19 Additionally, the use of ISM may contribute to a sense of belonging for employees, as some of the discussions of organizational issues that take place on ISM can develop into organizational stories that are then shared in informal conversations among coworkers.20 Employees at Lenovo used their ISM, “Lenovo Social Champions,” to share a CRN article titled “10 Hottest Laptops of 2015,” which included their La Vie Z laptop as number 6 on the list. Lenovo encourages its employees to share internal content—such as photos and videos from company gatherings—and external content that is related to the brand. According to Lenovo’s social media marketing director, Roderick Strother, “It’s a celebration of being part of the company, it’s a rallying cry.”21 Team communication platforms tend to boast similar features: team communication being located in one place; integration with other media services, such as project organization tools and e-mail support systems; searchable content; file sharing; private groups; and accessibility.22 Some of the documented benefits of TCPs include centralized, visible communication; strengthened knowledge sharing and social cohesion; increased self-initiative; and being able to monitor conversations about projects.23 467

• Planning a Meeting Thinking strategically about how to plan for a successful meeting is an important step in reducing “time-wasting meetings” in the workplace. Effective meetings can boost your team’s performance and productivity.

When to Hold a Meeting Public-sector businesses and organizations governed by boards of directors do not have a choice when it comes to holding meetings. These types of organizations are legally mandated to conduct any business that affects the public in the open. As an example, as part of this mandate, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting must make board meetings, board committee meetings, and community advisory board meetings open to the public. The organization must also provide the public with reasonable notice (at least seven days in advance) of the meeting. For a session to be recognized as an official meeting, a quorum (majority of membership) must be present, and discussions pertaining to issues that influence the membership must occur. The public must be given the opportunity to share their input during these discussions. For other businesses that do not operate in this manner, meetings are necessary but are not always required. Given the cost and effort required to bring people together, the most fundamental question is whether to hold a meeting at all. When considering scheduling a meeting, stop for a moment and think about the meeting’s purpose. There are many times when a meeting may not be the most effective method to address the purpose: The matter could be effectively handled over the phone. You could achieve the goal with a memo or e-mail. 231 Key people are not available to attend. The subject would be considered trivial by many of the participants. There is not enough time to handle the business at hand. Members are not prepared. The meeting is routine and there is no compelling reason to meet. 468 The job can be handled just as well by one or more people without the need to consult others. Your mind is made up, or you have already made the decision. CULTURE at work Collaboration in Cyberspace: Geography Makes a Difference How important is communication when team members from across the country and around the world meet in cyberspace? To answer this question, corporate giants Verizon and Microsoft commissioned a study to determine how virtual teams in a variety of industries and countries collaborate. The study revealed that the importance of collaboration on performance was consistent across various industries (e.g., health care, government, financial services, manufacturing) and around the world. As one member of the Verizon/Microsoft study remarked, “Global companies that collaborate better, perform better. Those that collaborate less, do not perform as well. It’s just that simple.” The researchers also discovered cultural differences in workers’ communication preferences. For example, Americans were more likely to enjoy working alone. They expressed a preference for using e-mail rather than the telephone. They were more comfortable with audio, video, and web conferencing technologies than people of other regions of the world, and they were more likely to multitask when on conference calls. By comparison, Europeans expressed a preference for communicating in real time with colleagues. They felt more obligated to answer the phone, and they expected others to call them back rather than leave a voice mail message. Professionals in the Asia Pacific region, more than anywhere else, expressed a desire to keep in touch throughout the workday. As a result, they found the phone an indispensable tool and 469 preferred instant messaging to e-mail. Differences like these suggest that teams can be more productive if their members take cultural differences into account when planning to communicate. Employees are likely to resent an unnecessary intrusion into their schedules.24 Keeping these points in mind, a planner should call a meeting (or appoint a committee) only when he or she can answer yes to the following questions. Is the Job Beyond the Capacity of One Person? A job might be too much for one person to handle for two reasons. First, it might call for more information than any single person possesses. For example, the job of improving health conditions in a food-processing plant would probably require a health professional’s medical background, employees’ experience, and a manager who knows the resources. Second, a job might take more time than one person has available. For instance, even if one employee were capable of writing and publishing an employee handbook, it is unlikely the person would be able to handle the task and have much time for other duties. Are Individuals’ Tasks Interdependent? Each member at a committee meeting should have a different role. If each member’s share of the task can be completed without input from other members, it is better to have the members co-acting under a 232 manager’s supervision. Consider the job of preparing the employee handbook: If each person on the handbook team is responsible for a separate section, there is little need for them to meet frequently to discuss the task. 470 CAREER tip How to Handle “Time Waster” Meetings What should you do when you are expected to attend a meeting that you know will be a waste of time? On some occasions, you cannot escape such meetings—for example, when you are formally obligated to attend, when your absence would damage your reputation, or when your boss insists you show up. Although you must attend these meetings, it might be helpful to ask the host to provide an agenda that includes start and end times. It might also be productive to make a friendly suggestion at the beginning of the meeting that team members put away their cell phones to minimize multicommunicating. If you believe that you can miss a meeting without incurring negative consequences, you might consider using one of the following strategies to make your nonattendance acceptable: Set aside your most productive hours each day by adding them to a shared calendar. Avoid making exceptions. Try starting a grassroots movement to have one or more “no-meeting days” each week at the office. Setting aside Friday as a no-meeting day, for example, may boost everyone’s productivity at the office. Provide written input. If your sole reason for showing up is to provide information, a memo or written report may be a good substitute for your physical presence. Suggest a productive alternative. There may be other ways for you— and maybe even other attendees—to achieve your objectives without actually having a face-to-face meeting, such as through an exchange of e-mails, teleconferencing, or delegating the job to a smaller group. Suggesting these alternatives may earn you the gratitude of others who do not want to attend the meeting anymore than you do. 471 Tell the truth. In some cases you may choose to diplomatically explain your reasons for not wanting to attend: “I’m not sure my attendance would serve any useful purpose.” Sources: Lippincott, S. M., Meetings: Do’s, Don’ts, and Donuts (2nd ed.). Pittsburgh, PA: Lighthouse Point Press, 1999; Mock, L., “How to Cut Down on Useless Meetings,” Gliffy, August 30, 2016. Retrieved from https://www.gliffy.com/blog/2016/08/30/how-to-cut-down- on-useless-meetings/ Sometimes people who do the same job can profit by sharing ideas with a group. Members of the handbook team, for example, might get new ideas about how the book could be improved by talking to one another. Similarly, sales representatives, industrial designers, physicians, and attorneys who work independently might profit by exchanging experiences and ideas. In fact, generating such synergy is part of the motivation for holding professional conventions. Many companies schedule quarterly or annual meetings of people who perform similar job functions but work independently. While this may seem to contradict the requirement for interdependence of members’ tasks, there is no real conflict. A group of people who do the same kind of work can often improve their individual performance through meetings by performing some of the complementary functional roles. For example, one colleague might serve as reality tester: “Writing individual notes to each potential customer in your territory sounds like a good idea, but do you really have time to do that?” Another might take the job of being information-giver: “You know, there’s a printer just outside Boston who can do large jobs like that just as well as your regular printer, but he’s cheaper. Call me, and I’ll give you the name and address.” Others serve as diagnosers: “Have you checked the feed mechanism? Sometimes a problem there can throw the whole machine out of whack.” Some can just serve 233 as empathic listeners: “Yeah, I know. It’s tough to get people who can do that kind of work right.” 472 ETHICAL challenge Dealing with Opposing Viewpoints Your manager has asked you to provide suggestions from your department about the company’s policy on flex time. These suggestions will be taken seriously and have a strong chance of being adopted. You are in a position to call a meeting of key people in your department to discuss the issue. Two of the most vocal members of the department have diametrically opposed positions on flex time. One of them (whose position on the issue is different from yours) will be out of the office for a week, and you could call the meeting while he is gone. What do you do? Is There More Than One Decision or Solution? Questions that have only one right answer are not well suited to discussion in meetings. Whether the sales force made its quota last year and whether the budget will accommodate paying overtime to meet a schedule, for instance, are questions best answered by checking the figures, not by getting the regional sales managers or the department members to reach an agreement. In contrast, tasks that do not have fixed outcomes are appropriate targets for committee discussion. Consider the job facing the employees of an advertising agency who are planning a campaign for a client. There is no obvious best way to sell products or ideas such as yearly physical examinations, office equipment, or clothing. Instead, developing such campaigns calls for the kind of creativity a talented, well-chosen group can generate. Are Misunderstandings or Reservations Likely? It is easy to see how meetings can be useful when the goal is to generate ideas or solve problems. Meetings are often necessary, however, when confusing or controversial information is being communicated. Suppose, for instance, that changing federal rules and company policy require employees to 473 document their use of company cars in far more detail than was previously required. It is easy to imagine how this sort of change would be met with grumbling and resistance. In this situation, simply issuing a memo outlining the new rules might not gain the kind of compliance that is necessary. Only after voicing their complaints and hearing why the new policy is being instituted will employees see a need to go along with the new procedure. “I can write down the vision of the company a thousand times and send it out to people,” says Dennis Stamp, chairman of Vancouver’s Priority Management Systems. “But when I sit with them face-to-face and give them the vision, for some reason it is much more accepted.”25 Setting an Agenda An agenda is a list of topics to be covered in a meeting. A meeting without an agenda is like a ship at sea without a destination or compass: No one aboard knows where it is or where it is headed. Smart organizations appreciate the importance of establishing agendas. At computer chip giant Intel, for example, company policy requires planners to circulate an agenda before every meeting. You can start building an agenda by asking three questions: