Types of Meetings free essay sample

There are several types of meetings, including formal, semi-formal and informal. A Formal Meeting Formal meetings follow set meeting procedures that are not always used for informal meetings. The following three types of meetings are formal: †¢Annual General Meetings †¢Extraordinary General Meetings †¢Board Meetings They all have: †¢An Agenda †¢A Notice of Meeting †¢Motions are put, discussed and voted on following certain rules †¢Proposers and Seconders of motions have their names recorded in the minutes. †¢Structured Minutes are taken. An Informal Meeting  Semi-formal and informal meetings do not necessarily follow all the rules of formal meetings, though they usually have the same documentation, such as an agenda and minutes. Staff meetings, club meetings and any meeting which is a get-together for managing an organisation and making decisions for the group are often semi-formal or informal meetings. At informal meetings there are often no motions put and voted upon these may be information sharing or reporting meetings. We will write a custom essay sample on Types of Meetings or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The meeting may make decisions informally, with these recorded in the minutes, but not necessarily a proposer or seconder. Informal meetings sometimes do not have a notice of meeting or an agenda. They occasionally do not take down minutes, but sometimes, they have all three. It often depends on the rules of the organisation that is holding the meeting. Most business meetings and meetings of registered organisations, such as sporting clubs, are required to keep records of meetings and these meetings are often semi-formal, rather than informal. (Source: Janison Toolbox) Types of Meetings Inaugural meetings An inaugural meeting is held once only for the commencement of an organisation. Annual General Meeting (AGM) An Annual General Meeting is held once a year to provide an account of the company’s or organisation’s position to members/shareholders, elect office bearers for the coming period and for ratification of critical decisions. Extraordinary general meetings An extraordinary general meeting is held when unanticipated events require an urgent response, to precipitate a crisis or to transact special or urgent business. An example could be an extraordinary general meeting held when the accountant has skipped off with the company funds. Directors’ or Board meetings Directors’ or Board meetings are held regularly to transact normal company business. For smaller organisations these might be called Committee or Management. Section/Department meetings Department meetings are generally regular meetings held to transact business of specific interest to the department. Specific interest groups Specific interest groups in an organisation may be cross-sectoral groups such as an Information Technology Committee or an Environmental Awareness Interest Group. Conferences Conferences are meetings for receiving information, consultation and discussion. The Order of Proceedings is usually distributed in a program rather than an Agenda. Seminars and workshops Seminars and workshops are groups of people who meet together to pursue common study or research areas. Ad hoc An ad hoc committee is a group formed for a specific purpose, such as preparing a tender submission. This group may meet regularly for a specific period of time determined by the task and normally dissolves after their task is accomplished. Regular or standing committee A regular or standing committee meeting is one that may be called as part of the ongoing business of an organisation. An Occupational Health and Safety committee and a Finance committee are examples of standing committees which remain in place for the life of the organisation. (Source: Janison Toolbox) What is the purpose of this meeting? There are basically two types of meetings – those that provide information and those that are called to make decisions. The two types of meeting are best handled in different ways so it useful to know in advance which kind you are to be dealing with. CharacteristicsMeeting to provide informationDecision Making Meeting Number presentAny numberless than 12 Who should be thereThose who need to knowThose responsible and who have something to contribute Communication processFrom the leader to the participants with opportunities for questionsAn interactive discussion involving all those present Meeting room set-upClassroom style – participants facing the frontConference style – participants facing each other Most effective style of leadershipAuthoritativeParticipative Emphasis should be onContentInteraction and problem solving Key to successPlanning and preparation of information to be presented. A meeting climate that supports open, free expression Source: Effective Meetings – matching purpose to type The following table recognises and matches four purposes and ten types of meetings. Purpose Characteristics Type Dealing with information eg giving or receiving reports, issuing instructions, announcing and explaining new proceduresup to three peopleinformal four or more people or a teamformal needs feedback discussioninformal or formal keeps directors up to dateformal involves shareholdersAGM or EGM involves informing many peoplepublic involves speakers giving informationconference. Solving problems  handling grievancesonly one other personone-to-one needs input from several people or a teamone-off committee concerns an urgent problemimpromptu Making Decisions eg choosing between options, obtaining authorisation, deciding on a course of actionneeds quick decision of concerns non-standard business matterimpromptu involves regular business matterformal needs discussion or authorisation at the highest levelboard needs authorisation from the shareholders of a companyAGM or EGM Encouraging New Ideas eg generating creative solutionsneeds creative ideas to be discussedinforma. l  needs new ideas to be invented quicklybrainstorming needs reports on issues to be considered, discussed and preparedformal Source: http://www. srds. co. uk/cedtraining/handouts/hand53. htm Whats different about conference calls and videoconferences? Conference calls and videoconferences are similar to in-person meetings, but the differences in media suggest some changes in the way these meetings are managed. Here are some tips on managing technology-enabled conferences. †¢Set an agenda in advance. †¢Choose a time that works for all participants, factoring in time zones. Confirm attendee list and make sure all handouts have arrived. †¢If the call is incoming, be ready when the phone rings. If youre cutting it close, delegate someone to pick up. †¢If the call is outgoing, dial in one or two minutes before the conference is scheduled to begin. †¢If youre initiating, learn how to use the conferencing system ahead of time. †¢Identify yourself by name even if your system does it automatically. †¢Make sure you can see and hear everyone (videoconferences). †¢Greet each person by name. †¢Dont leave out the small talk. Repeat names during the call (especially teleconferences). †¢If youre a silent participant, resist the urge to talk. †¢Let one person speak at a time, so that no ones words get cut off. †¢Stick to your role: are you leading? facilitating? lurking? †¢If a party becomes disconnected from a call facilitated by a teleconferencing system, that person should dial back in unobtrusively. †¢If parties are disconnected from a three-way call, the person who initiated the call should reconnect the person. †¢End on time. As in all meetings, its important to stick to the agenda and manage time effectively.