Conducting Effective Meetings in Business Management

Conducting Effective Meetings in Business Management

            Meetings are important to organizations because this is where people are able to discuss essential topics and issues about the company and the staff. Author Akay (2006, p.89) believes that “the one format and method for communicating that is essential for a business entity is meetings because meetings can, will, and should bring out the facts about various business topics and issues the business entity is or could be facing.” It is therefore significant for organizations to learn how to conduct effective business meetings.

            One of the best ways to ensure an effective meeting is for the presenter or speaker to carefully prepare an agenda. “An agenda is a structured set of activities designed to produce the work products that will achieve the meeting objectives” (Zavala, Hass, & Gaffney, 2008, p.14). This structure will make sure that time is managed effectively since there will be no unnecessary discussion of issues that are not included in the agenda. The meeting will be specific and direct to the point, which will help the group make good decisions about the organization. Agendas can be printed out and distributed to the attendees of the meeting so that they will have an idea on what the meeting will be about and how the flow of the meeting will take place. It will allow the staff to prepare for an effective contribution if the agendas are handed out earlier than the meeting.

            Effective meetings take a lot more than just preparing a good agenda. However, if speakers want to conduct an effective meeting, they should start from the beginning and consider what needs to be done first before going into the meeting itself. It is good to be prepared and to plan a meeting because this will allow a person to consider unwanted events that may take place such as unseen interruptions, which might affect the flow of the meeting.

References

Akay, V. (2006). Business Is the People & People Are the Business. Nebraska: iUniverse.

Zavala, A., Hass, K. B., & Gaffney, C. (2008). The Art and Power of Facilitation. Virginia: Management Concepts.