INTRODUCTION TO MEETINGS
GENERAL OBJECTIVES : By the end of the unit, you should be able to :
- read and understanding notices and agenda of meetings
- prepare notices and agenda of meetings
SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES : By the end of this unit you should show your ability in :-
- listing the factors effecting the success of a meeting
- identifying the types of meeting
- identifying the characteristics of notices and agenda
- using and writing the language of agenda
Unit
2
- INPUT 1: Introduction
ACTIVITY 1
a. Read the dialogue below.
What is a meeting ?
Well, according to this book, a meeting is when a group of people get together to discuss matters , solve problems and make decisions.
That sounds very important.
Yes, most of the time meetings are formal but you can also have informal meetings!
Like when you have a date?
You discuss important matters, don’t you ? Or when you gather with your friends.
But a formal meeting has its procedure and every member has a role to play!
What makes a good meeting ?
Well, keep on reading , honey !!
b. Listen to the conversation and tick the words that are mentioned.
| Propose | Profit | ||
| Hours | Plan | ||
| Negotiate | Minutes | ||
| Notice | Computer | ||
| Adjourned | Conclusion | ||
| Chairperson | Agenda |
What other words you know that might be relevant to meetings ?
_________________ ____________________
_________________ ____________________
_________________ ____________________
_________________ ____________________
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2.2 INPUT 2: Effective meeting
What makes a meeting effective?
Figure 1 shows some important elements of an effective such as the planning and the preparation. Can you think of other elements and then complete Figure 1.
purpose
p_ _ _ pre_ _ _ _ _ion
me_ _ _ _s’ participation EFFECTIVE
MEETING d_ _ _ _ _ _ _ making
minutes
leader’s ability to chair the meeting
Figure 1: Factors affecting the success of a meeting
*****************************************************************************ACTIVITY 1
Match the headings given with the appropriate descriptions.
Leader’s ability
Minutes
Purpose
Plan
Preparation
Members’ participation
a.
- to give information to the members of the committee
- to discuss matters pertaining the organization/ club/ committee
- to generate ideas
- to obtain a collective decision
- to seek for information, facts and data
- to find solutions to particular problems
b.
- determine the goals to be achieved
- decide on the proper time and venue
c.
- determine the type of meeting
- decide on equipment or visual aids that might be needed
- prepare materials needed
d.
- state clearly the objective and goals to be achieved
- establish a positive atmosphere
- aware of the procedures in a meeting
- involve all the members
- focus on matters to be discussed
e.
- quorum should be present
- participate in discussions
- aware of the rules of conduct
- contribute ideas and make constructive criticism
f.
- suitable wording
- precise and sufficient information
- concise summary of the last meeting
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2.3 Input 3: Degree of formality in meetings
Some meetings are more formal or less formal than the other. Figure 2 plots the different types of meeting according to their varying degrees of formality.
FORMAL
AGM EGM
Board of DirectorsExecutives
Managers vs Subordinates
Committee
Colleagues
alumni
date
Figure 2 : Degree of formality
INFORMALWhat makes a meeting formal?
Well, the purpose of a meeting can affect the degree of formality. But there are other factors too!!
What are they? If you know them, then write them down in the boxes below.
ACTIVITY 1
Decide which of the meetings are formal [ F ] and informal [ I ].
| F | English Club meeting |
| Lunch meeting at a restaurant | |
| A group of workers gather to discuss complaints and actions to be taken | |
| Alumni gathering | |
| Departmental meeting | |
| Meeting between a doctor and his/ her patient | |
| Friend discussing a school project | |
| Meeting between an employer and his/ her staff to discuss matters concerning the company. |
ACTIVITY 2
Below is a script from a supervisor who briefs his subordinates on what a meeting is. Unfortunately, some words are missing. Try to fill in the blanks for him. He has also made some spelling mistakes. Could you detect the mistakes? You might want to use the dictionary to check the spelling.
features minutes
successful effectively
find secretary
organization leadership
Ladies and Gentlemen,
In an organization, be it big or small, it is inevitable that you will be asked to attend a meeting. A meeting is very important to an (1)______because that is when information is passed from the managers to the subordinates. Subordinates are people like us, who receive instructions and implement them. So you see, it is very important for meetings to be (2)___________.
How can a meeting be successful ? Easy. It must have a few ingredients, just like when we want to cook something. I mean, we must have the essential (3)_______of a successful meeting. For instance, we must have directions. A person who calls a meeting must know why he is calling the meeting. He/She must have a purpose. There are many purposes of a meeting; to solve and (4)________solutions to problems, to negotiate a deal, to check on project progress, to report and so on.
Secondly, he/she must plan the meeting carefully. In this case, he/she normally plans it with his/her(5)________. They will discus when and where to do the meeting .
The chairperson will also decide on the agenda. Then, the secretary will prepare the necessary documents and also the equipment needed for the meeting.
However, I feel that for a meeting to be successful, the participants of the meeting must understand their roles. Good (6)________is needed, members must participate positively and (7)_______. And of course with any formal meeting, there must be a record of what happened in the meeting. This means that the secretary must write (8)_______of the meeting.
- INPUT 4: Notices and Agenda
Notice
The word notice of meetings was mentioned in the conversation.
Have you seen a notice of meetings?
NOTICE 1
NOTICE OF MEETING
ENGLISH LANGUAGE CLUB ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
The 3rd. AGM of the English Language Club will be held on Monday, 15 October 2001 at Seminar Room 1 of the Students Union Building at 2.30 pm.
All members are required to attend and new members are welcomed.
AGENDA:
Minutes of the 2nd Annual Meeting
Matters arising
Reports from committee
Election of members for the 4th committee
Any other business
NOTICE 2
NOTICE OF MEETING
PRO EDAR Sdn. Bhd.
There will be an executive committee meeting on the 18 September 2001 (Tuesday)
at Board Room 1, at 3.00 p.m.
All executives are required to attend.
ACTIVITY 1 (Pair Work)
What differences and similarities do you find in Notice 1 and Notice 2 ?
SIMILARITIES | DIFFERENCES |
The Characteristics of Notice of Meeting
What is it?
Who calls the meeting?
NOTICE OF MEETING
ENGLISH LANGUAGE CLUB ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
The 3rd. AGM of the English Language Club will be held on Monday, 15 October 2001 at Seminar Room 1 of the Students Union Building at 2.30 pm.
When, where and at what timeAll members are required to attend and new members are welcomed.
AGENDA:
The audience: who is the notice for?
- Minutes of the 2nd Annual Meeting
- Matters arising
- Reports from committee
- Election of members for the 4th committee
- Any other business
Adding an agenda is not necessary but it might be a good idea to do so !
Points to remember
Notice of meetings must have the following points :-
Who is the notice for ?
Where and when will the meeting be conducted ?
A notice may or may not contain an agenda.
A notice could also be written in a form of a memo.
Use of correct prepositions, e.g. on Monday, at 2.30 p.m, at Seminar Room
ACTIVITY 2
Highlight the following characteristics in the notice given below :-WHO WHAT WHERE WHEN TIME AUDIENCE
NOTICE OF MEETING
ELECTRICAL DEPARTMENT MEETINGThe 4th departmental meeting will be held on Tuesday, 27 February 2002 at
Seri Nilam Boardroom, at 9.00 a.m. All lecturers are required to attend.
b. Agenda
An agenda is a list of items of business to be dealt with at a meeting or it could also be considered as a programme for a meeting.
Below are two samples of agenda :-
Sample 1 Sample 2
Agenda
- Apologies for absence
- Minutes of the previous meeting
- Matters arising
- Progress report on project A
- Purchase of company's car
- Any other business
- Date and time of next meeting
Agenda
- Minutes of the previous AGM
- Matters arising
- Financial Report
- Activities Report
- Election of members
- Any other business
- Date and time of next meeting
ACTIVITY 3 (Pair work)
Discuss with your partner the questions below:-
What are the differences and similarities between Agenda 1 and Agenda 2 ?
Why are the samples different ?
Below are two headings. Match the headings with the samples.
Agenda for Annual General Meeting = …………………
Agenda for Committee Meeting = …………………
c. Language of Agenda
Items in an agenda are written in short phrases. Most of the time noun phrases are used.
Look at how these sentences are transformed.
OWN SENTENCE | LANGUAGE OF AGENDA |
| Mrs. Wong wants to appoint a new caterer for the cafeteria |
|
| The financial manager will present the expenditure report |
|
| The board of directors want to discuss the percentage of bonus to be awarded to staff for the year 2001 |
|
Note : In order to write heading in the agenda it is important for us to identify the key words. The key words for the sentences above have been highlighted.
ACTIVITY 4
Write out suitable headings for the following sentences.- En. Afif is going to report the findings on the survey conducted on the types of insulated roofs.
_______________________________________________________________
- Cik Suzana is going to present the product specification of motor vehicle prototype AZLY.
_______________________________________________________________
- Pn. Siti Rozihani wants to discuss the venue for the department trip.
_______________________________________________________________
- Miss Lee is going to inform all of us about the schedule on the department's in-house training.
_____________________________________________________________
- En. Azmir wants to propose that the company consider the need to apply for the ISO
certificate.
1a. Read the notice and agenda below carefully. Then, answer all the questions on the
next page.
To : Ms Zurita Binti Mat Saad
Mr Mohammad Farhan Muizzudin Bin Razali
Ms Azlina Binti Mustakim
Ms Siti Ruhaya Fatimah Binti Tasriff
Ms Farah Dzafirah Binti Razali
From : Ms Ezah Fadzilla Binti Harreh
Date : 5 February 2001
Subject : Tourism Club’s Annual Activities
Please be informed that a meeting of the Tourism Club’s Annual Activities will be held as follow:
Date : 8 February 2001
Time : 2.15 p.m
Venue : Mock Office, First Floor, Hospitality and Fashion
Department.
Agenda:
- Address by the Chairperson
- Apologies of Absence
- Confirmation of Minutes of the Previous Meeting
- Matters Arising
- Annual Activities
- Any Other Business
- Date of the Next Meeting
1b. Answer the following questions
- When is the meeting going to be held ?
______________________________________________________________
- Where is the meeting going to be at ?
______________________________________________________________
- What is the purpose of the meeting ?
______________________________________________________________
- Muizzudin will not be able to attend the meeting. Whom should he approach ?
______________________________________________________________
- In your opinion, is this the club’s first meeting ? Why ?
______________________________________________________________
2. You have been asked to write a notice to call for a meeting. Your employer gave you the following details.
Meeting :-
All execs.
12/10/2002
Board Room 4
9.00 a.m. sharp!
Agenda :-
- We need more technicians for manufacturing department.
- Setting up an ad hoc committee - new plant in Subang Jaya.
- Intro - new exec, En. Zulkifli bin Noh - R&D department.
Based on the information given, write a notice to call for a meeting
FEEDBACKSELF ASSESSMENT
1 UNDERSTANDING THE CONTENT OF A MINUTE
- 8 February 2001
- Mock Office, First Floor, Hospitality and Fashion Department
- Tourism club’s annual activities
- Ms Ezah Fadzilla Binti Harreh
- No. Items ‘3’ and ‘4’ tell us that they have had another meeting earlier.
2 WRITING A NOTICE
An example of an answer will be as follows. Students could also present their answers in a letter or memo format.NOTICE OF MEETING
AISEY SDN BHD
A meeting for all executives will be held on the following date and venue :
Date : 12/10/2002 (Monday)
Venue: Board Room 4
Time : 0900 hours
Agenda:
- Technicians for Manufacturing Department
- Ad hoc Committee for Subang Jaya new plant
- Appointment of R&D Department new executive