Engels samenvatting h3

1. Introduction to Meetings, General Information

In the next couple of weeks you will be dealing with business meetings, covering subjects
such as mergers, take-overs, changing company names, etc. These meetings are called
decision-making meetings. Other types of meeting are: information giving meeting,
spontaneous/emergency meeting, routine meeting, internal meeting and
customer/client/supplier meeting.

The general structure of business meetings consists of four stages which can be given the
acronym DESC. The DESC stages of a meeting are:

D Describe situation
E Express feelings
S Suggest solutions
C Conclude with a decision

The DESC structure can be worked out as follows:

study/discuss/analyse the situation
define the problem
set an objective
state imperatives and desirables
generate alternatives
establish evaluation criteria
evaluate alternatives
choose among alternatives

This structure will be the backbone of the meetings you will be simulating in this course.

The goal or objective of decision-making meetings is to get a consensus on one or more
subjects in a time- and cost-effective manner. In the simulations and role plays you will be
performing you will have to get a consensus on matters such as take-overs and company
name changes. For the role-play you will have to assume the role of chairperson or
participant. Both roles are very important: you cant meet without participants nor can you do
without a chair. The discussion would be unproductive and useless, and it would go on
endlessly. Therefore, have a good look at the various roles of the chair and the participants
and read the corresponding phrases carefully to improve your contribution to the meetings.
Moreover, dont forget to check the vocabulary section of this handout. The words and
phrases will be a great help when preparing for your meetings.

In this syllabus you will find information on meetings, note taking and minutes, the roles of
the chair and the participant, a language checklist for both roles as well as specific
vocabulary used during meetings. The appendix offers a grammar section with specific
grammar used for writing minutes as well as a number of exercises related to this subject.






2. Making your Meetings more Productive

Meetings are a prime tool for problem solving, developing ideas through giving and getting
feedback, identifying opportunities, and deciding how to maximise the company's results.
Whether you're meeting virtually or in person, much of the oral communication you'll do in the
workplace will take place in small-group meetings. Your ability to contribute to the group and
the organisation as a whole will depend on how well you have mastered oral communication
skills. As more and more companies increase their use of teams to solve problems and work
collaboratively on projects, chances are that the number of meetings you'll attend will also
increase. Already, more than 25 million meetings take place every day in the world of
business.

Unfortunately, however, many meetings are unproductive for everyone involved. In a recent
research study, senior and middle managers reported that only 56 percent of their meetings
were actually productive and that 25 percent of the meetings they attended could have been
handled by a phone call or a memo. Given these demoralising statistics, no wonder
companies today are focusing on making their meetings more productive. The three most
frequently reported problems with meetings are getting off the subject, not having an agenda,
and meeting for too long.

Arranging the Meeting
The key to productive meetings is careful planning of purpose, participants, agenda, and
location. You want to bring the right people together in the right place for just enough time to
accomplish your goals. So before you call a meeting, satisfy yourself that one is truly
needed. Perhaps your purpose doesn't require the interaction of a group, or maybe you could
communicate more effectively in a memo or through individual conversations.

In general, the purpose of a meeting is either informational or decision making, although
many meetings combine both purposes. An informational meeting is called so that the
participants can share information and, possibly, co-ordinate actions. This type of meeting
may involve individual briefings by each participant or a speech by the leader followed by
questions from the attendees. Decision-making meetings are mainly concerned with
persuasion, analysis, and problem solving. They often include a brainstorming session that is
followed by a debate on the alternatives. These meetings tend to be somewhat less pre-
dictable than informational meetings. When planning a decision-making meeting, remember
that your purpose is to develop a course of action that the group can support. Therefore,
each participant must be aware of the nature of the problem and the criteria for its solution.

Setting and Following the Agenda
Although the nature of a meeting may sometimes prevent you from developing a fixed
agenda, at least prepare a list of matters to be discussed. Distribute the agenda to the par-
ticipants several days before the meeting so they will know what to expect and can come
prepared to respond to the issues at hand.

Agendas include the names of the participants and the time, place, and order of business.
Some executives argue that the most important items should be scheduled first, but others
favour an arrangement that provides warm-up time to accommodate latecomers. Regardless
of the order of business, make sure the agenda is specific. For example, the phrase
"development budget" doesn't tell very much, whereas the longer explanation "to discuss the
proposed reduction of the 2002-2003 development budget in light of our new product
postponement" helps all committee members prepare in advance with facts and figures.

Agendas also help you start and end your meetings on time. Starting and ending on time
sends a signal of good organisation and allows attendees to meet other commitments.
Another important use of the agenda is to move the meeting forward. This means you have
to stick to it. People often get off track, either by design or because of distractions. When
they do, a good agenda and an effective leader will bring them back in line.
In short, a productive agenda should answer these key questions:
What do we need to do in this meeting to accomplish our goals?
What conversations will be of greatest importance to all the participants?
What information must be available in order to have these conversations?

3. The items on the agenda

1. Welcome
2. Confirmation of the Agenda
3. Minutes Meeting .. (date)
4. Announcements
5. Mail Received
6. The main items on the agenda, e.g. merger, take over, new company name, etc. Usually
a number of these items appear on the agenda.
7. Any Other Business (AOB)
8. (Unscheduled Questions)
9. Date Next Meeting
10. End of Meeting

4. Note taking/ Minutes

Whether you are attending a meeting or conducting a telephone conversation, in each of
these situations you may want to take notes as a way of remembering the most important
information. Your notes form the basis to the minutes of a meeting and the minutes are a
record of the main points which have emerged during the discussion and the decisions
taken. Therefore your notes will have to be fairly detailed. Write clearly, but your notes do not
have to be in sentence form; short phrases and even single words are sometimes enough.
Use abbreviations if they will help and always re-read your notes immediately after the
meeting.

A procedure for note taking and summarising is as follows:
1. Formulate an appropriate subject heading for the minutes;
2. Study the information you have gathered and identify how many topics the meeting
covered;
3. Give accurate subheadings for each of the topics;
4. For each topic, identify the main points made;
5. Summarise your information by asking yourself for each detail:
- Is this relevant?
- Is this piece of information essential in understanding the line of argument?

5. Writing minutes

Minutes should include:

the date, time and place of the meeting;
the names of those present and their occupations;
items arranged chronologically;
clear and complete information;
the past tense;
passive constructions (see appendix);
reported speech (no direct speech!!, see appendix).

6. Format of the Minutes

1. The heading gives the name of the committee or body with the date of the meeting,
together with the place and time.

Example: Minutes of the Branch Committee Meeting held in the Board Room
at 6.30 p.m. on 10 February 201

2. The Names of the attendees in alphabetical order, with the name of the chairman first.

Example: Present: Mrs M. Jones - Chairperson
Mr G. Anderson - Supply Manager of AVANS
Ms C. de Vries - Managing Director AVANS
Etc.

3. Items on the agenda should include essential points discussed at the meeting:
(see p. 5 for the exact items on the agenda)

4. Body of the meeting
This is the detailed record of the important decisions. Generally the order should be the
same as that laid down in the agenda.

5. The time at which the meeting ended is often recorded after the last item of business.

Example: Mrs Jones closed the meeting at 15.12 p.m.
Or: There being no further business the meeting ended at .
Or: As there was no other business Mrs Jones thanked everyone for their
attendance and closed the meeting at .

6. Signature: Minutes should be signed by both the secretary and the chairperson.

Example: Secretary Chair(person)


Mr D. Note Mrs M. Jones


7. Example of Minutes

Minutes of a Meeting of Heads of Department Held in the Board Room at 2 p.m. on 4
February 201

Present: Dr H. Lowery - Chairman
Mr W. Aldred - Head Art Department
Mrs G. Andrews - Head Modern Languages Department
Mrs L.A. Brazier - Head Maths Department
Mr H. Cooper - Head Science Department
Mr W. Godfrey - Secretary

Apologies: No apologies for absence were received.

Agenda: 1. Welcome
2. Confirmation of the Agenda
3. Minutes of the meeting of 5 January 201
4. Announcements
5. Mail Received: request for use of the college swimming pool
6. Course in Motor Engineering
7. Any Other Business
8. Date Next Meeting
9. End of Meeting


objective: a. reach an agreement on extension swimming pool facilities for Camford High
School
b. decide on a course in Motor Engineering

1. Welcome
The chairman opened the meeting and welcomed everybody present.

2. Confirmation of the Agenda
The chairman confirmed the agenda for this meeting and did not have any items to add.

3. Minutes of the meeting of 5 January 201
The minutes of the last meeting were read and approved, and signed by the chairman.

4. Announcements
The chairman announced the construction of an extension to the existing building at the
current location and expressed the hope that the extension would put an end to the problems
related to the lack of space for lecturers and students. Many of the participants supported
him and expressed their wish that the number of computer rooms would also increase.

5. Mail Received
The chairman reported that he had received a request from the Camford High School for use
of the college swimming pool on an additional half day a week as from the beginning of next
term. As this matter required a speedy response, it was discussed. To grant the request
would involve some rearrangement of departmental time-tables and some objections were
raised as the extra half day would involve appointing extra staff and people wondered who
would be financially responsible. Mr. Jukes explained that a new financial contract could be
drawn up and be sent to the high school representative for approval. Another point of
discussion was whether this extra half-day would not interfere with the college swimming
team activities, but as the team trained early in the morning, interference was not expected.
Mrs Andrews proposed to grant permission provided the financial contract was agreed on by
Camford High School and Mrs Brazier seconded. It was AGREED that existing swimming
facilities granted to the Camford High School be extended to include Tuesday mornings as
from the beginning of the next term. Mr. Godfrey would take care of the arrangements.

6. Course in Motor Engineering
Mr Cooper reported that he had been in touch with the local Trades Council and the local
branch of the Employers' Federation and that both welcomed the proposal to offer a course
in motor engineering and would give it full support. There was discussion on workshop
accommodation for the course, during which Mr Aldred offered to give up one of his drawing
offices in the workshop block in exchange for a classroom in the college main building. Mr
Cooper said he could provide the classroom and proposed, and Mr Aldred seconded, and it
was AGREED that the new course should be offered when the college reopened after the
summer vacation. However, proposals for the new course curriculum and staff should be
handed in before April 1
st
. Mr Cooper promised to deal with this matter and send proposals
to all staff members.

7. Any Other Business
The secretary reported that arrangements were well in hand for the forthcoming staff dinner
arranged for 24 April;
Mr Cooper informed the attendees that the schools science team, consisting of four 3
rd

year engineering students, had won the annual interregional college science award for its
innovating changes on the shopping cart;
Mrs Andrews informed the meeting of a debating match with Johnston College to be held in
March. Further details would be given at the next meeting.
The head of the Art Department commented on the renovation project at his department.
After some drawbacks the renovation proceeded as planned and he expected the project to
be finished on time for the student graduation ball at the end of May.

8. Date of the Next Meeting
The next meeting will be held in the Board Room at 2.00 pm. on 5 March 201...

9. End of Meeting
There being no further business the meeting ended at 3.30 pm.

Secretary Chairman


W. Godfrey H. Lowery