Meetings

Abstract

‘Meetings, Bloody Meetings’ is the title of a well-known training film produced by Video Arts Ltd, and it may well be shown to you on your course. Its title sums up the attitude of many people to what is an essential feature of working life — namely, meetings. Managers may spend as much as fifty per cent of their working lives engaged in meetings of various types. It is usually the case that the more senior people are, the more meetings they have to attend. We need to ask why meetings are so essential. The rationale for working with others in meetings of all types is based on the following:

• They enable people to pool ideas.

• They are means of settling disputes.

• They can bring conflict into the open.

• They enable consensus to be reached.

• They co-ordinate activities.

• They are a means of informing others.

• They offer opportunities for participation in decision-making.

• They are a useful vehicle to test out ideas before implementation.

• They are a vehicle for accountability.

• They are a means of formulating policies.