Meetings and Business Improvements, Essay Example

Referencing from the interview undergone with Shaffran, it could be analyzed that his thoughts about meetings and the vitality they play in organizations are relatively connected to the actual situations that define such encounters. Meetings are of course one of the most important aspects of development that provides any organization a chance to see through its current situation and be able to decide on what needs to be done in relation to such occurrences through getting ample support from the members. Notably though, even though it is the most important aspect of organizational foundation, it is most often than not the most disliked part of operation by most members. The reason behind this fact is outlined by Shaffran himself in the interview.

Three of some of the points mentioned by the interviewee are include meetings being too lengthy, meetings being out of the point, and meetings being manipulated by people who have personal stresses, which affect their thinking and creativity as a whole. Relatively, meetings are held in organizations in the aim of establishing new developmental procedures that the whole company could embrace. The three points mentioned herein however serve as hindrances to the accomplishments that meetings ought to take as the end-result of the said organizational operation.

The first point referring to the length of the delivery of the meeting is dependent on the fact that there are instances when meetings are overly prepared for with too many extra reports presented to the board [or the members of the organization asked to attend] that are expected to lead to the main issue to be considered. Relatively though, some of these reports could be useful, however avoiding clutter of such presentations could lessen the time spent on meetings by at least 50% hence making each operation less ‘boring’. Unfocused attention to the actual situation to be resolved becomes the result of such ‘information clutter’ which is the second point referred to by Shaffran. The third point is more on the stress that builds up among the attendees of the meeting. Besides the fact that these individuals have their own sources of personal stress, the issues that are presented during the meeting aggravate the situation. It is because of this that they lose their creativity making the decision-making procedures in such operations less productive and less efficient in many terms.

With the focus of the mind, heart and personal presence in meetings, organizations often suffer cluttered results of final decision, which at some point creates both tension and deep distinction on the poor future that awaits the business under the hands of unproductive leaders. Remarkably, the need to change the atmosphere of meetings is important. As Shaffran himself suggests, the need to be more focused is essential. Having less clutter of information among the reports presented for the attendees also lessens the time that the people need to spend in the meeting. This approach is expected to make each meeting more productive as the information presented is more centralized on the problem that is being resolved by the organization.

Being able to develop the behavior of the members of the board or the members of the organization as a whole would enable every organization to take their own chances in the process of developing and progressing towards effective business operations. However, to do this, the need to make meetings more productive with lesser time consumed is vital. Through the help of technology, proper tools for communicating records and reports during meetings and the creation of a centralized information presented for the sake of the attendees, meetings are expected to develop further for the creation of best results for the business as a whole.

References:

Interview on July 20, 2005 with Cliff Shaffran.

Schuman, S. (Editor). The IAF Handbook of Group Facilitation: Best Practices from the Leading Organization in Facilitation, (2005) Jossey-Bass.

Schuman, S. (Editor). Creating a Culture of Collaboration, (2006) Jossey-Bass

Seifert, Josef W. Visualisation – Presentation – Facilitation: Translation of the German Classic Gabal, Offenbach 2012.