UNIT 11: Meetings
11.1
A.
• What seems to be happening in each photo? What do you think the people might be talking about?
Aperantlly they are having a buisness meeting, and according to their expressions I think they might be discussing possible problems, and arranging solutions.
• Wich of these meetings would you feel the most confortable taking part in? give your reasons.
I would prefer taking part in the first meeting, everyone seems very interested and cooperative in the meeting, and they are obiously all in the same page.
• Wich of them is the most unlike the meetings you have attended? Why is this the case?
Probably the second meeting where there are only two people, I am more used to having a lot of people attending the meeting.
• How long do you spend in meeting in an average week?
We have meeting only once a month, and they are very short.they take aproxematly
About two or three hours and we talk about almost everything that goes on in the month.
D.
What “golden rules” can you suggest to make sure meetings are successful?
• Pay very good attention to everyones comments and take notes. If you you can even tape the meeting.
What advice would you give to someone who feels too shy to speek their mind at meeting?
• Have a bottle of water close to you at all time.
hold something in your hand, maybe a coin or a small ball.
Be calm, if it’s a buissnes meeting you should know that your everyday well being depends on how you control situations like these.
11.3
B. Different kinds of meetings
B. What kind of meeting is the best way of dealing with each one?
a) A one-to-one meeting of two of the people involved
b) A meeting of four or five of the people involved
c) A meeting of about ten of the people involved
d) A meeting of everyone involved
e) No meeting: one person should decide what to do and then inform everyone by phone or by sending out a memo.
• A large, influential customer continually pays late. Your sales manager and credit controller have politely and repeatedly complained but this hasn’t made any difference. The time has come to decide what to do about this.
R. A meeting of four or five of the people involved.
• In a small factory the older workers are ignoring safety rules and encouraging the younger ones to do the same. Some of these rules may be excessively cautious and the older workers’ production rates are very good.
R. A meeting about the people involved.
• In a medium-sized factory, groups of workers operate as teams. One group has been getting poorer results than the other teams and verbal warnings have had no effect.
R. A one on one meeting of two of the people involved.
• The firm is having a bad year and it will probably be necessary to make five members of the office staff redundant. The normal policy is “last in - first out”.
R. No meeting: one person should decide what to do and then inform everyone by phone or by sending out a memo.
• Someone has been leaking information about your firm’s product to your competitor. It may be a member of your staff or one of your preferred suppliers.
R. A meeting of about ten of the people involved.
• The board requires a report on your department’s long-term plans over the next ten years.
R. No meeting: one person should decide what to do and then inform everyone by phone or sending out a memo.
• The territories covered by your sales force have been unchanged for ten years. A revision of the boundaries might make the team more efficient.
R. A meeting of everyone involved.
• There is to be a company picnic next month and everything has to be planned and organized.
R. A meeting of about ten of the people involved.
11.4
We need to have a meeting
Look at these opinions about meetings. Put a tick ✔ beside the opinions you share and a cross x beside the ones you disagree with.
• The purpose of most meetings is to decide when the next one will take place. x
• A meeting is a group of people who can decide nothing alone and who decide together that nothing can be done. x
• It’s better to send everyone a memo about a new procedure that to have a meeting about it. ✔
• Meetings help everyone to feel personally involved in decision-making. ✔
• It’s better for the boss to make a decision that to have a meeting. x
• The most important person at a meeting is the chairperson. ✔
• The most important piece of paper at a meeting is the agenda. ✔
• Most meetings are unnecessary, they’re just a way of making people feel important. ✔
• It’s better to talk to each person individually than to call them all together for a meeting. x
• A meeting may be the only chance the members of a group actually have to see each other face-to-face. ✔
• Meetings lead to better decisions, because of the exchange of information and ideas. ✔
• You can never rely on the person who takes the minutes to tell the truth about what actually happened at a meeting. x
• More time is wasted during meetings than during any other business activity. x
