1. M ANAGEMENT S KILLS Meetings

2. W HAT ARE M EETINGS ? Business meetings occur when two or more people get together to communicate with each other. They can be formal, or informal.

3. R EASONS FOR MEETINGS Information To give and receive information about a particular problem. Problem solving To discuss and solve a problem Co-operation To develop co-operation and facilitate co-ordination between different groups of people, e.g. departments in a firm

4. R EASONS FOR MEETINGS Decision making To provide a forum for making decisions, e.g. board meeting Exchange opinions To give people an opportunity to exchange opinions with others Legal requirements To adhere to legal requirements, e.g. a company must hold an AGM

5. C HARACTERISTICS OF A V ALID M EETING Agenda All persons entitled to attend the meeting must receive a notice and agenda giving notification of the date, time, place and reason for the meeting Notice A minimum number of days notice must be given to those entitled to attend. Secretary The meeting must be called by someone with the authority to do so.

6. C HARACTERISTICS OF A V ALID M EETING Elect Chairperson A chairperson must be elected to chair the meeting. Quorum A quorum must be present. This is the minimum number of people who must be present before the meeting can commence. Minutes The minutes of the previous meeting should be read by the secretary and proposed for adoption.

7. T HE C HAIRPERSON The chairperson is appointed to run the meeting and has the following duties: Convene meeting: to ensure that meetings are properly convened. Quorum: To ensure that a quorum is present before the meeting commences. Keep Order: To keep order at the meeting. Follow Agenda: To follow the agenda and discuss each topic in the correct order. Discussion: to allow speakers a reasonable time to make their views known and to call on a fair proportion from each side to speak. Vote: To put motions to a vote, organise election, and announce results. Casting Vote: To use his or her casting vote to resolve a tied situation.

8. T HE S ECRETARY The secretary has the following duties: Call Meeting: To call meetings by sending out the notice and agenda to all members. Keep Minutes: To take notes at meetings and write up the minutes. Arrangements: To make all necessary arrangements for meetings including photocopying, audio-visual equipment, etc. Read Minutes: To read the minutes at the beginning of the meeting. Correspondence: To deal with all correspondence relating to the meeting.