Unit 11 Meetings Choose the best summary Listening You’ll hear some extracts from a staff meeting at Rainbow Products plc. Choose the best summary of each extract below. The first is done for you as an example. MINUTES a) The consensus of the meeting was that 4500 was a realistic target. One member disagreed. b) It was agreed that 4500 was a realistic target. Mr. Green stated that he was not convinced. c) Mr. Green said the target of 4500 was not acceptable. Ms. White disagreed. √ 2. a) Miss Gray disagreed with Mr. Brown that the new product range should be marketed in the same colors as before. b) Mr. Brown disagreed with Miss Gray that the new product range should include two new colors. c) It was agreed that the new product range would be marketed in the same colors as before. a) Mrs. Scarlet agreed to investigate the cost of employing an outside agency to prepare publicity literature. b) Mr. Black insisted that an outside agency should be employed to prepare publicity literature. c) It was agreed that publicity literature prepared in-house was not of a high standard. a) Ms. Pink offered to draw up guidelines on the training of staff. b) It was agreed that staff in some sections needed training in the use of the computer. c) It was pointed out that Mr. Gold’s staff were afraid of using the computer. a) Mrs. Bright agreed to prepare a handout on her staff’s responsibilities and send Mr. Dark a copy. b) Mr. Dark complained about the attitude of office services staff and demanded a full official description of their responsibilities. c) The matter of the attitude of office services staff was raised. Mrs. Bright agreed to have a word with two members of her staff. 11.2 About this meeting… Listening & note-taking You’ll hear two recorded messages about this meeting: Meeting on Friday 13 April to 4.30, including lunch Venue: Conference Room at Rainbow Products, Head Office Listen to the recording and make notes on the main points that are made. The first one is begun for you as an example. To Mr Hanson Ingrid Muster called from Berlin. Problem with flights: ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________To 11.2 AT… and by… Fill the gaps in these sentences with prepositional phrases from the list below. The first is done for you as an example. We shouldn’t change the venue of the meeting at such short notice. The letter we were waiting for has arrived __________. It wasn’t done intentionally, it happened __________. Unfortunately, we were obliged to resell the goods __________ There are __________ ten good reasons why we shouldn’t do that. As a special favor, we can supply the goods __________ plus 10%. Because we are clearing our stocks we can let you have the old model __________ of $14.99. Please reply at once __________. There’s no hurry, you can let us know __________ later in the month. Please return the goods and they will be repaired __________. We can certainly supply you with these goods__________. Fortunately, we were able to resell our old equipment __________. The components are being sent to Sydney __________ and they’ll be collected from the airport by our agent. My office is __________ while you’re here. Please send the documents to us __________. 11.3 Decision-making Vocabulary Add the missing words to the following sentences. Every meeting needs an __________. The secretary keeps the __________. A __________ voted in favor of introducing flexible working hours. A __________ was passed at the meeting to approve the plans. How many people are going to __________ the meeting? A meeting needs a __________ to lead the discussion. Before the main meeting we had a short __________meeting. At 11.30 we decided to __________ for lunch. Mrs. White will address the meeting on my__________. Let me know what the __________ of the meeting is. I have a __________ to make. A __________ voted against introducing flexible working hours. No one voted against-the decision was__________. Mr. Grey has __________ that we take a break for coffee. There are a few more __________ items to discuss. Thank you very much, everyone. I think that __________ our meeting. But before we close the meeting: is there __________? 11.4 Games people play at meetings Reading Games people play at meetings Do you ever feel as though you spend all your time in meetings? Henry Mintzberg, in his book The Nature of Managerial Work, found that in large organizations managers spent 22 percent of their time at their desk, 6 percent on the telephone, 3 percent on other activities, but a whopping 69 percent in meetings. There is a widely-held but mistaken belief that meetings are for “solving problems” and “making decisions”. For a start, the number of people attending a meeting tends to be inversely proportional to their collective ability to reach conclusions and make decisions. And these are the least important elements. Instead hours are devoted to side issues, playing elaborate games with one another. It seems, therefore, that meetings serve some purpose other than just making decisions. All meetings have one thing in common: role-playing. The most formal role is that of chairman. He (and it is usually a he) sets the agenda, and a good chairman will keep the meeting running on time and to the point. Sadly, the other, informal, role-players are often able to gain the upper hand. Chief is the “constant talker”, who just loves to hear his or her own voice. Then there are the “can’t do” types who want to maintain the status quo. Since they have often been in the organization for a long time, they frequently quote historical experience as a ploy to block change: “It won’t work, e tried that in 1984 and it was a disaster.” A more subtle version f the “can’t do” type, the “yes, but…”, has emerged recently. They have learnt about the need to sound positive, but they still can’t bear to have things change. Another whole sub-set of characters are people who love meetings and want them to continue until 5.30 pm or beyond Irrelevant issues are their specialty. They need to call or attend meetings, either to avoid work, or to justify their lack of performance, or simply because they do not have enough to do. Then there are the “counter-dependents”, those who usually disagree with everything that is said, particularly if it comes from the chairman or through consensus from the group. These people need to fight authority in whatever form. Meetings can also provide attenders with a sense of identification of their status and power. In this case, managers arrange meetings as a means of communicating to others the boundaries of their exclusive club who is “in”, and who is not. A popular game is pinching someone else’s suggestions. This is where someone, usually junior of female, makes an interesting suggestion early in the meeting which is not picked up. Much later, the game is played, usually by some more senior figure who propounds the idea as his own. The suggestion is of course identified with the player rather than the initiator. Because so many meetings end in confusion and without a decision, another more communal game is played at the end of meetings, called reaching a false consensus. Since it is important for the chairman to appear and making a decision, the group reaches a false consensus. Everyone is happy, having spent their time productively. The reality is that it is never acted upon, or, if it is, there is continuing conflict, for which another meeting is necessary. In the end, meetings provide the opportunity for social intercourse, to engage in battle in front of our bosses, to avoid unpleasant or unsatisfying work, to highlight our social status and identity. They are, in fact, a necessary though not necessarily productive psychological sideshow. Perhaps it is our civilized way of moderating, it not preventing, change. Decide whether these statements are true or false, according to the article. According to Henry Mintzberg, managers spend most of their working time having meetings. __________ According to him, the purpose of meetings is to solve problems and make decisions. __________ At a meeting every person is playing a role. __________ The writer mentions eight roles that people play at meetings. __________ A ‘can’t do’ type is in favour of tradition and against new ideas. __________ People who aren’t invited to meetings are regarded as less important by those who do attend. __________ It’s normally junior people who steal other people’s ideas at meetings. __________ Men at meetings no longer treat women as inferiors. __________ Even when no definite decisions are made at a meeting, the people often leave thinking the meeting has been useful. __________ The writer believes that meetings are a waste of time and prevent changes being made. __________ References 11.1 Choose the best summary The best summaries are: 2. b 3. a 4. b 5. c Transcript: Mr. Green: Er… if I could come in here… Chairman: Yes, Mr. Green? Mr. Green: I’d just like to say that the targets that Jim suggests would be unacceptable to my people. I mean, I can’t see that a level of 4500 is realistic. I’m sure Ms. White would agree. Ms. White: Well, no actually it seems to me that 4.5 thousand for the year is quite easily achievable. We had a 22% increase in turnover last quarter, after all. I think the others would agree with that. Others: Mmm! Oh yes. Miss Grey: I’d say that the important thing for us to agree on first in the colors we’ll be offering in the new product range. There’s a contradiction between the reports we’ve been getting from our marketing interviews and from what Mr. Brown suggests. The people we talked to found both the orange and yellow prototypes very appealing. I’d like to know why Mr. Brown thinks that we should stick to last year’s colors. Chairman: Mr. Brown? Mr Brown: I resent the tone of Miss Grey’s question there. She seems to think that interviews with potential customers should govern our entire policy when it comes to color. It’s well known that tastes change very rapidly when it comes to this aspect of a product. My suggestion is based on 23 years in this business and I think I know what I’m talking about. Besides, manufacturing the product in two new colors would increase our production costs by approximately 4.5% Miss Grey: I see, I didn’t realize that. Chairman: All right, well let’s leave it there, shall we? Mr. Black: if we’re going to spend that much on promotional literature, we need to make sure we’re getting a good quality product. Mrs. Scarlet: How do you mean, Mr. Black? Mr. Black: Well, Mrs. Scarlet, the leaflets we’ve had done so far have been designed by our own publicity department. And quite frankly, they don’t look professional enough. Mrs. Scarlet: I think they’ve been doing quite a good job. And do you have any idea how much contracting this out would cost? Mr. Black: Well, no I don’t, but maybe we should find out. Chairman: Mrs. Scarlet, would you be prepared to do that? Mrs. Scarlet: But… Yes. All right. Chairman: Fine, next… Ms. Pink: I think staff training should take preference in this case. Chairman: Yes, well thank you, Ms Pink, Mr. Gold you don’t agree? Mr. Gold: No, not at all. In my experience, staff training is just an excuse for time-wasting. If anyone needs to find out anything they can do that on the job, when they need to. Ms. Pink: All right, with new documentation procedures, that may be true but half the staff in your section have no idea how the computer works. Mr. Gold: They know as much as they need to know. Ms. Pink: But if they knew more, they could make it work for them instead of regarding it as a piece of technical equipment. Mr. Gold: We could give it a try, I suppose. Chairman: Well, perhaps you could draw up some guidelines, Ms Pink? Chairman: Yes, Mr. Dark? Mr. Dark: I’d like to raise a point about office services. Chairman: Yes. Mr. Dark: As you all know, we have a gig turnover of staff in our section. And a number of our new staff has come to me very upset recently. I had one girl in tears yesterday. The problem is that if they want someone in office services to do anything for them, the have to know exactly who to ask. I mean, it’s easy for the old hands-they’ve learnt who’s in charge of what. But if you approach the wrong person there, you just get a sarcastic or a superior answer and no hope at all. I think that Mrs. Bright should talk to her people and tell them to be more considerate. And it would be a big help if she should draw up a clear handout explaining who is responsible for what. It’s just not fair, otherwise. Ms. Bright: Goodness, I think you’re over-reacting, Mr. Dark. It was probably Shirley or Ted again. But if you think it’ll help I’ll have a word with them. Once you get to know them they’re very nice, they just seem fierce. And we already have a handout like the one you describe. If you haven’t got a copy, I’ll send you one. Mr. Dark: Thank you, Ms Bright. About this meeting… Model messages To Mr. Hanson Ingrid Muster called from Berlin. Problem with flights: won’t arrive till Friday 2.30. Apologies but unavoidable. But meeting can continue in evening. Please inform your people. She’s bringing Peter- he’s done all the research, so best person to put everyone in picture. Please book 2 rooms at the Royal Hotel for night of 13th and cancel booking for night of 12th. To Linda Taylor Tim Hanson called re meeting on Friday 13th. Time changed because Ingrid can’t get flight from Berlin. New time: 2.30 instead of 10.30. but lunch is still on and you’re welcome to join them. Please call Mrs Burrows on 345 0982 to confirm whether joining them for lunch or not. Meeting will go on at least till 6, probably longer, so you may need to book hetel room. You can do this or call Mrs Burrows to do this for ou. Any problems, call Mrs Burrows. Or call Mr Hanson at home this evening on 778 8021. Transcript: Ingrid Muster: This is Ingrid Muster (INGRID MUSTER) calling from Berlin. Can you tell Mr. Hanson that I’ve had a problem with flights? The one I was going to book on is full --- there’s a big football match on apparently. So, the earliest I can make it on Friday is 2.30. I’m sorry about this, but there’s nothing I can do. It does mean we can continue the meeting as long as we like into the evening, though. Can you let your people know, please? I know that Linda has to travel down from Glasgow that day- at least she won’t have to set off quite so early. The other thing is, I’d like to bring Peter with me, if that’s all right, yes? He’s done all the research on this project, so he’s really the best person to put everyone into the picture. Can you book us both into the Royal Hotel for the night of the 13th and cancel my booking for the night of the 12th? Tim Hanson: Hello, this is Tim Hanson. I’d like you to give a message to Linda Taylor about the meeting on Friday the 13th. The thing is we’ve had to change it because Ingrid can’t get a flight from Berlin. So the new time is 2.30 instead of 10.30. But the lunch is still on and Linda is welcome to join us for that-if she wants to. Could she call Mrs. Burrows (BURROWS) on 345 0982 to confirm whether she will be joining us for lunch or not? Ah, and the meeting will go on at least till 6, probably longer, so maybe Linda will need to book a hotel room. She can do this herself, or again, she could call Mrs. Burrows to do this for her. Ingrid and Peter are staying at the Royal, near the station. If that’s full, the er… the Imperial nearby is good. If there are any problems, call Mrs. Burrows. Or you can get me at home this evening on 778 8021. OK? At… and by… at last by accident at a loss at least at cost price at a bargain price by fax/by e-mail by letter at our expense at a good price at a profit by air at your disposal by return of post/mail Decision-making agenda minutes majority motion attend chairperson preliminary adjourn behalf outcome proposal minority unanimous suggested miscellaneous concludes 17. any other business 11.5 Games people play at meetings True: 1 3 5 6 9 False: 2 4 (six roles are mentioned ) 7 8 10