5. Duties of members (attendees, participants) at a meeting

A) Before the meeting

1. Read all papers

2. Prepare, if appropriate, own supporting papers

B) During the meeting

3. Attend on time

4. Make disciplined contributions

5. Take note of decisions made and action required

C) After the meeting

6. Carry out any action required and if necessary report back

Meeting business etiquette. When in a business meeting, it is important to remember the etiquette:

• Be courteous and thoughtful to the people around you

• Address conflict on a business level as opposed to attacking the person

• Apologize when you are wrong

• Avoid raising your voice, using harsh and derogatory language or interrupting.

6. Teleconferencing

T eleconferencing is electronic communication between people, who are in separate locations. Teleconferences, or distant meetings, are held by means of IT. There are three basic types of teleconferencing:

• Audio-conferencing – verbal communication via telephone (telephone conference calls).

• Video conferencing – television-like communication augmented with sound (on-line video conferencing);

• Computer conferencing – printed communication through keyboard terminals (e-mail and Internet messages).

Advantages of teleconferencing

• Many people can participate in meetings, and they can give more ideas and points of view;

• Communication between the home office and field staffs is maximised

• It saves an agency time and travel costs.

• It saves people money, travel time, transportation cost.

7. International meetings

International meetings are an area where cultural differences between professionals can and do clash. In some countries, a meeting is used for consultation and discussion. In others, meetings are used primarily to present the boss’s opinion or transmit corporate directives. In some cultures, meetings will follow a carefully organized plan, while in others they depend on the issues raised or the people involved.

In Japan the chairperson’s role is to achieve a consensus of opinion. This often involves the chairperson withdrawing from the proceedings to allow participants to work their way slowly towards a solution. In the US, however, the chairperson is expected to drive the meeting to an agreement using charisma and force of personality.

In Russian meetings, do not be surprised if the chairperson allows angry exchange or even a walkout by some participants. These actions are usually a ploy and do not constitute a breakdown. It is common practice for the “protesters” to re-enter a meeting and resume the discussion.

Western meetings generally run to a tight schedule with an organised, pre-planned agenda. Meetings are for business. After a few pleasantries in the meeting room, the common term in the West is ‘Let’s get down to business’. Other cultures see the meeting as the arena for building personal relationships and strengthening bonds. Getting down to business comes further down the priority list.

Time

Not all cultures live by the clock. In time orientated cultures such as the British or Germans, the start time, finishing time and all the different stages of a meeting will be planned carefully. Other cultures will see the start time as an approximation, the finish time as non-fixed and all the different stages in between as flexible.

In France, Italy and Spain, it would be considered rude to broach the issues immediately; it is seen as much more civilized to ease into the subject after exchanging pleasantries, which can last from 10 minutes to half an hour. In Japan, there is almost a fixed period that has to elapse before the senior person begins the meeting.

In some cultures, such as Australia, Germany and China, it’s considered rude to keep someone waiting for a business meeting. But in other countries, such as the United Arab Emirates, France, Spain, Russia and Kazakhstan, punctuality is not considered a virtue and is often treated casually, so you may be kept waiting before or during your meeting.