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Types
of Meetings
-
formal, such as a board meeting attended by the chairman and board of directors of a company or a shareholders' Annual General Meeting required by law, or
-
informal, attended by managers and their assistants.
Every
meeting, whether formal or informal, should have a Chairperson, who will
chair and generally direct proceedings in the meeting and a Secretary who
will take notes of decisions arrived at during the meeting.
Agenda
The
topics for a committee to discuss are set out beforehand in the form of an
Agenda which is distributed to the members expected to attend the meeting
(usually two weeks in advance).
An Agenda is set out in the following order, and the minutes of the
meeting normally reflect the items on the agenda:
1.
Apologies for absence
Apologies
are taken from those who are unable to attend the meeting.
The apology will have either been advised in advance to the
Secretary or communicated to another member on the committee.
2.
Minutes of the last meeting
The
minutes of the previous meeting are approved at this stage. If any member believes the minutes do not fairly or
accurately reflect the decisions taken, amendments are put forward.
When the minutes are approved they are signed by the Chairperson.
3.
Matters arising from the
minutes
Any
matters arising from the minutes, such as actions taken as a result of
decisions taken during the meeting, are put forward.
4. Correspondence
(if applicable)
If
the committee deals directly with incoming and outgoing correspondence an
agenda item exists to this effect.
5.
Other
matters to be discussed
These
are normally numbered individual items.
Members will know in advance what these matters are, and will
normally contribute extensively to the discussion.
6.
Any
other business
This
allows matters not on the agenda
to be discussed. These are
items of only minor importance, but if they are considered important they
will most certainly be items in the agenda of a subsequent meeting.
7.
Date,
time and place of next meeting
It is customary to decide the date and time of the next meeting prior to the meeting being concluded.
Notice
The
Agenda of a meeting is normally communicated to the members together with
a Notice of the meeting. The
Notice is placed at the top of the document, and will read:
Committee
Meeting of [The Malta Kennel Club] to be held in the [Committee Room] of
[Kennel Club (Msida)] on [Thursday 30th November 2000] at [1600hrs]
It
is normally the secretary's responsibility to organise the arrangements
required for a meeting.
Well
before
a meeting
•
Room must be
booked for the length of time required
•
Notice of
meeting and agenda circulated
•
Copies of
minutes circulated
•
Refreshments (eg.
coffee, tea, biscuits) arranged
•
Cards with
names of committee members prepared (if needed)
•
Visual aids
(projector, flip charts) ordered.
Immediately
before
a meeting
•
Telephone calls
rerouted and arrangements made for all callers to be handled by someone
else.
•
Notice on door:
MEETING IN PROGRESS - Please do not disturb
•
Supplies of
paper, pencils around the table for members to take notes.
During a
meeting
•
Secretary takes
apologies for absence and circulates the attendance register.
•
Secretary takes
notes of the decisions which are reached together with names of peoples
involved in them.
After
the meeting
•
Files,
documents, minute book, and attendance register are collected and removed.
•
Rough notes
left behind should be thrown away, in some cases shredded.
•
Room must be
left tidy, the notice on door removed.
Terms
used in connection with meetings
There
are many terms used in connection with meetings.
Here is a list (reproduced from Office Skills, by Thelma Foster) of
some commonly used terms:
ad hoc committee, a special purpose
committee.
adjournment, postponement of completion of business, or
meeting.
ballot, a secret vote.
co-option, an invitation to someone to serve on a committee
because of specialist knowledge.
ex ufficio, by virtue of office, an ex officio member is entitled to sit on a committee because of
another position he or she holds.
hon sec, honorary secretary - an unpaid secretary.
lie on the table, a motion that a
particular matter should 'lie on the table' means that it is discussed and
finalised at a later date.
motion, a proposal put forward at a meeting.
The mover of the motion is called the proposer and the supporter is
called the seconder.
nem. con., Means 'no one dissenting', i.e. no votes are
cast against a motion although some members may have abstained from
voting.
quorum, the minimum number of members who must be present
at a meeting to make it valid, as laid down in the regulations of the
organisation.
rider, an addition to a resolution after it has been
passed. It adds to, not
alters the sense of, a resolution.