Page 262 - Business Principles and Management

Chapter 10 • Organizational Communications

FIGURE 10-5 Suggestions for Running Effective Meetings

1. Have a good reason for calling a meeting.
2. Develop a specific agenda and stick to it.
3. Decide who should and who should not attend.
4. Schedule the meeting at a convenient time and place.
5. Start and stop the meeting on time.
6. Encourage communications by arranging the seating so that
participants face one another.
7. Summarize the results at the end of the meeting.

to dominate, whereas a quiet person may say nothing. Neither situation is
desirable. The person who leads the meeting should encourage but control dis-
cussions, so that the group hears and discusses all ideas. Two methods used
to encourage group thinking and problem solving are the nominal group tech-
nique and brainstorming.

NOMINAL GROUP TECHNIQUE
The nominal group technique (NGT) is a group problem-solving method in
which group members write down and evaluate ideas to be shared with the
group. For example, assume a manager needs to solve a long-standing problem.
The manager begins by stating the problem and then follows the steps described
in Figure 10-6.
The NGT encourages each group member to think about the problem, and
it gives the quiet person and the outspoken person an equal opportunity to be
heard. Private voting encourages employees to choose the best solutions rather
than spend time defending their own suggestions. This technique has proven
very effective.

FIGURE 10-6 Steps in Using the Nominal Group Technique

1. Present the problem to be resolved to group members.
2. Distribute blank cards and, without discussion, ask members to write
possible solutions by using a different card for each solution.
3. Read solutions from the cards and display for all to see.
4. Discuss each solution listed.
5. Distribute blank cards and ask members to write their three best
solutions on separate cards.
6. Tabulate and display results.
7. Select the solution receiving the most agreement and present it to the
group leader.

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