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Participating in a small group discussion

We are all members of teams: in family groups, sports teams, community organisations and work groups. These teams can be large or small.

In workplaces today, more and more of us are working in teams—helping to raise the efficiency of an organisation, or solving workplace problems.

Why is it that some teams are enjoyable, while others don’t seem to work very well? Generally, the success of a team depends on the way members of the teams interact with each other, and how they communicate.

This module, Work Team Communication, looks at how teams work. Even if you are not able to take part in a work team project at the moment, the tasks in this module will help you develop skills in participating, cooperating, planning, following up on ideas and presenting the team’s decisions to others.

The module is divided into three sections: • participating in a small group discussion • cooperating with others to plan a presentation• presenting a report to a group.There are several activities in each section. Since you will be doing most of these activities by yourself, we provide comments and feedback after each one.

At the end of each section there are Check your progress exercises to reinforce what you have learnt. There is also a checklist in the Module review section so that you can tick off the competencies you have mastered.

A glossary and list of references are provided at the end of the module. These will help you

NCS004: Work Team Communication 1

continue to learn after you have completed this course.

2 NCS004: Work Team Communication

Before you start

The checklist below will help you think about your current skills, knowledge and attitudes related to working in teams. Think about the teams or groups you belong to now, then tick the column that best describes how you feel about each learning outcome. Highlight the outcomes that you feel you are weakest in. Keep these in mind as you work through the module.

If you feel you already have the skills needed for these learning outcomes, try the Check your progress exercises at the end of each section. If you already have most of the skills, you may need to only skim through the information and activities in the section.

A more detailed checklist of learning outcomes is included in the Module review.

Learning outcome I can do this

I can almost do this

I cannot do this yet

Section 1I can explain my own point of view without upsetting others.

I can run a meeting.I can speak clearly and can express myself to a group.

I can identify decisions made by a group and can follow them up.

Section 2I can work with others in a team to carry out tasks.I can divide a large task into several smaller parts.

I can support other team members in a positive way.


Section 3When I make a presentation to a group I can:• clearly describe the purpose

of the presentation• present the ideas clearly and

logically• use at least two types of

media (eg overheads, tapes video).


Section 1:Participating in a smallgroup discussion

Learning outcome

When you have completed this section you should be able to take part in a small group discussion and work with others to reach agreement on a workplace related issue.

The section is divided into eight units, each one covering a particular skill or area of knowledge. Each section contains useful information together with activities which help you practise new skills. Some of the activities are followed by comments, while in others you’ll be directed to the Suggested responses section at the back of this module where you will find sample answers and additional useful information.

Assessment criteria

You will have achieved this learning outcome when you can:• participate in a small group discussion

• describe the follow-up steps the group decides to take.


Introduction

‘Working in teams enables

people to contribute as part of

the process’,

Mr Stacey,

Blundstone Boots

Tasmania.

In this section we will describe what work teams are and why they exist. We will look at information from a variety of Australian companies and use a case study which describes a team working on an occupational health and safety issue in a company. You have probably spent some time working with others in teams already. We’d like you to collect information on teams too—sports teams, community groups, work teams—anything you and your friends belong to.

By seeing how others deal with issues, by reading the background material, doing the activities and exercises and studying the comments and suggested responses, you will develop skills in working as part of a team.

The following flow chart describes what you will learn.

Participating in a small group discussion


1.1 What is a work team?

Let’s begin by looking at what we mean by a work team.

A team is made up of a number of people who work together to achieve something. The group of people have a common goal or purpose. Probably the most important point about good teamwork is that there is joint action and cooperation.

A team is usually made up of three or more people. In workplaces, teams are often made up of between 6 and 12 people. Less than six is considered too small to get ideas flowing. More than 12 can lead to the group breaking up into two or three subgroups.

The most effective teams are made up of different kinds of people—people from different backgrounds who can contribute a variety of skills to the team.


Which teams do you belong to?

You may already belong to some groups even if you are not part of a work team.

If you play a team sport such as netball, football or tennis, you know that you are part of a team. You may also belong to some of the teams in this box:

• other sports team• political party• youth club• volunteer fire brigade• surf lifesaving club• a choir• organisations such as the Country Women’s

Association, Rotary, a craft group, a bird fanciers club

• voluntary organisations such as Meals-on-Wheels

Why are teams formed?

Some teams stay together for a long period of time. In the workplace these teams tend to work on production or administrative work, keeping an organisation running smoothly. For example, the accounts department is a team which processes your salary.

Other teams are formed simply to deal with one issue or a problem which has come up. The matter usually needs to be dealt with quite quickly. It may take several weeks, or even months to finish the project or solve the problem, but when it is finished or solved, the team’s work will be over. The team may then break up. The team you meet in our case study is one such team.

It doesn’t matter whether a team is formed to deal with one issue, or if it needs to stay together for a long time. Members of a team must be able to communicate well if they are to work well together.


Activity 1

Describe the work teams or community groups you belong to. (Think of about five, if possible.)

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_________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________

Underline the teams that could be called ‘work teams’. Put an asterisk beside the teams or groups in which you have a special job to do (eg answering letters, organising meetings, preparing for the next meeting).

Activity 1 comment

Have you listed a variety of groups? If you had trouble thinking of groups, look back at the box on the previous page. Since each group is different, you may have different jobs to do in each group.

?Think about how you joined your teams. Did someone ask you to join a particular team? Or did you choose a team and apply to join it?

Whatever way you join a team, you will find many advantages to working in one.


1.2 Why work in a team?

There are many benefits to be gained from teamwork. The two we will concentrate on are:• personal satisfaction• benefits to the community or workplace in

which the team operates.

Personal satisfaction

You may join a team to meet others, to share skills, to learn new skills or to enjoy the sense of belonging to a group. Being a member of a successful team can also increase your job prospects. Even when you join a team involuntarily (eg if someone else makes you join), you can gain personal satisfaction.

Here is what some people in Australian organisations say they have gained from being in a work team:


Benefits to the community or workplace

Over the past ten years there have been significant changes in the way work is done in Australia. These changes have been broadly called ‘Workplace reform’.

Ross Gittins, writing in the Sydney Morning Herald, described these changes in 1992 when he said:

There’s a sort of movement that’s taking over the thinking of our business people. It’s a business culture—a set of attitudes called Total Quality Management. The public should know about the existence of TQM because it’s gradually improving the performance of Australian businesses. It’s grounds for hope that we can survive and prosper; that things can get better and, indeed, are getting better.

Some of the effects of workplace reform have been the introduction of:• Best Practice programs, set up by the

government to increase Australia’s international competitiveness.

• Multiskilling, where people can learn to do a variety of jobs.

• Total Quality Management (TQM), where employees at all levels share responsibility for the quality of a product or service.


• Work teams.Here’s what three managers say about how their organis-ations have benefited from the introduction of work teams:

• Mr Brian Clough, a CIG Gas Cylinder trainer:Productivity is important to all of the staff. After all, everybody here is involved in running the business, and each person benefits financially if cylinder production is made more efficient. (Best Practice, 1993)

• Mr Stacey, from Blundstone Boots in Hobart, Tasmania: Working in teams ... enables people to contribute as part of the process, to take responsibility and be accountable... the system works like Total Quality Management and ... the workforce is very enthusiastic because the staff are so involved. (SMH, 11.2.93)

• And a supervisor at Arnott’s gives an example of a short term, single issue team:Last September we were having difficulty keeping up with the increased workload in export container loading. Two of our office staff took time out on a Saturday morning to help a colleague load a 40’ hi-cube container for our East Coast Agent. The company appreciates their effort. (The Arnott’s Herald)

Work teams have changed the nature of people’s jobs. Bosses no longer believe that they have to make all the decisions. Instead, the bosses are inviting workers at all levels to make suggestions for improving the efficiency and profitability of an organisation. Employees are being asked to share responsibility for entire projects, from initial planning to quality control and final delivery.

As a result, workers no longer do the same routine job for years at a time. They become ‘multi-skilled’, being trained in technical areas, management, accounting, customer care and communication.

To summarise, let’s look at the benefits of work teams in a diagram.


Activity 2


If you are not working at the moment, talk to some people who are. Find out what kinds of teams operate in their workplace. If you are working, look at teams in your own organisation.

Choose three work teams, if possible, and make notes in Table 1.

Table 1: Workplace teams

Question Team A Team B Team C

Name or describe each team.

How many people are there in each team?

What is the main issue for each team?

Are the issues long term or short term?

Are members of each team all from one section or are they mixed?

How did things work before teams were formed?

Do members feel that their team works well? In what ways?

Do they mention any problems?


Activity 2 comment

As you found in Activity 1, work teams vary a lot. You may have found, however, that most of the teams you looked at were set up to improve the efficiency of an organisation. Many of them may also be long-term teams. They probably had a mixture of members from different sections of the organisation.

On the whole, you will probably have said that your team works well. However, you may have described problems your team is having—perhaps because someone doesn’t cooperate, or because some people in the team are too bossy, too shy or too talkative.

We won’t try to solve these problems yet, but it will help you in later units of the module if you are aware of them.


1.3 What is a small groupdiscussion?

Team members communicate with one another in many different ways—in writing, in conversations and in formal meetings. When they have a problem to resolve, the most valuable form of communication will be a discussion of the problem. In a discussion, people talk over issues, considering a variety of points of view.

Characteristics of a good discussion

In a good discussion:• all the people taking part have respect for each

other. No-one is put down. Everyone has the right, as well as the chance, to say what they think, make suggestions, put forward ideas and think carefully about what other members of the group are saying;

• the members are cooperative. They work things out in a friendly, supportive way, listening to what other people are saying before making any comments—especially negative ones;

• the team meets to talk about things they have in common. The discussion is limited to the interests of the team;

• there is a clear focus with an expected outcome. The group will make decisions at the end of the discussion—or at least agree to meet again to finalise their decisions.

A discussion is not the same as a chat, an argument or a debate. These are different forms of communication and are used in different situations.

A chat is made up of informal talk about nothing in particular and, probably, everything in general. So discussion is not a chat.

In an argument people take opposing sides. Arguments often lead to disputes—definitely not the sort of thing we want in our discussions.

What about a debate? This might, under some conditions, be necessary in a team’s discussions. A


debate is a well-thought-out presentation of one side of a case by one person and the other side by another person. The winner of a debate is usually decided by a judge or by the audience.

Here’s a diagram that may help you remember the features of a small group discussion.

So, in summary, a discussion is limited and focused. The people involved in the discussion are cooperative and respectful. Keeping to the purpose of a discussion in an organised way helps team members reach agreement.

But, a word of warning. If the discussion is too limited the group might ignore other possibilities. We will look at ways to support a group discussion later in this section.


1.4 What is a workplace relatedissue?

Do you have a mental picture of a workplace such as an office, or a workshop or somewhere outdoors? Think about how many different kinds of workplaces there are. From the farm, where the farmer ploughs his field with no-one else in sight, to a factory full of machines, and even to the ticket counter at Alice Springs Airport, a workplace can be anywhere that people are busy producing a product or service. Generally, they are earning an income, but people who work as volunteers also have a workplace.

The photos below can only suggest the large range of workplaces we can find.

In these workplaces there could be many issues about a product, service or conditions of the workers.

What is a workplace issue?

A workplace issue is any important topic which needs to be discussed.

It may be a routine issue such as:• the quality of a product• machine maintenance


• customer service• safety precautionsor it could be something controversial, such as• asbestos in the ceiling• working conditions• price and quality of canteen food.The issue could be identified by management and followed up by a work team. Or a work team may identify its own issue and work on it.

Activity 3

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Think about the work team or group that you belong to.

Does your team face similar problems to the ones described in the articles?

If you are working, does your employer support your team?

Has your employer gained from the work of the team?

What have you gained from your participation in the work team?

A case study

Now let’s look at a case study: a workplace issue at the Sunny Days Cereal company.

As you follow the case study, think about how the people in this workplace group work together.

The case study begins on the next page.


Sunny Days Cereal Company

Characters in the case study


1.5 How are people different?

Different people bring different skills and experiences to a team. Team members also have different personalities—ie they behave differently.

Some psychologists say that there are nine basic personalities. These are: 1 The aggressive type 6 The uncooperative

type2 The positive type 7 The loner3 The know-it-all 8 The intellectual4 The chatterbox 9 The questioner5 The shy personHowever, people generally show a mixture of these personality types.

Activity 4

When you read the case study in the cartoons, you probably noticed that each person reacted to the asbestos problem in a different way. Let’s look at some of these people and think about how their personalities differ.

Using the personality types listed above as a guide, try to match a personality type to each of these Sunny Days staff members. Write the personality type below each character.

Tomek Paula


Phuong Sultana

Nathan Gina

Activity 4 comment

How did you choose a personality type for each of these people? You probably looked at the words they used and their general behaviour.

Tomek, for example, has an aggressive personality. He says 'you have to do something ...', 'you damn well know...’ and 'when we sue ...’. If you look carefully at frames 21 and 22 of the case study cartoon, you will notice that Tomek also uses fairly aggressive body language, leaning forward with his hands clenched. This can then affect the way other people interact with him. Although we can’t hear him speak, we would expect him to speak quite loudly and harshly.

Gina asks a lot of questions. Examples of her questioning personality can be seen in frames 15, 16, and 30. Phuong, on the other hand, is a loner. He has a job, he does his work and he really has no interest in the asbestos matter. He can’t see what the fuss is about. Look at frames 27 and 30 to see some of Phuong’s comments.

Paula is a good example of how people change in different situations. While she is uncooperative here, she may not always act like that. Her concern is that the asbestos issue has come up at the time that she is being considered for promotion. She doesn’t want her superiors to think that she is a troublemaker, so she is fairly uncooperative when her colleagues bring up the issue. Look at frames 8, 17, 28, and 45, and think about what Paula could have done to be more supportive to the training staff.

Nathan likes to talk. He has an opinion on most things, though he doesn’t often offer to act (see frames 6, 18 and


27). He would fit into the know-it-all category. What about Sultana? Does she seem to want to show off her education and her knowledge? Look at frames 29, 34 and 54 and see why she can be labelled with an intellectual personality.

If you need an answer to this activity you will find it in the Suggested responses section at the back of the module.

Before we go on we’ll look at aggressive and assertive behaviour in more detail.

Aggressive and assertive behaviour

Think about the way Tomek approached Robert, the training manager. Could he have been less aggressive and still achieved his goal?

Yes, if he had behaved assertively.

People behaving assertively show respect for others and for themselves. Assertiveness maintains people’s rights, so that they are neither aggressive nor submissive (ie give in to another’s demands too easily). Nobody dominates, yet useful compromises can be reached.

Table 3 compares assertive, aggressive and submissive behaviour.

?

Study the table and see if you can recognise yourself. You may discover that you usually behave in a particular way, or that you vary your behaviour in different situations.


Table 3: Assertive, aggressive and submissive behaviour

BehaviourResponses you have in this state

How you feelHow the other person feels

How the other person feels about you

Avoidance or submissive

Shutting down.Withdrawing.Being indirect.Suppressing feelings. Not standing up for yourself.

Fearful.Possibly angry.Inferior.Powerless.Abused.

Superior.Powerful.Possibly guilty.

Irritated.Disgusted.Pitying.

Assertive Stating your emotions honestly. Being direct. Showing respect. Having yourself be heard.

Confident.Self-respecting.

Respected.Valued.

Respectful.Trusting.

Aggressive Dumping your emotions.Being overbearing.Blaming or attacking.

Self righteous.Wanting to over- ride the other.Angry.Upset.May feel guilty later.

Attacked.Unrespected.Hurt.Angry or afraid.Humiliated.

Angry.Wanting to get back at you.Unrespecting.

Activity 5


Let’s look at some workplace examples of assertive, aggressive and submissive behaviour. In the cases below, circle the responses that you consider to be assertive.

1 A workmate has asked to borrow some of your equipment. You reply:(a) ‘No. Shove off.’(b) ‘Well, all right... I guess.’(c) Actually, that doesn’t really suit me just at the moment,

so no. I’m sorry.’

2 Your employer has just told you he has had a complaint about your work. You tell him:(a) ‘I think some of your criticisms are valid. However, I

would have preferred you to have been less personal in the way you told me of my shortcomings.’

(b) ‘Er, well. Yeah, I guess you’re right. I think I’ve been having a bad week.’

(c) ‘So? Nobody’s perfect.’

3 You are having trouble following your supervisor’s instructions. You say:(a) ‘I must be dumb or something, but I don’t really understand.’(b) ‘Listen! You’re not making sense. Start again will you!’(c) ‘Sorry to interrupt, but I’m not exactly clear on what you

are saying. Can you go over the bit again about how to tell when tigers have dental problems?’

4 A client arrives late and by now you are busy with another matter. You say to her:(a) ‘Well, yes, I suppose I can see you now. Just give me a minute.’(b) ‘No I can’t see you now. If you can’t be bothered to be on

time, I can’t be bothered to put myself out for you.’(c) ‘I’m afraid I can’t see you now. It’s no longer convenient

for me. Can we arrange another time?’

5 Someone keeps interrupting you while you are trying to give your version of an incident that occurred. You respond with:(a) Frustration, but you say nothing, and try to speak only

when you can get a word in.(b) ‘Excuse me, but I am speaking and would like to finish

what I am saying.’(c) ‘Oh for heaven’s sake, just shut up, will you!’


Activity 5 comment

You will find answers for this activity in the Suggested responses section at the end of the module.

So, in summary, let’s look at how you can improve your self-esteem and become more assertive.

1 Think about your own needs. Say ‘No’ if you can’t do something.

2 Stand up for your rights; don’t give in because it seems easy.

3 Think about what you really want. If you often say ‘I should do this’, try changing it to ‘I will do it!’

4 Always speak and act honestly; other people will respect you for it.

5 Tell people what you like about them. Do the same for yourself.

6 Accept compliments. Say ‘thank you’ and don’t shrug off people’s positive words.

7 Be self-sufficient and responsible; don’t rely on others to change you, or expect them to change.

8 View mistakes and failures as opportunities to learn from, then move on.

9 Avoid comparing yourself to others; focus on what you do well.

10Show respect for people’s feelings and opinions.


Activity 6

In Activity 5 you looked at some of the things people say when they are being assertive. Now it’s your turn to practise.

In frames 21 and 22 Tomek is behaving in a very aggressive way. Rewrite his speech in both frames to make him sound assertive rather than aggressive.

What other changes would you make?

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Activity 6 comment

To change Tomek’s behaviour from aggressive to assertive we would first have to change his physical position. He may come into the office more relaxed, sit down and talk more quietly. He would have his hands relaxed, not waving around. And, most importantly, he would say things like we’re planning to ... I understand your position, but ...

The cartoon on the next page shows what Tomek could say when he is speaking assertively to Robert. Notice how Tomek’s behaviour affects the way Robert responds to him.


1.6 How can I support a groupdiscussion?

We have looked at the different personality types we find in a group. We have also seen how some people behave differently in different situations.

What people do in a group discussion

In general, when we work in a group we behave in one of three ways:• look after ourselves• look after the group• get the job done.Let’s look at examples of each.

Things people do to look after themselves• try to dominate others (controlling)• try not to get involved (withdrawing)—as

Phuong does in the cartoon below• call attention to themselves (attention-seeking)• distract the group from its main goal (diverting)

—as Paula does below.

Things people do to look after the group• try to draw out other members by showing

support or praise (encouraging)—as Tomek does in the first cartoon below

• try to sort out differences between other members (harmonising)—as Robert does in the second cartoon below


• offer to give in to something in order to achieve agreement (compromising).

Things people do to get the job done• try to get the group started (initiating)—as

Nathan does in the first frame below

• offer or look for relevant information (information giving or seeking)

• try to show the relationship between ideas, and summarise what the group has done (coordinating)

• suggest ways to make decisions (procedure-setting)—as Tomek does in the second frame below.


Activity 7

Complete the sentences to describe how each person is behaving.• encouraging• compromising• controlling• coordinating

1 Robert is being

2 Jack is being


3 Jack is being

4 Tomek is being

Activity 7 comment

You will find answers for this activity in the Suggested responses section at the end of the module.

Activity 8


The case study cartoon has given us examples of the way different people behave in a group discussion. Now think about how you behave when you discuss issues with others.

Tick the statements that describe the way you behave in group discussions.1 I often like to take control of the discussion.2 I often ask quiet people in the group if they would like to

speak.3 I often start off the discussion.4 I often speak more than other people.5 I generally sit back and say very little.6 If people in the group are arguing I try to calm them down.7 I sometimes suggest ways of solving problems.8 I sometimes offer to follow-up on ideas or to prepare something for the next meeting.9 I sometimes offer to give up one of my ideas so that the group can reach agreement.10 I sometimes get bored in meetings and change the subject.11 If the group talks for a long time I try to work out what the main points are.12 I support the group’s activities as much as I can.

Activity 8 comment

In the list below, circle each of the numbers you ticked in Activity 8:

A 1 4 5 10

B 2 6 9 12

C 3 7 8 11

Did you circle more numbers in line A, B or C?

If you circled more in line A, you like to work alone. Think about how you could contribute more to the group. If you circled more in line B, you are supporting the group well. Keep it up! If you circled more in line C, you are helping the group get its job done. Keep this up too!

If you didn’t circle many numbers in lines B and C, think about how you could improve your participation in group discussions.


1.7 How do we set up a work team?

In many workplaces teams are formed by management to deal with a particular problem. These are formal work teams. In some cases, such as in the Sunny Days Cereal study, workers form an informal team themselves so that they can respond to a problem quickly.

Whether the team is formed by management or by workers, the way the team is set up will be the same. The first step will be to organise the team’s first meeting.

Organising the first meeting

Planning

There are lots of ways of planning a meeting and a number of things that need to be planned. For instance, you need to plan:• where and when you will meet• who will be there• what should be discussed, and in what order

(agenda)• what has to be done before the meeting• any problems (eg between team members) that

might come up at the meeting• action plan—some things that might have to be

done after the meeting.If the planning is all your responsibility you could start off by making a list of the things you will have to organise. It may look something like the plan on the next page.


Things to do:– Time and date– People attending– Place– Agenda– Refreshments– Equipment– Equipment– Speakers

Most good organisers work with lists which make it easier to keep track of what needs to be done and what has been done. If you allow enough space on your paper, you can make notes about the things as you go.

For a more formal meeting you may like to develop a checklist like the one in Table 4.


Table 4: Checklist for planning a meeting

Things to plan Your notes

1 Objective: What does the team want to achieve?

2 Timing: How long should the meeting last? When is the best time to hold it?

3 Participants: Who should attend? (include people at all levels if possible)

4 Agenda: What items should be dealt with?Who is responsible for preparing and handing out the agenda?

5 Physical arrangements: What facilities and equipment are required? How should the meeting room be arranged?

6 Role assignments: Who will be the note-taker, secretary, timekeeper, and discussion moderator?

7 Action: Can I already think of tasks that will have to be done after the meeting?Who could I ask to do them?


8 Evaluation method: How will we evaluate the meeting in order to improve the next session?


The person who calls the meeting is usually the one responsible for deciding the agenda.

The agenda is like the plan of what will be discussed. Here is the agenda that Tomek planned for the first meeting of the asbestos team at Sunny Days Cereal company.

Agenda

for

Meeting to discuss asbestos issue

At noon on Monday 28th November

In room 223

Item 1 Introduction (Tomek)Election of secretaryApologies

Item 2 Results of lab report (Susila)

Item 3 Development of action plan

Item 4 Action

Since this is the first meeting, Tomek limits the number of agenda items to four. He describes each agenda item clearly (eg Item 2: Results of lab report), but keeps them open enough so that the other team members can participate. Note that Tomek has put names beside the first two items on the agenda, but has left items 3 and 4 open so that other people can volunteer to do these things.

The second step is to let other team members know about the meeting. This can be done in person, on the telephone or through a memorandum, or memo. A memo is a brief, semi-formal note between people within the same


organisation. The format is different from that of a letter, as you can see in the one on the following page.

Memo to team members

In the case study, Tomek combines his planning list and the agenda to prepare the following memo to future team members.

Introduction

Details

Agenda

What to do

To: Brendan, Anna, Gina, Alice, Mario, Nathan, Paula, Phuong, Sultana, Susila

From: Tomek

Date: 23 November

Subject:Asbestos issue

As you are aware, asbestos has been found in the ceilings of the Training section offices.

A meeting will be held on Monday 28 November at noon in Room 223 to discuss this issue.

The agenda will be:

Item 1 Introduction (Tomek)Election of secretaryApologies

Item 2 Results of lab report (Susila)

Item 3 Development of action plan

Item 4 Follow-up

Please contact me on x 7321 to let me know whether you can attend this meeting.

Tomek

Activity 9


Collect examples of agendas and memos for meetings. Look at the way they are written.

How do the agendas and memos differ? Do these differences reflect different purposes, different levels of formality or different types of team? Are some more useful than others? Why?

Make notes here

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______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

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______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

Activity 9 comment

Each memo and each agenda will be different. However, a memo is a note about a work related matter and is addressed to a particular person. An agenda is the plan of a meeting. It usually gives the time allocated to each item. Tomek has not done this, probably because it is the first meeting and he does not want to set limits. Of course the danger of having no times on the agenda is that the meeting can drag on for too long.

Continue to collect examples and put them into a file. Then when you have to write one, you will be able to use these examples as a guide.


Final planning

Your final preparation for the meeting will involve planning strategies for working with the group at the meeting. The kinds of questions you could ask yourself are:• What is the real purpose of the meeting?• What do I hope to achieve from the meeting?• How long should the meeting be? How much

time should I allow for each agenda item?• How are people going to speak? For example,

will we brainstorm, take turns or have a general discussion?

• Will I invite specialists from outside the company to the meeting?

• Do I need to do more research before the meeting?

Considering questions such as these can help you run a successful meeting. You can probably remember meetings you’ve attended that drifted on aimlessly—meetings that were boring and didn’t achieve much. You want to avoid this. On the other hand, meetings that are over-planned can be too rigid and may encourage people to be aggressive. Proper planning which allows for orderly participation of team members is likely to lead to the best results.

The diagram below summarises the steps you should take when you set up a work team.


1.8 How do we run a meeting?

Remember what we said earlier about ‘discussions’? They should be respectful, cooperative, limited and focused. Meetings, which are really planned, formal discussions, should also have these characteristics.

Belonging to a team gives you the opportunity to work with other people, to learn new skills and to develop confidence in saying what you think. It also lets you hear what others think, opening up new ideas and avenues for action. In addition, it gives you an opportunity to take responsibility for making decisions and taking action.

However, working in a team can be very frustrating if some members dominate the meeting, and you feel that you don’t have a chance to give your views.

Letting people have their say

Meetings often fail because there is no system for letting people express ideas. The system you choose to use will depend upon the purpose of the team and the willingness of team members to prepare for the meeting.

Here are four ways that team members can express their ideas:• individual reporting• brainstorming• mind maps• questionnaires.

Individual reporting

Team members who have specific knowledge about an issue are asked to give individual reports. For example, in the Sunny Days Cereal case study, Susila has a report from the lab, Robert has comments from an electrician and Tomek has an overall picture of the problem. Before general discussion starts in a meeting, they could be asked to share with the group what they have found.


Having people gather background information is important because without this information we can’t be sure that:• we really have a problem• we understand what the problem is• someone else isn’t already doing something

about it.In the asbestos case, people needed to be sure that the flakes were asbestos, not just peeling paint.

Brainstorming

When group members brainstorm, they think up as many ideas as possible. The ideas aren’t discussed and no decisions are made during the brainstorming session, but all the ideas are written down so that they can be discussed later.

Brainstorming helps the group become more creative, gets everyone into the action, produces many ideas in a short time, makes the whole activity more fun and reduces the need to look for the ‘right’ idea. The ground rules for brainstorming are:1 There is no criticism of ideas.2 Wild ideas are expected and accepted.3 The quantity of ideas counts, not the quality.4 People build on the ideas of other group

members where possible.5 The focus is on a single simple problem, not a

complicated one.


6 Everyone is relaxed.7 All members’ ideas are accepted.8 All ideas are recorded.After the brainstorming is over, the group can critically look at all the ideas, establish which ones appear to have the best potential and then explore these ideas further.


One warning: a good brainstorming session should go on for at least 15 minutes. It is tempting to stop when everyone seems to have run out of those first, obvious ideas, and there is a pause in the talk. But if you wait, more ideas will come. At this stage people will come up with some crazy ideas, and one of these may just turn out to be the best.

But, like any other activity, brainstorming takes practice and the first time you try it you may not be as successful as you would like to be.

Mind maps

These are the diagrams that have been used in several places in this book. They work better when each member of the group makes an individual mind map, starting with the ‘problem’ in the box in the middle of the page. Each person spends 2–3 minutes writing down any thoughts about the problem. Then, again for 2–3 minutes, two or three people combine their mind maps and make one extended map. Next, depending on the size of the group, the maps are joined together to make one large map with all the ideas. Each time two or more maps are joined, people will think of more ideas to add. Here is an example.


Questionnaires

Later in the process of dealing with an issue, other types of planning will be necessary. When the group needs information they may use a questionnaire. To set up a questionnaire that will get information rather than just yes/no answers, we need to ask some ‘open’ questions. These are questions that will ask for longer, more complex answers. For example, if you ask a closed question such as:

Do you use this car park every day?

the answer will be either yes or no. But if you ask an open question such as:

How often do you use this car park?

the other person has to give a more informative answer. Here are some examples:

Three times a week.On working days.Only on weekends.

Learning to use open questions is easy if you remember that open questions usually use one of the question words:

what? why? when? where? who?how?

Keeping notes at meetings

When Tomek wrote the agenda for the first meeting, he included ‘Election of secretary’ in the first item. It is very important that someone takes notes during the meeting, especially when a lot of different views are expressed.

The secretary, or note-taker, writes down:• each main point or idea, and who said it;• each proposal made by a member of the group

(eg Tomek proposed that we invite an expert to the next meeting);

• each decision made by the group (and, if necessary, the names of the people who propose and ‘second’ the idea);

• each point of action plus the name of the person who will follow it up and when they will do it.


The note-taker often checks the facts with people from the meeting. He or she then writes up the notes as ‘Minutes’ and gives a copy to each team member before the next meeting.

Follow-up

Follow-up is what happens after the meeting. As the team discusses an issue, different problems arise. Generally, people in the team realise that they will need more information if they are to solve these problems.

In the Sunny Days Cereal case study, the team decided to:• get more information about asbestos;• ask a specialist to speak at the next meeting;• ask tradespeople such as electricians about the

dangers of asbestos.Usually, follow-up activities have to be done in a short time—often before the next meeting. It is important that the people who agree to do the tasks do so quickly. We will look at follow-up more in Section 2.


Stages of a meeting

Before we conclude this unit on meetings we will review the stages of a meeting.

In general there are three stages:

Introduction • the purpose of the meeting is explained

• people are introduced• the meeting is given a

structure.

Discussion • people have their say in the manner decided at the meeting

• a time limit is set• decisions are made and

recorded.

Summing up

• ideas are summarised and decisions are read out

• follow-up steps are decided, and names and dates are written beside each one

• date, time and place for the next meeting are decided

• purpose of the next meeting (including who should be invited) is decided.

Activity 10

Now it’s time to put all this information into practice.

Take a break from this module and attend a meeting—a school meeting, community meeting or work meeting. Don’t plan to participate very much in the meeting discussion. Go as an observer, and fill in the following sheet as you observe.

Activity 10 comment

Keep this information. It will help you complete the Check your progress exercises in this section.


Evaluation of a meeting

Meeting of (name of team/group) ____________________

at (place) _____________________________________________

on (date, time) _______________________________________

Tick if covered

Comments:what went well or badly

A.Introduction• Purpose of meeting is clear.• People are

introduced.• Order of meeting is

explained.• Minutes are read from previous meeting.• Apologies are noted.

B. Discussion• People:

- reported individually

- brainstormed- used mind maps- talked at any time

(no structure).• No one dominated the discussion.• Secretary took notes.• Decisions made.

C.Summing up• Main ideas stated.• Decisions read out.• Follow-up steps

decided with:- name of person- date.

• Next meeting arranged.


Summary

This section has been about participating in a small group discussion to reach agreement on an issue.

We have looked at:

• the nature of work teams—what they look like and why they are important;

• the characteristics of a small group discussion—respect and cooperation between members, limited and focused topics of discussion;

• the nature of workplace issues—generally issues that affect the efficiency of an organisation;

• different personalities—and how they relate in team discussion;

• how to support a group discussion—especially by participating and cooperating;

• how to organise and run a meeting and how to organise follow-up after the meeting.

Now you have a chance to use this knowledge. Check your progress exercises 1 and 2 ask you to answer questions about the groups you are currently working in.


Check your progress

These exercises will help you review the information in Section 1. They will also give you an opportunity to test your skills—to find your strengths and weaknesses in the way you work in teams.

You will find suggested responses to these exercises at the end of the module. Don’t limit yourself to these exercises, however—keep practising in real work teams.

Exercise 1

Take a group you already belong to. If you are working, choose a work team.

Answering the following questions will help you describe the way the team works.

1 The group is called:

______________________________________________________________

2 How many members in the group?

______________________________________________________________

3 The main purpose of the group is:

______________________________________________________________

4 Would you say that all members can clearly identify the purpose of the group? YES/NO

5 If the group is small, do you think you have enough personalities to provide a wide range of ideas to help the group work?YES/NO

6 If the group is large, are there too many personalities for the groupto work well? YES/NO

7 How many people usually contribute to the discussion?

______________________________________________________________


8 Do you feel comfortable about contributing to discussions?YES/NO

9 How many people usually make the decisions?

______________________________________________________________

10 Is everyone positive and supportive to other group members?YES/NO

11 Are matters of discussion always resolved? YES/NO

12 The things you like about this group:

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

13 The things you dislike about this group:

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

Exercise 2

Choose another group or use the same one as in Exercise 1. A medium-sized group of six or more people would be best.

Look at your role in this group. Make notes as you answer each question.

1 Why should I support the team members?

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

2 How can I be supportive?

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

3 How can I contribute ideas?

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________


4 How can I speak up?

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

5 How can I help the meeting stay on target?

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

6 How can I help get a result in the minimum time?

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

7 How can I get on better with others?

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

8 How can I deal with difficult people?

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

9 How can I help the group reach a decision?

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

10 How can I be a good listener?

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

11 What kinds of follow-up activities can I do?

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________


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