Chapter 10: Enhancing Team Meetings
Chapter Context
This chapter discusses meeting structure and meeting interaction as a framework for
planning, leading, and participating in an effective meeting, preparing for an effective
Outcome-based Outline
Outcome
Learning Objectives
Critical Thinking
10.4 Report strategies and
techniques that help in
developing team creative
solutions
Communication
10.2 Describe the
preparatory steps that are
required before any meeting
10.5 Identify different ways
of facilitating meeting
interaction
Knowledge of Discipline
10.1 Identify and describe
structure and interaction as
the two key defining
components of any meeting
10.3 Describe the key
elements of problem- solving
meetings
Discussion Question Bank
This discussion question bank provides a listing of discussion questions (1–2 per module),
which are included for in-class use.
Module
Discussion Question(s)
10.1 Meeting Essentials: A
Balance of Structure and
Interaction
1. Recall an incident when you were not given the
chance to speak during a discussion, and the
moderator dominated the entire discussion. Why
should a meeting or discussion be structured and
balanced with collaborative interaction to avoid
such fiascos?
2. Consider the last time you participated in a
healthy discussion with your teammates.
Examine the need for conversations under a
democratic leadership, direction, and agenda
where the team stays focused on the task at
hand.
10.2 Preparing for Meetings
1. Does attending a staff meeting or a briefing in
the name of a meeting enlighten an employee?
Establish what constitutes a good meeting, and
why a meeting should be both informative and
interactive, where new ideas, strategies, and
policies are formulated.
2. Consider a scenario when you are the leader of a
ream who is in charge of a meeting. Discuss the
various tasks that you are expected to carry out
in your role as a leader. What steps would you
take differently if you are dealing with a very
large group?
10.3 Planning Problem-
Solving Meetings
1. Imagine you joined a start-up company, and
your team mostly consists of interns. On behalf
of the team, assess how a structured and
unstructured problem should be approached.
2. Examine the various methods of problem
solving. Assess the types of questions that need
to be considered while defining and analyzing a
problem to develop an action plan.
10.4 Developing Creative
Solutions
1. Recollect a meeting when you were a part of the
nominal group. How did the entire process of
brainstorming help the group? What was the
outcome of this brainstorming? Explain the
process and solution in detail.
2. Discuss the various techniques of brainstorming.
Explain how each technique is interrelated and
used along with traditional methods.
10.5 Managing Meeting
Interaction
1. Think of a time when you attended a meeting
during which a person facilitated the flow of the
meeting. Describe how the person contributed
toward the productivity of the meeting.
2. Discuss the various causes that can lead to
groupthink. How can groupthink be avoided?
Research Assignments
The following research assignments pertain to the main topics and/or themes of the chapter.
Please respond by writing a paper consisting of 1,000-1,500 words.
Importance of an Effective Meeting
Conducting a productive meeting is a challenge, even though technological advancement
has made it easier for people around the globe to interact in an orderly fashion. Write a
report analyzing how a leader plans and prepares a structured meeting to identify the
Experiential Activity
Let’s Get Creative
Goals
To utilize the steps for Brainstorming
To utilize the steps for Nominal Group
Technique To utilize Electronic
Brainstorming
To determine which strategy resulted in the most creative ideas
Group size
Utilize the class groups for this exercise
Time required
Procedure
1. The instructor can create his/her own problem solving scenario.
2. A good idea for the Fall semester is one of community involvement. Every
year the campus invites the local elementary school children for Halloween
activities on campus. Have two
3. Tell them they have twenty-five minutes to come up with as many exciting activities
as they can.
Discussion
Each group indicates number of activities and what they are.
Then the discussion focuses on the actual process. Did students find it more beneficial to
write down their ideas before submitting them to the group in Nominal Group Technique
and on Electronic
Brainstorming?
How well did Electronic Brainstorming work?
