50 Case Studies for Management and Supervisory Training

Case 27: Another Staff Meeting

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Case 27 (continued)

Case Discussion:

Another Staff Meeting

Summary

Jim McLin called staff meetings on the spur of the moment. His staff could not predict when

these meetings would occur or what the meetings would cover. Sure enough, June Hanks just

learned that there would be such a meeting at 3:30 today.

As usual, Jim arrived about 10 minutes late. He began by asking for any general catch-up

information. After everyone spoke for a few minutes, he brought up a subject that he frequently

talked about: the departmental red-tape problem. In Jim’s opinion, the department spent too much

time on red-tape procedures. He said he really wanted to do something about it this time and told

everyone to submit at least three suggestions to him first thing the following morning.

June Hanks spoke up, pointing out that if they had a real issue to address, it was Jim’s VIP

program. Jim had installed this program a few months ago to improve service. Under this pro-

gram, his employees were expected to drop whatever they were doing whenever a problem

developed and to fix the problem before resuming their work. In practice, this program was

creating more problems than it was solving. Jim refused to discuss it. He tried to move on to other

matters, but after no success, the meeting was adjourned. Everyone left quickly.

Answer to Case Question

Evaluate how well Jim managed this meeting. What could he have done differently to

make it more productive?

Jim did a generally poor job of managing this meeting process. Staff members were given a

chance to talk briefly about what was going on in their units, but otherwise, the meeting coul

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not be judged a success. First, Jim did not give his employees time to prepare. Second, he

forced a response to a situation that had no apparent sense of urgency. Third, he did no

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encourage a frank discussion of his employees’ concerns. Finally, he created a climate tha

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inhibited a full discussion of employee concerns.

In short, whether by design or by accident, Jim operated as if according to a “hidden agenda,”

and it seemed he was not open to changing this agenda for any reason, not even to respond to

valid employee concerns. However, the primary purpose of a meeting like this should be to

facilitate the free flow of information and thus improve the performance of all concerned, an

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in this respect, the meeting was a failure.

There are several steps Jim could take to improve his meeting management skills:

1. Commit to a regular schedule of meetings.

By scheduling meetings at the last minute, Jim is signaling the low priority these

meetings have for him. While it is not imperative for him to establish a regular meet-

ing time (such as every Monday at 9:00 a.m.), he should at least conclude each meet-

ing by scheduling the next meeting on a specific date and within a reasonable perio

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of time.