I fully endorse the views expressed by Shyamal Majumdar in his column, "When meetings become your only work" (October 9). The culture of meetings, if I am not wrong, is largely imbibed from the West. In today's intensely competitive milieu, every market player is trying to outdo the other with the best of products and services so as to increase his/her company's market share. Innovation has become the buzzword. There is, therefore, nothing wrong in holding meetings. It is one forum that provides participants an opportunity to put forth their views and negotiate a settlement and develop a broader understanding of the situation at hand.
The worrying aspect is that the frequency of meetings has risen sharply and more often than not they turn out to be sterile, leading to wastage of time and labour and, at times, even yielding a negative effect. The crux of the problem is the absence of a well-defined system of accountability and responsibility in companies. Not all the people attending a meeting resolve to contribute or conclude a matter; many merely use meetings to showcase their knowledge.
In today's mechanised environment, the business generated vis-à-vis the performance of employees is reflected in the management information system. Hence meetings need not debate this aspect though it can be discussed.
The focus should be on devising strategies in tune with market forces and lending a clear direction to achieve corporate goals. Meetings should be less frequent and of shorter duration to enable focused deliberations. They must conclude with a decision or action points.
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The worrying aspect is that the frequency of meetings has risen sharply and more often than not they turn out to be sterile, leading to wastage of time and labour and, at times, even yielding a negative effect. The crux of the problem is the absence of a well-defined system of accountability and responsibility in companies. Not all the people attending a meeting resolve to contribute or conclude a matter; many merely use meetings to showcase their knowledge.
In today's mechanised environment, the business generated vis-à-vis the performance of employees is reflected in the management information system. Hence meetings need not debate this aspect though it can be discussed.
The focus should be on devising strategies in tune with market forces and lending a clear direction to achieve corporate goals. Meetings should be less frequent and of shorter duration to enable focused deliberations. They must conclude with a decision or action points.
Srinivasan Umashankar Nagpur
Letters can be mailed, faxed or e-mailed to:
The Editor, Business Standard
Nehru House, 4 Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg
New Delhi 110 002
Fax: (011) 23720201
E-mail: letters@bsmail.in
All letters must have a postal address and telephone number