Agenda and minutes of meeting

MeetingsEfforts by:

Vibhor agarwal

Meetings• Meetings are very common in organizations.• They serve as channels of oral communication

among the members of the meeting.• They are supported by written communication

like notices to bring people together, agenda to structure the meeting, minutes to record the proceedings and reports to pass the information to the higher authorities.

Meetings• A meeting is get-together of a group of

persons to discuss ways and means to deal with a specific time-bound task assigned.

• The members of the group share common experience, common concern and common interests.

• Unless there is clarity in the purpose, the meetings may turn out to be a frustrating and wasteful effort.

Why are Meetings Held

• To convey information to the members.• To gather information from the members.• To exchange ideas and experiences among the

members.• To brief members on plans, working and

performance and to instruct members.• To discuss problems and issues of common

interest.

Why are Meetings Held

• To persuade members to accept changes.• To resolve conflicts and confusions.• To take decisions of matters affecting the

group or the organization.• To generate a positive attitude among the

participants.

Procedure of Convening a Meeting

• The chairman of the group usually convenes the meeting.

• However, any other member authorized by him or her may also convene the meeting.

Procedure of Convening a Meeting

• Whosoever calls the meeting should keep in mind that the announcement of the meeting must be made in the form of a notice mentioning the date, time and venue in writing and sent to all members along with the well-defined agenda.

Proper Notice

• A proper notice of the meeting should be given to every member entitled to attend.

• The notice should be in writing and must be given before the specified number of days from the date of the meeting.

• The notice must specify the date, time and place of the meeting and the nature of business to be transacted therein.

Proper Notice

• The notice must also state that members are allowed to appoint proxies (authorization given to deputy) or send representatives.

Minutes of the Meeting (Recording)

By minutes we mean a concise and accurate official record of the decisions taken at the meeting.

After the meeting, the facilitator must complete all the tasks of getting the meeting minutes written and distributed as soon as possible, sending copies, information and reports to concerned and affected persons.

The Function of Minutes

to confirm decisions Record agreed actions record responsibilities record date by which an action is to be

completed. inform those who did not attend the meetingInform other affected and concerned persons

about outcomesServe as a record of the meeting’s discussion.

Minutes of the Minutes

Most meetings do not need detailed discussion to be recorded.

The focus is on three categories of information—decisions reached, action items that are to be followed up (indicating who is assigned the task and the deadline) and open issues.

This record becomes the starting point of the next meeting and also a reference for future meetings.

Contents of Minutes

• The kind of meeting with date, time and place.• The name of the person in chair, and the name

of directors, secretary persons in attendance in board meeting and the number of members in general meeting.

• The names or numbers of absentees.• A brief subject heading of each minute with

the resolution adopted.

Contents of Minutes

• Minutes should be entered in the book specially kept for the purpose.

• The minutes must be recorded in point forms, each minute being separated from the other by the number and appropriate heading.

Essential Part of Minutes

• Name of chairman of the meeting, names of members present (list is attached) if there are many names.

• Signature of chairman.


• Minutes of the meeting of the Board of Directors of Sadguru Trading Corporation, Ltd., held at the Registered office on March 12, 2012, at 4:00 P.M.

• The following members were present:• Mr. ABC, Chairman and Director• Mr. XYZ, Director• Mr. GHI, Director• Mr. JKL, Director


• In attendance:• Mr. LMN, Secretary• Mr. PQR, Solicitor

• Mr. MNO and Mr. RST had intimated their inability to attend, and were granted leave of absence.


• Names of persons “in attendance”, i.e., any invited officials like the auditor, the solicitor, who are not members of the meeting.

• Names of persons who are not present.

Principles of Recording Minutes

Brevity

• A minute is a selective, not verbatim record.

Clarity

• Clarity is essential for good communication.• Those who were not present should be able to

understand what happened at the meeting from reading the minutes.

• All references should be specific, relevant and accurate.

Decisiveness

• Decisions/ resolutions should be conveyed clearly.

• The language of actual resolution or decision should be reproduced.

Immediate Recording

• The minutes should be written as soon as possible after the meeting.

Agenda

• Agenda is a list of items to be discussed at the meeting.

• It is usually sent with the notice of the meeting, but it may be sent later if it takes time to prepare it.

Agenda

• An agenda is a clear plan for meeting.• Creating an agenda forces you to consider why

you are having a meeting, what you hope to accomplish.

Agenda

• All the items included in the agenda must be serially arranged.

• The agenda is prepared by the secretary in consultation with the chairman of the company.

Agenda

• The order of the items in the agenda cannot be changed during the course of the meeting except by the consent of the members.

• The chairman of the meeting must take care to decide the order in which the items are to be put on the agenda, especially if there are likely to be controversies over any of the items.

• It is desirable to have urgent items and non-controversial items first.

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NOTICE OF A MEETING

SUN INDIA ENTERPRISE LTD

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Date------------------

NOTICE

Notice is given hereby to all the members that the next meeting will be held on 17 Dec, --- at 11:00 am in the conference hall2.

Agenda

1. To read and approve the minutes of the meeting held on 25th Oct, 20—2. To review the working of the Society and its Institutions.3. To consider purchasing a building for the administrative office.4. To consider appointment of new distributors for the Eastern region

Secretary

Guidelines for Agenda

• It should be clear and explicit.• It should be in summary form.• The routine items should be put first and the

others matters later.• All the matters of similar or allied (related)

character should be placed near each other on the agenda.


• Minutes are written in simple past tense; for example:

• The Secretary read out ……• The Chairman informed…..• The meeting ended……


• Minutes of the items are written in passive voice; for example:

• The minutes ……..were taken as read and signed.

• The progress report for December was presented.

• The next meeting was fixed for…


• Impersonal passive voice is used for recording decisions and resolutions. For example:

• It was decided that a committee be appointed.• It was resolved that the meeting be

adjourned.• It was decided to create a separate fund for

the purpose.

Education

Agenda and minutes of meeting