Time Management in Board Meetings for Incident- myassignmenthelp

Question: Discuss about theTime Management in Board Meetings for Incident Report. Answer: Incident Report Time Management Challenge As I tried to implement strategies on better time management in board meetings, I came to a realization that time management causes constraints on financial performance of organizations. I tried to educate the board on better time management strategies but there is a decision, which took so long to be made such that the company missed a potential client (Schwartz-Ziv Weisbach 2013). There were a lot of misunderstandings concerning how the company should be approached, services tailored to them and a professional pitch made. The board took too long and the company took up to the services of a competitor. This made me see that a lot still needed to be done so that the board manages their time in a better manner. Top management in the company does not reach good decisions quickly. It is important that quality decisions are made at a fast pace. Poor decisions can lead to the destruction of shareholder value. Good decisions made slowly depress the perfomance of the company (Cooren 2013). If the company had acquired the potential client, performance would have gone up hence helping the organization to grow. Theories The company executives spent quite little time on board meetings. The time spent on meetings was short but mostly wasted due to lack of proper time management. The limited time should be used wisely. I noticed that the agenda setting in the board was not focused or disciplined at all. The agenda was constantly the same in most meetings and no priorities were set. The board was driven by whatever crises may have been happening (Rice 2013). No one had been singled out to manage the board meeting agenda. Sometimes there are too many items on the agenda and the team runs out of time before key issues are addressed. I therefore sought to look at some time management theories and figure out how they would help the board in management of time. My aim was to make everyone understand the importance of time and setting of priorities for the board. Studying time management is essential as it will help me to direct the board in organizing, planning and scheduling various responsibilities for the board. The first theory is the pareto principle, which was founded by Vilfredo Pareto. He came up with the 80-20 rule. He observed that 80% of land was owned by 20% of the Italian population. 80% of productivity also came from 20% of the working employees. These employees worked within set time hence leading to the high productivity. Time therefore plays a vital role in productivity and success in an organization. This would be a good theory to implement for the board meetings (Nahavandi 2016). If time was managed better, the 20% of effort that baord members would put in can result in faster decision making and better strategy formulation and implementation. The second theory is the pickle jar theory. This experiment involves a time management model which can help people to prioritise the work they do. When a pickle jar is picked with rocks, there are spaces which can be filled up using pebbles. Once the jar is filled up with pebbles it becomes more compact but there are still places left (Johnston Marshall 2016).The spaces are filled up with sand and then water. This is a replica of life as major life repsonsibilities are represented by the rocks, pebbles signify hobbies daily chores and daily chores are represented by the sand. Water destructs us from the right path. Distractions lead to time mismanagement and should be avoided. The board has allowed distractions to lead to mismanagement of time. I therefore will direct them to focus on the rocks which are the most critical aspects of the board meeting. Future To ensure that there will be effective time management in future board meetings I will ensure that there is a strong committee structure where each person will have specific roles and responsibilities (Griffin 2013). This will ensure work is evenly distributed and the most relevant projects will be considered as the critical agenda. I will ensure that members are organized by ensuring notes are taken during meetings, documents are color-coded and files are labeled well. This will ensure less time is taken in preparing for meetings. Planning will also be done earlier, board members will list possible agenda items beforehand, and the same will be prioritized before the actual meeting happens (Doh Quigley 2014). Effective communication will also be implemented by ensuring that everyone is kept updated. Time saving features like calendar workflows and communication platforms will be utilized. Observation of a Board Report I got the opportunity to observe a board meeting and my key aim was to see how time management was carried out. The following is the reflection of the board meeting that was attended: Name of Board The board I observed was the Adelaide Hospital Board. The meetings agenda was to discuss adoption of new technologies that would enhance customer service in service and in the physiotherapy department. Skills Observed The skills I was interested in observing were the time management skills of the board. In this, I looked at the following areas: Time- The meeting begun on time as it had been scheduled for 8:00 am. Attendance The meeting was attended by all the board members though two of them were slightly late. Agenda The agenda had been clearly laid out and the time that had been allocated for the meeting was two hours. The agenda items were clearly written and time for discussion allocated against each (Hardman 2016). This helped the board to observe time and not to spend too much time on one agenda Moderation One of the board members was in charge of time moderation for the meeting. She would indicate to the rest if time was over for whatever was being discussed and that they needed to move to the next item. This made the meeting flow smoothly. Under each agenda, time was also allocated for members to raise concerns or come up with suggestions and this made the meeting quite interactive despite the fact that time was limited. Decision Making- It was tough for the board to make some decisions there and then due to varied opinions and each person wanted the best solution for the hospital. Some of the tough decisions concerned which kind of patient management system should be installed and which kind of robotics used for physiotherapy. There was also a debate on costs versus quality of service that would be offered. Voting was however used to try to make the decisions as quickly as possible. Lessons Learnt The Adelaide hospital board meeting taught me many valuable lessons. I found the team to be very organized and quite efficient in the management of time. I learnt that it is important to set the key agenda and have time set against each so that discussions do not dwell on one item for too long. This would help the team to achieve a lot in their meetings since many items could be discussed so long as the time was managed in an effective manner. Another valuable lesson that I learnt was that it would be best to have a meeting moderator in ach board meeting. This can be done on a rotational basis hence giving each of the board members a chance to moderate. Meeting moderation was very important as it gave the meeting a direction and ensured that time was well spent as set on the agenda. It also helped in pointing out contentious issues that needed further discussion. The moderator also ensures notes are taken and everything is kept well for the next meeting. Interactive meeting was also something that was important. Ensuring everyone participated led to better understanding and time management as each person would express his or her concerns and views in a timed manner. This led to better decision-making and in a faster way as when voting was done all members had gotten a chance to participate in the meeting already. Questions Raised As an observer, the questions that were raised to me during the meeting were whether I thought the team was managing its time well. I was also asked if there are any suggestions I had to make the board meetings better. Observations and Skill Development Being an observer is an exercise with numerous benefits as it can help me enhance my skill development especially on time management. By observing a real board meeting one learns the good and can apply them in their lives. The challenges faced can help us to improve our own board meetings. It also gives one a different view on how different people carry out their board meetings. The observations can be used to create better board meetings where time is managed effectively. Entry from Learning Journal One of the lessons learnt from this unit is how to communicate proficiently in professional practice to a variety of audiences. Communication is a key to success in the workplace and in any business setting (Dowell, Morrison Heffernan 2015). Ones ability to communicate is drawn from experience but engaging oneself in business communication courses can be a great advantage in enhancing ones professional communication. While communicating in a professional setting, one must ask themselves some question so that they tailor their message appropriately to different audience. What kind of situation is there? Which communication strategies can be used? Which is the best course of action to take? How can the chosen message be designed? How will the message be delivered to audiences? What kind of body language should one portray? I learnt that communication greatly influences our thinking with others. This is because when we communicate we share meaning in what is said and done. When one is unable to communicate or get through to the audience, it feels quite frustrating. We especially get uncomfortable when told that our communication is not good. It makes us feel like not communicating at all. Communication skills can however be enhanced (Broadbent 2013). It helps us to understand what other people feel in terms of their voice tone and non-verbal gestures. The way we write also communicates a great deal especially in the business or professional setting. Active listening is part of being a good communicator. When communicating in a professional setting it is very important that we listen to feedback given by audience. Communication greatly influences the kind of learning that we get. It is a process to know how to speak and write well, it does not happen in a single day. It also requires a lot of effort, persistence and also self-correction. To learn public speaking, one first has to learn by having conversations, answering questions and then expressing opinions. Later, one is able to deliver a speech in front of a public audience. Learning to write for public audiences also takes practice. Speaking and writing reflect our thoughts, life experiences and education. They communicate to the audience a lot about us. Communication also represents us and our employers. When communicating to a public audience, we want to represent a good image of ourselves and the companies that have employed us. Ones professionalism and their attention to small details reflect positively and set us up for success. It is important to communicate clearly in oral and written situations. These are skills, which one uses for the rest of their lives (Shockley-Zalaback 2014). They therefore have to be improved frequently so that they enhance positive relationships in our businesses or when speaking to an audience. Communication skills are ranked among the top needed by employers and in other areas. It is therefore key for one to have these skills, as it will give them an added advantage wherever they go (Rosales 2017). Having good communication skills enhances ones public speaking and enables them to motivate crowds. Advice to Student of Professional Development Course I would highly encourage a student to take the course seriously, as it will change their perception of many things and they will learn skills, which will be key especially in their professional life (Moon 2013). When students get into the business world after finishing their education, it is important that they know how to carry themselves out in a new organization. It is also important that they have skills, which can help them in career growth (Bayar 2014). This course will equip the student with skills needed to be successful in the corporate world. Important topics like communication are also covered and it helps students take a look at their communication skills and do an analysis of areas that they may need to improve. They then work on this and also become good communicators (Nicholls 2014). This course will set a platform for students to have a broad view of the corporate world. The student will be able to positively prepare themselves by gaining various skills that will be very beneficial from the course (Trorey Cullingford 2017). References Bayar, A., 2014. 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Johnston, M.W. and Marshall, G.W., 2016.Sales force management: Leadership, innovation, technology. Routledge. Moon, J.A., 2013.Reflection in learning and professional development: Theory and practice. Routledge. Nahavandi, A., 2016.The Art and Science of Leadership -Global Edition. Pearson. Nicholls, G., 2014.Professional development in higher education: New dimensions and directions. Routledge. Rice, A.L. ed., 2013.The enterprise and its environment: A system theory of management organization(Vol. 10). Routledge. Rosales, E.D., 2017. The Role of a Stage Manager: The Importance of Communication, Respect, and Trust within Production Work. Schwartz-Ziv, M. and Weisbach, M.S., 2013. What do boards really do? Evidence from minutes of board meetings.Journal of Financial Economics,108(2), pp.349-366. Shockley-Zalabak, P., 2014.Fundamentals of organizational communication. Pearson. Trorey, G. and Cullingford, C., 2017.Professional development and institutional needs. Taylor Francis.