Research Catalog

Title

Effective meetings : improving group decision making / John E. Tropman.

Author

Tropman, John E.

Publication

Thousand Oaks, Calif. : Sage Publications, c1996.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Holdings

Details

Additional Authors

University of Michigan. School of Social Work.

Description

xxiii, 133 p.; 23 cm.

Summary

If group meetings seem unproductive, inefficient, and time consuming, then it's time to invest in a text that can assist in making the most of group decision-making meetings. Effective Meetings, 2nd Edition, establishes the rules for effective group decision making, outlines the positions and roles for effective group decision making, and covers the different types of decision groups. Since the first edition, the context in which organizations exist and work has greatly changed, and the book accounts for these changes by addressing issues such as the competitive environment, more resilient organizational structures, and emphasis on quality and evaluation. The second edition has been updated to include references to some of the critical issues facing agencies today such as family and community violence, health care, and homelessness. For illustrative purposes, it also includes a variety of meetings such as staff meetings, advisory groups, board meetings, intergroups, and intercultural meetings. Unlike the first edition that targeted a more general management, this edition is specifically for human services.

Series Statement

Sage human services guide ; 17

Uniform Title

Sage human services guides ; v. 17.

Subject

• Committees
• Group decision making
• Meetings

Note

• "Published in cooperation with the University of Michigan School of Social Work."

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references.

Processing Action (note)

• committed to retain

Contents

Decision Groups Are Portrayed as Inept -- Independence Versus Interdependence -- Ubiquity -- Social Debit and Credit -- Lack of Psychological and Skill-Based Training for Work in Decision Groups -- The Modern Decision Group -- Effective Decision Making -- Why Decision Groups Don't Always Work Well -- Basic Perspectives for High-Quality Decision Group Meetings -- Basic Perspectives for High-Quality Decision Group Meetings -- Problems in Functioning -- Rules for Effective Group Decision Making -- Recruitment of Participants -- Membership by Mission -- Levels of Membership -- The Membership Call -- The Purposes and Functions of Membership -- Preparations for Effective Decision Making -- Maintaining Focus -- Integrity -- Ensuring Focus: The Fraction Rules -- Rules for Maintaining Focus -- Templates for Action: The Agenda, the Minutes, and Reports -- The Agenda -- A Typical Meeting -- A New Agenda Structure -- Time -- Writing the Agenda: The Meeting as a Restaurant Menu -- Minutes -- Reports -- The Executive Summary -- The Options Memo Technique -- Minutes -- Rules for an Options Memo -- Achieving an Effective Meeting: Mechanics of Decision Group Process -- Major Examples of Decision Avoidance Psychosis -- The Process of Decision Crystallization -- Other Issues in Meeting Management -- Achieving Participation -- Positions and Roles for Effective Group Decision Making -- The Chair -- Considerations for a Chair-to-Be -- Responsibilities of the Chair -- Before You Become Chair -- Three Responsibilities of the Chair -- The Member.

ISBN

• 0761900209 (alk. paper)
• 0761900217 (pbk. : alk. paper)

LCCN

^^^95035749^

Owning Institutions

Harvard Library