Example Of Reflective Essay/assignment

Meetings are powerful tool for solving problem in an organization. However, as noted by (Jay, 1976) the success of meeting depends on how it was prepared and conducted. I can certainly relate well with this comment.  During the entire period of preparing and conducting the   Road and maritime services public consultative meeting, I realised the importance of planning for a meeting.   By preparing for the meeting in advance, it becomes easier to lead the participants in achieving the outcomes that was intended.    For instance, preparing the notice and agenda of the meeting in time, ensured every participants invited was well aware of the meeting and it purpose.  This not only increased the attendance but also give the participants enough time to prepare for the meeting. In turn, these lead to discussion that was based on facts and logic since members had gathered enough evidence to support their position as far as meeting agenda was concerned. Implementing the Meeting action plan was however challenging; after assigning duties to some members,   some did work or supervised the implementation as required. As a result some activities were not completed on time and according to the plan and instruction.  For instance, the video link though installed and works properly; it was not installed in the right place that could enable proper discussion with one of the participant who participated through video.  It has to be removed and re-installed in an area where it was appropriate. This not only led to wastage of time but also led to increased cost that was not budgeted for.   From this scenario, I learned that as chairperson, even though   some responsibilities are assigned to some individual it is better to supervise their implementation. I also   learned that during preparation of the meeting, it is important that to allocate some of the budget to unforeseen situation During the actual meeting,   I, observed that it actually wrong as chairman to assume that members will conduct themselves professional.  The Input by the chairman is so crucial in helping maintain professionalism and keep focused on the purpose of the meeting. If chairperson does not control the meeting, it can lose the focus and conflict can arise. In one instance, I had assumed that members are going to conduct themselves professionally.  However, no sooner than later, that the discussion become personalised. But upon my intervention and close control of the discussion, the meeting was back in track toward achieving it outcomes. As pointed out by (Liraz, 2013) meeting   is good approach in making decision in organization.  This was well observed in the public consultative meeting.  A lot of ideas and proposal to curb drink-driving was generated, discussion and decision made by meeting participants.   The main approach that was used toward finding solution to problem and making decision was brainstorming. Member contributes their ideas which were later discussed and decision was made through voting where necessary. As mentioned by (Jay, 1976), the success of meeting is to larger extent determined by it leadership. As the chairman of meeting, I worked hard to ensure that the meeting was well facilitated and led.   I not only introduced the items for discussion, but I also trigger logic discussion by questioning thinking, posing questions and making request for participation from members.  I also ensured that participants were well aware of and abided by the standing orders of the meeting. When a decision was to be made, a proposal was introduced discussed them followed by voting.  This helps the meeting to achieve all of intended outcome. However, the meeting took longer to complete that it was planned for.   To a larger extent, I can say my leadership in the meeting was effective since the discussed went well as planned and the intended outcome was achieved.   I however believe that I could have done better by controlling the discussion with time in mind so that   give meeting timeline was adhered to. Properly written minutes should be a true reflection of what happened in the meeting (Griffins & Juchau, 2010).  As the chairperson, I therefore had responsibility of ensuring the Meeting’s minutes was well drafted. I had to use several strategies to do so. First, before the meeting Kick-off, I had to brief the new secretary on how to take summary note of the meeting proceeding as well write the minute.  After the Minutes were drafted by the secretary, I used the agenda list to see whether the minute was drafted according to items discussed. I also proofread the whole document to ensure that the Grammar was correct and only facts were contained therein before approving and sending it to the participants.    In line with legal requirement, the minute was later sent to the participants. Two methods were used Hand deliver and email. This method was mainly chosen as compliance with the organization policies on communication which required that the most effective yet less costly method be used at all time.   The minute was later stored as a soft copy in computer file which was secured by password as well as in hard copy. The hard copy was stored in line with the organization policy on filling and record keeping.