Менеджеры и менеджмент (Executives and Management) - 61 стр.

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235
sions". For a start, the number of people attending a meeting tends to be inversely proportional to their collec-
tive ability to reach conclusions and make decisions. And these are the least important elements.
Instead hours are devoted to side issues, playing elaborate games with one another. It seems therefore, that
meetings serve some purpose other than just making decisions.
All meetings have one tiling in common: role-playing. The most formal role is that of chairman.
He (and it is usually a he) sets the agenda, and a good chairman will keep the meeting running on time and
to the point. Sadly, the other, informal, role-players are often able to gain the upper hand. Chief is the "constant
talker", who just loves to hear his or her own voice.
Then there are the "can't do" types who want to maintain the status quo. Since they have often been in the
organization for a long time, they frequently quote historical experience as a ploy to block change: "It won't
work. We tried that in 1984 and it was a disaster. " A more subtle version of the "can't do" type, the "yes, but ...
", has emerged recently. They have learnt about the need to sound positive, hut they still can't hear to have
things change.
Another whole sub-sets of characters are people who love meetings and want them to continue until 5.
30pm or beyond. Irrelevant issues are their specialty. They need to call or attend meetings, either to avoid work
or to justify their lack of performance, or simply because they do not have enough to do.
Then there are the "counter-dependents", those who usually disagree with everything that is said, particu-
larly if it comes from the chairman or through consensus from the group. These people need to fight authority
in whatever form.
Meetings can also provide attenders with a sense of identification of their status and power. In this case,
managers arrange meetings as a means of communicating to others the boundaries of their exclusive club who
is "in", and who is not.
A popular game is pinching someone else's suggestions. This is where someone, usually junior or female,
makes an interesting suggestion early in the meeting, which is not picked up. Much later, the game is played,
usually by some more senior figure who propounds the idea as his own. The suggestion is of course identified
with the player rather than the initiator.
Because so many meetings end in confusion and without a decision, another more communal game is
played at the end of meetings, called reaching a false consensus. Since it is important for the chairman to appear
successful in problem solving and making a decision, the group reaches a false consensus. Everyone is happy,
having spent their time productively. The reality is that the decision is so ambiguous that it is never acted upon,
or, if it is. There is continuing conflict, for which another meeting is necessary.
In the end, meetings provide the opportunity for social intercourse, to engage in battle in front of our
bosses, to avoid unpleasant or unsatisfying work, to highlight our social status identity. They are, in fact, a nec-
essary though not necessarily productive psychological side-show. Perhaps it is our civilized way of moderat-
ing, if not preventing change.
(from The Independent On Sunday)
Decide whether these statements are true or false, according to the article.
1. According to Henry Mintzberg, managers spend most of their working time having meetings.
2. According to him, the purpose of meetings is to solve problems and make decisions.
3. At а meeting every person is playing a role.
4. The writer mentions eight roles that people play at meetings.
5. A "can't do" type is in favor of tradition and against new ideas.
6. People who aren't invited to meetings are regarded as less important by those who do attend.
7. It's normally junior people who steal other people's ideas at meetings.
8. Men at meetings no longer treat women as inferiors.
9. Even when no definite decisions are made at a meeting, the people often leave thinking the meeting has
been useful.
10. The writer believes that meetings are a waste of time and prevent changes being made.
Highlight any useful vocabulary you’d like to remember in the passage.
UNIT SEVEN

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