Meeting space

Meeting space is a forum for authorized persons, participants, meeting coordinator, series of tools documents and references materials. Meetings can take place online and in real space. According to David H. Bigelow, A meeting can be setup as a virtual meeting room of various subjects and content references which can enable participants to do various things, such as freehand draw on subject spaces, place external content, relate items to each other visually or using organization tools within the environmental". Participants do not have to attend in on-line meetings because they have persistent.

System of electronic meeting

Electronic conference allows attending individuals persons at diverse locations. The conference system is capable of transmitting and receiving digital signals from users connected to the network. When the operator selects the element to perform the conference, the display shows a general view of the conference room, a list of currently held conferences and a window of the conference participant is shown. Animated characters represent attendance.

Opportunities that we will find in the electronic system that will facilitate the work of users and the management of meetings:

• Possibility to send invitations via the network to each participant.
• Login function to recognize the user and that authorized users can enter the meeting.
• Workspace in which each participant can manage meetings.
• Tools for organizing meetings:

1. boards
2. websites
3. computer presentation (PowerPoint)
4. brainstorming
5. diagramming

• A history module that records changes in the content of the meeting and the activities of each participant.

Organization of meetings in the office

Meetings can also take place in the workplace, physically. Many factors i.e. the location, number of people and the character of the event determine whether the meetings are formal or informal. Meetings at workplaces are usually short and not many people participate. In large open offices, you can create a meeting space near each working group. The space for discussion should be properly equipped. The group should have equipment such as a chalk board and table. This space helps in gathering materials. When we need a higher level of privacy, we can create a special room for such meetings. It important is to have a reservation system for such a room so that the work is efficient and space is well prepared. The space must be developed so that it is most useful. A place to rest, drink coffee or tea during a break is very important because it is often there that various information is exchanged.

The allocation of meeting space depends on the type of organization:

• Larger organizations need large places, e.g. for training sessions.
• Companies with a lot of managerial positions need more formal meeting places.
• Companies whose business is to work with clients require meeting places that are separate from the workplace.
• Groups that work on projects need more meeting places then office workers.

Comparison of communication methods

Face-to-face meeting - this method has the advantages of two-way communication and informal interaction, which can be important when we meet with a key stakeholder. During such a meeting you can get acquainted with nonverbal tips, so thanks to this method you can get the opinions of experts. This type of communication should be reserved for important team problems due to the difficulty and cost of planning a meeting in-person.

Staff and management meeting - this type of communication requires the person representing the group to be well prepared, interaction skills and verbal communication. Some topics are best discussed at a group meeting so that we can get feedback from many people and listen to issues that are discussed in that forum.

Via a sponsor - this person makes decisions regarding the approval of the project plan, deals with the removal of organizational barriers or making other important decisions. The sponsor is the team's spokesperson and is best prepared for this. The disadvantage of this method is often its abuse and not using other methods

E-mail - as the only method is available 24/7 and is fast

Meeting space — recommended articles

Informal communication — Process of business communication — Job classification — Knowledge tree — Communication plan in project — Communication in management — Team types — Team communication style — Communication with stakeholders

References

• Bigelow D.H. (2009),Persistent collaborative on-line meeting space p.1,2,7
• Duffy F. (red.)(2016), Planning Office Space Elsevier p.158, 161
• Narayanaswamy K. (2005),Electronic meeting center p.1
• Parker G. M. (2010), Meeting excellence: 33 Tools to Lead Meetings That Get Results John Wiley & Sons
• Vince J.(red.)(2000), Digital Media: The Future Springer Science & Business Media

Footnotes

Author: Oliwia Kamińska