| p>Some people are perpetually in the meetings. | | | | on leave', 'putting the problem at the bottom of the |
| When you try to get hold of them the gloom laden | | | | pending pile', 'going on tour' and if all these fail then to |
| words receive you, 'he is in the meeting, I can not | | | | 'falling sick'. |
| disturb him'. Or the pompous 'he is in the conference'. | | | | Widely patronized by government authorities this |
| This can mean almost anything. Either he is nattering | | | | method is extremely useful for |
| with his secretary or some one else's secretary on | | | | decision-avoiding.....pass off the responsibility of |
| another line, in with the boss, apple polishing him or a | | | | making the decision to someone else; do not make |
| party, haggling over with him for an under the table | | | | decisions by yourself, but bring in someone to blame |
| deal, gone for lunch, not back from lunch, gone to | | | | if things go wrong. As the very act of appointing |
| take a quick nap after lunch, gone for the day and | | | | committees will effectively ensure decision avoiding, a |
| trying out his water wings in the office think-tank. | | | | successful public servant assures himself doubly of |
| People differ in their motives for attending meetings | | | | the results in his favour. He would make the |
| conferences. While for some it may be escapism, | | | | committee as large as possible. A committee of |
| selling, buying, apple polishing, back biting and gossips, | | | | three may suddenly get to a decision. The possibility |
| for others it can be to look for a client, keep an eye | | | | is greatly alleviated if the membership is increased to |
| on a client, look for a job, look for some one to fill a | | | | nine. Research has revealed the mathematical rule |
| job or plain honest to-goodness, self aggrandizement | | | | (known as the fourth decision-rule) that the possibility |
| and all that jazz. After all the theme of a convenient | | | | of avoiding decision increases in proportion to the |
| and plausible matrix, is to act out personal needs and | | | | square of the number of members in the committee. |
| fantasies. | | | | Committees with membership of thirty and above |
| People who do not want to get involved and hate | | | | rarely reach any significant decision (e.g. National |
| doing anything conferences and meetings are the | | | | Integration Council). Alternately the boss ensures that |
| most effective devices to avoid decision. Frequently | | | | the committee meeting is made difficult. This is done |
| used for the purpose, committee is the cul-de-sac | | | | by appointing a sick chairman and members |
| down which ideas are lured and then quietly strangled. | | | | geographically as distant as possible. |
| It is an arrangement whereby a large number of | | | | In recent times however the geographical distance is |
| people gather together, some to say what they | | | | no longer a deterrent as the distances have been |
| really do not think, some not to say what they really | | | | shortened by the video conferencing and internet. |
| do. The committee is synonym of a group of men | | | | When he is on to make committee incompatible, he |
| women who individually can do nothing but as a | | | | will ensure that there are at least two members of |
| group decide that nothing can be done. A committee | | | | the committee with a previous record of proved |
| could consist of three men, two of whom are | | | | hostility or at least with a dominating attitude. It is |
| absent; the ideal committee however is a committee | | | | sure that others will develop hostility as the |
| of one. A meeting is success when it reaches an | | | | committee work proceeds. The appointment of bete |
| agreement or decides the date and venue to discuss | | | | noire, the fellow with the basic characteristics of his |
| the decision that was taken in the preceding meeting | | | | infinite capacity of saying 'no' and 'digging heels', on |
| about the next meeting. For the successful meetings | | | | the committee is sure shot for getting the proposal |
| and conferences are an end in themselves rather | | | | dropped by the initiator once he gets to know that |
| than a means to end, 'we are therefore we meet or | | | | the matter is being referred to the committee. Some |
| we meet we are therefore'. | | | | one with the exceptional quality, that any matter |
| On an average 50% of business travelers are on | | | | referred to him is guaranteed to get lost, is invaluable |
| their way to some kind of conferences. If you take | | | | to his employers because he cannot or will not |
| meetings into account then the figure doubles to | | | | complete any job assigned to him and is thus very |
| 100%---especially for top management/bureaucracy. | | | | convenient for avoiding decisions. |
| While conferences are a way of wasting everybody's | | | | The successful civil servant will always ensure his |
| time away from the office and form an integral part | | | | appointment as member of the committee with the |
| of the management by absence, meetings are a | | | | exclusive agenda of sabotaging decisions. In a |
| great way of wasting other peoples' time when in | | | | situation when meeting within meeting (the shadow |
| the office (management by pre-emption). I | | | | meetings) is convened by a caucus or a break away |
| remember when I was the student at the IIFT | | | | group with an intention to subvert the official one, a |
| (Indian Institute of Foreign Trade) conferences | | | | relaxed ambit for the top brass is to invite as many |
| meetings held under the banner of UNCTAD (United | | | | people as possible who have no interest whatsoever |
| Nations Conference on Trade and Development) | | | | nor any conceivable contribution to make, while |
| would be ridiculed in the campus as 'under no | | | | excluding people whom it does not want, either by |
| circumstances take a decision'. In the leviathan of our | | | | simply forgetting to circulate their copy of the |
| government where bureaucracy is the difficulty for | | | | agenda. Keeping the initiative is the essence of |
| every solution the day to day working is infested | | | | meeting-man-ship. One needs to consider where he is |
| with logjams, snarl ups and red tape. | | | | going to meet. He also needs to decide whether to |
| In the public space, given the differences between | | | | turn up early or not at all. Some meetings are |
| and within the various departments, unpredictability | | | | leaderless when they start (a chairman emerging by |
| about which one will report to and the absence of | | | | dint or rank or strength or personality). Shadow |
| tangible personal reward there is deep culture of risk | | | | chairman speaks as if it were from the back of |
| aversion. To protect their turf and to thrive in the | | | | benches. Meeting-man-ship requires a strategically |
| government with out rocking the boat, the | | | | tactical approach depending on whether the |
| officialdom invariably makes use of devices to avoid | | | | conference or the meeting is talked. Conferences |
| decisions....if you can avoid it do not take it. | | | | differ from meetings mainly because you are talked |
| Techniques applied vary from 'posing too busy', 'going | | | | at rather than talking among, if you follow. |