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Organizational meetings: management and benefits

Vincent Bagire Department of Business Administration, Business School,

Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda, and Jolly Byarugaba and Janet Kyogabiirwe

Department of Human Resources Management, Business School, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda

Abstract Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the management and benefits of meetings so as to draw conclusions on their effectiveness in organizations given the increasing discontent about their set up. Design/methodology/approach – The study was a cross-sectional survey, data were collected from 325 respondents in 22 service organizations in Kampala, using a questionnaire and participant observations; the instrument was tested for reliability and analysis done using descriptive and statistical techniques. Findings – The key finding was that policy regarding meetings and reasons for convening them jointly account for 57 percent variations in the benefits organizations have. The way meetings are conducted was found to have no significant effect, contrary to anecdotal evidences. The internal and external contextual factors did not affect the effectiveness of meetings. In general meetings have benefited organizations but the discontent on how they are managed is still high. Research limitations/implications – The lack of analytical and local literature on the study variables limited this study. There were also methodological challenges especially operationalization of variables, sampling and choice of respondents. Practical implications – The study underpins policy as a key factor for effectiveness of meetings; the literature supported this account. For governance boards there is need to review policy on meetings; and for managers, the paper emphasizes the need for improving how meetings are convened, conducted and the follow up action. The study has provided rich ground for scholars; the authors have extended the debate on meetings, brought into view an African context and made it possible for further studies. Social implications – Meetings involve many people in the organization and affect entire operations. There are critical personal factors that are pertinent in the outcome of meetings. The finding that personal factors do not have a significant relationship with effectiveness of meetings should not be applauded till further investigations and conceptualization is done in similar contexts. There are social implications on if meetings are not managed well as the authors have established like time wastage, employee motivation and poor management among others. Originality/value – Many papers that the authors accessed on meetings were on organizational experiences from western countries, the authors have made an original focus on Uganda and underpinned the debate on management development in Africa. The authors have also examined and provided an empirical basis for understanding effectiveness of meetings using key factors of policy, preparation, conduct and contextual factors. Keywords Africa, Decision making, Uganda, Management, Meetings, Pretended agreement Paper type Research paper

Introduction The scholarly debate on the management and effectiveness of organizational meetings has not been concluded yet. The extant literature provides majorly illustrative papers on meetings as an organizational function based on observation of practices in different

Journal of Management Development Vol. 34 No. 8, 2015 pp. 960-972 © Emerald Group Publishing Limited 0262-1711 DOI 10.1108/JMD-03-2014-0023

Received 10 March 2014 Revised 2 January 2015 Accepted 6 March 2015

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at: www.emeraldinsight.com/0262-1711.htm

The authors acknowledge the support provided by the Faculty of Management at Makerere University Business School.

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organizations. Organizational meetings derive from policy as a tenet for effective management. They provide a platform at which key decisions are made and the strategic direction of organizations is determined. Meetings bring together managers to plan, evaluate and share feedback. Management scholars in Africa have recently raised concerns whether models from the west apply locally. Management is about unison of action and through common goals, aggregation of resources to make them productive in a defined system (Lituchy et al., 2013). Zoogah and Nkomo (2013) noted that the poor research in Africa has undermined the region’s ability to develop management models that are appropriate to the local contexts. This is emphasized by Kiggundu (2013) that management knowledge is associated with powerful policy and practices; for example tenets of Ubuntu in Africa like generosity, charisma, humanism, hospitality, self-enrichment, motivational leadership, tolerance, consideration, integration, persuasiveness, representation and role assumption can be used to explain the management of organizations. However, inadequate research has been advanced in Africa on management practices. With scanty empirical studies on the management and effectiveness of meetings from the African context, we were motivated to conduct this study to examine how meetings are convened, conducted and benefits accruing based on Ugandan organizations.

The increasing tendency of regarding meetings as unproductive in Ugandan organizations is a challenge for practitioners and scholars. Anecdotal evidences show that key meetings are convened last minute and in response to urgently needed quick fix decisions. From different organizations members across the management divide continued to regard meetings as time wasters, reactive and rubber stamping for decisions. The follow up of decisions derived at such meetings becomes a dilemma. With such openly heard expressions, the meetings hardly achieve the purpose for which they are provided in organizational policy. In this paper we present findings on how meetings are managed, their effectiveness and the benefits in Ugandan organizations. The investigation was guided by the research question that:

RQ1. How are meetings convened, conducted and what benefits accrue to organizations?

Literature review The discontent on meetings finds support in extant management literature (Nelson and Economy, 1995). Meetings are a key tool in effective management and a common organizational activity. Meetings provide a forum for decision making, communication, motivation, interpersonal relationships and dispute settlement. Meetings should be participatory and a reflection of teamwork in an organization. However, to achieve these objectives, meetings should be effectively managed. The process and conduct of meetings is a skill that derives into effective management of the entire organization. Meetings remain the essential mechanism through which organizations create and maintain the practical activity of organizing. According to Boden (1994), meetings are the occasioned expression of management in action.

There is a host of papers on meetings illustrating how they are managed and the frustrations organizational members have (Linda, 2000; Yoon and Lazarus, 1993). Meetings were defined by Denyer (1980) as an organized session of members for purposes of consulting and deriving decisions. Karen (2004) described meetings as the windows on the soul of business, which reveal the quality of its management.

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He categorized into formal meetings and informal meetings. Meetings are essential but a costly function in organizations. In America, meetings consume 30-80 percent of managers’ daily time. A Fortune 50 company reported a loss of $75 million due to poorly managed meetings (Briggs and Vreede, 1997). In the Caribbean, executives have in the past spent more time in meetings of which 35 percent was surveyed to be unproductive (Sayed et al., 1997). Meetings today dominate the way in which business is done.

For meetings to play their central role in management, the three stage process of preparation, conduct and follow up are essential. A good preparation for a meeting may be laid to waste if it is not conducted well. Greta (2006) emphasized that organizational meetings should have consistent form and be structured. Meetings generate new ideas, facilitate decision making, build teams, enhance socialization and provide a platform to share visions (Briggs and Vreede, 1997). In management, organizational problems are complex that no individual can go it alone and thus meetings garner acceptance and are a group reality check point while building synergy. Meetings build commitment and are an established platform for leaders to demonstrate their role and authority and for all managers to show the cross-functional collaboration (Clark, 2004). Allen and Rogelberg (2013) used Kahn’s theory to confirm that meetings promote employee engagement.

Meetings should be prepared for, and literature provides a long check list. The first important issue emphasized by many authors is purpose. If there is no purpose to meet, no meeting should be called otherwise it will be a recipe for disaster that management should avoid (Clark, 2004; Wiggins, 2008). When the purpose is clear, then communication should be sent specifying the agenda, the date, duration and materials needed. The technical staff should ensure that materials are prepared and distributed as required; the room and requisite facilities should be in place and set by the time the meeting starts (Riegger, 2008; Sayed et al., 1997; Kemp and Williams, 2013). Rick (2009) contends that meeting places can be intimidating, thus distorting the good intention for which the meeting was called. Gail (1995) illustrates how effective group meetings can be achieved using the electronic brain storming system. Technology can improve effectiveness and communication.

The success of any meeting depends on how it is conducted. Research shows that the role of the chairperson is central. It is an administrative role to ensure that the meeting achieves the objectives for which it was convened. The facilitator should allow a free flow of ideas. Brandit (2006) posits that many new managers or those newly promoted to positions that require them to chair high-level organizational meetings are often worried wondering if they will be effective. In a survey of 238 facilitators of meetings, Niederman and Volkema (1999), concluded that their characteristics such as experience and training correlate with multiple aspects of managing meetings. The factor of time management in meetings is widely emphasized (Saville, 2008; Wiggins, 2008; Janice and Hayers, 1995; Walter and Lazarus, 1991). According to Oliver (2004) every effective meeting is a timed process. Conversely, Kemp and Williams (2013) found that in the Gulf Arab states time is not taken seriously in meetings thus affecting their effectiveness. Lewis (1998) stipulates as good practices, having a clear agenda, being focussed, ensuring full participation, humor, clearly defined action plan, good scheduling, prompt starting and clear direction. Ken and Ramona (1994) illustrate what they called common myths that often make meetings resemble a dramatic performing art with predetermined cast of using 100 lb of energy to produce three ounces of results.

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The follow up of the outcome is regarded as an equally essential stage in the process. The meeting is only a station in management. In many cases it is only the beginning of a long demanding managerial engagement. Nolan (2003) noted that each meeting should have springboards at the end. Many things should happen after the meeting. Many organizational members develop negative attitudes toward meetings because nothing is done after the meeting. All the important issues raised should see a step ahead before any subsequent meeting. This simple rule enhances commitment, dynamism and hard work.

Meetings are seen as vicious circles; they take precious time, lose focus and fail to generate action items or get hijacked (Janice and Hayers, 1995; Clark, 2004). A narrow view of organizational perspectives is that meetings generate decisions and that participants address issues in a cognitive process (Borum and Christiansen, 2006). This is labelled a linear view and it neglects other models available to portfolio managers (Akrich et al., 2002; McCarthy et al., 2006). With the same concerns of negative attitudes that crop up, Lewis (1998) demonstrated some of the problems that derail meetings as not keeping to the agenda, lack of focus, time wasting, lack of action plan, hidden agenda and domineering by a few. Many meetings suffer poor attendance or walk out along the process. When group ideas are neglected at previous meetings as well as continued domination by a few ardent members of the group, subsequently others will lose enthusiasm and make less and lesser appearances. Walter and Lazarus (1991) examined the time spent, productiveness or otherwise, functional group differences and attitudes among other factors in achieving effective meetings. They concluded that there is need for training to inculcate skills not for subordinates only but managers as well. This position is emphasized by Niederman and Volkema (1999).

Meetings are also bogged down by pretended agreement. Swinton (2005) argues that effective communication in business meetings is about disagreement, expressing opinions, voicing concerns and harnessing the energy to create a solution that people want and care about. It is difficult many times for the leader of the meeting to know if members are genuine or not in their contributions. Some may give ideas to delay action or to waste away the time and enjoy the fun of it, others may intentionally want to fail the leader. In such cases decisions are a result of pretended agreement; this is a situation of group thinking when members in a meeting support a decision but individually none of them agrees with it (Harvey, 1988). This is often revealed shortly after the meeting when individuals open up. This is confirmed in Bagire’s (2009) empirical illustration of a meeting that was flawed with pretended agreement and the scenic upshot that resulted into wastage of valuable organizational resources and interpersonal conflict.

The need for effective management of meetings in organizations cannot be over emphasized. Walter and Lazarus (1990) concluded that meetings not only mirror value of management but also its ability. The necessity to have meetings conducted well is evidently a desire of many organizational leaders. The skill to manage a meeting, develop thoughts, motivate and move people with ideas to positive action is a critical asset in management practice. Meeting effectiveness should be seen in various benefits to the organization as an entire system.

Methodology This study was guided by the positivistic philosophical paradigm. Management practice is widely influenced by social constructions in the organizational environment and thus can be observable without researcher interference. It means

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that a study of a management variable like meetings is better approached from an inductive approach and triangulation of methods. A cross-sectional survey design was selected with both qualitative and quantitative data. The target population was managers and employees in both public institutions and private business organizations. The study targeted 25 service organizations including educational institutions, mass media companies and government departments. From each organization 20 respondents were reached using simple random sampling. Of the 500 targeted respondents, the researchers had 325 usable questionnaires returned from 22 organizations. We thus realized a 65 percent response rate providing credence to the results.

Data were collected using a structured questionnaire with a total of 67 items in six sections. The questionnaire was structured on a five-point Likert type scale ranging from “not sure” to “strongly agree.” The tool was tested for reliability using the Cronbach’s α for different items with outcomes all above the recommended 0.7 (Nachamias and Nachamias, 1996). The researchers also collected data through participatory observation as they took part in a number of meetings taking note of the processes. Quantitative data were analyzed using correlation and regression techniques in SPSS. Qualitative data on the other hand were analyzed through a summary sheet identifying themes in line with the study variables and subsequently used in the discussion of the results.

Results and discussion Demographic statistics The results were obtained from data provided by 325 respondents in 22 service organizations. The majority was from mass media firms (37 percent), followed by secondary schools with 21 percent; others were from universities and corporations. From the individual organizations, Parliament had the highest score with 18 percent of the total respondents. Other demographical statistics pertinent for our results include gender where a high majority was male and aged above 50 years. Over half of the respondents were of degree qualification and only 1 percent had secondary education. Importantly, the highest number was in the middle level of management who understand the organization well but not biased by top management experiences. The details are reported in Table I. With these demographics, we note that the responses were from people who are mature, educated and well placed to interpret the instrument.

Descriptive statistics Policy on meetings. The findings showed that organizations in Uganda had clearly stipulated policies on meetings. These were in regard to expected members, quorum, agenda items, time for notices, procedures of the meetings and mode of decision making. These were in many cases documented especially in the public organizations. Respondents in the private firms intimated that most behaviors in management of meetings are based more on practices than policy. There is also influence by characteristics of managers, members and departments. The key policy issues are summarized in Table II for easier discernment.

Reasons for convening meetings. Our respondents from both management and non- management positions indicated that they perceived meetings to be convened mainly to receive communication on decisions of top management. The results also indicated a

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high perception that meetings were convened as a routine, to handle particularly no pressing issues. Respondents from bottom management highly agreed with the view that meetings are for disciplinary action and conflict solving contrary to top managers to whom communication and consultation were the key reasons. The other factors like coordination of work tasks, share experiences and as routine had comparable responses. The summary is in Table II.

Contextual factors. We were also interested in contextual factors that could affect the effectiveness of meetings. We examined personal factors like family obligations,

Frequency Valid %

Gender Male 213 65.5 Female 112 34.5

Age 8-29 24 8.1 30-30 97 32.7 40-49 130 43.8 50+ 46 15.5

Education Secondary 5 1.6 Diploma 83 26.3 Degree 140 44.3 Postgrad. 88 27.8

Level of magt. Top 33 10.9 Middle 139 45.7 Bottom 132 43.4

Table I. Demographic statistics of respondents

Organizational policy Convening the meeting Conducting the meeting Contextual factors

Respondents agreed that in their organizations, there was policy on: Types of meetings Members expected The quorum required The notice for meetings The agenda for meetings The procedure of meeting Decision procedure

Respondents agreed the following to be reasons why meetings are convened: For consultation Means to communicate To handle grievances Carry out disciplinary action For solving conflicts Brain storming on issues Share experiences Check management system

Confirmed reasons why meetings are not productive: The agenda is not consistently followed The venue selected for meetings is not suitable The sitting arrangement not favorable Duration of the meetings not adhered to Hostilities building up during meetings Few members dominating others Inadequate reference documents

Contextual factors rated low in affecting meetings: Family factors Community events National events Internal facilities Weather patterns Infrastructure Competition Legal issues Economic situation

Table II. The selected factors in the management of organizational

meetings

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national events in the country, community activities and others like public infrastructure. All these factors were perceived to have a less cause on the effectiveness of meetings in the organizations.

Why meetings are not productive. The examination of this issue was the motivation of this study after overwhelming anecdotal evidences. Meetings as a management tool have come under serious public scrutiny from both managers and staff in various organizations. From the analysis of the findings, respondents generally agreed that meetings in Ugandan organizations are productive although there are serious concerns on how they are managed. We tested for perceptions on a number of items all of which were rated high by respondents; top on the list was lack of quorum followed by hidden agenda and short notice given for meetings. The other highly rated was unimplemented resolutions. We used as a surrogate the factor of lack of follow up action. The response to this item was closely the same with 92 percent confirming that not following up resolutions is a key factor affecting productivity of meetings in Uganda. Other factors were meetings lasting a long time, lack of suitable facilities, no materials and the timing of meetings. The responses on these items are summarized by descriptive statistics in Table III.

The results reaffirmed the views and agreed with previous scholars. We build a strong case for the need to reexamine how meetings are conducted and the follow up actions both at governance and management levels.

Benefits of meetings to organizations. To complete our model we sought perceptions of respondents on the benefits of meetings to their organizations. The findings revealed that meetings in Ugandan organizations have led to improved communication and thus better human relations at work among employees. Meetings have been a forum for settlement of conflicts and disputes. Sharing of experience among members and departments is enhanced when meetings are convened and conducted well. Many respondents felt that meetings are necessary in running their organizations as they generate new ideas for management to ensure systematic organizational work procedures.

Inferential statistics. To make empirical inferences, statistical analyses were carried out to test the relationships prevalent among the factors enumerated in our model. We first run a correlation analysis to explore the associations among the variables (Table IV).

Score items n Mean SD

Lack of quorum at the meeting 321 4.6262 0.78490 Hidden agenda by the leaders 322 4.6211 0.69214 No follow up action after meetings 311 4.5916 0.86721 Unimplemented resolutions for the past meetings 322 4.5559 0.76017 Lack of reference documents like minutes 321 4.5452 0.94802 Short notice given for the meetings 321 4.5296 0.73733 Timing of the meeting (morning, evening, start of week, end of week, end of month, etc.)

294 4.4694 1.04052

Unfamiliar agenda items at the meetings 321 4.4361 0.97298 Luck of openness during discussions 322 4.4317 0.96512 Duration of meeting always too long 320 4.4125 0.85930 Poor facilities at the meeting 322 4.3882 0.95127 None specification of who to attend 322 4.3199 1.00784 Personality of the chairperson 321 4.3146 1.10570 No seating allowance expected 320 4.2437 1.16504

Table III. Descriptive statistics – why meetings are unproductive

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The coefficients obtained ranged from low, moderate to high among the variables. The associations were all positive and significant. The highest correlation was between factors for convening meetings and how they are conducted; with a subsequent high association with the benefits. The contextual factors that we chose for the study had the lowest correlation coefficients with benefits of meetings. We could not explain this outcome based on extant literature that we accessed. Having established the correlations it was in our interest and model of this study to examine the predictions of certain factors to the benefits organizations have from meetings. This would enable us to draw conclusions on their effectiveness. We used hierarchical regression to achieve this and the change statistics is presented in Table V.

In the first model we tested for two control variables that we thought affect effectiveness of meetings namely, the type of organization and the level of management of the respondents. However, these two factors were not statistically significant. In model 2 we entered policy as the key factor that determines meetings in organizations. The result was significant with an R2 of 0.348 and p-value ¼ 0.000. In model 3 we added reasons why meetings are convened and in the next model how they are conducted. Factors of convening meetings led to a statistically significant result (R2 ¼ 0.567; p-value ¼ 0.000) while it was not significant how they are conducted. The F-change was a very low 0.310 compared to the 80.347 for convening of meetings. The policy and reasons together accounted for 56.7 percent variations in the benefits of meetings to organizations. In the final model we introduced contextual factors, which was an aggregated variable capturing both internal and external factors. This item had a low F-change and the model was not significant (p-value ¼ 0.258). The prediction power of the model remained 57 percent.

The results therefore showed that the key factors leading to effective meetings that have strong benefits to organizations are the policies and reasons for convening them.

1 2 3 4

1. Policy guiding meetings 2. Reasons for convening meetings 0.603** 3. Practices in conducting meetings 0.613** 0.749** 4. Contextual factors affecting meetings 0.360** 0.350** 0.443** 5. Benefits from meetings to organization 0.546** 0.741** 0.603** 0.272** Note: **Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level

Table IV. Correlation analysis

results

Change statistics Model R R2 Adjusted R2 SE of the estimate R2-change F-change Sig. F-change

1 0.135 0.018 0.006 2.70469 0.018 1.501 0.226 2 0.590 0.348 0.336 2.21081 0.330 80.967 0.000 3 0.753 0.567 0.556 1.80758 0.219 80.347 0.000 4 0.754 0.568 0.554 1.81152 0.001 0.310 0.579 5 0.756 0.571 0.555 1.80987 0.004 1.287 0.258

Table V. Regression analysis

results

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While as the policies in some sections provided for how meetings should be conducted, our findings and analysis showed that the process of running the meeting was not a significant factor determining the benefits accruing to organizations. Therefore our aggregated variable of management of meetings (preparation, convening, conducting) partially accounts for variations in their benefits to organizations.

In our participant observations during various meetings it was confirmed that the policies on meetings were specified. For example in one of the universities where the study took place, there were meetings for management, faculty boards, examiners boards, staff associations and departments. The membership and items to handle in these meetings were specified in the invitation. Although in some meetings the quorum was mentioned, the chairperson would call for registration of members and apologies received. The agenda for meetings was a contentious issue at times taking turns of discussion before confirming the items. The duration of meetings was also unstructured. In some cases the chairperson sought the view of members how long they wished to get through with business; in other cases it depended on completion of business while there were instances where members just raised contention that the meeting had dragged on too long. This finding leaves gap in the ideas expressed by Saville (2008) and Wiggins (2008) who emphasize that duration is a key factor to effectiveness of meetings. Our results were in concert with the findings by Kemp and Williams (2013) in the Gulf Arab states where lateness, haphazard sitting, open door and other disruptions were noted.

Karen (2004) posited that meetings are the windows on the soul of business meaning that they essentially reveal what is going on within the management system. Our findings confirmed this position. Many authors argue that if there is no sound reason to convene a meeting, management should not do so, lest it will be a recipe for disaster (Clark, 2004; Wiggins, 2008). Our finding therefore confirms that managers should not call meetings without a clear purpose; we observed long discussions on items proposed for the agenda where some were deleted and others combined implying that the facilitators had not adequately thought through the reasons for convening the meeting.

The point of departure for this study was that meetings are becoming increasingly unproductive. The results have confirmed that the process of conducting meetings does not account for the expected benefits to the organization. The common problems affecting meetings are listed by Lewis (1998) as well Walter and Lazarus (1991). Our findings found the same factors but the analysis did not support the position that they are significant. One item that had stood out in the way meetings are conducted was the decision-making process. It was observed that lack of openness bred pretended agreement in decision making. This was observed at one of the universities and confirmed by cases from other organizations. We confirmed the case as highlighted by Bagire (2009) in an earlier study of management in Ugandan organizations. This was a case where university lecturers in a meeting of their academic staff association passed a resolution to sue the Ministry of Education for preventing a high court order that had pronounced that the affiliated college in which they taught was free to declare itself a separate university. They even agreed to the monetary deductions from their emoluments to finance the court process. Shortly after the meeting, many members opened up revealing how they individually never supported the decision but had been drawn by group thinking. The suit never took off and was overtaken by cabinet decisions on the matter.

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For Greta (2006), the issues of consistent form and structure in handling meetings are very critical, both of which have not been confirmed by this study. Walter and Lazarus (1991) posited that poorly managed meetings cost American businesses a fortune in dollar value. We did not analyze monetary values of poorly conducted meetings but speculate it to be high and recommend further research with such analysis. Our measures of outcome of meetings reflected the quality aspect emphasized by Karen (2004). This study confirms that meetings have enabled organizations to improve in communication, human relations, management of conflict and policy formulation. One contested benefit of meetings was on staff motivation. Our study did not check cross-functional collaboration where we would have ascertained the contribution of meetings toward staff motivation as proposed by Clark (2004). This item had the lowest mean value and highest standard deviation in the descriptive statistics. It is a rich area and it for further study.

Conclusions and practical implications This study has initiated a critical analysis of meetings as a process of improving management in Ugandan organizations. Meetings are a key practice in running organizations although many studies confirm that there are key gaps in their management. There are evidences of poor preparation, conducting and failed outcomes. Among many Ugandan organizations, these have been viewed from anecdotal evidences but we have now reaffirmed them empirically. This study has determined the key factors pertinent in management and benefits of meetings in Uganda as advancement of management scholarship in Africa. While our key findings have agreed with previous studies, we emphasize that Africa’s unique context is important in understanding the behavior of some factors. From results of our model, we draw the conclusion that meetings are generally embedded in policies and have benefitted organizations; however, the manner in which they are convened and conducted is still wanting. There was reaffirmation of negative opinion against meetings. Being an integrated process, the management of meetings is still a problem and affecting overall management of organizations.

The study has various practical implications for policy, practice and research. With increased organizational dynamics and changes in management practice, have come new models like management by objectives, result oriented and total quality management. Governance boards should therefore review the policies and practices of organizational meetings. They are a key tool in management and must be given adequate attention to contribute toward organizational efficiency from corporate to management levels. Managers should use meetings as a spring board to improve communication, employee engagement, planning, team building and management development. There are internal occurrences that require to be addressed by meetings; they are thus a routine event for effective managerial work. Managers should review policy frameworks on meetings especially how they are convened, conducted and follow up of outcomes. Increasingly, ICT should be used positively to improve management of not only meetings but organizations as a whole.

For researchers, studies on the management of organizations in the Ugandan context are still in nascent stages. Our focus on meetings has not exhausted this aspect among others. There is need for more analytical studies using a larger sample of organizations, examination of the personality and competencies of managers, costs, resource capability and technology levels. Studies on the relationship or mediation

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effects of meetings with performance of employees and the organizations are needed. To contribute to better management, scholars should document best practices and analyze differences in samples drawn from various sectors and organizational demographics.

The results in this study are limited by the lack of analytical literature on the factors that we studied from the local context. Some aspects of our methodology especially sampling the individual respondents may have affected our results. Our operationalization of the variables was not based on a clear theoretical framework. We are not sure if a larger sample of organizations could have led to different and more significant results. There could be limitations arising from cross-sectional survey design. We however, contend that despite these limitations, our results on the management and benefits of meetings can be relied upon for practice and further research.

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