Making Meetings More Successful: Plans,Formats,and Procedures for Group Problem-Solving

This essay treats several aspects of group meetings and conferences: 1) steps in planning for chairing a meeting or conference; 2) possible for mats, or general superstructures, for organizing sessions and facilitating group discussion and decision efforts; 3) alternative procedures for group problem-solving (Problem Census, Rational Reflection, Brain storming, Buzz Groups, Nominal Groups, Delphi Method, Listening Teams, Role Playing, Two-Column Technique, RISK, and PERT). There is an example illustrating how these formats and procedures can be used conjoin tly.