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Case Study: Meeting Planning

DIRECTIONS Read the case below and answer the questions that follow.

Francine Higgins has been working at Kapor Pharmaceuticals for six months. On several occasions she has been asked to set up meetings for three or four people within the company. Francine merely called the employees and gave them the date, time, and location for the meetings. The attendees usually met in an open office or conference room. No one asked Francine to do anything else.

Last week Francine’s supervisor, Kyle Rathman, asked her to set up a meeting for five executives from Reinhart’s Medical Supplies and three executives at Kapor Pharmaceuticals. Although planning a meeting this large was new to Francine, she used her calendaring software to arrange the meeting with the executives in the company, and she called those executives outside the firm. She gave them the date, time, and location of the meeting over the phone.

When it was time for the meeting to begin, the group was unable to find the meeting room. Mr. Rathman had to find Francine (who was on her morning break) to learn why a conference room was not reserved. Francine quickly found an empty conference room on another floor and went back on break. Soon Mr. Rathman was looking for Francine again because he could not locate the equipment for showing a video. Francine called the Media Department to request the equipment; it was delivered in 20 minutes. Mr. Rathman convened the meeting, and Francine returned to her desk. Mr. Rathman called a few minutes later asking Francine when she would be joining the meeting to record the minutes.

At the conclusion of the meeting, Francine prepared the minutes and gave them to Mr. Rathman. When he asked Francine if copies had been sent to the other attendees, she said they had not. Mr. Rathman became very upset. He accused Francine of lacking professionalism and not understanding the negative impression people get from attending an improperly planned meeting. As he was leaving the office, Mr. Rathman turned and told Francine that she had not even had the foresight to order refreshments for his guests.

QUESTIONS

  1. What steps should Francine have taken in planning the meeting?
  1. How might Francine have helped Mr. Rathman make a more professional appearance for the attendees?
  1. Does Mr. Rathman have any responsibility for the poor meeting? If so, what should he have done or not done?
  1. What should Francine’s reactions to Mr. Rathman’s comments be?