The Cambridge Handbook of Meeting Science

Spanning a variety of disciplines and topics, this Handbook offers the first comprehensive overview of the science behind workplace meetings.

Joseph A. Allen (Edited by), Nale Lehmann-Willenbrock (Edited by), Steven G. Rogelberg (Edited by)

9781107067189, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 15 July 2015

808 pages, 43 b/w illus. 50 tables
25.7 x 18.3 x 4.6 cm, 1.54 kg

'The Cambridge Handbook of Meeting Science contains many facets of meetings, including meetings held in different countries, virtual meetings, the interactions of people, plus even the 'chit chat' that occurs in the period before a meeting. It therefore provides a comprehensive examination of the information on meetings from numerous different perspectives and, as a result, will be an invaluable and unique addition to the library of universities and other educational establishments where management or business is studied. It will also be of use in large corporations.' Mabel Blades, Business, management

This first volume to analyze the science of meetings offers a unique perspective on an integral part of contemporary work life. More than just a tool for improving individual and organizational effectiveness and well-being, meetings provide a window into the very essence of organizations and employees' experiences with the organization. The average employee attends at least three meetings per week and managers spend the majority of their time in meetings. Meetings can raise individuals, teams, and organizations to tremendous levels of achievement. However, they can also undermine effectiveness and well-being. The Cambridge Handbook of Meeting Science assembles leading authors in industrial and organizational psychology, management, marketing, organizational behavior, anthropology, sociology, and communication to explore the meeting itself, including pre-meeting activities and post-meeting activities. It provides a comprehensive overview of research in the field and will serve as an invaluable starting point for scholars who seek to understand and improve meetings.

Part I. Introduction: 1. An introduction to The Cambridge Handbook of Meeting Science: why now?
2. Exploring meeting science: key questions and answers
3. Five theoretical lenses for conceptualizing the role of meetings in organizational life
Part II. Pre-Meeting Activities and Context: Meeting Setup: 4. Meeting preparation and design characteristics
5. Meeting training: a suggestion
Meeting Composition: 6. How differences make a difference: the role of team diversity in meeting processes and outcomes
7. Meetings across cultures: cultural differences in meeting expectations and processes
Pre-Meeting Communication: 8. So much more than 'chitchat': a closer look at pre-meeting talk
Macro Meeting Context: 9. Meetings all over the world: structural and psychological characteristics of meetings in different countries
10. Organizational meeting orientation: the construct, scales and research propositions
11. A systemic view of meetings – windows on organization collective minding
Part III. The Meeting Itself: Capturing and Understanding Dynamics and Processes of the Meeting: 12. Meetings as interactional achievements: a conversation analytic perspective
13. Multimodal perspectives on meeting interaction: recent trends in conversation analysis
14. Toward a theory of strategic meeting interaction
15. Social dynamics at work: meetings as a gateway
16. Social networks in meetings: how do people connect?
17. Effective leader behaviors in regularly held staff meetings: surveyed vs videotaped and coded observations
18. They meet, they talk … but nothing changes: meetings as a focal context for studying change processes in organizations
19. Relative status and emotion regulation in workplace meetings: a conceptual model
20. Dynamic affect in team meetings: an interpersonal construct embedded in dynamic interaction processes
Tools and Models for Promoting Meeting Success: 21. Designing and executing effective meetings with codified best facilitation practices
22. Finding the gorilla: the impact of complexity and diversity on meeting process
23. Information utilization in meetings
24. What is consensus and how is it achieved in meetings? Four types of consensus decision-making
25. Creativity and meetings: do team meetings facilitate or hinder creative team performance?
Part IV. Special Types of Meetings: Post Event Meetings: 26. Debrief: the learning meeting
27. Implementing after action review systems in organizations: key principles and practical considerations
Virtual Meetings: 28. Meeting organization strategy: the 'why' and 'how' of meetings with virtual presence
29. The successful facilitation of virtual team meetings
Part V. Synthesis and Conclusion: 30. The science and practice of workplace meetings
31. There's something about meetings: order and disorder in the study of meetings.

Subject Areas: Office & workplace [KJW], Organizational theory & behaviour [KJU], Business communication & presentation [KJP], Time management [KJMT], Occupational & industrial psychology [JMJ]