HOW TO CONDUCT EFFECTIVE MEETINGS

 

HOW TO CONDUCT EFFECTIVE MEETINGS

HOLDING MEETINGS

A meeting is an assembly of people e.g. for discussing issues, for entertainment, for worship, etc. Everyone hates a boring meeting. All meetings must have concrete objectives that can be accomplished in the time allotted. Good meetings are productive and enjoyable; they are run efficiently and they build good morale.
 

OBJECTIVES

 Generally, good grassroots meetings are held to:
1.    Plan action
2.    Assign responsibilities
3.    Make decisions
4.    Build team spirit
5.    Reemphasize or generate commitments to a shared purpose.
 

TYPES OF MEETINGS

There are many types of meeting, each with specific objective. Examples include:
1.    Accountability meetings with officials to gain their support or to remind them of promises they have   made in the past
2.    Informational meetings for public education, which may have recruitment objectives     as well
3.    Committee meetings; and
4.    Administrative meetings

Most of your early group meetings, especially internal or organizational ones will be used to plan action, make decisions and build support.
The meeting's objectives will aid greatly in setting the agenda. The objective should make it clear who should attend and what they can expect as an outcome of the meeting (decisions, knowledge, commitments or new assignments).
 

ABOUT MEETING AND ROLES

Every meeting requires some administrative management in five key areas. Someone should take or be assigned responsibility for each of the five administrative roles. For small groups, a few people may be responsible for several administrative tasks. The tasks are as follows:
 

1.    Facilitating or Chairing the Meeting
 

Someone should be assigned with the responsibility  of facilitating or chairing the meeting. Usually the Presiding Officer chairs the meeting. At all meetings, it is up to the Presiding Officer to use the rules of parliamentary procedure appropriately so that good order and reasonable  decorum are maintained and the business of the meeting goes forward. At times, the technical rules of parliamentary procedure may be relaxed as long as the meeting accomplishes its purpose and  the rights of absentees and minorities are protected. Conventions and large meetings are conducted more formally than the meetings of small boards and committees.
 

The Role of Presiding Officer
 

The Presiding officer (Chair) should:
⦁    Be ready to call the meeting to order at the set time
⦁    Follow the agenda and clarify what is happening and what is being voted on at all times
⦁    Deal firmly with whispering, commotion and frivolous or delaying debate and motions.
⦁    See that debate is confined to the merits of the question and that personal comments are avoided. No one should speak more than twice on a subject, and no one should speak a second time until all who wish to speak have had a chance to do so.
⦁    Talk no more than necessary. Except in small boards and committees, the Presiding Officer should not enter the debate without giving up the chair to a substitute until the motion under the debate has been voted on.
⦁    Remain calm and deal fairly with all sides regardless of personal opinion. To preserve this impartiality, the Presiding Officer abstains from voting except by ballot or to cast the deciding vote on an issue.
 

2.    Taking Notes
 

It is usually the duty of the Secretary to take notes. The Secretary:
⦁    is the recording officer
⦁    handles correspondence
⦁    issues notices of meetings
⦁    informs those elected or appointed to office or committees
⦁    receives and file committee reports; and
⦁    keeps the minutes of meetings
 

3.    Keeping the Time
 

The timekeeper is saddled with the responsibility of keeping time. A particular amount of time is usually set for discussing an agenda item, and the timekeeper sees to it that the agenda is discussed within the set time.
 

4.    Presenting New Topic or Material
 

An officer is usually assigned with the responsibility of presenting new topic or business for discussion.
 

5.    Host or Hostess
 

You are to assign an officer with the responsibility of greeting new people, collecting their names and addresses, and thanking people for attending.
 

EFFECTIVE AGENDA

Even small meetings benefit from prepared agenda. Agenda help people understand what will be discussed, what decisions will be made and when progress has been made. Assign a set amount of time for discussion of each agenda item. If the time allotted expires without a decision, the facilitator can ask the group to dedicate additional time or close discussion. Make assignments and get commitments as each agenda item is discussed. Never wait until the end of the meeting to make assignments; people already are thinking about things they have to do or what they will eat for dinner. Good agendas usually start with relatively easy discussion items for which decisions will not be too difficult or controversial. More controversial issues requiring a great deal of debate can come next, after some some successes already have been achieved and people are comfortable with the meeting climate. Noncontroversial decisions or discussion of new ideas can be saved for last. People will begin to get tired and will prefer closing the meeting in a positive mood. Ending the meeting on a promising note also will encourage participants to attend future meetings. Every organization is free to decide the order in which its business will be conducted, but most agendas follow a standard pattern.

THE FEAR OF POVERTY - THE PROBLEM WITH NIGERIANS (Part 1)

THE FEAR OF POVERTY - THE PROBLEM WITH NIGERIANS (Part 1)

Some years ago, a Law lecturer in a legal symposium once told us something that sounded like a joke but which was very instructive and indeed made a lasting impression on me.
 

God when creating the different countries of the world, said he,  chose to both bless them with different blessings, especially natural resources and leave with them some natural disaster to counterbalance the blessings of the nations of the world. It was in this mission He (God) and His holy angels began to move round the countries of the world - one after the other - with blessings first. On His arrival at any given country, He(God) would ask His angels to drop just one particular kind of blessing with such a country, but whenever it was the turn of Nigeria, He would order His angels to double the blessing and so it continued until He finished blessing the countries of the world with the various blessings as they have today. Some angels were really not happy with this as it appeared to them that God seemed to favour Nigeria above the rest countries of the world. However, they only murmured amongst themselves but could not muster the courage to ask God the reason for the double blessings on Nigeria at each of the rounds of blessing.
 

Then came the time for the distribution of the natural disasters. As in the first distribution of blessing, God went round the nations with His angels one after the other ordering them to drop some particular kinds of disasters with such nations, but when it came to the turn of Nigeria, to the utter amazement of the holy angels, God forbade them from ever dropping the least natural disaster - at a time when they were all thinking Nigeria was going to have a double portion to counterbalance their double portion of blessings. At that point, the holy angels could no more hide their dissatisfaction with the whole arrangement the Almighty God and Father was making. So, they all in one accord came closer to ask Him why He was seemingly being partial in His dealings with Nigeria as against His nature. The Almighty's answer was that He knew that the angels would not at that point in time understand what Wisdom was behind His actions towards Nigeria until far much later in the history of the world. He further added that Nigeria needed all the blessings she could get from Him as a country but no natural disaster at all as the people that would occupy the territory called Nigeria would prove to be more than enough problems for her.
 

I went home pondering the story and till date, the lessons and deductions from it have not left me. Indeed, one may now ask, was the storyteller right in his story about Nigeria? Are we not truly blessed with abundant resources both natural and otherwise as a nation? Indeed, how many natural disasters have we had as a nation? The answers are obvious or aren't they? So, why haven't we as a nation truly developed and measured up with our counterparts in the world?
 

Now, do we need any prophet to tell us clearly that WE ARE OUR OWN PROBLEM. THE PROBLEM WITH NIGERIA ARE NIGERIANS AND THE PROBLEM WITH NIGERIANS IS THE FEAR OF POVERTY
 

Though we have myriads of problems, the root cause, I mean the very true root cause is and have always been THE FEAR OF POVERTY. 

....to be continued

HEALTH TIPS (TOP 6 CAUSES OF KIDNEY DISEASE)

THE TOP 6 CAUSES OF KIDNEY DISEASE:

1. Delaying going to a toilet and Keeping your urine in your bladder for too long is a bad idea. A full bladder can cause bladder damage. The urine that stays in the bladder multiplies bacteria quickly. Once the urine refluxes back to the ureter and kidneys, the toxic substances can result in kidney infections, then urinary tract
infections, and then nephritis, and even uremia. When nature calls – do it as soon as possible.
 

2. Eating too much salt,You should eat no more than 5.8 grams of salt daily.
 

3. Eating too much meat. Too much protein in your diet is harmful for your kidneys. Protein digestion produces ammonia – a toxin that is very destructive to your kidneys. More meat equals more kidney damage.
 

4. Drinking too much caffeine Caffeine is a component of many sodas and soft drinks. It raises your blood pressure and your kidneys start suffering. So you should cut down the amount of coke you drink daily.
 

5. Not drinking water. Our kidneys should be hydrated properly to perform their functions well. If we don’t drink enough, the toxins can start accumulating in the blood, as there isn’t enough fluid to drain them through the kidneys. Drink more than 10 glasses of water daily. There is an easy way to check if you are drinking
enough water: look at the colour of your urine; the lighter the colour, the better.
 

6. Late treatment . Treat all your health problems properly and have your health checked regularly.
 

(3) Avoid these Tablets, they are very dangerous:
* D-cold
* Vicks Action-500
* Actified
* Coldarin
* Cosome
* Nice
* Nimulid
* Cetrizet-D
 

They contain Phenyl Propanol-Amide PPA. Which causes Strokes & Are banned in USA

Doctors in the United States have found new cancer in human beings, caused by Silver Nitro Oxide. Whenever you buy recharge cards, don’t scratch with your nails, as it contains Silver Nitro Oxide coating and can cause skin cancer. Share this message with your loved ones.
 

Important Health Tips:

Answer phone calls with the left ear.
Don't take your medicine with cold water....
Don't eat heavy meals after 5pm.
Drink more water in the morning, less at night.
Best sleeping time is from 10pm to 4 am.
Don’t lie down immediately taking medicine or after meals.
When phone's battery is low to last bar, don't answer the phone, because the radiation is 1000 times stronger.

Kindness costs nothing But Knowledge is power...
 

🚫IMPORTANT 🚫

Let's help ourselves...God will protect you and your family from every disease this year! Amen Share, if you care

PRICELESS JEWEL

PRICELESS JEWEL

That's what you are

That's what you've 

always been 

And that's what you'll

always be to me

I'm glad I found you

When I see you

My heart skips 

My feet trembles

The blood in veins 

rushes faster and rapidly

Oh! Rose of my morning

Star of my night

Angel of my world

Sweet Honey

Gracious dove and

Wonderful love of my life

For Price Jewel

I sought

For Priceless Jewel 

I stood

For this Priceless Jewel

I could give all

Had Cupid not sentenced

me to a livelong love

imprisonment with you?

And have not I come by reason

of his sentence to

Declare my love to you?

Behold! Through the deadly Kumurukiki

I could go

Through the Great Nile

I could swim

Across the high Kilimanjaro

I could climb

Just to have a taste 

of your love

And retain you 

As my Priceless Jewel!

- BARR OHALETEM EZEUGO EMMANUEL
(Great Lions Legal Practitioners (Ahanve Chambers), Igwuruta, 
Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria )

What is Politics?

Origin of the Word /Concept

 The word 'politics' is derived from the Greek word 'Polis' which means 'City-state'. The Greeks regarded the 'Polis' as the most meaningful organisation of persons within their political and socio-cultural milieu/relations - for they practised what is today known as classical democracy.

A Definition of Politics - Whether Necessary?

The idea of a definition of politics have been a controversial one with some scholars approving of it on the one hand and others disapproving of it on the other. However, Schattschneider have said that:

              

               "There is something strange about the feeling of scholars that a definition

               is not necessary. Inevitably, there is a lack of focus in the discipline 

               because it is difficult to see things that are undefined. People who cannot

               define the object of their studies do not know what they are looking for,

               and if they do not know what they are looking for, how can they tell when

               they have found it?

Some Definitions By Scholars

It is because of this feeling of a necessity for the definition of politics that we now have a gamut of definition for the concept of politics which include:

'...the authoritative allocation of values for a society' - David Easton.

'...who gets what, when and how' - Harold Laswell

'...all intersections and dispositions which are directly/indirectly aimed at or actually succeed in obtaining binding decisions about who have desired resources (or who do not); and when and how these are obtained, in any enduring social system' - E. Nwabuzor and M. Mueller .

Aristotle's View About Politics

For Aristotle (who first used the term politics in his book POLITICS to refer to the affairs of a Greek City-State), 'man by nature is a political animal'. He observed that whenever men seek to define their position  in society or as they attempt to achieve personal security from available resources and as they try to influence others to accept their points of view, they find themselves engage in politics and this in a broad sense makes everyone a politician.

Discussion

First, it must be noted that the term politics in spite of all these verbal expenditure and many more given by several scholars in the field of political science, has no universally acceptable definition just like other social concepts.

However, it must be observed from the above and I posit  that a definition of the concept  is necessary to guide the political scientist in his search for what politics actually is and its objectives . For to refuse a definition of politics would be like throwing a pebble into a place filled with a thousand of them while at the same time calling for other individuals to go in search of it without giving them a description of the desired pebble, such that like Schattschneider says, they would not only be ignorant of the so-desired pebble, but cannot as well tell when they have it in their hands due to their said ignorance, thereby leading to an effort in futility.

So, to tell the political scientist not to define his subject would be to let him embark on an impossible mission which end is already known and that is futility and confusion.

A Major Condition Necessary for Politics

The  use of the concept Politics presupposes the existence of an organised society of persons who are involved in some form of relations that has to do with power and influence that is connected with how the limited but valuable resources of the society are allocated between such individuals/groups making up such a community of persons or union.

What Politics is and What its Study is about

I want to submit that Politics can be seen as the study of power relations and influence as between individuals and or groups within a given community of organised persons who are involved in some recognizable and continuous relationships that involves the creation of influence, its manipulation and use to determine and allocate the limited but valued resources of such a community amongst such individuals/groups making-up the community.

This presupposes (as aforementioned) that such individuals must be organised and having such rules as are considered binding on them which would as well spell out how recognised influence is generated and or gotten by individuals within the society - including the relationships between them; how it can be used/manipulated; also such things as must be considered valuable by them (which varies from one society to another); and finally, how these are to be shared amongst them. How all these take place through the interactions of the different kinds of influence and power as are wielded by different individuals/groups within the community/union at different times is what the study of politics tries to unravel. 

OHALETEM EZEUGO EMMANUEL
(Faculty of Law, University of Benin, Benin-City, Edo State, Nigeria.) 

Macbeth As A Classical Tragedy

Examining Macbeth – As A Classical Tragedy

INTRODUCTION

Tragedy has been defined as the presentation of serious/important actions which turn out disastrously for the protagonist/chief character.

Further, a classical tragedy according to Aristotle in his book, Poetics, (representing the classical view of tragedy) must have the following features:
- a plot with the three unities of time, place and action.
- characters used in tragedies must be of noble birth.
- the use of elevated/enhanced language
- There must also be the arousal of pity and fear which dose not violate our human emotions.

PLOT AND SETTING

Shakespeare’s Macbeth is about a General in the Scottish Army(Macbeth – our protagonist and hero) whose “vaulting ambition” premised on the prophecies of some metaphysical creatures (three witches) causes him to murder his loving, trusting and kind king (Duncan) in order to gain control of the realms of power (the kingdom of Scotland). However, in the end, nemesis catches up with him as he and his chief-partner in crime (his wife) pay dearly for it, even as the kingdom is restored to one of the late king’s son in the person of Malcolm.

According to Aristotle, a classical tragedy must have as one of its features, the presence of the three unities of time, place and action. That is, all the actions in the play must occur within twenty-four hours – one day. In addendum, all the actions would as well have to take place in one geographical entity (place) and finally, all the actions in a play must occur in one piece. So, in Shakespeare’s Macbeth, all the actions take place in Scotland, except for Act 4, Scene 3 which takes place in England. This of course is because of William Shakespeare’s opinion and which is true that life is not as unified as Aristotle presented it. Also note that all actions in Shakespeare’s Macbeth occur in one piece.

However, Shakespeare’s Macbeth does not follow the rule of the unity of time as the events in the play quite well exceed 24 hours as seen in the Doctor’s speech. See Act 5, Scene 1, Line 1 (5,1,1).

THE USE OF NOBLE CHARACTERS

Shakespeare’s Macbeth in conformity with the classical idea of tragedy makes use of characters of noble birth. Here, we see characters such as Duncan (the king of Scotland); his two sons Donalbain and Malcolm – princes of Scotland; Macduff; Ross, Lennox, etc and even Macbeth himself – all thanes of Scotland, with Macbeth later ascending to the throne of Scotland.

These characters are not just noble of birth, but as well in virtues. See the excerpt below describing Duncan per Macbeth:

…Besides, this Duncan
Hath borne his faculties so meek, hath been
So clear in his great office, that his virtues
Will plead like angels, trumpet-tongu’d, against
The deep damnation of his taking-off;
And pity, like a naked new-born babe,
Striding the blast, or heaven’s cherubin, hors’d
Upon the sightless couriers of the air,
Shall blow the horrid deed in every eye,
That tears shall drown the wind. I have no spur
To prick the sides of my intent, but only
Vaulting ambition, which o’er-leaps itself
And falls on the other.
(1,7,16-28)

Also see Lady Macbeth’s comment on Macbeth in 1,5,14-29.

So, Shakespeare’s Macbeth in this respect again conforms to the classical ideals of tragedy.

THE USE OF ELEVATED/ENHANCED LANGUAGE

This is also all too-clear as seen in Shakespeare’s Macbeth where we see a highly elevated/enhanced use of language loaded with much imagery, sound and meaning conforming to the classical views of tragedy. Such words as “augment” (2,1,27); “clear” (2,1,28); “born franchised” (2,1,28); “stirring” (2,3,45); take on the elevated/enhanced meanings of “increase”; “loyal”; “heart from guilt”; and “awake”; respectively. Also consider the expression below:

Fair is foul, and foul is fair;
Hover through the fog and filthy air.
(1,1,11-12)

Now, one would wonder how fair can become foul and also about the possibility of the reverse. However, this is a classical example of the beauty of the enhanced form of language as often used in classical tragedies to, among other things, capture the minds of the readers/audience and also generally improve sound and meaning – as words leave their denotative levels and get connotative constructions.

In other words, we find a lot of words and expressions being elevated/ enhanced beyond their normal meaning which more often than not, enhance the imagery, sound and meaning in the play.

We also find the words of the characters in verse form which all accords with the classical prescriptions for tragedies.

THE AROUSAL OF PITY AND FEAR

The arousal of pity and fear is also present in Shakespeare’s Macbeth. For example, as we picture Macbeth – our tragic hero- going to murder his cousin and king –Duncan to whom he owes three levels of allegiance, i.e. that of a “kinsman”, “subject” and a “host”, pity is aroused for the unsuspecting king Duncan whom we see has an unreserved love and trust for Macbeth who then betrays this trust because of his “vaulting ambition”. See generally 1,7,12-28.

This, as a matter of fact, also generates fear in the heart of the audience/readers as we are made to understand that we cannot trust anybody, not even our close associates/friends, or relatives.

We further pity Macduff whose family and all that belonged to him are murdered by Macbeth for no just cause. This also on the other hand makes us fear our friends and what ill they can do to us – with such useful pieces of information they may have about us which are not normally revealed to others by us. For in Shakespeare’s Macbeth, we discover that Macduff was in good terms with Macbeth before falling out of favour and it is because his place of abode is known to Macbeth that he (Macbeth) is able to set spies around him and also successfully waste his family as soon as he flees Scotland for England in the play. See generally 4,2 and 4,3,204-219.

We finally pity Macbeth (the protagonist and hero of the play) whose hubris causes his downfall despite his initial courage and bragging. We see him finally admit his fears even in his final moments. On the other hand, through the play’s general lesson of “it does not pay to do evil and that evil doers would surely pay for their sins”, fear again is aroused in our hearts as evil doers are warned of their evil doings – since of course, they would have to pay for their sins even here on earth and beyond. See generally, 5,7,30-63 and the excerpt below:

…But in these cases,
We still have judgment here…
(1,7,7-8)

So, in conformity with the classical ideals of tragedy as opposed to modern view(s) of tragedy, Shakespeare’s Macbeth as a play both generate fear and pity that does not violate human emotions in the hearts/minds of the readers or audience as the case may be.

CONCLUSION

Finally, we can say that though there are little variations as to the form, Shakespeare’s Macbeth to a large extent conform to and indeed is a classical tragedy. This is because there is a plot that to a great extent follows the rules concerning the three unities of time, place and action; the characters are noble; there is the use of elevated/enhanced language and finally, there is the arousal of pity and fear which does not violate our human emotions.

Also note that the events/actions in the play turn out disastrously for the protagonist/chief character in the person of Macbeth.

Further note that it is no tragedy where a man kills his enemy or when people die out of a natural disaster, etc, as it tragedy only when the death of someone or something is caused by someone or something he was or is in good relationship with. Therefore, in Shakespeare’s Macbeth, we see the characters die at the hands of those whom they formerly loved and or still love.

OHALETEM EZEUGO EMMANUEL
(University of Benin, Benin-City, Edo State, Nigeria.)