APPENDIX B: Sample Meeting Minutes

Appendix B

Sample Meeting Minutes

Following are three versions of the meeting minutes from one four-person team. All three versions contain the same information. Which version —version 1, 2, or 3 — do you think will be the most effective for keeping the team on track? Why?

Version 1

From: Jason

To: Team

Subject: Team meeting — Monday, 3/2/09

Present: Susan, Jeff, Karen, Jason

Karen started us off by showing us a Web site about oil-tanker transportation. We looked at that for five minutes, and then Jason suggested we review the draft Jeff prepared. Jason noted some incomplete sentences. Susan also noticed some minor grammatical errors. Karen suggested moving the information on oil transportation closer to the beginning. Jason agreed. Susan and Jeff also thought this was a good idea but felt that jumping right into the details on transportation would be too abrupt. The others agreed that the current introduction should remain, but Karen thought that it should be minimized since our audience would already know this information. Jeff liked the current introduction because it has emotional appeal and would catch our audience’s attention. Jason and Susan weren’t sure which version would be best. Karen suggested that we prepare two different versions and ask the instructor which one would be best for our audience. Jason volunteered to set up a meeting with the instructor later in the week, but Jeff and Karen didn’t have copies of their schedules with them. All team members will e-mail Jason tonight with a copy of their schedules. Karen volunteered to write up a revised draft and e-mail it out to the team by Wednesday night. Everybody will read this draft and show up on Thursday with comments.

Jeff suggested that the team begin working on the next section of the proposal. Susan, Karen, and Jason thought that we needed to include information on costs. Jeff thought that we should look at SPCC regulations next but agreed that costs were also a high priority. Susan’s uncle works for Texaco and can provide us with some information on costs. Jason volunteered to draft a section on costs by next Tuesday. Jeff and Susan both have a calculus test on Wednesday and can’t work much on the project until then. We set up our next team meeting for Thursday at 1:00 p.m.

Version 2

From: Jason

To: Team

Subject: Team meeting — Monday, 3/2/09

Present: Susan, Jeff, Karen, Jason

To Do:

Everyone: E-mail Jason tonight with your schedule for Friday and Monday.

Karen: Implement the changes the team made on the research review. E-mail revised draft to team by Wednesday.

Jason: Set up meeting with instructor for Friday or Monday.

Susan: Draft a section on costs by next Tuesday.

Everyone: Read the draft Karen e-mails us and show up on Thursday with comments.

Dates: Next team meeting is on Thursday, 3/5, at 1:00 p.m.

Decisions:

  1. Revisions to research review

    We spent most of the meeting discussing Jeff’s draft. We decided to

    (1) move the information on oil transportation closer to the beginning.

    (2) prepare two different versions of the introductory section — one with the current emotional introduction on the environmental impacts of oil spills and one with the abbreviated introduction that doesn’t repeat information our audience already knows. We will ask the instructor to decide which works better for our audience.

    (3) make grammatical corrections, especially fixing incomplete sentences.

    Karen will make the changes the team suggested and e-mail out a revised version by Wednesday night. We should all read it and come in on Thursday with comments.

  2. Meeting with the instructor

    Jason will arrange a meeting with the instructor to discuss the two drafts. We all need to e-mail him tonight with times we are available.

  3. Costs

    We decided that the next step is to estimate the costs of modifying the oil tankers. Susan will research this information and draft a section on costs by next Tuesday.

  4. EPA Web site

    Karen found some good information about oil transportation on the EPA Web site. The URL is www.epa.gov/oilspill/.

Next meeting (3/5):

(1) Discuss Karen’s revisions to research review.

(2) Verify meeting time with instructor.

(3) Discuss costs section if there’s time.

Version 3

From: Jason

To: Team

Subject: Team meeting — Monday, 3/2/09

Present: Susan, Jeff, Karen, Jason

The meeting was called to order by Karen at 1:05 p.m.

  1. Karen showed us a Web site with good information. The URL is www.epa.gov/oilspill/.
  2. The group discussed Jeff’s draft. Jason and Susan noted some grammatical errors. Karen thought the information on the environmental impact of oil spills should be condensed. Jeff objected, stating that the current introduction provided emotional appeal and would grab the reader’s attention.
  3. Karen moved that we prepare two versions of the introduction section and volunteered to complete this task by Wednesday night. The motion was agreed to by the rest of the group.
  4. Jason moved that the group set up a meeting with the instructor and volunteered for this task. This motion was agreed to by the rest of the group. All team members need to e-mail Jason with their schedule tonight.
  5. Jeff moved that we work on the costs section next. Susan informed the group that her uncle works for Texaco. Susan moved that she will get information on costs from him and draft a costs section by next Tuesday. This motion carried unanimously.
  6. Our next team meeting is on Thursday at 1:00 p.m.

The meeting adjourned at 1:50 p.m.