Managing Meetings

I bet we've all, at some point in life had to endure long, boring and probably useless meetings. Meetings are one of the most common ways organisations communicate-- planning, assigning tasks, reporting progress, follow ups, performance feedback, etc. It is said that meetings empower people and develop work skills and leadership in an organisation.
In order to arrange and actually execute an effective meeting, be it business or otherwise you are advised to do the following:

• Have an agenda-- business or topics to be covered during the meeting. Ensure every participant gets an agenda in advance to enable the prepare.
• Who is invited-- consider who you would like to be part of the meeting, e.g if you are announcing a change, call the individuals who are going to be affected.
• Be prepared-- somebody said that luck most often comes to those who prepare for it. Prepare in advance so as to effectively handle the business at hand.
• Manage time-- decide on the length of time the meeting will take and ensure that you handle all your scheduled business in the said time. Meetings which drag for hours on end can be very draining and uninspiring. People have lots of stuff to do!
• Reduce frequency and improve quality of meetings, fewer but effectively managed meetings will leave attendees looking forward to the next one.
• Focus-- it is important to focus on the matter at hand to avoid wasting time on non-issues. Lack of focus is the main reason meetings last forever.
• Pick out and assign action points-- high light the outcomes of the meeting and assign members tasks and timelines. 
• Ask for feedback from the participants, plug the identified loopholes and improve on subsequent meetings.

Kindly let me know how you would rather handle your meetings.

Employee privacy

Invasion of one's privacy is something that has taken a sizable amount of concern among Ugandans, especially since the passing of the (in)famous "phone tapping" bill. The main argument is that, an individual, according to the constitution, has a right to some reasonable degree of privacy. However, how much of that privacy do do individuals retain while at their respective places of work?

Most employers will often monitor their employees' activities using cameras, or record employees' activities while using computers or telephones. Using sophisticated software, hidden cameras, phone-tapping devices, smart card security badges and global positioning systems technology; employers may electronically snoop employees'computer key strokes, internet and email usage, locations, movements and activities, phone conversations and job performance.

Employers argue that this is necessary because among other things, they have a right to protect their property from theft, sabotage and violence. It is their responsibility to prevent potentially damaging behavior like sexual harassment and above all monitor employee productivity.

In a majority of private organisations, employee surveillance is the norm, however, the ethical challenge is, should should they first warn employees before cameras and other surveillance paraphernalia are turned on?

Legal suits where employers are respondents are on the rise even in Uganda where unemployment statistics are rather miserable, it would therefore be safer if employers developed well- defined monitoring and surveillance policies, document them and get written acknowledgement from employees. Where computer and email monitoring policies exit, they should clearly state this at the time of job offer and/or acceptance.