Explain the requisites of a valid meeting.
Requisites of a valid meeting:
a) Notice of a Meeting: Notice of a meeting means advance information or intimation of a meeting so that the person receiving it gets an opportunity to prepare himself/herself for it. The notice of a meeting should contain the day, date, time and venue of the meeting. It must also indicate the purpose and nature of the meeting. Issuing notice to all the members who are supposed to attend the meeting is mandatory and obligatory. The notice must be served in the manner prescribed as per the rules or constitution of the organization or body concerned. Notice should always be in writing.
b) Agenda of a Meeting: It is a practice to send an agenda along with the notice to the members who have to attend the meeting. An agenda is a programme of the items of the business to be discussed at a meeting in the order in which they are to be taken. The purpose of the agenda is to let all the members of the committee or organization give adequate information to enable them, before the meeting, to ponder over the items of business to be discussed.
c) A quorum of a Meeting: The word “quorum” is defined as the minimum number of members who must be present at a meeting as required by the constitution or rules. No important decisions can be taken or business transacted in a meeting without a proper quorum. A meeting is not properly constituted if the quorum is not present and any business transacted at such a meeting will be invalid. The main purpose of having a quorum is to prevent a small minority from taking decisions that may be unacceptable to the majority of the members.
d) Chairperson of a Meeting: In the context of a meeting, Chairperson is the person who presides over a meeting. The person in charge of a meeting or organization is referred to as the Chair, or sometimes the Chairperson.
e) Motions and Resolutions: A motion is a proposal put before a meeting for its consideration and decision. The business of a meeting is transacted through motions. -A resolution is defined as the formal decision of the meeting on any proposal put before it. A resolution if adopted and recorded in the minutes becomes the official decision of the meeting.
f) Adjournment of a Meeting: It means suspending the proceedings of the meeting either for a particular time or indefinitely. Subject to the articles, rules or constitution of an organization, the Chairperson, with the consent of members of the meeting, may adjourn it to postpone the further discussion. If it is carried, the meeting is adjourned to the agreed date or indefinitely.