Business

Introduction

In order to hold an effective meeting, there is need to adopt the most viable and ideal meeting channel by the company. The choices presented by virtual and live events should be investigated to determine the feasibility of each channel. Apart from components of costs, evaluation of the two requires the comparing and contrasting their different features in order to make the best decision on the type of meeting we should have.

Comparison based on Individual participation during the meeting

In a virtual meeting, it is easier and faster for the participant to start sharing a presentation with the rest of the team members. Although in a live meeting, it would take any of the participants to stand up and walk from her table to the front of the meeting room to present their points; virtual meetings make presentation much easier. This is because any of the five participants can instantly share points to the rest of the participants by sharing desktop presentations. In a live meeting, presentation involves physical movement to present ones point to the rest of the team members. A live meeting strengthens the bond shared by the five members. Although they collaborate and share ideas through emails, video conferencing and Skype, live meetings allow them to meet as real persons compared to virtual persons. Live meetings allow people to talk and create interpersonal connection, which gives them an advantage in becoming closer, which makes it more effective to work together.

Creation of the meeting on demand

Virtual meetings are created on demand by a simple click of a mouse. On the other end, the five participants confirm their participation by a mere click of their mouse. This reduces cases where there are pre-planned strategies to members creating a meeting at a specific time. Virtual meetings are easier and effective when planning to reschedule the meeting. Due to flexibility, it is much easier to schedule when the meeting will be held and incase of inconveniences that may be unforeseen, it is much easier to reschedule the meeting without incurring extra costs and causing panic among the team members. Incase of the absence of any of the participant, the web meetings can be recorded for them to watch the presentation on a later date. Live meetings are pre planned and details of the meeting provided to participants in advance. This allows them to prepare for the meeting well in advance. Selection of such a date is done objectively to ensure that rescheduling does not interrupt the meeting. While virtual meetings can be entirely disrupted and cancelled by internet connectivity problems, live meetings progress is guaranteed throughout its time.

Improvement of Quality of work and meeting agenda

Virtual meetings allow any of the participants to work from anywhere as long as they are connected to the internet. This ensures that one can work from their home and avoid traffic congestion travelling to the Company boardrooms. For participants who live in other states, they can join up with the rest of the participants. This distance eliminates the occasional chit-chats that take place in live meetings that occasionally derail the meeting’s agenda. This greatly saves time and ensures that participants tackle issues, which are important and objective as per the meetings agenda. On the other hand, through proper planning and strict adherence to the meetings agenda, live meetings incorporate peer-to-peer interaction that ensures that the meetings agendas and quality of work are realized. The chits-chats that may derail procedures in the meeting are properly managed to break the tension that may exist between participants. Through enforcement of roles during these meetings, the relative roles of each member is identified and appreciated. This allows one to raise comfort and productivity levels for each member since they will understand that their individual contribution and input has real implications to specific real people who would be affected by ones decision.

Conclusion

This evaluation compares visual and live meetings to identify the similarities and differences between the two options. It is evident that both the options encompass different levels of user’s participation. However, the degrees of this participation changes with each option. On the other hand, creation of the meeting appears more faster for virtual meetings than live meetings. Finally, both the options have a considerable effect on the quality of activities undertaken by participants with live meetings encouraging teamwork between participants.