Mt. Pleasant Planning Commission 2/6/2014
Organizations use meetings to deliberate on various issues that affect their operations. For these meetings to be effective, it is prudent for the communications to be effective. It is through effective communication that issues raised are understood. This paper analyses the meeting of Mt. Pleasant Planning commission held on February 6, 2014.
The meeting is usually held for a reason or a certain purpose. In this meeting, members wanted to address various issues that pertains their operations. One of the reasons was the approval of the agenda, which they did. Agenda is the issues that the members want to address. These issues would be reviewed and approved before they can be allowed to be taken to the members for discussion (MC TV Network, 2014). Therefore, this was one of the important issues that the meeting was convened for. The other reason was to approve the previous minutes of the previous meeting they held. The members must verify the previous minutes in the subsequent meeting to ascertain whether they are correct before beginning discussion on any other issue. This ensures consistency in the progress of the agenda.
The meeting also allowed the new interim city manager named Nancy Ridley to join the Board for the first time. This was very important because she was a new manager and would get an opportunity to know the board members and other members that were going to work within the organization. The debate focused more on the public hearing property ownership and issues concerning zoning. Bean provided information about the property and previous negotiation and agreements between the owner and the Fire Department (Joint Meeting of the Mt. Pleasant City Commission and Mt. Pleasant Planning Commission, 2014). The members deliberated on the issues of the ownership and on whether land was used as required. Planning issues emerged during the discussion and Bean was questioned on various aspects. The owner of the property Rodney Deming informed the board that the property was purchased as duplex in 1999/2000 (MC TV Network, 2014). This discussion was essential in helping the members to find out what went wrong and how a solution could be arrived at. It manifested many such problems that are experienced in various states across the country. Land and property ownership is very complex issue and at many times, people end up losing their property through shoddy deals. Therefore, it is a very important discussing that will help the members reach an amicable solution that will help them address the issues in a better way that will satisfy both the parties involved.
Another issue discussed in the meeting was on whether Zoning Ordinance requirements for site plan reviews was fulfilled in the 1799 Gover Parkway site located in the north of Bromfield. Bean shared the aerial view of the site to enhance its understanding. The proposal for some changes on the sites such as proposal of 44,723 square feet and sidewalks were discussed and amicable solutions reached (Joint Meeting of the Mt. Pleasant City Commission and Mt. Pleasant Planning Commission, 2014). The planning commission has the mandate to ensure that the zoning and any planning initiatives are undertaken well.
Therefore, this indicates that the members discussed on various issues that concerned the zoning of various sites and whether, the owners of the sites had obtained licenses to own their property. The meetings therefore aimed to solicit information from the public, more so on the parties concerned about the sites they owned. The commission has the obligation and is answerable to the people if they fail to conduct or deliver appropriate services to the members. Therefore, they aimed to find a clear picture on the situation before taking any step that might have caused them further problems with the various parties involved. The politics behind this meeting therefore can be pointed out as to ensure that there is order and clarity in the ownership to avoid blame games. The planning commission is just but enquiring about the areas under the discussion as part of their responsibilities to ensure full compliance.
Communication is very effective in such meetings. It is the only way that the members get to understand each other and share their feelings. The style of communication that people use does vary with the circumstances and conditions at hand. In this case, the members were allowed to use verbal communication to elicit their views and ideas. The discussion was one on one. The information was recorded down in the form of minutes (MC TV Network, 2014). The views and the respond from various responded were written down and provide a viable source of reference in future. The advantages of using verbal communication are that the emotions of the speakers are manifest and this helps to enhance understanding of the conversation and the issues that are under discussion. To enhance the verbal communication, the speakers used illustrations, such as pictures and maps showing various sites to substantiate their arguments. This kind of communication was essential as it enhanced understanding and the decision making process.
The communication of the members was also structured in the sense that it followed a certain structure standardized for meetings. This also was effective in ensuring that all the agendas the members wanted to deliberate on were handled. It also saved time since the members had to follow a certain order making the entire process effective.
A number of challenges also emerged during the discussion and were addressed amicably. One of the challenges was on ascertaining the true ownership of the various sites. In one sites owned by Deming, the members had to cross-examine the owner through various questions (MC TV Network, 2014). The information provided by the owners and what was in their custody seemed to have mismatches triggering them to recommend for further enquiries. This therefore attested to the fact that it was going to be a complex undertaking for the commission of planning. Other challenges concerned the need to allow for sidewalks and other measures on the site. The members therefore had to deliberate on the issues at length trying to understand what was the best alternative for them. Challenges were also experienced when it came to the question of selecting office bearers. Office bearers are very important people and should be appointed by the members through voting (MC TV Network, 2014). The process must be free and fair to ensure that the majority members elect the best candidates. Because not all the board members were present, the election was postponed to ensure that they all contributed in the processes. This was a challenge that hampered the realization of the group goals.
When arriving at discussions and decisions, that require expenditure, considering financial state of an entity is very important. Decisions must be in tandem with the financial status to ensure that the proposals are implemented. It also allows an entity to look for other alternative sources of income to finance the various processes. The decision reached by the members has financial implications and therefore should be evaluated to ensure that the organization is able to finance them.
The management employed various strategies to gain support for their initiative. One of the strategies was to ensure that all the stakeholders including, the employees, and the board make decisions. These strategies ensure that there was no single person that would take the responsibility or the blame. They also scrutinized and evaluated information concerning various sites to- ensure that they make appropriate decisions that would not be objected by any party. The public hearing was a good strategy that the members used to ensure that the issues that were not sufficiently addressed and understood came into limelight. Getting this information from the parties involved or the owners was very important in ensuring that the planning commissions took appropriate decisions pertaining to zoning of the various sites under study. Therefore, these strategies among others played a critical role in ensuring that the members achieve their goals and champion their agenda.
In conclusion, the meeting was well organized and the agenda was met. The members adopted a structured style of communication, which helped in enhancing understanding and as well discussion of various agendas. Various strategies were also employed to ensure that the meeting succeeds. Communication plays a critical role in any communication, as is the means through which people get to understand one another. The minutes were well recorded and ensured that issues were clearly addressed ensuring that all aspects were discussed in a systematic way.

References
Joint Meeting of the Mt. Pleasant City Commission and Mt. Pleasant Planning Commission. (2014). Retrieved form: http://www.mt-pleasant.org/docs/board/agenda/city/2014/E- Packet03.24.14.pdf
MC TV Network. (2014). Retrieved from: http://mac3-mi.pegcentral.com/
MC TV Network.(2014). Planning Commission 2/6/2014. Retrieved from: http://mac3- mi.pegcentral.com/player.php?video=dac699d354bb1064381fe9a123dac14cMt. Pleasant