September/October 1985 RAIN Page 25 SAMPLE MINUTES TOPIC Staff Calendars Budget Preparation DISCUSSION Concern was expressed regarding scheduling and appointments. Budget will be due in the Business Office by Jan.10. Each budget should be ready for discussion with the total staff by Dec. 27. ACTION/DECISION Staff members will share their calendars at the first of each month. Budgets will be prepared by the departmental committee under the direction of the department heads-. Total staff meeting will be held on Dec. 27, 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. to review and discuss budgets. Next Meeting Date and Time: Jan. 21,1985, 9:00-11:00 a.m.. Service Center Agenda Items: 1. Review of budgets 2. Performance review process 3. Spring planning process WHO Mary John and department heads. to look at conflict as a "gift" for creative discovery. Conflict provides other points of view, more information, and when utilized in a positive way can lead participants to better decisions. Be supportive of those with varying directions and viewpoints. Look for ways to resolve issues without voting; voting should be used only as a procedure to formalize the decisions that have been reached through consensus. Often voting is used as a "cop-out" procedure and leads to "walk-outs." For futher suggestions on developing effective and productive meetings, the following resources are recommended: Taking Your Meeting Out of the Doldrums, by Eva Schindler-Rainman and Ronald Lippitt, 1977,100 pp., from: University Associates Publishers, 8517 Production Avenue, PO Box 26240, San Diego, CA 92126 One hundred pages of resources, checklists, and practical tools for stimulating, enjoyable, and productive meetings. Effective Small Group Communications, by Ernest and Nancy Bormann, Burgess Publishing Company, 1976, 167 pp., from: Burgess Publishing Company, Minneapolis, MN 55415 A helpful book outlining the stages and processes of group development, with guidelines for identifying problems and applying effective correctives. Theory is supported with excellent methods; meeting preparation, after-meeting evaluation, and group leader self-evaluation. Barbara George is Associate Director of Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon. ACCESS: Organizational Development Working in Foundations: Career Patterns of Women and Men, by Teresa Jean Odendahl, Elizabeth Trocolli Boris, and Arlene Kaplan Daniels, 1985,115 pp., $12.95 from: The Foundation Center 79 Fifth Avenue New York, NY 10030 Foundations are often critical to the life of nonprofit organizations. As David Hamburg, president of the Carnegie Corporation of New York, recently said, foundation money is "the venture capital of the nonprofit sector." This book provides a unique glimpse into the inner life of the foundation world. In this volume we learn that of the 1,500 foundations that have staff, women staff members earn 59 cents for every dollar earned by men in jobs above the ' support staff level. We also become aware that only 26 percent of the chief exective officers of foundations are wonien, and that these women are typically in the smaller foundations. The substance of the book is a research report by an interdisciplinary team concerned with the status of women in foundation work. Using a focused interview method with 60 foundation staff members, the report examines the roles, responsibilities, recruitment, and career paths of foundation employees. Among the observations contained in the report is the following: The foundation field prides itself in being pathbreaking, but is not pathbreaking at home. Foundations as yet have no systematic comprehensive programs for innovative child care, or job sharing, orjob-enrichment programs for women and minorities. What makes this book of special value to nonprofits are the chapters on "The Structure of Foundation Employment" and "The Daily Work of Foundation Employees." These chapters give the
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