Our organization does not provide laptops to employees, nor does it provide smartphones. Our meetings are terribly unproductive because no one has access to their computers or to the network during meetings, therefore meetings need to be stopped multiple times so people can go find information that was not available before the beginning of the meeting. This also leads to management not being able to make decisions because they cannot get answers to important questions in a timely manner.
Banning technology in a meeting is an enormous step backwards. Just because your company's executives have no business etiquette and are like ADHD kids off their Ritalin in meetings does not mean banning laptops and smartphones is the answer. People should be able to bring their technology, but should only use it when necessary. The REAL problem is that the company failed to create a set of rules for their meetings. If you force everyone to shut their devices off and only power them on when they're required, then you shouldn't have the problem of wandering attention spans as a result of the technology.
justelise of NC @ Jan 06, 2009 11:45:07 AM
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