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ACCA Applied Knowledge · Business and Technology · Communicating in business

A team leader chairs a meeting where one senior member dominates and several quieter members stay silent, so some relevant views on a cost proposal are not heard. Which action by the chair is most appropriate?

The chair should invite contributions from quieter members in turn and summarise the points before a decision. This manages dominant participants and ensures all relevant views are considered, whereas voting immediately, deferring to seniority or dropping the item does not solve the problem.

  1. AClose the discussion and vote immediately to save time
  2. BLet the dominant member continue because seniority indicates expertise
  3. CInvite contributions from quieter members in turn and summarise the points raised before a decisionCorrect
  4. DPostpone the item indefinitely and remove it from the agenda

Explanation

A chair should manage participation so all relevant views are heard, for example by inviting quieter members and summarising before deciding. Voting immediately or deferring the item indefinitely fails to address the imbalance, and deferring to seniority ignores the value of other input.

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