Discussion – Meaning Making Forums
My understanding of a meaning-making forum is having a participative decision-making structure in an organization. A participative decision-making structure is one that gives all members of the organization a chance to give suggestions to enhance the quality of decisions made (Huang et al., 2010). In such a structure, decisions are not made by a particular authority only. They are a result of coordination between various members of the organization. The only difference that the meaning-making forums have is that they focus only on the employees who have information or experience that can help to improve the area of focus.
I think that such forums have a higher chance of creating value from a business’s decisions than having one person responsible for making vital decisions. This is like getting data from various sources with enough experience to understand the issue at hand rather than just having one person be responsible for everything based on their personal understanding of the problem. Therefore, decisions are likely to be better in such a system. In addition, such a system is likely to be more motivating to employees. Workers are likely to be more motivated when they are engaged in the decisions of the organization and made to feel like they are a part of the organization.
I have been part of an organization that has a version of a meaning-making forum. In this organization, the forum was in the form of focus groups in the staff meetings. During the meetings, there would be a session where employees would analyze the activities of the period since the last meeting. For example, if there had been a reduction in sales, the marketing employees would be required to give their opinion on what could be the reason for the change. Since they are experts in that field, they would have had a better chance of giving information on what the root cause of the problem would have been. They would also be the ones to suggest solutions to the problems that were mentioned. The organization also allowed private suggestions submitted through the suggestion boxes in various parts of the organization. The good thing about these boxes is that they can be used both by internal and external people in the organization. A customer could comment about the experience they had had with the organization, and this would help the organization to know how it can improve. Also, the private platform allowed people to be honest with their opinions. Thus, it would allow the sharing of accurate information about an issue.
In conclusion, meaning-making forums are a great strategy for enhancing business value. They help business managers make the decisions that matter based on information from people who will be affected by the information. Information acquired from employees or customers through these forums has a higher chance of impacting the business in an expected manner. It is like small research from the people in the field affected by an issue rather than depending on information from a person who has not had primary experience with an issue.
References
Huang, X., Iun, J., Liu, A., & Gong, Y. (2010). Does participative leadership enhance work performance by inducing empowerment or trust? The differential effects on managerial and non‐managerial subordinates. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 31(1), 122-143.
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Question 
Discussion – Meaning Making Forums
The notion of a meaning-making forum is a relatively simple concept, which is akin to managing from the bottom up in organizations. The idea is rooted in quality management, where it is asserted that some of the best ideas come from those closest to the work. For example, a bank that wishes to improve perceptions of customer service may interview tellers and call center staff for their input on how to improve overall customer experience. Most importantly, these suggestions must be taken seriously by the management and put to effective use to be seen as credible by members of the organization.
Meaning-making forums can take many forms, ranging from electronic to in-person. Some examples might be employee focus groups, employee task forces, e-mail suggestion addresses, Web-based suggestion forms, employee surveys, or even just old-fashioned paper-based systems. Whatever form they take, the important thing to note is that these meaning-making forums are a means for employees to have direct involvement in the structure, strategy, and daily operation of the firm, which, if sincerely embraced by the management, can reliably lead to empowered and higher-performing organizations.
Based on what you have been learning in this course and your own experience, write a post that captures your perspective of a meaning-making forum. Provide examples of how your current or former organization gets employees involved in decision-making and change. No less than 2 pages