A Case Study Analysis of the Impact of Center Meetings in the Lives of CARD

Inc. Members

Introduction
Dr. Jaime Aristotle B. Alip and fourteen of his colleagues established CARD, Inc. as a social
development organization in December 1986. A remarkable microfinance institution (MFI) that is
currently leading the pack of microfinance institutions in the Philippines has grown from the simple
idea of establishing a bank owned and run by landless women.
CARD Inc. aims to provide its microfinance services to more households as many Filipino families
continue to live in poverty. Since launching its Grameen-style microlending program in 1989,
CARD has dedicated a lot of time to improving the approach with the aim of accomplishing the
dual objectives of outreach and sustainability.
Microfinance loans can be utilized for a variety of purposes, including expanding a business,
accumulating assets, and managing risk, much like people in more developed economic regions
can. Additionally, microfinancing enables members of the lower socioeconomic groups to advance
financially without turning to unregulated moneylenders and debt collectors who pose a greater
risk to borrowers (Tiwari, Fahad 2017).
For the members of CARD, Inc., a weekly center meeting acts as a training ground for growth and
development. Members can engage, talk about plans and activities, and offer solutions to issues
that arise within the group in this setting. This also served as a way for CARD, Inc. to keep track of
how each member was doing regarding attendance, payback, and projects. Women are given
leadership skills through the Center Meetings, which gives them more influence. A Center Chief, a
CARD, Inc. member chosen by the group, serves as the meeting's chairperson. The minutes
logbook, on the other hand, is kept and preserved by the secretary of each center (CARD, Inc.).
This case study approach to investigate the impact of center meetings in the lives of the CARD,
Inc. members. Field researchers was undertaken in CARD Tagum 1 unit, where they attended two
center meetings.
At the end of this study, the researchers should be able to give a conclusion about the importance
of the center meetings, as well as offer suggestions to improve or enhance the conduct of center
meetings.

Research Question and Purpose

This research uses a case study approach to analyze the impacts center meeting in the lives of
the CARD, Inc. members. The central research question is: As a member of CARD, how important
is the center meeting for you?
Members of CARD, Inc. claim that holding center meetings strengthens their bonds as a group
and makes it simple to communicate when everyone is there. However, according to 2 out of 6
members who were questioned, center meetings take too much time and effort, and the remaining
member claims she only attends because she is the treasurer and must.
The purpose of this research is not to produce an exhaustive array of impacts resulting to
provision of the program, but rather it looks impacts resulting from the specific program and
attempt to provide realistic way to improve the conduct of center meetings. It is our hope that this
information will add to the existing body of understanding of the members in understanding that
center meetings play a specific role to their lives as a member of CARD, Inc.
RRL
Meetings
Organizational life is becoming more and more reliant on meetings. Meetings can take up as much
as 15% of an organization's total time (Allen, Lehmann-Willenbrock, & Sands, 2016). The scarcest
resource, according to Peter Drucker, is time, and without managing it, nothing else can be
managed (Huffstutter & Smith, 2007, p. 316).
Every manager must consider whether the enormous amount of time spent in meetings is
worthwhile. According to MacLeod (2011), between 30% and 60% of time, meeting time is
squandered. Most of the eleven hours a week that the typical middle manager spends in meetings
is seen as nonproductive time. To put it another way, a middle-level manager wastes close to 35
working days annually on pointless meetings. In a recent study, 65% of managers asked said
meetings prevent them from carrying out their own work duties (Perlow, Hadley, & Eun, 2017).
Many managers (71%) claimed that meetings are ineffective and unproductive. Additionally,
managers anticipate devoting even more time in the future, spending 72% more time in meetings
than they did five years ago (Scott, Shanock, & Rogelberg, 2012).
More criticism than praise is frequently leveled at meeting effectiveness (Geimer et al., 2015). The
necessity of meetings for achieving work objectives, disseminating information, and strengthening
team cohesion has received positive feedback. However, the criticisms center on how meetings
are organized. For instance, the bulk of complaints center on the absence of a meeting agenda or
strategy, material that was of little significance, and the impact of attendance that was unclear.
The majority of suggestions on how to make the meeting better have to do with how it is organized
and structured.

Skills of the AO that make him/her a good facilitator of the meeting

A successful meeting has a goal, is well-organized, has a clear direction, and has supporting
leadership from an objective leader, such as a facilitator. Excellent meetings require effective
facilitation because it gives teams the knowledge they need to focus on the issue at hand, come
up with solutions, and reach consensus. This section discusses the qualities of the accounting
officer who would be an ideal facilitator of the meeting.
 Active listening
o To listen actively, one must hear not only the AO's words but also the full meaning of
what they are saying. While the AO is speaking, an attentive listener shouldn't be
crafting a response or counterargument; instead, they should ask appropriate
questions and pay close attention to the responses. There will inevitably be
circumstances as an account officer that demand a lot of listening.
 Effective communication
o The AO must promote and implement effective communication in addition to verbal
communication. A brief speech informs the audience of all they need to know or do
to fully participate in the meeting. As a result, the center meeting is more productive,
there are less opportunities to veer off topic, and there is a greater likelihood that all
the agenda items will be covered in the allocated time.
 Adaptability
o Account officers frequently relocate, and each time they do, they must quickly adjust
to conduct the center meeting appropriately and successfully for the benefit of the
members.
 Empathy
 o Empathy is a management skill that is necessary to help people attain their full
potential. The empathy that is an element of emotional intelligence in high-
functioning AOs makes the environment more cohesive and establishes the
standard for how other members should interact with one another.
 Patience
o As they say, patience is indeed a virtue, and it is a fundamental trait when it comes
to facilitating. Staying calm during discussions or when things get heated is
important to limit any tensions or situations before they occur.

Recommendation to improve or enhance the conduct of center meetings

 Start and End on Time
o Meetings must start and end promptly (or even early). To begin on time, the AO and
the participants must both practice restraint. Being late shows disrespect for
everyone who arrived early. It's also important to finish on time. The meeting should
not take more than an hour if everyone agreed that it would. Naturally, it's crucial to
keep the schedule realistic. Finally, if the meeting's goals can be achieved in just 20
minutes, the session should terminate at that time. Any more time than that would
be a waste of time for everyone.
 Separate Payment Period
o As the researchers have observed, some members continue to pay while the AO is
speaking, which is disturbing the other members who are listening. It would be
preferable if the payment was made following the center meeting so that the
member could hear what the AO had to say.
 Pay and go should not be available.
o Members should be required to attend center meetings to hear announcements and
updates on their loans and payments as they are already back to the basics. No one
should be barred from the center meetings unless there is an emergency, a crucial
appointment, or the member has a job.

Conclusion
According to the study, taking part in the program had various positive effects on borrowers' lives,
particularly in terms of self-satisfaction and financial stability. Villagers frequently expressed
increased confidence in their own abilities to handle their own finances. The negative criticism
from other members that attending the meetings takes too much time comes along with these
great outcomes of the center meetings. In addition, this study discovered that the AO, or
Accounting Officer, also contributes significantly to the success of every center meeting.
Center meetings serve as a channel for communication between the members and the directors of
CARD Inc. Without them, the members' concerns won't be addressed, their loans won't be
updated, and information from the main office won't be distributed properly. Additionally, keeping
meetings brief but productive has many benefits for both the members and the AO.
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