The process

Before the meeting takes place, it is important to invite participants to propose items or points for the agenda. Drawing up the agenda is usually the responsibility of the secretary or the chair. When the chair opens the meeting, it is usual to run through the agenda quickly. The first item is usually Matters Arising, to allow participants to go through the minutes of the previous meeting. After this, the discussion of the other points can begin. During the discussion, participants make recommendations and proposals in order to solve problems. If the meeting is scheduled for a whole day, it is typical to take breaks and to adjourn for lunch. Of course, it is necessary to resume [start again] after lunch. In the middle of the afternoon, participants often ask for a time out if they are feeling tired. At the end of the meeting, the last or next-to-last point is often AOB (Any Other Business) which gives participants the opportunity to raise other issues not included in the main agenda. During the meeting someone is nominated to take the minutes and after the meeting this person will write up the minutes for circulation to the other participants before the next meeting. Finally, the chair will close the meeting.

MONEY

Money is any medium of exchange that is widely accepted in payment for goods and services and in settlement of debts. Money also serves as a standard of value for measuring the relative worth of different goods and services. The number of units of money required to buy a commodity is the price of the commodity.

The most important types of money are commodity money, fiat money, and credit money. The value of commodity money is about equal to the value of the material contained in it, usually gold, silver, and copper. Until the 18th and 19th centuries, coins were given monetary worth based on the exact amount of metal contained in them, but most modern coins are based on face value – the value that governments choose to give them, irrespective of the actual metal content. Most governments now issue paper money in the form of bills, which are really "promises to pay". Such money is known as fiat money. Paper money is obviously easier to handle and much more convenient in the modern world. Credit money is paper backed by promises by the issuer, whether a government or a bank, to pay an equivalent value in the standard monetary metal. Both the fiat and credit forms of money are generally made acceptable through a government decree that all creditors must take the money in settlement of debts; the money is then referred to as legal tender.

Nowadays checks and credit cards are being used increasingly. At present, paper bills and coins are less widely used as a means of payment than checks and electronic transfers and it is possible to imagine a world where "money" in the form of coins and paper currency will no longer be used.