Professional Meeting Management: Comprehensive Strategies for Meetings, Conventions and Events (5th edition)

Citation

Smith, W.W. (2008), "Professional Meeting Management: Comprehensive Strategies for Meetings, Conventions and Events (5th edition)", International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Vol. 20 No. 2, pp. 237-238. https://doi.org/10.1108/09596110810852221

This text is one of the most comprehensive meeting, convention and events planning resources ever assembled. The text was developed by the Professional Convention and Meeting Association (PMCA) and has been recommended reading for the Certified Meeting Planner (CMP) Exam beginning since January 2007. The book is based on the organizations' ‘Principles of Performance’ which encourages meeting planning professionals to continually grow their skill sets in six key areas:

1. 1.

   Professionalism.

2. 2.

   People.

3. 3.

   Programming.

4. 4.

   Procedures.

5. 5.

   Production.

6. 6.

   Planning.

The text is divided into 47 chapters written by authors such as Jeffery Cufaude (Chapter 1), MaryAnne P. Bobrow (Chapters 7 and 8) and Monica Myhill and Jack Philips (Chapters 45 and 46). With such a large number of authors contributing, the quality of the writing varies substantially. The book is written for those who are currently working in the industry and as a result the chapters are usually written in a manner, which conveys information in an easy to digest and concise style. That being said, the text is not designed in a typical fashion for academic use. Academics wishing to use this text would most likely be unable to cover all of the chapters within a single term.

The content of the text is comprehensive. The text attempts to cover every aspect of planning and executing an event from the initial planning to implementation to evaluation. What is pleasantly surprising given the number of authors involved is how little repetition there is overall. Each chapter has a specific objective and the authors did an excellent job overall sticking specifically to the intended message.

This book has a specific purpose, being a study resource for the CMP Exam, and it serves that purpose quite well. It can be used alone or as part of a study package offered by the PCMA which includes: this text; the Convention Industry Council Manual Seventh Edition and; the Convention Industry Convention International Manual. While the text is written specifically for practitioners', it should also be part of any instructor's library as it provides excellent examples and straightforward explanations of planning and executing meetings, conventions and events; as well as setting out the standards of which students entering the workforce in this area will be required to have an understanding.