A group of people meeting together to openly discuss issues and make decisions that become the decision of the group is best described as which term?

• A. Assembly
• B. Meeting
• C. Panel
• D. Conference

Answer: (A)

The key idea is a formal gathering of members who come together to discuss issues and make decisions that bind the group. This best fits an assembly, because it denotes a body that has assembled to transact business and adopt actions for the whole group. A meeting can be any gathering, and may be informal or lack the sense of a formal body authorized to bind the organization. A panel is a smaller, chosen group set to deliberate or judge a matter, not the whole group’s decision-making body. A conference implies a larger, often multi-session event with speakers, rather than the ongoing decision-making of a single group. So the term that captures discussing issues openly and making binding decisions for the group is assembly.