ESSAY 11

Many workplaces, such as hospital and emergency services, require employees

to work in shifts. In your opinion, what are some of the advantages and
disadvantages of shift work?

Usually, many manufacturing plants, hospitals and emergency services require

their workers to work in rotating shifts to give 24 hour- coverage to the work due
to its specific nature. However, the advantages and the drawbacks of rotational
shifts are still highly controversial. To the best of my knowledge, even though shift
work provides tremendous convenience to employees and enables commuters to
avoid the hustle and bustle of traffic during peak hours, they, at the same time, also
cause health complications in the long run.

On the one hand, there is no doubt that a person can greatly benefit from working
in shift, particularly night shifts. Those who are assigned night shifts can take
advantage of daytime to run errands or attend to important events. For example, a
mother can spend more time taking care of her baby or a sports lover will not miss
his favorite match because of going to work. Therefore, rotating shifts clearly give
workers freedom to do other things while maintaining correct office duty.

Similarly, the positive side of shift work is to enable commuters to avoid rush-hour
traffic. Driving to work is not only time consuming but also mentally and
physically exhausting, which negatively affects the worker’s work quality. Take
my own experience as an example, it often takes me two hours to commute back
and forth to work, and the reason for wasting my time is simply because of traffic
congestion during peak-hours, which always makes me feel stressed and tired. .
Nevertheless, the problem can be totally solved if one works in shifts.

On the other hand, one cannot deny health complications resulting from night shift
work. According to a general person’s biological clock, our body is already set to
take part in activities in daytime and sleep at night. Therefore, workers on night
shift face the disadvantages of working odd hours and have to make a deliberate
effort to remain healthy and productive, and there is no guarantee that they can
deeply sleep without being disturbed by the other things. Consequently, adjusting
your sleep patterns is more likely to cause stress, irregular heartbeat and even
chronic insomnia.
To sum up, there are always pros and cons of working in shifts as a worker can
benefit from its convenience and avoid traffic jams, but he also has to contend with
health issues. In order to prevent the disadvantages of rotating shifts to an absolute
minimum, one should be aware of their health condition to adjust biorhythm
properly.

ESSAY 19

How do movies and television shows affect people’s behavior?

There should be no doubt in anyone’s mind that the influence of movies and TV
shows is growing stronger and stronger as time passes. As a result, this trend has a
profound effect on many aspects of people’s lives, particularly on TV viewers’
attitude. Personally, I believe they will influence people’s social cognition, fashion
choice as well as social interaction. The following essay will explain these points
more in detail.

Firstly, what we watch from movies and television shows can have a significant
impact on our opinions on social issues. Besides entertaining purpose, a movie or a
program would convey messages to its viewers and to some extent it is likely to
affect what they think. Take current affairs as a striking example, those programs
inform the public of the whole picture of a society, problems happening daily,
general public opinions and experts’ views in order to educate and guide the
viewers to follow the beliefs or values which are generally acknowledged by the
public.

Secondly, people’s choice of fashion tends to be affected by what they see in

movies or TV shows. Fashion styles of movie characters, singers or fashionistas
are often followed and copied by many people, especially the young who want to
look exactly the same as their idols.

Lastly, movies and TV shows also have a considerable impact on social

interaction. As people usually expose too much to movies and TV programs but
less time for interacting with other people in real life, they would find it hard to
communicate effectively. In addition, what they observe the way a character in a
movie who acts in a situation or a case might be the things that they would like to
mimic.
In conclusion, movies and television shows often have a strong impact on people’s
behaviors and attitudes. They influence what people believe, how people dress and
also the way they talk to each other every day.

ESSAY 21

Managing a team can be a very difficult job. In your opinion, what qualities
make a good boss? Use reasons and examples to support your answer.

In order to become a great manager, one needs to possess all leadership

characteristics to drive the company forward. Personally, I believe that a good
manager should have a broad knowledge, good communication skills as well as be
inspirational. The following essay will explain these points more in detail.

To commence with, it is reasonable to say that one of the most important qualities
that a great leader must own is an in-depth knowledge. In order for an employer to
manage the company as a whole, he or she has to be aware of all the regulations,
rules as well as functional structure more than any employees. Clearly, a
department or a company is less likely to succeed or compete with other
competitions if it is piloted by a boss who lacks an understanding of specialized
knowledge and management skills.

Secondly, interpersonal skills are also considered as a crucial trait for a strong
leader. The ability of communicating and interacting effectively with their
employees will help managers earn respect from their subordinates and direct the
corporations more smoothly. Specifically, effective leaders need to convey ideas
clearly, speak precisely, professionally and to the point to make themselves
understood. For example, in a company meeting, a manager will use his
communication skills to evaluate employees’ performances or introduce new
policies and procedures.

Finally, the ability to inspire people to reach great heights of performance success
is a skill that an effective leader needs. Managers cannot expect their employees to
follow them because of their title or their place in the organization’s hierarchy. In
other words, staff members will be inspired by their boss’s passion, purpose and
commitment to the company, which, as a result, will certainly enhance employee
productivity.

In conclusion, there are numerous valuable traits a leader must have in order to run
the company effectively. In my opinion, being knowledgeable, having excellent
communication skills, along with the capacity to inspire and empower others will
be one of the most appreciated qualities a leader must possess.