1. Sample Topic 1

Company’s top level authorities should get their employees in decision making process. Discuss.


Model Answer

For donkey’s years, there is a constant debate that employees must be involved in decision making process.

Often new start-ups and small scale companies take opinions of their employees before making important decision. This bonds the team like a family and there has been a steady growth of the company.  Further, they are aware of the current situation which makes them act responsibly. Moreover, opinions from employees bring fresh perspective to the top level management team and sometimes problems that look very tricky can be solved very easily.

However, it is not always recommended for every decision made. Certain sensitive information must not be disclosed, for example, how to address the loss incurred by an organisation? Such topics can make the junior employees panic and spread rumours about company in the market; and these situations must be carefully addressed.

Democratic management has been successful. Though including all employees in the decision making process will be difficult and tedious, but the results are positive. In the recent years, many companies and organisations are adopting this technique and reaping benefits.  It makes employees feel strongly about the company and accountable for the decision made which in turn ensure their productivity and efficiency.

 

2. Sample Topic 2

Tobacco, mainly in form of cigarettes, is one of the most-widely used drugs in the world. Over a billion adults legally smoke tobacco every day. The long term health costs are high – for smokers themselves, and for the wider community in terms of health care costs and lost productivity.

Do governments have a legitimate role to legislate, to protect citizens from the harmful effects of their own decisions to smoke, or are such decisions up to the individual?


Model Answer

Despite of all the harmful effects of tobacco, it is legal in nearly all the countries. Over a billion people across the world of different age groups smoke cigarettes. Both the active and passive smokers have serious impacts on health, many suffer from cancer, asthma and other lung and heart related problems – but still it is not banned.

Often, people start smoking during their college due to peer pressure. However, soon they are addicted to it. Many smokers have erratic responses about the harmful effects – some say, that they live only once and thus should enjoy life to the fullest; and others it is all written in destiny. Such behaviour force to think that governments must intervene and ban tobacco. On the other hand, it was found that many people in developing and under developed countries were not aware of the adverse effects of smoking – when realised they gave up smoking.

Governments over years have legislated and reduced the consumption of cigarette over the past years by levying more tax on cigarettes and some countries increased the age for smoking to 21 years. All adults are sensible and thus are responsible for the decisions they make. Instead of a forced ban, individuals must act responsibly and understand that being healthy and living long will let them and their families lead a happy life.

 

3. Sample Topic 3

Communication has changed significantly in the last 10 years. Discuss pros and cons impacts.


Model Answer

15 years into the new millennium and the world is connected like never before. Better connectivity and increased communication is due to technological advances. This had a great impact on the lives of people, especially on the world of business.

Increasingly, companies are adopting new methods of communication such as video conference. It works over the internet where clients or executives from all over the world can video chat with each other on computer or smart phones. This is cost effective, saves time spent on travel and speeds up the processes. It is proved productive, as meetings are short and effective with rich collaboration from employees and decisions are made faster.

Consequently, this connectivity increased work pressure on employees as they are expected to be a part of the video conferencing as they are reachable. As this mode of communication is mainly used for foreign clients and executives, some employees have to function in odd hours to match that of client’s time zone. In developing countries like India, employees of small and medium sized companies who deal with foreign clients have to connect with them after working hours. This has not only affected their family lives but has led to health related problems.

In summary, the methods of communications have changed for good, but sometimes employees are exploited.

 

4. Sample Topic 4

Information revolution has changed the way of mass communications and had some negative and positive effects on individual lives as well as on society. To what extent do you agree or disagree?


Model Answer

We live in the information age. Advances in technology have changed impacts of mass communication. The mediums used for mass communication have increased – from radios to television to print and online media. Online media is gaining popularity and unlike other methods, it provides a platform to share and exchange ideas and opinions.

With the advent of social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, the speed with which the news travels have increased dramatically. Everyone online is aware about the happenings in the world. It provides a platform to share ideas, exchange thoughts and opinions about various issues. Discussing an issue with various perspectives can lead to better decisions made for the society.

With great power comes great responsibility. The power is in the hand of the creator of information. Some information is blown out of proportion to make sensational headlines while others are biased and misleading. The power is strong enough to transform the ideas, beliefs and mind-sets of people. This is a threat to society on the long run.

In conclusion, mass communication has led to the shifts in the lives of individuals. People are more aware, but the question is doing we really need all that information?

 

5. Sample Topic 5

Any recent invention that you think proved beneficial or detrimental to society


Model Answer

It is an era of inventions. Technological advances have made our life easier. From taking a holiday to moon to sending messages with a click – everything is possible. One such astonishing invention is Smart phones.

Smart phones are mobile phones that are not only used for calls and texts messages but many other features. They are like mini computers with internet that allows users to download various applications that can help them at work, home and to stay connected with their friends and families. There are endless applications for entertainment such as games and music; utilities such as compass and flashlight; and productivity such as health and fitness apps to track the number of miles you have run or the amount of calories consumed. It is altogether a new world.

Consequently, smart phones have made people socially averse. Many people shy away from communicating to people when they meet or over the telephone as they find it easy to talk via texts or online messages or tweets. During social events, many are glued to their phones to stay updated, missing all the fun they can have when they are with people.

Too much of anything is bad. Undoubtedly smart phone has changed the lives of people in a good way but have increased several psychological diseases.

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EXERCISE-3