PART TWOThe importance of satisfaction and morale Broadly speaking, job satisfaction is the degree of enjoyment that people derive from performing their jobs. If people enjoy their work, they are relatively satisfied; if they do not enjoy their work, they are relatively dissatisfied. In turn, satisfied employees are likely to have high morale -- the overall attitude that employees have toward their workplace. Morale reflects the degree to which they perceive that their needs are being met by their jobs. It is determined by a variety of factors, including job satisfaction and satisfaction with such things as pay benefits, coworkers, and promotion opportunities.
1 Some large firms, for example, have instituted companywide programs designed specifically to address employees' needs. Employees at SAS institute, a large software development company in North Carolina, enjoy private offices, a free health clinic, two on-site day-care centers, flexible work hours with 35-hour work weeks, a company-subsidized cafeteria, and year-end bonuses and profit sharing. Managers at Hyatt Hotels report that conducting frequent surveys of employee attitudes, soliciting employee input, and -- most important -- acting on that input give their company an edge in recruiting and retaining productive workers.
2 For example, First Tennessee, a midsize regional bank, believes that work and family are so closely related that family considerations should enter into job design. Thus, it offers such benefits as on-site child care.
When workers are satisfied and morale is high, the organization benefits in many ways. Compared with dissatisfied workers, for example; satisfied employees are more committed and loyal.
3 In addition, they tend to have fewer grievances and engage in fewer negative behaviors (complaining, deliberately slowing their work pace, and so forth) than dissatisfied counterparts. Finally, satisfied workers tend not only to come to work every day but also to remain with the organization. By promoting satisfaction and morale, then, management is working to ensure more efficient operations.
Conversely, the costs of dissatisfaction and poor morale are high. Dissatisfied workers are far more likely to be absent for minor illnesses, personal reasons; or a general disinclination to go to work.
4 High levels of turnover have many negative consequences, including the disruption of production schedules, high retraining costs and decreased productivity.
5 The results of one recent study shows that companies with the highest levels of satisfaction and morale significantly outperformed the 300 largest US companies over both 5 and 10 years. Of course, many other factors contributed to the performance of both sets of companies, but these differences nevertheless can not be ignored.
A Low morale may also result in high turnover -- the ratio of newly hired to currently employed workers.
B In turn, satisfied employees are likely to have high morale -- the overall attitude that employees have toward their workplace.
C In fact, evidence suggests that job satisfaction and employee morale may directly affect a company's performance.
D Such employees are more likely to work hard and to make useful contributions to the organization.
E Managers of smaller businesses realize that the personal touch can reap big benefits in employee morale and even devotion.
F Companies can involve employee morale and job satisfaction in a variety of ways.
G In conclusion, the higher satisfaction and morale, the better for the organization.
PART TWO1. · You work for Toshiba, a Japanese company which produces TV. You are responsible for Product Development.
· Read the following table showing the results of a survey of TVs. The TVs are rated from E (poor) to A (excellent). Column I shows the ratings for your company's products. Column Ⅱ shows the rating for the products of National, your rival.
· Use the information in the table to write a short report ( 120～140 words), recommending ways of improving the quality and marketing of your company's TV.
| | TOSHIBA | NATIONAL |
| Value for money | D | B |
| Reliability | D | A |
| After-sales service | E | D |
| Availability | A | E |
| Advertising | D | C |
Nowadays, less people like to spend their holidays at home. More people go camping outside or even travel abroad. The changes are caused mainly by three factors. First, people become more open. Instead of staying at home, they visit foreign countries to know the different races. Secondly, in the 2000s, housewives are more free from the heavy housework with more and more household utensils. Families are very happy to spend holidays outside with mothers or wives. Thirdly, travelling abroad can also mean enjoying comfortable weather in another country. Therefore less people go to crowded seaside, they turn to other ways.
PART ONE1. The interview--about 3 minutes
In this part the interlocutor asks questions to each of the candidates in turn. You have to give information about yourself and express personal opinions.
PART TWO1. Mini presentations--about 6 minutes
In this part of the test you are asked to give a short talk on a business topic. You have to choose one of the topics from the three below and then talk for about one minute. You have one minute to prepare your ideas.
Being aware of your own culture and how it differs from others is an important first step in preventing intercultural misunderstanding. Avoiding ethnocentrism and stereotyping while tolerance further helps business communicators overcome cultural barriers. Ethnocentrism causes us to judge others by our own values. Misunderstandings naturally result. Working among people from different cultures demands tolerance and acceptance of delivery. To improve tolerance, practice empathy. Being tolerance also takes patience. Our impressions of other cultures sometimes cause us to form stereotypes about groups of people. When you meet and work with people from other cultures, remember that they, too, resent being stereotyped. Look beneath surface stereotypes and labels to discover individual personal qualities.
PART THREE1. In this part of the test, you are given a discussion topic. You have 30 seconds to look at the task prompt, an example of which is below, and then about three minutes to discuss the topic with your partner. After that, the examiner will ask you more questions related to the topic.
For two candidates
New Year Party
The company you work for is going to hold a party to celebrate New Year and award the best employees of the year.
You have been asked to offer some advice on it.
Discuss the situation together and decide:
· what kind of activities should be arranged at the party
· how to choose the best employees.
For three candidates
New Year Party
The company you work for is going to hold a party to celebrate New Year and award the best employees of the year.
You have been asked to offer some advice on it.
Discuss the situation together and decide:
· what kind of activities should be arranged at the party
· how to choose the best employees
· what kind of reward is proper.
[参考范例]
A: I am honoured to have this opportunity to work with you two. As is informed to us, our company is going to hold a party to celebrate New Year and award the best employees of the year. There are three topics to be discussed on the agenda. Now, let's begin with the first one, that is, what kind of activities should be arranged at the party.
B: I suggest that we should ask our staff to prepare some performances such as singing and dancing since this is our own celebration. We need select two employees as host and hostess at the party.
C: I totally agree with you. We'd better inform the staff as soon as possible. We still need invite one or two stars to make our party more attractive. Shall we move to the next subject? How to choose the best employees?
A: Definitely. In my point of view, the best employees should be chosen in each department, because people in one department know each other well and those who work harder can be seen by colleagues.
B: Yes, that's true. How many best employees should be chosen? How about two in each department?
C: OK, I agree. Let the department managers announce this at their weekly meeting this Friday. Now, it is time to talk about what kind of reward is proper. Personally, I think bonus and gift are good reward. Do you think so?
A: Bonus is too common. We always reward best employees with bonus。I think we need have something new to encourage staff to work better.
B: I agree with you and I think the free travel to Hawaii for one week is more attractive than bonus. Many of our staff are dreaming of that place.
C: Good idea. Let's report our decision to the president and I suggest that we prepare small gifts to all the staff at the party.
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