2018.01.20 Academic Task 2 Sample Essay

Research shows that more and more business meetings and business training are taking place online. Do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages?

Extensive use of technology in the corporate world is a prevalent circumstance in modern society. Increasing numbers of business meetings and training are conducted online – a phenomenon which I believe has more benefits than limitations.

On the one hand, the prime drawback of the growing use of the internet for business meetings and trainings is the lack of personal touch. In other words, online business communication does not involve any one-on-one interactions that make meetings and trainings stimulating. For example, an employee attending an online training session, might not be able to address his queries while the training is ongoing. He would only be able to email the trainer later, probably making him lose clarity of the topics discussed during the training and hampering his learning experience.

On the other hand, there are several benefits of online business meetings and training, the primary one being cost effectiveness. Organising physical corporate events such as conferences, seminars and training drills can be extremely expensive. By using the online platform, companies are able to save tremendous amounts of resources on logistics of these events such as venue, personnel, transport and food.

Moreover, individuals can attend these corporate events from the comfort of their offices, homes, or even vacation spots, at a time suitable for them. For instance, Microsoft employees have the liberty to schedule any meeting via Skype, a popular online conference call application, as per their convenience even if they are working from home or are overseas for a business trip or a holiday, allowing them to maintain excellent work performance and efficiency.

In conclusion, tumultuous advancement of technology has resulted in extensive use of the internet for work in terms of meetings and training, advantages of which overshadow the disadvantages in my opinion.

• in the corporate world

在企业界

e.g.: In the corporate world, those who witnessed such malfeasance (渎职) might alert a higher authority.

• prevalent:

adj. 流行的，盛行的

e.g.: While the penalties are becoming more prevalent, rewards for pursuing good health are far more common.

• personal touch

英语释义：an original or special quality, or something that is done for every single person in a group in order to make them feel special

e.g.: The chairman of the bank believes in the personal tough and always sends a signed letter to each customer.

• stimulating:

adj. 刺激的，使人兴奋的

e.g.: Note on a chart when these activities were performed, with whom, and how stimulating they were.

• clarity:

n. 清楚，清晰，明确

e.g.: Letters may be edited for length and clarity.

• hamper:

V. 阻碍，妨碍，牵制

e.g.: An attempt to rescue the men has been hampered by bad weather.

• training drills:

训练，演习

e.g.: The training drills are held every year and commanders insist they are purely defensive.

• tremendous:

adj. 极大的，巨大的，极好的

e.g.: She was making a tremendous effort to appear calm.

• logistics:

n. 后勤，统筹安排，物流

e.g.: WHO continues to provide support in surveillance, water and sanitation, social mobilization and logistics together with the Ministry of Health.

• liberty:

n. 自由，许可

e.g.: They took up arms and fought for their faith and liberty.