to sales and management, depends on conscientiousness. Among sales representatives for a large American car manufacturer, those who were most conscientious had the largest volume of sales.
Conscientiousness also offers a buffer (缓冲) against the threat of job loss in today’s constantly changing market, because employees with this quality ar e among the most valued. For the sales representatives, their level of conscientiousness mattered almost as much as their sales in determining who stayed on.
But conscientiousness in the absence of social skills can lead to problems. Since conscientious people demand so much of themselves, they can hold other people to their own standards, and so be overly judgmental when others don’t show the same high levels of model behavior. Factory workers who were extremely conscientious, for example, tended to criticize co-workers even about failures that seemed unimportant to those they criticized, which damaged their relationships.
When conscientiousness takes the form of living up to expectations, it can discourage creativity. Success in creative professions like art or advertising calls for a balance between wild ideas and conscientiousness. Without enough conscientiousness to follow through, people become mere dreamers, with nothing to show for their imaginativeness.
3.Summary Writing
Directions: Read the following passage. Summarize the main idea and the main point(s) of the passage in no more than 60 words. Use your own words as far as possible.
It is universally true that all parents in the world love their children. However, as parents’ views of li fe vary, they show their love in different ways.
The monarch type of parents are intolerant and self-centered. They lay down regulations in the family for their children to observe. Furthermore, they insist that their children should act upon them without question. With a firm belief in their own philosophy of life, they have little respect for others’ opinions, least of all, their children’s. The sentence they say most frequently to their children is, “ you should do this.”
Contrary to the monarch-type parents, the servant-type parents revolve around their children all the time. They are soft, good-natured, and easy-going. They never deny their children any wish, and cheerfully run to buy anything their children ask for. They are happy so long as their children are content. With the sincere belief that love means sacrifice, they are ready to give up anything for their children’s sake. With their children at the center of their lives, they always ask, “What else can we do for you?”
The friend-type parents, as the term implies, treat their children as friends. They are generous and wise. Like good friends, they discuss with their children the latest news, share their children’s interests, and listen attentively to their children’s expression of emoti on, whether it is anger, fear, joy or sorrow. They have a close relationship with their children while sticking to their principled stand. They discuss problems with their children rather than provide ready solution.