Preparing annual reports or analyses is a big problem for employees. Some rack their brains for days to get them right, others just copy readymade scripts from the Internet, and still others hire ghostwriters to do the job. China Daily mobile news readers share their views:

As owner of a company, I ask all my employees to write annual reports. I don't care about their writing skills. All I hope to know is their appreciation of life, as well as understanding of the work they do. An annual report could reflect a person's potential to take his/her career forward.

Chunjinguantou, Jiaxing, Zhejiang province

It is a mistake to consider the annual report a task that should be finished anyway possible. It is more like an opportunity to review oneself, to check what one has done in one year and what one should do in the next. Looking at the past will help guide a person toward a better future. Every employee should be sincere with the report because he/she is doing it for his/her own good, not for the benefit of his/her company.

A reader from Changzhou, Jiangsu province

Annual reports are only one of the periodical assessments a person has to make during his/her lifetime to see what he/she has achieved and what more is there to be accomplished. I don't know why some people have nothing to write about. Don't they have a clear plan for life?

Zuo Jiebin, Wuhu, Anhui province

I work for a UK-based company so I am required to send my biweekly report even at the end of year, nothing more. I don't think preparing a long report at the end of the year is a good way of assessing your achievements or making plans. Perhaps honest conversations with colleagues and/or employers are better ways of assessing oneself.

A reader from Beijing

An annual report reflects a person's attitude toward his/her job, for one that works carefully will also write the report with a sense of responsibility. I think we should write annual reports, because they are part of the job.

Mo Hunjian, Tianjin

Writing an annual report gives a person a precious opportunity to think about his/her errors and take measures to avoid them in the future. No one is too busy to write an annual report. One cannot make plans without reviewing the past.

Panfy, Guangzhou, Guangdong province

Many people find it difficult to write an annual report despite being busy with work the whole year. I suggest that a person prepare small weekly reports throughout the year and put them together at the end of the year.

Wenwuxiaozi, Changchun, Jilin province

I think it's silly to hire ghostwriters to prepare annual reports. Just write down what you have in mind about your work and give the company your suggestions for its development. That would be beneficial to the company and the employee both. Why cheat both by hiring ghostwriters?

Zhaoxi, Changsha, Hunan province

It's a good thing for every employee to write an annual report, in which he/she does a self-review and gives advice to the company, and for the boss to read it carefully - because it can improve the performances of the employee and the company both. But the problem is that people are so busy throughout the year that reports are neither written seriously nor read carefully. It thus becomes a waste of time.

Copps, Xi'an, Shaanxi province

I work in a school where almost everybody prepares their report by copying and pasting. That does no good to anyone. Instead, it is waste of time and energy. I suggest that we stop this bureaucratic practice.

A reader from Haikou, Hainan province

(China Daily 12/26/2011 page9)