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Chapter 1
Communicating at Work
Student Questions:
________________________________________________________________________
Multiple Choice Questions
Communication and Career Success
1. Which of the following is NOT an accurate statement?
A. William Schaffer, International Business Development Manager for Sun Microsystems has
stated, “If there’s one skill that’s required for success in this industry, it’s communication skills.”
B. There is a significant difference between communication skills of physicians with and without
malpractice claims.
C. Workers in high-tech fields do not need good communication skills.
D. Poor communication is one of the most common reasons for errors in shooting among officers
of the Los Angeles Police Department.
2. Which of the following is NOT true about individuals communicating in today’s organizations?
A. Many recruiters believe that the main factors contributing to job success in corporate America
are the ability to work with others and effective communication skills.
B. More than 60% of reported medical errors have been attributed to poor communication.
C. The average business executive spends more than 45 minutes to an hour communicating.
D. Due to advanced technology, good communication skills are less important in the 21st century
than in they were in the 20th century.
3. A degree in communication is good preparation for a career in all of the following fields EXCEPT:
A. Publishing.
B. Organizational affairs.
C. Government affairs.
D. Communication is good preparation for a career in all of these fields.
The Nature of Communication: Communication Principles
4. When your text states that communication is unavoidable, it means that
A. if you’re absent from a meeting, you are not communicating at all.
B. all communication is unintentional.
C. people will probably attach meaning to your actions, even when you don’t intend to
communicate something.
D. true communication occurs only when we are face to face with another person.
5. According to the text, which of the following statements is TRUE?
A. You cannot not communicate.
B. Most communicators at work send more messages than they receive.
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C. It is possible to take back a message after another person has received it.
D. Chronological context has little to do with successful communication.
6. Which of the following is NOT identified in your text as a strategic goal?
A. Relational communication
B. Unintended communication
C. Instrumental communication
D. Identity management
7. The text identifies three goals of strategic messages. During office meetings, Sara expresses her
respect for her boss by listening attentively, nodding, and taking notes. Through her actions, Sara is
illustrating a __________ message.
A. sequential message
B. content message
C. relational message
D. structured message
8. All of the following are true about strategic communication EXCEPT
A. Our messages include both instrumental and relational aspects.
B. It is unethical to use communication strategies to achieve our goals.
C. It is possible to communicate strategically, while still respecting others’ rights and needs.
D. Identity management involves purposefully trying to make a certain type of impression
through our communication.
9. Communication is
A. irreversible.
B. reversible.
C. avoidable.
D. a panacea
10. If you make a harsh and unkind comment to someone
A. he/she will forgive and forget, as long as you apologize later.
B. you can erase the unkind comment from their mind by giving the individual a compliment the
next day.
C. he/she is likely to remember the comment for a long time.
D. your unkind comment will have little impact if it occurred during an argument, because
unkind behavior is expected in that context.
11. Which of the following statements describes communication most accurately?
A. When we experience a misunderstanding, better communication can always solve the problem.
B. The meaning of every message we send is affected by the communication context.
C. Fortunately, if we have hurt someone’s feelings by our words, we can erase all bad feelings by
apologizing.
D. Honest people will not face ethical challenges as they communicate at work.
12. Your text states that communication is a process. This means that
A. to understand communication, we need to examine the context in which it occurs.
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B. effective communication is efficient.
C. every message we send is an isolated event.
D. communication is avoidable.
13. Georgia believes that she will get what she wants if she simply communicates in the “correct” way.
Which of the principles of communication does Georgia fail to understand?
A. One cannot not communicate.
B. Communication is irreversible.
C. Communication is unavoidable.
D. Communication is not a panacea.
14. Which of the following describes most accurately the potential of effective communication?
A. If you develop good communication skills, you can get what you want all the time.
B. If you spend enough time communicating with someone about a misunderstanding, you‘ll
always be able to find a solution that you both like.
C. If you improve your communication skills, you can increase your effectiveness in personal and
business relationships.
D. If two people understand each other’s messages, they will never disagree.
The Nature of Communication: Basics of the Communication Model
15. Which of the following is NOT one of the elements of the communication process described in the
text?
A. noise
B. topic
C. channel
D. feedback
16. In the Model of Communication, the “sender” refers to a person who is
A. encoding ideas into words or nonverbals.
B. interpreting words and gestures.
C. buying a stamp for a letter.
D. bilingual.
17. The activity of selecting words and/or nonverbals to express your ideas is known as
A. feedback.
B. context.
C. encoding.
D. decoding.
18. “Channels” of communication are defined as
A. gestures.
B. digitized messages.
C. significant gaps in understanding.
D. methods used to deliver a message.
19. Fatima asks “What time will the meeting start?” Fatima’s words are an example of a
A. channel.
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B. decoding.
C. message.
D. context.
20. ____________ refers to the words a person uses to communicate ideas.
A. The message
B. Nonverbal communication
C. Physical noise
D. The channel
21. The role of the receiver is to
A. send messages
B. attach meaning to words they hear
C. encode messages
D. act as a messenger
22. When an individual attaches meaning to the message he/she receives, which of the following
components of the communication process has occurred?
A. encoding
B. decoding
C. channeling
D. transmission
23. Which of the following would NOT provide feedback to the sender?
A. deciding not to answer a phone message from your ex-girlfriend
B. browsing through a company’s catalog to see what styles of shoes they offer
C. falling asleep during a boring meeting
D. sending a letter to the editor of your local newspaper in response to an article the paper
published
24. Angelia has recently begun making a lot of mistakes on her day job. She has not been listening
attentively to her supervisor’s instructions. Angelia is no longer attentive because she is exhausted.
She has taken on a second job at night so she can pay off her credit card debt. In the above example,
which type of noise is causing a breakdown in the communication process between Angelia and her
supervisor?
A. physiological noise
B. defensiveness
C. supervisory noise
D. subtle noise
25. Josefina was so angry that she didn’t even hear her brother’s apology. Which type of noise hindered
Josefina’s ability to accurately decode her brother’s message?
A. physical
B. psychological
C. physiological
D. external
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26. Egotism is an example of _________________ that interferes with effective communication.
A. physical noise
B. encoding
C. a channel
D. psychological noise
27. Rheanna knows she deserves a raise for her high-quality performance on the job. However, she has
heard that her new boss dislikes people with Texas accents. Since Rheanna has a strong Texas accent,
she decides to wait six months before she asks for a raise. She hopes the boss will know her well
enough by then so that he will pay attention to her work instead of her accent. Which context has
contributed most to Rheanna’s decision to wait?
A. physical context
B. chronological context
C. social context
D. spatial context
28. The chronological context of a conversation refers to
A. the time of day or time of year when you are communicating.
B. communicating at the workplace cafeteria.
C. communicating with someone older than you.
D. communication practices in Latino cultures.
29. The cultural context of a conversation refers to the impact of
A. generational differences.
B. geographical location.
C. national backgrounds of the speakers.
D. All of these comprise the cultural context of a conversation.
30. Richard works for a small local newspaper as the advertising manager. Richard thinks he has been
giving his subordinates plenty of encouragement because he says “thank you” when they turn in their
projects. However, Richard has just discovered that most of his subordinates think Richard isn’t
providing enough praise and encouragement. This example illustrates that
A. meaning resides in the words of the sender.
B. the verbal channel is fatally flawed.
C. there is no guarantee that a message will be understood as the sender intended.
D. Richard is a good supervisor.
The Nature of Communication: Communication Channels
31. The channel of communication that has the highest level of nonverbal “richness” is
A. face-to-face communication.
B. instant messaging.
C. voice mail.
D. snail mail.
32. Which of the following is a disadvantage of using face-to-face communication over other
communication channels?
A. There is lag time between transmission and reception of the message.
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B. Face-to-face communication reduces your ability to hold the receiver’s attention.
C. It is often difficult to schedule a time to meet face-to-face.
D. It is more difficult to develop effective relationships with individuals when you use face-to-face
communication.
33. The channel of communication recommended for messages of a highly personal nature is
A. e-mail.
B. oral communication.
C. a formal letter.
D. instant messaging.
34. Which type of communication should be used if you are presenting ideas when you need to gather
instantaneous feedback?
A. written communication
B. voice mail
C. teleconferencing
D. face-to-face communication
35. You should choose written communication in preference to other channels when
A. you want to ponder each word before you send it out, to decrease your chance of making errors.
B. the situation requires a personal touch.
C. you want to save time.
D. there is a need for immediate feedback.
36. When management chooses a written format to communicate a decision to employees, an important
characteristic of the written message is that
A. there is no legal record of the communication.
B. there is a permanent record of the message.
C. it provides a forum for discussing management decisions.
D. it is easy to improvise when using written communication.
37. One significant characteristic of e-mail is that
A. it is a synchronous form of communication.
B. it can become a drain on your productivity.
C. it has been shown to impair personal relationships on the job.
D. you can enhance your “human touch” at work by refusing to use e-mail.
Technology Tips
38. Which of the following is NOT a suggested guideline for using cell phones?
A. Give your cell phone priority over face-to-face conversations; the person you are with can wait
while you answer your phone.
B. If you receive a call from a very important client while you are in a meeting, excuse yourself
from the meeting to answer the call.
C. Avoid selecting an irritating ring such as a repetitive song.
D. Refrain from using your cell phone in public places where others may be forced to overhear you,
such as a classroom.
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39. Which of the following is NOT a guideline for voice mail etiquette?
A. Plan your message in advance so you won’t ramble.
B. Leave a message that contains as much detail as possible so the receiver won’t have to call you
back for clarification.
C. State your name and phone number near the beginning of the message so the receiver won’t have
to replay the entire message to hear your number repeated.
D. Leave both your first and last name in the message unless the receiver knows you very well.
E. Speak slowly and clearly so the recipient can take accurate notes on your message.
40. Instant messaging (IM)
A. is an effective medium for sending confrontational messages.
B. requires us to pay attention to specific politeness norms, such as asking “How are you?” before we
begin our conversation.
B. is a very rich communication channel.
D. works well for short messages, but is rarely effective for complex conversations.
41. Instant messaging (IM) is a good choice for communicating messages when
A. you don’t want to leave a permanent record of your communication.
B. you want to multitask and send messages while attending an important meeting.
C. you are sending a short, non-confrontational message to someone who is available to
