Chapter 3
Managing Communications
True/False Questions
1. A back-and-forth conversation is always organized the same way as a formal report.
2. Cognitive dissonance is the external conflict and anxiety that only occurs when people receive
information incompatible with their value systems.
3. Noise may emerge from within an individual’s emotions.
4. Personal barriers are a common occurrence in work situations.
5. Minnie is talking on the phone when a screeching sound from a road accident that occurs
nearby disrupts her conversation. This is an example of a personal barrier.
6. Semantics presents a particularly difficult challenge when people from different cultures
attempt to communicate with each other.
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written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
Ans: True
Page: 61
Difficulty: Easy
7. Inferences are an unwanted and unnecessary part of communication.
8. Lack of awareness of social cues can create a semantic smog.
9. Assuming that performance is satisfactory, feedback enhances an employee’s feeling of
competence.
10. Managers should discourage feedback-seeking behavior in subordinates because it disrupts
the normal flow of business.
11. Distortion is the willful modification of a message intended to achieve one’s personal
objectives.
12. Managers can encourage upward communications by asking good questions.
13. “How much does the apple pie cost?” is an example of an open question.
14. Formal communication reveals true conditions better than most information gained on a
spontaneous basis.
15. Boundary spanning is a source of status and potential power.
16. Boundary spanners usually acquire their roles through informal social relationships.
17. Telecommuting results in reduced productivity.
18. In any organization, the grapevine coexists with the management’s formal communication
system.
19. Rumor is grapevine information that is communicated without secure standards of evidence
being present.
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written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
Ans: True
Page: 76
Difficulty: Easy
20. There are no positive aspects to rumors.
1. Communication does not occur until a written message is _____.
A) received
B) understood
C) read
D) all of the above
2. The _____ process is the method by which a sender reaches a receiver with a message.
A) character encoding
B) unidirectional transmission
C) two-way communication
D) idea networking
3. The sequential steps of the communication process are:
A) brainstorming; decode; transmit; receive; decode; accept; use; feedback.
B) develop idea; encode; transmit; receive; decode; accept; use; feedback.
C) develop idea; decode; transmit; receive; encode; accept; use; feedback.
D) brainstorming; encode; transmit; receive; decode; accept; use; feedback.
4. Which of the following is typically the first step in the two-way communication process?
A) Decode the message
B) Transmit the message
C) Develop an idea
D) Encode the idea
5. In the encoding stage of the communication process, _____ uses rich, colorful, carefully
selected language to shape the perceptions of recipients.
A) transmission
B) framing
C) persuasion
D) none of the above
6. Which of the following is the next immediate step after encoding a message in the two-way
communication process?
A) Receive
B) Decode
C) Transmit
D) Accept
Difficulty: Easy
7. When the receiver acknowledges the message and responds to the sender, _____ has
occurred.
A) feedback
B) encoding
C) reciprocity
D) all of the above
Difficulty: Easy
8. Which of the following statements is NOT true about defensive reasoning?
A) It is used to avoid risk and the appearance of incompetence.
B) It typically results in an emphasis on winning.
C) It leads to cognitive dissonance.
D) It is often irrational.
9. Which of the following statements is a potential problem of two-way communication?
A) It tends to make people emphasize excessively on rationality and logic.
B) It eliminates polarized opinions.
C) It typically restricts feedback.
D) It may create cognitive dissonance.
10. Cognitive dissonance occurs in all of the following instances EXCEPT when _____.
A) people receive information incompatible with their value systems
B) people receive information incompatible with their prior decisions
C) people receive information incompatible with other information that they may have
D) people receive information incompatible with the organizational goals
11. Which of the following statements is an example of a regrettable message?
A) As a rule, brunettes are more intelligent than blondes.
B) Congratulations on your promotion!
C) You did a great job.
D) The recently hired sales representatives have immense scope for improvement.
12. _____ barriers are communication interferences that arise from human emotions, values, and
poor listening habits.
A) Personal
B) Structural
C) Physical
D) Semantic
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written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
Difficulty: Easy
13. Which of the following statements is an example of a personal barrier of communication?
A) A telephonic conversation disrupted by bad network reception.
B) Geographic distance between two people.
C) Needless repetition of “I see” in a conversation.
D) Walls around a worker’s cubicle.
14. _____ between people is a feeling of being emotionally separated.
A) Physiological distance
B) Geographic distance
C) Psychological distance
15. _____ barriers are communication interferences that occur in the environment in which the
communication takes place.
A) Personal
B) Physical
C) Psychological
D) Semantic
16. Which of the following statements is an example of a physical barrier of communication?
A) A distracting noise during a conversation
B) Differences that arise from the communicator’s race
C) Ending every sentence with “you know”
D) Differences that arise from a communicator’s gender
17. In the context of proxemics in the United States, which of the following is considered a
“personal distance” for conversations with acquaintances?
A) 6 to 18 feet
B) 3 to 4 feet
C) 4 to 12 feet
D) Farther than 12 feet
Difficulty: Easy
18. Semantics is the science of _____.
A) sound
B) expression
C) meaning
D) thought
19. _____ barriers arise from limitations in the symbols with which we communicate.
A) Personal
B) Psychological
C) Physical
D) Semantic
Difficulty: Easy
20. Which of the following is an example of a semantic barrier of communication?
A) Needless repetition of “I see” in a conversation.
B) Geographic distance between two people.
C) Differences in words that arise from a communicator’s ethnicity.
D) Slow Internet speed due to the user’s remote location.
21. Emotions can affect _____.
A) whether a message is accepted or not
B) the method and form of message transmission
C) how messages are decoded
D) all of the above
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Difficulty: Easy
22. _____ communication in an organization is the flow of information from higher to lower
levels of authority.
A) Upward
B) Lateral
C) Informal
D) Downward
23. _____ is the conscious or unconscious withholding of information about potential problems
or issues on the part of employees.
A) Organizational assimilation
B) Organizational silence
C) Organizational dissent
D) None of the above
24. Which of the following is an example of an open question?
A) How was your holiday?
B) How much does this dress cost?
C) How long will you take to reach home?
D) How far is the college from your place?
25. Which of the following is an example of a closed question?
A) How are you feeling?
B) How much does this pen cost?
C) How was your weekend?
D) How was the fair?
26. Listening abilities can be improved through _____.
A) focused practice
B) training courses
C) a desire to improve
D) all of the above
27. _____ communication is communication across chains of command.
A) Upward
B) Informal
C) Lateral
D) Downward
28. Employees who play a major role in _____ are referred to as boundary spanners.
A) lateral communication
B) informal communication
C) upward communication
D) downward communication
29. _____ are online diaries or journals created and updated frequently by individuals to express
their personal thoughts, musings, and commentaries on topics of interest to them.
A) Wikis
B) Blogs
C) Tweets
D) Networks
30. Which of the following statements is true of rumors in grapevine communications?
A) It is grapevine information that is communicated with the presence of secure standards of
evidence.
B) It is always negative and curtails all possible positive information that is available.
C) It is generally correct most of the time.
D) It is the unverified and untrue part of the grapevine.
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written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
Ans: D
Page: 76
Difficulty: Medium
Essay Questions
1. People do not feel comfortable with cognitive dissonance, hence they try to remove or reduce
it. What actions would they take to reduce cognitive dissonance?
2. What is the difference between encoding and decoding a message in the communication
process?
3. List the six fundamental principles of persuasion.
4. Identify at least four conditions that can encourage acceptance of a communication.
5. Describe communication overload.
Ans: Communication overload occurs when employees receive more communication inputs than
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written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
they can process or more than they need. The keys to better communication are timing and
quality, not quantity. It is possible to have better understanding with less total communication if
it is of high quality and delivered at the appropriate moment.
Page: 66
Difficulty: Easy
6. What two factors cause organizational silence?
7. What is the difference between open questions and closed questions? Give an example of
each.
8. List the guidelines for effective listening.
9. Explain the primary advantages and disadvantages of electronic mail systems.
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written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
person, having your message forwarded to unintended recipients, and forgetting that anything
said in an email is subject to public scrutiny.
Page: 73
Difficulty: Medium
10. What are the great promises and problems of virtual offices?