Quintanilla, Business and Professional Communication: KEYS for Workplace Excellence 4e
SAGE Publishing, 2020
Chapter 8: Technology in the Workplace
Test Bank
Multiple Choice
1. When you communicate by using any form of technology, you are taking part in which of the
following?
a. computer-mediated communication
b. current communication practices
c. secondary communication
d. inferior communication
2. Computer-mediated communication takes place via which of the following?
a. computers
b. radios
c. cable television
d. local news feeds
3. Companies and organizations are using which of the following in an effort to monitor and
track employee behavior in terms of the information they access or communicate while at
work?
a. workplace surveillance systems
b. Big Brother brand software
c. internal spies who report directly to security
d. airport-style screening devices
4. Which email address example is the most appropriate to use for professional use such as
business connections?
a. akb123@yahoo.com
b. yankees4thawin@sports.com
c. john.smith@company.org
d. jamesbond007@hotmail.com
5. What type of email should you avoid sending while at work or from a work account?
a. memos
b. jokes
c. organizational news
d. meeting schedules
6. When you receive an email written in all caps with lots of exclamation points, the tone of the
message is changed. The change in tone is a characteristic of what type of communication?
a. verbal
b. nonverbal
c. nonprofessional
d. computer-mediated
7. Which of the following is true concerning workplace surveillance systems?
a. Employers are allowed to track information being accessed from their computers.
b. Work computers are more secure than personal computers.
Quintanilla, Business and Professional Communication: KEYS for Workplace Excellence 4e
SAGE Publishing, 2020
c. Employees can hide their online activity by clearing their search history.
d. Systems that track web activity are illegal without the consent of the employee.
8. Stacy has a Facebook account and uses it as a sounding board for her frustration with her
personal life and company. Which of the following statements is true?
a. Stacy should only delete anything on her Facebook page that is work related.
b. Stacy should be mindful about what others can retrieve about her on the internet and
should refrain from posting things that may show her in a negative light.
c. Stacy can post negative comments about the company as it is her right to exercise her
right to free speech and because of this nothing negative will happen.
d. As long as Stacy is not “friends” with her boss, she should be fine.
9. Which term correctly identifies the study of time as communication?
a. oculesics
b. linguistics
c. proxemics
d. chronemics
10. Computer-mediated communication occurs in which of these?
a. synchronous time
b. asynchronous time
c. synchronous and asynchronous time
d. androgynous time
11. Which strategy is a way to avoid email information overload?
a. Ignore and save every email that you can.
b. Read and respond to messages that are important.
c. Be sure not to delete inbox messages until you leave the company.
d. Create a removable drive for all work-related emails.
12. Which of these statements is true regarding spam email?
a. Spam recipients are never random.
b. All spam contains viruses designed to hack your computer.
c. Spammers often steal sensitive passwords.
d. Spammers buy your information from companies you have given your email
address to.
13. How can electronic bulletin boards be accessed?
a. by joining a listserv first
b. by subscribers
c. by anyone
d. through company channels
14. Which of the following text messages should have been communicated with a phone call or
in person?
a. “See you there.”
b. “Meeting @ 10”
c. “You got the promotion!”
d. ”Thanks for the heads–up!”
15. Why is it especially important to be careful about the messages you send via electronic
communication?
a. Due to the lack of cues, misunderstandings can lead to electronic conflicts.
b. Almost anyone can look into your private emails.
c. The same rules apply for electronic communication as paper communication.
d. Those messages disappear in a short time.
16. Why do most companies find it necessary to have a written policy regarding electronic
communication?
a. Employers need a paper trail on employees’ activities in case they want to fire them.
b. Issues such as viruses, misuse of the system, and email etiquette need to be clearly
spelled out to employees.
c. Finding out if job candidates can understand the policy is critical to the hiring process.
d. Employers want a legally binding contract in place to protect against lawsuits.
17. According to the authors of this text, if you want to excel and get promoted to a higher
position in leadership, you need to do which of these?
a. Improve your communication with technology.
Quintanilla, Business and Professional Communication: KEYS for Workplace Excellence 4e
SAGE Publishing, 2020
b. Rely on text messaging altogether.
c. Post and forward posts from social media.
d. Tweet the activities of your boss to show how much you like him or her.
18. What kinds of work teams are designed to help companies connect their employees in
different locations and save on time and travel?
a. teleconferences
b. Skype
c. virtual work teams
d. face-to-face teams
19. The goal of workplace surveillance is to do which of the following?
a. reduce productivity
b. encourage employees to look up personal banking information
c. discourage employees from viewing pornography at work
d. help employee remember passwords and sensitive company information
20. What is the question you should take into consideration when attempting to include
motivational language in your emails?
a. Would I pass this information on to my friends who don’t work for the company?
b. Would I repeat this in person?
c. Am I communicating unbridled friendship to my colleagues?
d. Will this help someone get promoted before I am?
21. Sending authentic-looking but fraudulent emails in order to steal sensitive personal
information is known as which of the following?
a. spam
b. phishing
c. mimicking
d. miming
22. What is a reason why email dialogues can lead to electronic aggression?
a. People are oftentimes frustrated by the overload of email they receive.
b. Email dialogues often have glitches that make them difficult to read.
c. Topics that begin with a professional spirit can get unprofessional when people don’t
agree with the direction of the discussion
d. Email dialogues can detract from other important work someone might be doing.
23. Which of the following is an example of an email flame?
a. Jon sending an email that is blunt, insensitive, and rude to another coworker
b. Susan sending an off-color joke to the entire company
c. Alice using Facebook to complain about a customer
d. Daniel using his company email address for personal business
24. Why is it important to understand the drawbacks of technology in the workplace?
a. to learn to avoid electronic communication whenever possible
b. to understand that time management employee surveillance, and information
overload can hinder your professional excellence
c. to make sure that no one has access to your personal information
d. to create a workplace culture that is not greatly influenced by electronic
communication
25. Which of these is even more difficult to analyze because of the lack of cues in computer-
mediated communication?
a. verbal communication
b. professionalism
c. competence
d. nonverbal communication
26. This process will help you bridge professional excellence with communication and
technology and help you excel in the workplace.
a. interview
b. KEYS
c. evaluation
d. COPS
27. Sara doesn’t enjoy interacting with people. Because her organization requires her to work in
team situations, she is the first to sign up for virtual teams so she can at least minimize her
face-to-face interactions with her colleagues. What does Sara’s approach reflect?
Quintanilla, Business and Professional Communication: KEYS for Workplace Excellence 4e
SAGE Publishing, 2020
a. someone who isn’t able to excel in the workplace
b. an example of why computer-mediated communication is so important to the
workplace
c. an example of a technology creating a barrier to effective communication
d. Sara’s reluctance to get up early and interact with teammates
28. Blogs are being used by executives to share information and to do which of the following?
a. launch new initiatives
b. establish company policy
c. justify internal decisions
d. report incidents that occur with particular employees
29. Email systems and other forms of communication technology make employees more
efficient while simultaneously doing which of these?
a. increasing their workload
b. slowing them down
c. complicating their work
d. reducing their online presence
30. Which of the following contribute to information overload?
a. email forwards
b. memos
c. meeting reminders
d. thank-you emails
Quintanilla, Business and Professional Communication: KEYS for Workplace Excellence 4e
SAGE Publishing, 2020
31. Which of the following are exchanges of messages about a particular topic using email,
professional blog space, and other electronic tools to encourage participation that will ideally
lead to new ideas, strategic planning, and sound decision making.
a. blogs
b. email dialogues
c. listservs
d. flames
32. Bernard has sent a hostile email message that is blunt, rude, insensitive, and includes some
obscenities. Bernard has sent which of these?
a. electronic bulletin board
b. blog
c. email flame
d. listserv
33. Which of these is the study of time as communication and/or as a communication function?
a. chromatics
b. chronemics
c. chronograph
d. chronicle
34. Pearl has decided to stop checking email, sending text messages, watching television, or
answering the phone. Pearl is engaging in which of the following?
a. spamming
b. unplugging
c. blogging
d. email flaming
35. Which of the following is the correct term for sending authentic-looking but fraudulent
emails designed to steal sensitive personal information?
a. spamming
b. unplugging
c. blogging
d. phishing
36. Which of these obtain email addresses by buying company customer lists or using programs
to produce email addresses randomly?
a. spammers
b. bloggers
c. retailers
d. phishers
37. Luscious is a member of a group of coworkers who use CMC to accomplish tasks and
professional projects traditionally completed face-to-face in order to save on time and travel.
What is the term for this type of group?
a. workplace surveillance system
b. listserv
c. a virtual work team
d. email forwarders
38. An online service that anyone, not just a subscriber, can access to read postings is known by
which of these terms?
a. corporate blog
b. listserv
c. spam
d. electronic bulletin board
39. When Chaz is communicating by using any form of technology, he is engaging in which of
the following?
a. computer-mediated communication
b. email flaming
c. spamming
d. phishing
40. Companies are now asking employees to waive their privacy rights when it comes to using
which of these?
a. blogs
b. surveillance
c. phishing
True/False
1. One way to avoid electronic aggression is to ask yourself if you would say the same thing to
someone in person.
2. Communication through any type of technology is referred to as computer-mediated
communication.