Hynes, Managerial Communication 7e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
Chapter 2: Understanding the Managerial Communication
Process
Test Bank
Multiple Choice
1. Generally speaking, a manager spends ______ of his time communicating.
A. 55%
B. 65%
C. 75%
D. 85%
2. Understanding of a manager’s message is based on the receiver’s ______.
A. education and attention
B. position on the company’s organizational chart
C. perception and message interpretation
D. experience and attention
3. Intrapersonal communication ______.
A. focuses on the exchange of thoughts
B. requires meetings to take place
C. links members of an organization or company
D. focuses on internal behavior
4. Organizational communication focuses on ______.
A. internal behavior
B. two or more people exchanging perceptions
C. formal and informal meetings
Hynes, Managerial Communication 7e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
D. how a group of tasks is linked to complete a job
5. All communication takes place within ______.
A. one’s mind
B. a physical environment
C. a context
D. a culture
6. Which aspects of an organization’s physical space encourage open communication?
A. open space, live plants, music, food
B. open space, surveillance cameras, closed doors
C. waterfalls, sparse furniture, surveillance cameras
D. music, sparse furniture, long empty hallways
7. The second layer of the strategic communication model consists of ______.
A. the date, time, and place of the communication
B. the cultural background of the receiver
C. the sender, receiver, and purpose of the communication
D. the totality of the message and its likely impact on the receiver
8. Managers must take the following into account when sending a message.
A. the receiver’s relationship and status differences with the manager
B. the receiver’s interest and emotional state
C. the receiver’s knowledge and communication skills
D. all of these
Hynes, Managerial Communication 7e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
9. When characteristics of the receiver cause distortions to the sender’s intended
message, they are referred to as ______.
A. internal noise
B. communication adaptations
C. external noise
D. poor communication skills
10. What factors are included in the third layer of the strategic communication model?
A. the targeted audience, the purpose, the medium, and the physical environment
B. the message content, the channel, the time the communication occurs, and the
physical environment
C. the target audience, the purpose, the time the communication occurs, and the
physical environment
D. the medium, the physical environment, the content, and the time the message occurs
11. According to the chapter, the most common reasons managers choose to
communicate are to ______.
A. check on progress, give orders, and get feedback
B. present and gain information, persuade, and socialize
C. test employee knowledge, reinforce status, and relax employees
D. reduce internal noise, develop a friendly relationship, and enforce policies
12. Which of the following is an example of both oral and written communication?
A. company meetings where reports are presented
B. company website
C. quarterly financial reports
Hynes, Managerial Communication 7e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
D. briefings
13. The environment in which communication occurs ______.
A. is not always important
B. clearly has an effect
C. can be marginalized away
D. is of primary importance to managers
14. Physical distance between sender and receiver impacts ______.
A. tone and loudness
B. gestures and posture
C. feedback and time
D. all these
15. Time ______.
A. has an effect on all elements of management communication
B. has an effect only on workplace productivity
C. cannot be well managed in a meeting
D. can be ignored in most small group meetings
16. Interpersonal and intrapersonal communication can be hindered by the following
critical errors.
A. assumption-observation, failure to discriminate, and allness
B. assumption-observation, failure to quantify, and sameness
C. assumption-observation, failure to listen, and sameness
D. assumption-observation, failure to discern, and oneness
Hynes, Managerial Communication 7e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
17. Failure to discriminate leads to ______.
A. close, attentive listening
B. polarization
C. the premise of uniqueness
D. indexed evaluations
18. An appropriate phrase to eliminate the allness error is ______
A. “This is what I consider critical information.”
B. “I am certain this is true.”
C. “In my opinion,….”
D. “either… or….”
19. Managerial communication may occur at any of the following levels except ______.
A. intrapersonal
B. universal
C. group
D. intercultural
20. The first layer of the strategic communication model consists of ______.
A. source, message, and receiver
B. purpose, content, and environment
C. culture and climate
D. time and channel
Hynes, Managerial Communication 7e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
21. The layers of the strategic communication model are ______.
A. monolithic
B. circular
C. easily isolated
D. interdependent
22. The elements of the communication model that are closest to the core strategy are
______.
A. content, environment, channel, and time
B. sender, receiver, and purpose
C. culture and climate
D. purpose, content, and receiver
23. When a manager is encoding a message, which consideration can be safely
ignored?
A. her communication preferences
B. her receiver
C. the organization’s culture
D. all of these are important considerations
24. What determines whether a message is positive or negative?
A. the sender’s perspective
B. the receiver’s perspective
C. the organization’s history
D. the sender’s communication skills
Hynes, Managerial Communication 7e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
25. All of the following are common purposes for managerial communication except
______.
A. to gain information
B. to share information
C. to achieve status
D. to persuade
26. When selecting a physical environment in which to communicate, a manager should
consider all of the following EXCEPT ______.
A. privacy
B. formality
C. proximity
D. familiarity
True/False
1. A listener’s experiences and different understanding of the meanings of words can
complicate and confuse the manager’s message.
2. Intercultural communication is more important in modern society than intrapersonal
communication.
Hynes, Managerial Communication 7e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
3. There is a positive correlation between communication openness and trust and
productivity.
4. An organization’s culture can encourage or discourage information flow.
5. As little as one or two errors can change a trusting communication climate to one of
distrust.
6. National culture is how we communicate at work.
7. Managers should use the same methods of communication with different receivers.
8. A hostile sender/receiver relationship requires less communication time.
9. A receiver’s level of knowledge is easily measured by asking specific, open-ended
questions and receiving feedback.
Hynes, Managerial Communication 7e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
10. The communication process consists of an exchange of messages that are
comprised of words.
11. An important factor affecting the content of a message is whether the receiver will
think it is negative or positive.
12. Face-to-face communication is almost always the best way a manager should
deliver a message.
13. A public setting is always preferable when a manager praises a direct report’s
performance.
14. A familiar environment by its very nature should be avoided because it is a
distraction for a manager and the receiver.
Hynes, Managerial Communication 7e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
15. Prompt postmortems are unpleasant but valuable tools for work performance
improvement.
16. Good managers know how to write or say everything that is important about a
subject because of their superior experience.
17. Abstracting is the process of looking at a big picture and omitting details.
18. Effective communication is the key to planning, leading, organizing, and controlling
the resources of the organization.
19. Of the five levels of managerial communication, the most important is the
intercultural level.
20. Formal business meetings are the most typical example of the interpersonal
communication level.
Hynes, Managerial Communication 7e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
Short Answer
1. What are some advantages of communicating in writing? Communicating orally?
2. What are two examples of internal noise and two examples of external noise that can
damage a listener’s competency at work?
3. What are the three critical errors discussed in Chapter 2, and what questions should
a communicator ask in order to avoid making them?
4. You must explain a new procedure to your workgroup. Which is the best
communication channel to use—a face–to-face meeting or an e-mail? Support your
choice with at least two reasons.
Hynes, Managerial Communication 7e
SAGE Publishing, 2019