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Test Item File for Excellence in Business Communication, Fourth Canadian Edition
Chapter 3
1) Intercultural communication is the process of sending and receiving messages within a
specific culture.
A) True
B) False
2) Advanced technologies allow manufacturers to produce their goods in foreign
locations that offer unfavourable corporate tax rates and high-cost labour.
A) True
B) False
3) Recent immigrants—those who have arrived in Canada in the last 10 years—account
for 70 percent of labour market growth.
A) True
B) False
4) You belong to several cultures, but only ONE affects the way you communicate.
A) True
B) False
5) Effective intercultural communication improves the contributions of employees in a
diverse workforce.
A) True
B) False
6) A company’s cultural diversity affects how its business messages are conceived,
composed, delivered, received, and interpreted.
A) True
B) False
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7) People’s cultural background influences the way they prioritize what is important in
life, helps define their attitude toward what is appropriate in any given situation, and
establishes rules for their behaviour.
A) True
B) False
8) Japan is an example of a country with a homogeneous population.
A) True
B) False
9) Culture is inborn.
A) True
B) False
10) Some cultures are much more complex than other cultures.
A) True
B) False
11) Cultural pluralism is a negative view of a culture’s dualism.
A) True
B) False
12) Cultural context is the pattern of physical cues, environmental stimuli, and implicit
understanding that conveys meaning between members of the same culture.
A) True
B) False
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13) Because Canada and Germany have such high-context cultures, they rely heavily on
verbal communication and less on implied meaning.
A) True
B) False
14) Chinese and Japanese negotiators primarily focus on building relationships before
entering into serious negotiations.
A) True
B) False
15) From culture to culture, what people consider legal and ethical varies widely.
A) True
B) False
16) Regardless of the country you’re doing business in, a person suspected of a crime is
considered innocent until proven guilty.
A) True
B) False
17) In 1999, federal legislation was instituted that would make bribing foreign officials a
criminal offence in Canada.
A) True
B) False
18) Formal rules of social etiquette are explicit and well defined, but informal rules are
learned through observation and imitation.
A) True
B) False
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19) In China, it is considered polite to pour tea for yourself and then offer the rest of the
table some.
A) True
B) False
20) Differences in body language are a major source of misunderstanding in intercultural
communication.
A) True
B) False
21) Ethnocentrism is the tendency to judge all other groups according to your own
group’s standards, behaviours, and customs.
A) True
B) False
22) When ethnocentric people stereotype an entire group of people, they are usually
justified in doing so.
A) True
B) False
23) Ethnocentric people fail to communicate with individuals as they really are.
A) True
B) False
24) To overcome ethnocentrism, you should ignore the differences between another
person’s culture and your own.
A) True
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B) False
25) People from Canada and the United Kingdom rarely misunderstand each other
because they speak the same language.
A) True
B) False
26) When speaking to someone for whom English is a second language, you should avoid
using slang and idioms.
A) True
B) False
27) Many companies recognize that they must be able to conduct business in languages
other than English.
A) True
B) False
28) If you don’t have the time or the opportunity to learn a new language, learning just a
few common phrases is considered insulting in most cultures.
A) True
B) False
29) Materials most likely to need translation include maintenance manuals, warranties,
and product labels.
A) True
B) False
30) Canadian and U.S. workers typically prefer an open and direct communication style.
A) True
B) False
31) Machine translation uses computerized intelligence (such as software on websites) to
translate material from one language to another.
A) True
B) False
32) Knowing what your communication partners expect can help you adapt to their
particular style.
A) True
B) False
33) In general, when writing to someone in another country, Canadian businesspeople
should be a bit more formal than they would be otherwise.
A) True
B) False
34) To be more effective in intercultural conversations, speak slowly and over enunciate
your words.
A) True
B) False
35) Jokes and references to popular Canadian entertainment usually rely on cultural
issues that your audience will be aware of after living in Canada for one year.
A) True
B) False
36) For more effective intercultural communications make sure you and the listener agree
on what has been said and decided.
A) True
B) False
37) If a nonnative English speaker is making mistakes that could hurt his or her
credibility, it would be helpful for you to offer advice on the appropriate words and
phrases to use.
A) True
B) False
38). With market globalization, intercultural communication _____________________.
A) becomes less of a challenge.
B) reduces your chances of interacting with people who speak another language.
C) is aided by advanced technologies such as faxes, overnight delivery, and email.
D) all of the above.
39) Avoid cultural blunders by recognizing and accommodating six main types of
cultural differences: contextual, legal and ethical, social, nonverbal signals, and
_____________
A) educational.
B) gender and age.
C) employment.
D) ethical.
40) Many difficulties in intercultural communication occur because people in different
cultures have different __________
A) genetics.
B) basic assumptions.
C) environments.
D) media.
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41) In high-context cultures ________________
A) people rely more on nonverbal circumstances and cues to convey meaning.
B) people rely less on the environmental setting to convey meaning.
C) the rules of everyday life are highly explicit.
D) all of the above.
42) To convey meaning in a low-context culture such as the one existing in Germany,
people rely more on ________________
A) gestures and vocal inflection.
B) indirectness and metaphors.
C) situational cues.
D) explicit verbal communication.
43) Negotiators from high-context cultures _____________
A) try to reach decisions as quickly and as efficiently as possible.
B) prefer to make their deals slowly, after building relationships.
C) spend a lot of time on each little point to display their good faith.
D) arrive at decisions through consensus, after an elaborate and time-consuming process.
44) If a Canadian official pays a bribe to government officials in another country, it is
_______________
A) always considered a normal part of doing business.
B) considered unethical but not illegal to do so.
C) illegal, under Canadian law.
D) only unethical if the bribe is over $1,000.
45) Generally, businesspeople in Canada show respect by addressing top managers
________________
A) by using their job titles.
B) by using their first names.
C) by using “Mr.” or “Ms.”
D) none of the above.
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46) Meeting a deadline is less important than building a relationship for businesspeople
from ________________
A) the United States.
B) Scandinavia.
C) China.
D) Germany.
47) Ethnocentrism refers to ________________
A) the study of ethnic groups.
B) the study of cultural diversity.
C) the belief that all immigration into the United States should be halted.
D) the belief that one’s own cultural background is superior to that of others.
48) Stereotyping ________________
A) is never a good practice.
B) can be useful in the early stages of learning about a culture.
C) lets you deal with individuals as they really are.
D) is often the result of thorough, specific, and accurate evidence.
49) Ethnocentrism can be overcome by ________________
A) maintaining an open mind.
B) judging other groups according to your own standards.
C) ignoring the distinctions between cultures.
D) remembering that people from other cultures communicate in ways that are inferior to
your own.
50) When you react ethnocentrically, you ________________
A) assume that others will act the same way you do.
B) recognize the differences that exist between your culture and other cultures.
C) focus on the possibility that your words and actions will be misunderstood.
D) do all of the above.
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51) A more extreme reaction than ethnocentrisim to people in groups is ___________
A) idiomism.
B) xenophobia.
C) closterphobia.
D) stereotyping.
52) When sending written communication to businesspeople from another culture
____________
A) use slang and idioms.
B) elaborate on every detail.
C) use transitional elements.
D) use humour.
53) When you deal with people who don’t speak your language at all, you have a few
options, including ________________
A) using an intermediary or a translator.
B) using gestures and sign language.
C) speaking loudly and enunciating clearly.
D) using an English-only policy.
54) Back translation ________________
A) ensures accuracy.
B) employs many people.
C) confuses messages.
D) none of the above.
55) If you have a long-term business relationship with people of another culture,
__________
A) there is no need for you to learn that country’s language.
B) they will understand that you do not know their language.
C) you should learn a few basic words and phrases of their language.
D) you should only deal with natives who can speak English.
56) Many international documents are written in English and need no translation;
however, some forms of written communication still need to be translated, including
________________
A) routine business correspondence.
B) interoffice memos.
C) advertisements, warranties, and procedure manuals.
D) international business letters.
57) To learn as much as you can about a culture ____________
A) do volunteer work that gives you experience with people from other cultures.
B) talk to people to find out what they think of different cultures.
C) learn the language.
D) watch foreign television programs.
58) When writing letters to businesspeople in other countries, you should
________________
A) use an informal, friendly tone.
B) keep your sentences and paragraphs long.
C) be vague and general in your wording.
D) be brief.
59) Letters from Japanese businesspeople, as compared to letters from Canadian
businesspeople, tend to ________________.
A) get directly to the point.
B) be direct and brief.
C) be less direct.
D) sound unnatural.
60) When communicating across cultures, keep your messages ethical by applying four
basic principles: Send and receive messages without judgment, show respect for cultural
differences, _________________
A) seek social differences, and seek mutual ground.
B) be honest, and identify roles and status.
C) seek social differences, and be honest.
D) seek mutual ground, and be honest.
61) Younger employees in Canadian companies often communicate with older colleagues
as equals, ___________
A) in an attempt to “save face.”
B) even to the point of openly disagreeing with them.
C) In an attempt to gain promotions.
D) especially when at a social gathering.
62) The process of sending and receiving messages between people of different cultures
is called __________.
63) Both __________ and workforce diversity create advantages—and challenges—for
business communicators throughout the world.
64) __________ is a shared system of symbols, beliefs, attitudes, values, expectations,
and norms for behaviour.
65) In a(n) __________ culture such as exists in Taiwan, people rely less on verbal
communication and more on the context of nonverbal actions and environmental setting
to convey meaning.
66) In a(n) __________ culture such as exists in Germany, people rely more on verbal
communication and less on circumstances and implied meaning.
67) Differences in __________, such as gestures and eye contact, are a source of
misunderstanding during intercultural communications.
68) If you react with __________, you tend to judge all other groups according to your
own group’s standards, behaviours, and customs.
69) Ethnocentric people are prone to __________, or attempting to predict individuals’
behaviour or character on the basis of their membership in a particular group.
70) __________ are phrases that mean more than the sum of their parts and can cause
misunderstandings when translated literally.
71) One way to protect against poor translation is to __________ the same message into
the original language.
72) In international business correspondence, you should __________ your approach,
style, and tone to meet their expectations.
73) When communicating interculturally look for __________ to make sure your
message is getting through.
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74) Briefly describe at least three advantages of a multicultural workforce.
75) What is a culture?
76) What is ethnocentrism, and how can it be overcome?
77) Explain the difference between a high-context culture and a low-context culture, and
provide at least one example of each.
78) Distinguish between “formal” and “informal” cultural rules of etiquette; then briefly
describe three areas in which differing informal rules can become evident during
intercultural communication.
79) List at least three areas of nonverbal communication that can differ widely among
cultures.
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80) Why is it a good idea to learn a few common phrases in a native language before
conducting business in a foreign country?
81) Briefly describe at least three strategies for writing effective multicultural messages.
82) A new employee who speaks English as a second language has just joined the design
team you lead. You notice that she often looks confused during conversations. Describe
at least three useful strategies for this situation.
83) Since cultures do not always share the same ideas on ethical issues, how can you
keep messages ethical when communicating interculturally?
84) While working in Mexico, you schedule a meeting with a vendor who lives there.
When he shows up 20 minutes after the meeting was supposed to begin, should you take
it as a sign of incompetence or disrespect? Explain.
85) List at least three types of nonverbal differences that you might encounter when
working with businesspeople from other cultures. Provide at least one example of how
these differences might cause misunderstandings in communication.
86) Describe three simple habits that can help you avoid both the negativity of
ethnocentrism and the oversimplification of stereotyping?
87) Describe five details you need to consider before doing business abroad.
88) You are working on a team with a new colleague from another country. Describe two
things you can do to help him adapt to your culture.
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89) Social rules vary from culture to culture. Give a specific example of each of the
following social rules: 1) roles and status, 2) use of manners, and 3) concepts of time.