When leaving a voice mail for a client concerning an upcoming meeting, you should
a. discuss your schedule for the entire week, detailing each meeting you have.
b. start talking about the meeting immediately, without giving your name if your client
should recognize your voice.
c. leave your name, telephone number, and enough details for the listener to understand
what you want.
d. leave your name and telephone number and no other details to save time.
Answer:
In a team with representatives from many different departments in a company, the
director of human resources keeps tension low among members. The director of human
resources is fulfilling which role in the team?
a. Facilitator
b. Harmonizer
c. Leader
d. Reporter
Answer:
Ravi has just presented a preview of the office of the future to a group of office
managers. Which of the following would provide the BEST closing to his presentation?
a. “Adjusting to the dynamic environment of the future will require an adaptable
attitude, an inquisitive mind, and an adventurous spirit. Are you up to the challenge?”
b. “Get ready for a new way to work.”
c. “That’s all I have. Thank you.”
d. “So now you have a better understanding of the office of the future. Are there any
questions?”
Answer:
Your company has decided to require all employees to wear picture ID badges, starting
next week. Numerous steps are involved to get a photo ID. What would you do to alert
the employees of the requirement?
a. Send the procedural message in an email to all employees.
b. Ask each employee to come in for a meeting with you.
c. Schedule a company-wide meeting to explain the procedure.
d. Send each employee a form letter to his or her home about the requirement.
Answer:
Differences in education level, experience, and culture or distractions such as noise,
uncomfortable room temperature, and interruptions are examples of
a. feedback.
b. interference.
c. interception.
d. decoding.
Answer:
Organizations that have shifted towards team structure typically believe that the team
process will result in
a. rewards based on team performance alone.
b. rewards based on individual effort and team performance.
c. increased mediocrity.
d. reduction in personal effort.
Answer:
A pronoun should be used to stand for
a. a phrase.
b. a clause.
c. a noun.
d. any of the above.
Answer:
If you need to convey information that contains good- or neutral-news, you could use
a. letters but not e-mail or voice mail.
b. e-mail but not letters or voice mail.
c. e-mail and letters but not voice mail.
d. e-mail, memos, or voice mail.
Answer:
The board of directors of your organization will meet for a luncheon next month in a
suburban hotel. Because of confusion in finding the location for the last meeting, your
associate has asked you to provide better directions before the upcoming meeting. What
type of graphic would best convey this arrangement?
a. Photograph
b. Pictogram
c. Map
d. None; oral directions would be better.
Answer:
Which of the following is the MOST effective heading in a memo report to employees?
a. Employee Benefits
b. Benefits Will Undergo Radical Alterations in Forthcoming Fiscal Year
c. Benefit Cuts
d. How Do Benefit Changes Affect You?
Answer:
Which of the following is true about instant messaging (IM) in official corporate
communication?
a. More than three-fourths of U.S. companies use IM for official communication.
b. IM has limited application and cannot substitute for an email or voice mail.
c. Some corporate leaders are concerned that the use of IM jeopardizes productivity and
security.
d. While U.S. companies have accepted IM as an appropriate method of communicating
policies and procedures, other countries have not yet seen the value of the technology.
Answer:
The best definition for validity is
a. a measure of the degree to which data measures what you intend for it to measure.
b. a measure of the accuracy and repeatability of the data.
c. a measure of the relationship between two variables.
d. none of the above.
Answer:
Which of the following statements is FALSE concerning sentence and paragraph length
in business messages?
a. A two-word sentence is acceptable, as is a 40-word sentence, as long as the message
is clear.
b. While compound sentences should be used along with simple sentences, complex
sentences should be avoided in business writing.
c. The first and last paragraphs are typically shorter than other paragraphs.
d. Paragraphs in business letters, memos, and email messages are typically shorter than
paragraphs in business reports.
Answer:
Which of the following is NOT required by the Fair Credit Reporting Act for a credit
bureau that supplies information to companies that grant credit?
a. The credit bureau must, upon request, supply a free credit report to consumers who
have been denied credit.
b. A credit bureau must investigate consumer credit information that the consumer
deems to be inaccurate.
c. If requested by the consumer, the credit bureau must avoid sending credit information
about the consumer for unsolicited credit and insurance offers.
d. All of the above are required.
Answer:
Giselle, Luis, and Aricelli will be making a team presentation to a client firm. Which of
the following is NOT a guideline for developing an effective team presentation?
a. During the team presentation, everyone on the team should take part.
b. Team members should plan seamless transitions between segments and presenters.
c. One individual should be designated to answer questions from the audience.
d. Team members should agree on the purpose of the presentation and a schedule for
preparation.
Answer:
Which of the following is the BEST suggestion for preparing an employment video?
a. Avoid segments that reflect you in a variety of activities.
b. Avoid talking about your skills.
c. Do not advertise your employment video to protect your privacy.
d. Make sure the video has a professional appearance that compliments you.
Answer:
Which of the following sentences is a good example of a beginning sentence in a
favorable reply to a routine request?
a. We can definitely assist you in having your regional conference at the Ritz-Carlton.
b. Thank you for your request.
c. Please let us know the number of rooms you require first.
d. I read your request.
Answer:
Which of the following statements is MOST accurate in regard to presentation software
for the design of graphics?
a. Current presentation software packages have eliminated the need for users to have
any previous knowledge of graphic or visual design.
b. The latest presentation software packages try to guide users away from the worst
errors of taste and judgment.
c. Developers of presentation software continue to ignore rules for effective design of
graphic aids in the default settings of their products.
d. An effective writer can confidently rely on default settings in presentation software to
design effective visuals.
Answer:
Which of the following is NOT an acceptable situation for using email?
a. Providing all employees with information about the company’s new computer system.
b. Evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of a current employee.
c. Sending product meeting notes to all meeting participants.
d. Thanking a client for his continued business.
Answer:
Documentation of the work of others accomplishes all but which of the following?
a. It gives credit where credit is due.
b. It protects the writer against plagiarism.
c. It strengthens weak research methods.
d. Documentation accomplishes all of the above.
Answer:
Which of the following guidelines does NOT apply to a bar chart?
a. Bars are used to compare quantities.
b. Vertical axis begins at zero.
c. Increments on the quantitative axis should be equal.
d. Bar widths vary to show different quantities.
Answer:
Which of the following is applicable to the development of headings for a report?
a. Something must divide into at least three parts or it should not be divided into
subdivisions.
b. Headings at the same level must be worded in parallel form.
c. Headings at the same level must be consistent in font and type style.
d. B & C are correct.
Answer:
By sending unsolicited application letters,
a. you decrease the possibility of finding employers who have employment needs.
b. you save on your copying and postage costs of job searching.
c. you alert employers to needs not previously identified for someone with your
abilities.
d. you are able to be more specific in the opening paragraph.
Answer:
Which of the following headings is NOT parallel with the others?
a. Housing Costs in the Midwest Soar
b. Housing Costs in the South are Level
c. Increasing Housing Costs in New England
d. All are parallel
Answer:
Providing for coherence means
a. using writing techniques that provide conciseness.
b. using various techniques to link ideas together.
c. varying the length of sentences and paragraphs.
d. selecting words that indicate the communicator’s wide vocabulary.
Answer:
Which of the following is FALSE concerning face-to-face meetings?
a. Face-to-face meetings make it harder to reach consensus.
b. Face-to-face meetings are helpful when communicating sensitive issues.
c. Face-to-face meetings help establish group rapport.
d. Face-to-face meetings are preferred to electronic meetings when participants don’t
know each other.
Answer:
Which of the following is a common error that MOST hinders the accurate
interpretation of data?
a. Interpretation of results from a large sampling
b. Tabulation of a questionnaire with many items
c. Assumption of a cause-effect relationship when one does not exist
d. Application of statistical analysis
Answer:
Which of the following is FALSE about optional elements appearing after the
complimentary close?
a. An enclosure notation must identify the number and type of enclosure.
b. A copy notation appears below the enclosure notation.
c. The company name is optional when letterhead is used.
d. The computer file notation provides information about where the file can be found on
the computer network.
Answer:
If your research calls for counting the number of people entering two fast-food
restaurants, recording certain behavioral characteristics, and comparing those two sets
of data, you would be conducting ____ research.
a. observational
b. normative
c. experimental
d. replication
Answer:
Which of the following is correct concerning the chronological résumé?
a. It is a newer, alternate organizational format for résumés.
b. Reverse chronological order for dates is typical in this type of résumé, although it is
not always effective.
c. It is especially effective for applicants who have gaps in employment or who have
held various types of jobs.
d. It is best for applicants who wish to emphasize work experience rather than
education.
Answer:
Your intern forwards a message to you about a new computer virus that you discover is
a hoax from a reliable source. What should you do?
a. Reply to the email message and tell the intern he is irresponsible for believing virus
hoaxes.
b. Reply to the message and tell him that you have discovered the virus is a hoax. Also
send him the web address for the hoax information.
c. Ignore the message.
d. Forward the message to your supervisor, telling her that the intern is violating
company policy about forwarding hoax messages.
Answer:
Which of the following is NOT appropriate advice for effective revising and
proofreading?
a. Attempt to see things from your reader’s perspective rather than from your own.
b. Revise your documents until you cannot see any additional ways to improve them.
c. Remember that allowing others to proof your work is not helpful because you are the
best judge of the accuracy of your writing.
d. All of the above are appropriate advice.
Answer:
Which of the following statements is FALSE concerning privacy?
a. Most Americans feel they have less privacy today than ever.
b. Technology has made protection of copyright easier.
c. Electronic technology makes the sharing of information globally easier and at times
without the consent of the information’s owner.
d. A recent Harris poll revealed that over half of the people believe that technology
must be controlled to preserve privacy.
Answer:
Which of the following is NOT a technique for achieving coherence?
a. Repeat a word used in a preceding sentence.
b. Use a pronoun to represent a noun from the preceding sentence.
c. Use connecting words.
d. Use active voice.
Answer:
Novartis CEO Daniel Vasella advises ignoring competitors’ blogs as a source of
information for business forecasting.
Answer:
Lilly is told by her supervisor that she is doing a good job while his body language
suggests he is distracted and in a hurry; she will tend to believe the verbal message
more than the nonverbal.
Answer:
For emphasis, one should place an idea in an independent clause; for de-emphasis,
place an idea in a dependent clause.
Answer:
To inform U.S. employees about the transfer of 300 jobs from Dallas, Texas to
Heidelberg, Germany, a manager should use a deductive outline for the message.
Answer:
Jargon and acronyms are found more commonly in e-mail messages than in business
letters that go to parties outside the company.
Answer:
Reliability refers to the degree to which data measures what it is intended to measure.
Answer:
A person’s self-talk that takes place within the person is referred to as interpersonal
communication.
Answer:
To emphasize a word or an idea, position it first or last in a sentence, clause, paragraph,
or document.
Answer:
List seven graphic devices to use for data illustration and interpretation; include a major
objective or purpose for each.
Answer:
Labeling each piece of a pie chart is not required, as long as the most important pieces
are explained.
Answer:
Graphics in reports generally do not need titles because their content is obvious.
Answer:
A job applicant need no longer be concerned about the possibility of gender
discrimination in employment, since it has been illegal for decades.
Answer:
Rhamel writes a sales message in the AIDA approach. He gets the receivers Attention,
creates an Inference, creates a Decision for the receiver, and encourages Action.
Answer:
A business person should carefully consider whether to send a formatted documents as
an attachment to an email message because of the time required for downloading.
Answer:
Peyton, the new marketing director at his company, has been asked to write a report for
the board of directors on a new corporate image for the company. The report must
include an executive summary. What components should the executive summary
include?
Answer:
One of the purposes of a subject line in an email message is to allow recipients to sort
through and prioritize the reading of messages.
Answer:
Providing an alternative or counterproposal to a refusal for a request should be avoided
since it would only heighten audience frustration over the bad news.
Answer:
For Kayla to avoid a visual distortion in the bar chart she is creating to show her
company’s sales by region, she should design the quantitative axis to begin at zero, and
make each bar the same width.
Answer:
Voicemail communication is extremely important because on most business calls, you
most likely will be leaving a message rather than talking to someone.
Answer: