While giving a presentation about proposed changes to the curriculum, you divide the
changes as changes to the kindergarten, changes to the first grade, and changes to the
second grade. Which of the following patterns of organizing a presentation is illustrated
in this scenario?
A) conceptual order
B) component parts
C) chronological order
D) problem/solution
E) question/answer
Answer:
By definition, a(n) ________ proposal is one your audience has asked you to submit.
A) external
B) internal
C) solicited
D) unsolicited
E) noncompetitive
Answer:
You come up with a cost-cutting measure for your department, and email the idea to
your supervisor. He is so impressed by it that he forwards your message to the other
members of your department, as well as the heads of operations and IT. The secondary
audience of your message is ________.
A) your supervisor
B) your supervisor and the heads of operations and IT
C) the members of your department and the heads of operations and IT
D) your supervisor and the members of your department
E) your supervisor, the members of your department, and the heads of operations and IT
Answer:
Keeping your purpose and desired outcome in mind as you write your message is most
likely to help you evaluate whether your content ________.
A) supports your goal
B) is formatted correctly
C) is using appropriate font style
D) has any spelling errors
E) is capable of being transmitted
Answer:
When it comes to research, ________.
A) students should be discouraged from using books as they are less credible than
online sources
B) students often shun online information sources in favor of books
C) the drawback with online content is that it cannot be updated regularly
D) books are valuable resources, as they are often professionally written, reviewed, and
edited
E) the widespread availability of online content makes books irrelevant
Answer:
Your boss calls you on the phone and asks if he can have the report you’re working on
two days prior to the deadline. You were not expecting this question and you don’t have
a definitive answer on the spot. Which of the following would be your best reply?
A) Let me get back to you on that.
B) Sure, no problem. I can probably find some way to make it work.
C) How am I supposed to finish my report on such short notice?
D) I’ll check my schedule to see if its doable and will call you back within half an hour.
E) I wasn’t expecting this, so it’s really an impossible question to answer right now.
Answer:
________ assess the success of a project or a decision.
A) Meeting minutes
B) Feasibility reports
C) Recommendation reports
D) Evaluation reports
E) Trip reports
Answer:
Why is it that many students do no acquire sufficient communication skills as they pass
through school?
A) Business communication skills can be learnt only through experience and they
cannot be taught.
B) Most schools don’t offer any business communication courses.
C) Since many perceive it to be such a difficult course they are discouraged from taking
it.
D) Business communication is complex even for dedicated students.
E) It is an innate skill that cannot be taught.
Answer:
Marcus has been on several traditional one-on-one interviews, but he is now getting
ready to participate in his first group interview. All of the following choices offer good
advice to Marcus EXCEPT ________.
A) listen intently
B) ask questions
C) offer advice
D) lead the discussion
E) make eye contact
Answer:
Employee turnover is increasing at your company and morale is low, and this is
becoming costlier every day. The company is unsure about the causes of this
dissatisfaction, but wants to determine them so they can be remedied before things get
worse. As a result, upper management asks you to do a survey to assess employee
satisfaction and determine the areas that are most in need of change. The early thinking
is to survey all 10,000 of its employees, including those overseas, to demonstrate how
serious the company is about its commitment to improving the satisfaction of all its
employees.
The original idea is to survey every employee in the entire company, including those
overseas. This would mean that you will survey ________.
A) the entire population
B) a sample
C) a convenience sample
D) a targeted sample
E) a random sample
Answer:
Which of the following would be the most effective way to begin a presentation on
implementing a new training program?
A) Our current training system is not up to par.
B) Are you aware that our training system is outdated?
C) Three out of every five employees are not sufficiently prepared for their jobs by our
current training system.
D) I remember my first job. I went through a couple of days of training and then was
ready to go and do my work.
E) Training is very important to the success of our company.
Answer:
Which of the following is a faulty guideline for instant messaging (IM) standards?
A) Use a professional-sounding IM username.
B) Focus on business.
C) Assume that your messages are secure.
D) Keep messages simple.
E) Save important messages.
Answer:
Which of the following terms refers to the characteristics of a research project that
prevent you from generalizing your findings more broadly?
A) scopes
B) limitations
C) sources
D) samples
E) populations
Answer:
You are working on a report that will recommend a service provider to whom your
company can outsource some routine office tasks. Your report will include a section of
background information and research that led to the decision to turn to outsourcing for
these office tasks. Which of the following headings would best help the audience
understand this section?
A) Section A
B) Why Should We Outsource?
C) Research Findings
D) Background Information
E) Section 1
Answer:
Alexander is going to appear for an interview at Heldring Inc., a consulting firm which
is owned by only two partners and not listed on a stock exchange. He is preparing for
the interview by researching about the company.
After visiting Heldring Inc.’s website, Alexander wants to get an idea about the outside
point of view. Which of the following sources is most likely to provide this information
to Alexander?
A) Investor’s Business Daily
B) Vault.com
C) Glassdoor.com
D) Facebook
E) LinkedIn
Answer:
Which of the following would most likely be considered to be a persuasive customer
claim instead of a routine customer claim?
A) asking to exchange a sweater you purchased from a major retailer for one in a
different color
B) asking to have an item repaired for a reason not covered under its warranty
C) asking to return an item you purchased that turned out to be defective
D) asking to receive a refund for tickets you purchased to a seminar that was cancelled
E) asking to return an item you ordered online since the company mistakenly sent the
wrong item
Answer:
In the ACE process for communication, the second step is ________.
A) composing
B) cutting
C) collaborating
D) copying
E) considering
Answer:
Brendan’s boss asks him to respond to an RFP. Right away Brendan knows that
________.
A) the proposal is noncompetitive
B) his audience will not be considering any offers except his
C) his audience is not aware that a problem or opportunity exists
D) the indirect approach is preferred since he will first need to prepare his audience for
his idea
E) the important criteria for the proposal will be provided to him
Answer:
In most situations, the main idea of your message ________.
A) is best placed near the end of your communication
B) should never be stated at the beginning of your message
C) should be stated before the supporting details in most communications
D) should always be included near the end of your message so as not to be
overshadowed by the supporting details
E) is best not stated explicitly
Answer:
Summer is fast-approaching, and your employees are anxious to find out if the
flex-time schedule currently under discussion will be implemented. You need to inform
them that a decision will not be made until all employees have returned a questionnaire
requesting their input on this issue. Which of the following phrases this best?
A) Please turn in your questionnaires since a decision won’t be made until you do so.
B) The decision will not be made until all employees have submitted their surveys.
C) We need your help, since the decision cannot be contemplated until all forms are
turned in.
D) We will be able to make a decision once all the forms are submitted.
E) No decision will be made until all forms are turned in.
Answer:
Which of the following would be the best statement to include in a cover letter?
A) I believe I have the knowledge, skills, and interest to make a valuable contribution to
your team.
B) I know that my interest, experience, and abilities put me far ahead of competition for
this position.
C) I am enthusiastic about working at your company, and really hope you realize that
I’m the best candidate for this position.
D) I feel confident that my unique skill set and experience make me the perfect
candidate for the job.
E) I am sure you agree that my credentials are exemplary, and coupled with my great
interest and desire to work for your company, make me the perfect fit.
Answer:
Mark Jaffe, president of a headhunting firm, says that including a photo in your profile
on a site like LinkedIn ________.
A) will never help you in job search
B) is a must for an effective professional profile
C) should project your nonprofessional side
D) could cause you to be dismissed from consideration despite your credentials
E) always increases your chances for landing a job
Answer:
Genuine requests for information and opinion fall under the category of ________
questions.
A) accusatory
B) trigger
C) authentic
D) biased
E) symbolic
Answer:
Which of the following behaviors best expresses professionalism?
A) slouching in your chair during an interview
B) wearing frayed pants to a company luncheon
C) texting a thank-you message to an interviewer, using acronyms and emoticons
D) typing up an email to your boss on the fly, paying no attention to tone or grammar
E) leaving early enough for a meeting so that, despite a traffic jam, you still arrive a few
minutes early
Answer:
Compelling evidence presented in ________ language can also touch an audience
emotionally and motivate them to act.
A) clear and vivid
B) vague and ambiguous
C) obscure and intense
D) flowery and pedantic
E) cryptic and elegant
Answer:
When using direct organization for recommendation messages, you must begin with
________.
A) identifying the issue
B) providing evidence for the issue
C) stressing the benefits of the recommendation
D) proposing a recommendation
E) appealing to emotion
Answer:
Dave and his team are creating a proposal to recommend to their supervisor that the
company’s database should be redesigned.
Dave is in the process of determining how to state the opportunity for capturing
additional information and more efficient data processing that this redesign will present.
He also wants to explain how the database that his team proposes will be different from
their current one. He is planning out the details as to how the new database will be
created and rolled out, as well as how much the development, hardware and software,
and training will cost. Dave is engaged in which of the following aspects of the
composing stage?
A) choosing the best medium for his proposal
B) deciding what content must be included in his proposal
C) determining how his proposal should best be organized
D) determining the appropriate writing style for his proposal
E) determining the purpose of his proposal
Answer:
You purchase baby blankets and then customize them by embroidering them with
personal details, like name and birth date, that are requested by your customers. You
have an order from a customer to personalize an animal print blanket, but you just
found out that your supplier is out of stock for this print. You decide to write an email to
your customer to deliver this bad news.
You begin with a well-crafted buffer expressing appreciation for the customer’s business
and signalling that bad news may follow. Then your draft continues, “I’ve got bad news
– I can’t deliver the blanket you ordered.” Which of the following statements is most
likely to be the best replacement for this sentence?
A) Your blanket is not available at this time.
B) Due to circumstances that are beyond my control you will not be able to get the baby
blanket you ordered.
C) I’m so sorry to say that I can’t give you the blanket you ordered.
D) Due to an issue with my supplier I am unable to obtain the animal print blanket that
you requested for personalization.
E) I wish I could give you the blanket you ordered, but I will not be able to do so.
Answer:
In which of the following situations is the direct organizational method the preferred
way to deliver bad news?
A) The news is likely to upset or anger the audience.
B) The news is irrelevant to health and safety.
C) The news is difficult to explain and understand.
D) It is important that the audience sees the news immediately.
E) The news is unexpected.
Answer:
Providing which of the following in your proposal would help build your credibility
with the audience?
A) the timeline for the project
B) descriptions of similar projects you have completed
C) a list of the deliverables you are agreeing to provide
D) an explanation of when and how the work will be completed
E) a delineation of your costs
Answer: