Most workplace messages should be organized
a. indirectly.
b. chronologically.
c. directly.
d. topically.
Answer:
Which of the following situations is most appropriate for sending an e-mail message?
a. Matthew is angry with one of his colleagues and wants to let her know exactly how
he feels.
b. Jane found a great political joke she wants to share with her colleagues.
c. Chris must send the monthly sales data to his department.
d. Maggie needs to vent her frustrations about working conditions to her shift
supervisor.
Answer:
The first step in preparing a report is to sit down and begin writing immediately; this
technique allows you to capture your best ideas quickly.
a. True
b. False
Answer:
Which of the following would help an individual assess his or her employment
qualifications?
a. Do I speak, write, or understand another language?
b. How would you describe the perfect job, boss, and coworkers?
c. Would you like to work for someone else or be your own boss?
d. Do you enjoy working with people, data, or things?
Answer:
The bad feelings associated with disappointing news can be reduced if the receiver feels
that the news was revealed sensitively, believes that the matter was treated seriously and
fairly, and
a. knows the reasons for the rejection clearly.
b. learns of the bad news directly.
c. understands the legal implications of the bad news.
d. receives the bad news via certified mail.
Answer:
You should identify the extension when transferring a call.
a. True
b. False
Answer:
Which of the following tips for using special effects in a slideshow is most accurate?
a. Incorporate as many special effects as possible to keep the attention of your audience.
b. Add animation features only if doing so helps convey your message or adds interest
to the content.
c. Never use any special effects in a slideshow because all special effects distract from
the content of a slideshow.
d. Include special effects only if you are giving a sales presentation.
Answer:
When sending a claim letter by mail, include all original documents such as invoices,
sales slips, catalog descriptions, and repair records.
a. True
b. False
Answer:
Which of the following is not an example of a soft skill?
a. Communicating effectively
b. Tabulating statistical information
c. Solving problems
d. Making ethical decisions
Answer:
Only main ideas should be included in a microblog.
a. True
b. False
Answer:
Although many companies try to deal with disappointed customers by calling them
immediately, written messages are also used to
a. promote good relations.
b. formally confirm follow-up procedures.
c. establish a record of the incident.
d. All answer choices are reasons for written messages.
Answer:
Skilled business communicators use an abundance of first-person pronouns such as I,
we, and our to connect with an audience.
a. True
b. False
Answer:
To correctly format a hard-copy interoffice memorandum, which of the following is not
a guideline you should follow?
a. Set 1-inch top and bottom margins and left and right margins of 1 to 1.25 inches.
b. Insert in bold the guide words: Date:, To:, From:, and Subject: at the left margin.
c. Provide a heading that includes the name of the company plus “Memo” or
“Memorandum.”
d. Justify the right margin.
Answer:
When preparing a business message, you should make your writing audience oriented.
Audience oriented means you should
a. write to solve a problem or convey information.
b. attempt to get your audience to believe and accept your message.
c. present ideas clearly but concisely.
d. concentrate on looking at the problem from the receiver’s perspective.
Answer:
You must announce to customers that your restaurant will no longer be open on
Sundays. Which of the following uses passive-voice verbs to deliver the bad news?
a. We closed our restaurant on Sundays beginning last month.
b. Because few customers dine with us on Sundays, we decided to close our restaurant
on this weekday.
c. Beginning last month, our restaurant was closed on Sundays.
d. Management decided that it must close our restaurant on Sundays.
Answer:
Seng must inform his staff about the new process for accessing the company’s intranet
from remote locations. What communication channel should Seng use to convey this
information?
a. Text message
b. Memo
c. Instant message
d. Tweet
Answer:
You will use the direct strategy for your message when the bad news is not damaging,
when the receiver might overlook the bad news, when directness is preferred, and when
a. the bad news threatens the customer relationship.
b. the bad news is unexpected.
c. firmness is necessary.
d. the bad news will provoke a hostile reaction.
Answer:
Crowdsourcing is
a. the ability to send short messages consisting of 140 characters or fewer.
b. the practice of tapping into the combined knowledge of an online community to solve
problems and complete assignments.
c. the use of fraudulent schemes on the Internet.
d. an e-mail response technique that includes only those parts of an e-mail message to
which the receiver is responding.
Answer:
A run-on-sentence results when a writer joins two independent clauses with a comma.
a. True
b. False
Answer:
Which of the following statements would need to be documented in a report?
a. Tornadoes caused extensive loss of property and lives in Missouri.
b. You can get an idea of how dangerous a tornado is by its rating.
c. Damaging winds, common in strong tornadoes, caused problems for the residents of
Missouri.
d. The Fujita-Pearson tornado scale rates tornadoes with wind speeds of 261 to 318
miles per hour as F5 storms.
Answer:
An advantage of secondary data over primary data is that secondary data are easier and
cheaper to develop.
a. True
b. False
Answer:
Which of the following sentences contains the best use of vivid adjectives without
overkill?
a. The resort offered luxurious suites with Jacuzzi tubs and saunas.
b. The all-inclusive, top-notch resort offered luxurious, totally marvelous suites with
incredible extras.
c. The resort had nice rooms.
d. All sentences use vivid adjectives effectively.
Answer:
Smart business representatives always avoid calling an unhappy customer to resolve
problems.
a. True
b. False
Answer:
When a company is dealing with an internal crisis, the best way for the company to
handle this crisis is to let employees and stakeholders find out about the problem
through the office grapevine.
a. True
b. False
Answer:
One important guideline when preparing instructions is to
a. follow an indirect approach to soften the impact of the demand for compliance.
b. begin with an admonition or warning of the punishment for failure to comply fully
with directions as written.
c. put all steps of the instructions in one paragraph.
d. divide the process into logical steps and present them in the correct order.
Answer:
If included with a report, a letter or memo of transmittal should be written using the
indirect strategy.
a. True
b. False
Answer:
What is the most effective way to handle an illegal or inappropriate question during an
interview?
a. If you find the question harmless and you want the job, go ahead and answer it.
b. Confront the interviewer about the illegal nature of the question.
c. Storm out of the room in anger; after all, you wouldn’t work for a company with such
low ethics.
d. Refuse to answer the question because it is your legal right to do so.
Answer:
When you conduct an interview, prepare closed-ended questions to make the
interviewee feel relaxed and at ease.
a. True
b. False
Answer:
Which of the following sentences is most effective in de-emphasizing the bad news?
a. Although cash refunds are not offered, you can exchange resalable merchandise.
b. Although you can exchange returned merchandise, cash refunds are not available.
c. Because we only exchange merchandise, it is impossible for you to receive a cash
refund.
d. Because of our exchange policy, you may not receive a cash refund.
Answer:
Your current assignment is to condense a 200-page government policy report on oil
drilling in Alaska into a shorter report for Sierra Club members to read. What kind of
informational report would you most likely write?
a. Trip report
b. Summary
c. Meeting minutes
d. Progress report
Answer:
All of the following are informal research methods except
a. interviewing the target audience.
b. conducting a scientific experiment.
c. looking in company files.
d. brainstorming for ideas.
Answer:
When speaking with someone for whom English is a second language, you should talk
slowly, enunciate clearly, check frequently for comprehension, observe eye messages,
listen without interrupting, and
a. follow up important messages in writing.
b. avoid smiling, which might make you appear to lack seriousness.
c. use words that will impress the listener.
d. assume that the listener understands if he or she nods and smiles in agreement.
Answer: