The first few seconds of an interview
a. are of little importance as the applicant is just settling in for the exchange of
information.
b. are not noticed by the interviewer who is preparing for the questions to be asked.
c. are vitally important, as the interviewer forms an impression of the applicant that is
difficult to change.
d. are the only part of the interview that really matter to the interviewer.
Answer:
Which of the following is a technique for achieving coherence?
a. Repeat your main idea in each paragraph.
b. Use more adjectives than adverbs.
c. Use connecting words.
d. Use passive voice.
Answer:
Which of the following sentences best introduces a graph in a written report?
a. Fewer than three percent of the branch managers complained of long working hours,
as shown in Figure 7.
b. Figure 7 is shown below.
c. Figure 7 shows the response of managers about working hours.
d. See Figure 7 for details about manager attitudes.
Answer:
Which of the following guidelines about overcoming intercultural barriers is NOT
appropriate?
a. One should study and learn about a person’s culture.
b. The person should seek help from a trusted friend who understands the other person’s
culture.
c. One should be patient and tolerant of ambiguity.
d. One should help the other person overcome his or her cultural barriers by conforming
to the new culture.
Answer:
Which of the following is NOT an effective use of collaborative technologies to support
work teams?
a. Using bulletin boards to discuss team projects
b. Using a group calendar functions to facilitate meeting scheduling
c. Using software to monitor project progress by team member and task
d. All are effective uses of collaborative technologies.
Answer:
To overcome receiver resistance to a persuasive appeal, the price typically should NOT
be
a. mentioned early in the message.
b. delayed in the message until reader benefits have been established.
c. associated with benefit to the reader.
d. broken down into a small, insignificant amount such as price per day.
Answer:
Which of the following is NOT a correct use of a dash?
a. To place emphasis on appositives.
b. To introduce explanatory material that could be left out.
c. When appositives contain commas.
d. When a parenthetical remark consists of an abrupt change in thought.
Answer:
A sincere apology message to a customer for a serious mistake made would likely be
considered by the customer as
a. a negative news message.
b. an attempt to preserve a relationship.
c. unwelcomed, since a verbal apology is more meaningful.
d. a misdirected communication.
Answer:
While information contained in e-portfolios and employment videos are helpful in
communicating an applicant’s qualifications and abilities, their use may also
a. discourage the potential employer from stereotyping or discriminating against the
applicant.
b. make it difficult for the employer to assess ‘soft skills” of the applicant.
c. weed out those applicants who do not blend in with the company’s culture.
d. detract from the applicant’s credentials.
Answer:
Which of the following statements is correct concerning the reporting of quantitative
data?
a. People are not usually interested in proportions or ratios but in exact numbers.
b. When tabulating research results of opinions and preferences, reporting exact
statistics to the most accurate decimal point is necessary to avoid distortion in
interpretation.
c. Common language reduces difficult figures to the “common denominators” of
language and ideas.
d. Because of their absolute and understood value, dollars are a good measure of
comparison from one year to another.
Answer:
Which of the following does NOT provide assistance when using APA referencing?
a. Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association
b. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers
c. OWL website developed by Purdue
d. All of the above provide assistance.
Answer:
The best definition for reliability 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:
You have gathered data from printed and online sources as well as from a survey. What
should you do to organize the writing of your report?
a. Reduce quantitative data to a usable form through statistical techniques.
b. Question whether every piece of information available makes a real contribution to
the outcome of the study.
c. Combine, summarize, and condense useful information so that the reader can
understand it more easily.
d. Do all of the above.
Answer:
Which of the following is NOT recommended in discussing price in a sales message?
a. Introduce price only after presenting the product and its virtues.
b. Keep price talk out of the first and last paragraphs, unless price is the distinctive
factor.
c. Mention price in a complex or compound sentence that relates or summarizes the
benefits of the product.
d. All of the above are recommended.
Answer:
Your company has a policy of using the modified block format for letters with indented
paragraphs and mixed punctuation. You have been given the authority to modify this
policy to reflect the efficient keyboarding approach without eliminating any standard
letter parts. What is your best recommendation to meet this objective?
a. Use modified block format with open punctuation.
b. Use block format with open punctuation.
c. Use modified block format with open punctuation and no paragraph indentions.
d. Use memo format.
Answer:
Which address below complies with traditional U.S. Postal Service format
recommendation?
a. Ms Janet Evans
117 Evergreen Drive
St. Louis, MO 64501-1170
b. MS. JANET EVANS
117 EVERGREEN DRIVE
ST LOUIS, MO 64501-1170
c. MS JANET EVANS
117 EVERGREEN DRIVE
ST LOUIS MO 64501 1170
d. All of the above comply.
Answer:
Christopher told his new employee that he developed a marketing campaign in his
previous position. In fact, he actually was assigned to the marketing campaign after it
was developed. Which ethical guideline did Christopher violate?
a. The message should not embellish or exaggerate the facts.
b. Ideas should be expressed clearly and understandably.
c. Viewpoint should be supported with objective facts.
d. No ethical guideline was violated.
Answer:
Delnisha told her staff that they needed to make sure to “get all of their ducks in a row”
before the annual meeting. This is an example of
a. Insensitivity
b. Cultural bias
c. Denotative meaning
d. Plain English
Answer:
Gannon has prepared an effective and well-thought out electronic presentation on
business uses of social networking. As he is setting up for his presentation, the laptop he
plans to use with the projector has a hardware failure. What should he do?
a. Expect that his host will provide him with another computer because he cannot
complete his presentation without his slides.
b. Hand out copies of the slides to the audience and give his talk as he planned, only
without the computer.
c. Decline to deliver the presentation.
d. Reschedule the presentation for a later date.
Answer:
Which of the following is true when using color in presentation visuals?
a. Brighter colors give a less formal look than do conservative colors.
b. Blues and greens stimulate, while reds and oranges relax the audience.
c. Red and green are good colors to use to differentiate important points.
d. The more colors used, the better.
Answer:
You are writing to ABClothes.com to request an exchange for an ordered shirt that was
recently sent to you in an incorrect size; the message you write will be
a. a routine claim.
b. a persuasive request.
c. a negative news message.
d. a goodwill message.
Answer:
Which of the following is important for U.S. business people to remember when
conducting international negotiations?
a. Other cultures tend to place less emphasis on nonverbal behavior than do those from
the U.S.
b. Those from Central American and Middle Eastern countries view the use of time
more rigidly than do those from the U.S.
c. Negotiators from the U.S. are typically seen as passive.
d. Laws and ethics as well as customs vary considerably among countries.
Answer:
When composing an email message,
a. ideas should be organized inductively when the message contains good news or
routine information.
b. just be direct, since such communications are routine.
c. present the information in the order it is likely needed or will be best received.
d. avoid repeating information that is in the subject line in the opening sentence.
Answer:
An effective opening for a bad-news message
a. notes the date of the message being answered.
b. expresses gratitude for the time the receiver took to write.
c. provides an immediate answer to the receiver’s request.
d. makes a neutral comment related to the main idea.
Answer:
Techniques to emphasize important ideas include which of the following?
a. Repetition
b. Passive voice
c. Inductive order
d. All of the above
Answer:
Which of the following statements about statistics is FALSE?
a. Statistics can be used to support virtually anything.
b. Statistical methods and interpretation should not be included in the report process
because they are easily misinterpreted.
c. Statistical interpretation is the only practical and valid method by which some data
can be interpreted.
d. The use of statistical interpretation often seems valid and objective, even when it is
not.
e. All of the above statements are incorrect.
Answer:
Which of the following is FALSE concerning an extemporaneous business
presentation?
a. The presentation is planned, prepared, and rehearsed.
b. The speaker may utilize note cards, an outline, or other reminders during the
presentation.
c. The presentation is written in detail to serve as a visual reminder during the delivery.
d. All of the above are true.
Answer:
Which of the following is NOT true of the parts of a business report?
a. The table of figures includes a reference to each figure that appears in the report.
b. The table of contents gives the reader an overview of the report.
c. The executive summary summarizes the essential elements of the entire report.
d. The appendix includes the references and the index.
Answer:
You’ve been offered a position over the phone with a firm and were asked to confirm
your acceptance in a letter. Your letter should be written
a. inductively, concluding with an enthusiastic response to the job offer.
b. deductively, reviewing the match between job description and applicant
qualifications.
c. inductively, reminding the employer of all benefits and salary agreements.
d. deductively, affirming job acceptance and confirming the first day of work.
Answer:
You are the supervisor of an employee who just learned that she did not receive the
promotion she had anticipated. You call her into your office and ask her to discuss her
reaction. What type of listening are you engaged in?
a. Casual listening
b. Listening for information
c. Intensive listening
d. Empathetic listening
Answer:
The comment “I have never heard you speak so well” may be perceived by listeners as
containing a negative metacommunication.
Answer:
Since color is an attention getter, the skilled presenter should use as many different
colors as his or her software supports.
Answer:
The statement that “you can prove anything with statistics” suggests that statistics can
be used incorrectly. Discuss some ways statistics can be gathered or used incorrectly.
Answer:
Jargon may be used effectively when communicating with colleagues in the same field.
Answer:
Describe how seeing a situation or problem from the receiver’s perspective can help you
adapt your message to the audience.
Answer:
Because e-mail messages are written efficiently, they should be organized in a direct,
deductive style.
Answer:
Recommendations should flow naturally from one’s summary and conclusions and
should not come as a surprise to the reader.
Answer:
A graphic that will not fit on the page where it is introduced should be placed in an
appendix.
Answer:
The usual American strategies for structuring good-news and neutral-news messages
can be generally applied to international audiences.
Answer:
The strategies for routine claims and persuasive claims differ because with a persuasive
claim, a request will likely be granted only after explanations and arguments have been
presented.
Answer:
Sending a thank-you message following an interview is a professional courtesy, but
unnecessary if you thank the interviewer before departing from the interview.
Answer:
Email is typically the most effective channel for communicating negative organizational
news.
Answer:
A scannable résumé can be categorized and ranked by the employer based on the
number of key word matches found.
Answer:
List six barriers to intercultural communication and provide an example of each barrier.
Answer:
An effective persuasive appeal includes a central selling point that is woven throughout
the entire message.
Answer:
A major purpose in communication is to help people feel good about themselves and
their friends, groups, and organizations.
Answer:
U.S. firms such as AFLAC typically protect themselves against competitors by
including in their annual corporate reports only that which is required by the Security
and Exchange Commission.
Answer: