60) Which of the following statements is true of informal communication channels?
A) They are authorized, planned, and regulated by the organization.
B) They define who has responsibility for information dissemination and indicate the proper
recipients of work-related information.
C) They facilitate vertical rather lateral communication among organizational members more
often than formal communication channels.
D) They are developed through interpersonal activities of organization members and facilitate
faster information flow.
61) A manager is considering three staff members as possible candidates for a new position. One
morning she asks each of them, in private, whether they might be interested in the new position.
She also asks them not to discuss the new position with anyone. At a function after work, she is
approached by several staff members. They ask her about the new position they have heard about
“on the grapevine.” What important feature of informal communication channels does this
scenario illustrate?
A) They only carry work-related information.
B) They often transfer information rapidly.
C) They often transfer inaccurate information.
D) They tend to follow the organizational hierarchy.
62) A(n) ________ is an identifiable pattern of communication within and between
organizations, whether using formal or informal channels.
A) organizational culture
B) communication orientation
C) communication network
D) organizational configuration
63) Which of the following refers to a process of developing regular patterns of communication
with particular individuals or groups to send and receive information?
A) brainstorming
B) networking
C) featherbedding
D) outsourcing
64) A manager is considering three staff members as possible candidates for a new position. One
morning, she asks each of them, in private, whether they might be interested in taking up the
post. She also asks them not to discuss the offer with anyone. At a function after work, she is
approached by several staff members. They ask her about the new position they have heard about
“on the grapevine.” What important feature of informal communication channels does this
scenario illustrate?
A) They only carry work-related information.
B) They often transfer information rapidly.
C) They often transfer inaccurate information.
D) They tend to follow the organizational hierarchy.
65) Which of the following statements is true of networking?
A) Even though networking is beneficial in the organizational context, it does not affect an
individual’s salary or career prospects.
B) Women are traditionally known to be more successful and attuned to the art of networking
than men.
C) When managers are members of established networks, it is easier for them to influence the
other people or groups involved in the networks.
D) Network patterns of communication are unaffected by factors such as age, gender, or
ethnicity of the individuals involved.
66) Which of the following barriers to communication originates at the interpersonal level?
A) emotion
B) stereotyping
C) ethnocentrism
D) cultural distance
67) Which of the following barriers to communication occurs at the organizational level?
A) language
B) ethnocentrism
C) frame of reference
D) hierarchical barriers
68) Which of the following statements is true of interpersonal barriers to communication?
A) Precision is important when a sender needs to persuade a receiver using a language that is not
the receiver’s preferred language.
B) It is usually the receiver’s obligation to choose the language and words of the communication
with the greatest possible precision.
C) Obstacles to interpersonal communication occur only at the receiver’s end.
D) The burden of ensuring that accurate communication occurs is entirely on the sender.
69) Which of the following barriers to communication originates at the cultural level?
A) nonverbal cues
B) stereotyping
C) selective perception
D) frame of reference
70) ________ refers to the process of screening out some parts of an intended message because
they contradict our beliefs or desires.
A) Selective perception
B) Groupthink
C) Attribute substitution
D) Subjective validation
71) The term ________ refers to an existing set of attitudes that provides individuals a simplified
way of interpreting messages that helps them make sense of complex communications.
A) cognitive dissonance
B) locus of control
C) cognitive complexity
D) frame of reference
72) Which of the following is the best example of selective perception acting as a barrier to
interpersonal communication?
A) A subordinate employee does not make eye contact with his manager when speaking to him.
B) A customer focuses only on the product’s price and ignores the salesperson’s advice on
quality.
C) An employee agrees with his boss’ suggestions even though he believes his boss is wrong.
D) An employee misinterprets a colleague’s sincere compliment as mockery.
73) A monthly interdepartmental meeting goes badly because the managers cannot agree on an
agenda. Sales managers argue that new advertising strategies should be a top priority because
sales have dropped; operations managers argue that equipment acquisition should take
precedence because a key system is down. The failure of this meeting can be most clearly
attributed to ________.
A) cultural barriers
B) organizational barriers
C) interpersonal barriers
D) emotional barriers
74) Which of the statements is true of cultural barriers to communication?
A) Culture cannot exist without communication, but human communication occurs outside a
cultural context as well.
B) The greater the cultural differences between sender and receiver, the greater the ease in
communicating.
C) The industry of an organization has no influence on its internal culture.
D) The intended meaning of a message is more likely to be transferred if the sender and receiver
share the same culture.
75) A person from a low-context culture is likely to view wide swings in communication styles
of another person as evidence of ________.
A) sophistication
B) maturity
C) insincerity
D) selfishness
76) A person from a high-context culture is likely to view the lack of change in communication
style of individuals from low-context cultures as evidence of ________.
A) sincerity
B) immaturity
C) dedication
D) sophistication
77) ________ is the belief in the superiority and importance of one’s own group.
A) Ethnocentrism
B) Jingoism
C) Narcissism
D) Machiavellism
78) Which of the following characteristics is found in a high-context culture?
A) The rank of the receiver may affect the message and the medium.
B) Nonverbal communication cues are not considered to be important.
C) The message is considered more important than the medium.
D) Fewer adjustments are made to messages from situation to situation.
79) Which of the following characteristics is typically associated with a low-context culture?
A) Nonverbal cues are considered to be very important.
B) The rank of the receiver has a major influence on the message and the medium.
C) The medium may be as important as the message itself.
D) More and greater adjustments are made in messages.
80) ________ is the tendency to oversimplify and generalize about groups of people, especially
those groups or cultures other than one’s own.
A) Cognitive dissonance
B) Stereotyping
C) Locus of control
D) Selective perception
81) ________ refers to the overall difference between two cultures’ basic characteristics, such as
their language, level of economic development, and entrenched traditions and customs.
A) Cultural dissonance
B) Cultural diffusion
C) Cultural determinism
D) Cultural distance
82) ________ is identifying with and understanding the other person’s feelings, situation, and
motives.
A) Ethnocentrism
B) Stereotyping
C) Selective perception
D) Empathy
83) Which of the following is a feature of active listening?
A) Listeners should focus on the message rather than style of delivery.
B) Listeners should focus on the style of the delivery rather than the content of the message.
C) Listeners should focus on being understood first, before seeking to understand.
D) Listeners should avoid eye contact with speakers as it distracts them from the content of their
communication.
84) A(n) ________ is an individual who is at the communication interface between separate
organizations or between different units within an organization.
A) arbitrator
B) gatekeeper
C) comprador
D) spokesperson
85) Which of the following directives should an individual follow to become an effective cross-
cultural communicator?
A) For low-context cultures, as many details as possible should be learnt in advance about the
target organization and its specific individual representatives.
B) For high-context cultures, the message should not contain even a few words or phrases in the
listener’s language, as they may be misconstrued.
C) For low-context cultures, oral communications should be organized so that major points are
immediately and directly stated.
D) For low-context cultures, one should be especially careful about their body language and tone
of voice.
86) ________ is the process of conferring to arrive at an agreement between different parties,
each with its own interests and preferences.
A) Collectivization
B) Intervention
C) Negotiation
D) Corroboration
87) In terms of negotiation, ________ refers to a person’s or group’s stance regarding the party’s
wants.
A) desire
B) position
C) interest
D) concern
88) Which of the following statements is true regarding achieving effective negotiations?
A) When serving as a negotiator, one should to focus on the two parties’ positions, not their
interests.
B) A negotiator can achieve a more collaborative focus by concentrating on the people involved
and maintaining competition.
C) Any two opposing positions are likely to have at least some interests that are shared rather
than in conflict with one another.
D) Negotiations should center on the parties’ positions as there are probably several possible
outcomes that could satisfy a given position.
89) Which of the following actions is performed during the first stage of the negotiation process?
A) planning strategy and tactics
B) establishing long-term associations
C) developing personal rapport
D) fostering mutual trust
90) Briefly describe the basic model of communication.
91) Write a brief note on oral communication, describing its advantages and limitations.
92) What is the difference between formal and informal communication channels?
93) What is a communication network? What is its significance in the organizational scheme of
things?
94) Briefly describe the barriers to communication encountered at the organizational level.
95) Give a general description of the negotiation process.
96) What problems in the communication process were evident in this scenario?
97) Based on this scenario, do you agree with the advantages and disadvantages of written
communication as they are presented in the text?
98) Did nonverbal communication impact communication between Kevin and his boss?
99) Critique the communication media utilized in this scenario.
100) Assuming that the e-mail message did involve a major strategic change, comment on the
communication medium chosen by Kevin’s boss.
101) Would increased networking have improved Kevin’s interpretation of the e-mail message?
102) What could Kevin’s boss do to improve the quality of the written messages he sends?