Multiple Choice
1. Communication that flows directly from one employee to her supervisor is:
a.
upward communication
b.
downward communication
c.
serial communication
d.
horizontal communication
a
2. ______ communication reduces the number of people who can talk to the top executive.
a.
b.
c.
d.
b
3. A top executive never receives negative information from her staff. This is known
as _______ and is a disadvantage of _____ communication.
a.
proximity effect / downward
b.
MUM effect / horizontal
c.
MUM effect / serial
d.
proximity / serial
c
4. Which of the following statements probably refers to a problem associated with an “open door” policy rather than serial
communication?
a.
Potential for excessive communication
b.
Message content is often modified
c.
Bad news is seldom relayed
d.
The physical distance reduced accuracy
a
5. A communication method that facilitates upward communication by asking employees to
rate their opinions on such things as pay or working conditions is known as the ______.
a.
complaint box
b.
union steward
c.
ombudsperson
d.
attitude survey
d
6. ______ is an easily employed method which allows employees to communicate their opinions,
complaints, suggestions, etc., to management at virtually any time.
a.
An attitude survey
b.
A suggestion box
c.
A memo
d.
A liaison
b
7. Which of the following is NOT a method to facilitate upward communication?
a.
Complaint box
b.
Bulletin board
c.
Ombudsperson
d.
Attitude survey
b
8. _______ communication flows directly from a supervisor to employee.
a.
b.
c.
d.
c
9. A ____ contains all of the specific rules under which an organization operates and is a method of ______
communication.
a.
policy manual / downward
b.
employee handbook / downward
c.
policy manual / upward
d.
employee handbook / upward
a
10. Which of the following methods of downward communication is often lengthy and difficult to
understand?
a.
Memos
b.
Telephone calls
c.
Policy manuals
d.
Email
c
11. Babies, birthdays, and ballgame scores are commonly communicated through:
a.
policy manuals
b.
the Internet
c.
memos
d.
newsletters
d
12. Internal, organization-wide electronic communication networks are called:
a.
email
b.
the Internet
c.
an intranet
d.
voice mail systems
c
13. Which of the following is NOT an advantage of email?
a.
Increased documentation
b.
Timely exchange of information
c.
Increased productivity
d.
Increased use of nonverbal cues
d
14. Martha’s desk in located in a large area that is completely open. Her company uses a _______ to design its office.
a.
freestanding
b.
uniform plan
c.
free-form work station plan
d.
portable office approach
a
15. Raul’s desk is located in a cubicle next to 30 other cubicles. Raul’s company uses a ______ to design its office.
a.
freestanding
b.
uniform plan
c.
free-form work station plan
d.
portable office approach
b
16. When one employee passes information to another, who passes the information to another, they
are using what type of grapevine pattern?
a.
Cluster grapevine
b.
Single strand
c.
Probability
d.
Gossip
b
17. ____ refers to an informal communication process in which one individual in the grapevine passes on information to a
select group of people, with not everyone receiving the information.
a.
Single strand pattern
b.
Gossip
c.
Rumor
d.
Probability
b
18. In the _____ grapevine, one employee passes information to only a few people who randomly pass the information to
others, whereas in the ____ grapevine, those few people pass that information on to a few other selected employees.
a.
probability / cluster
b.
cluster / probability
c.
single strand / cluster
d.
gossip / cluster
a
19. ______ are employees who receive most of the information through a grapevine and, in turn,
pass it on to others.
a.
Liaisons
b.
Isolates
c.
Deadenders
d.
Gossipers
a
20. _____ are employees who receive less than half of the information through a grapevine, whereas
_____ hear most of the grapevine information but don’t pass it on.
a.
Dead‑enders / isolates
b.
Isolates / dead‑enders
c.
Isolates / liaisons
d.
Liaisons / dead‑enders
b
21. If 97% of managers hear information through the grapevine and then pass the information on,
they are most accurately referred to as:
a.
isolates
b.
dead enders
c.
liaisons
d.
rumorists
c
22. Poorly substantiated information is known as:
a.
rumor
b.
gossip
c.
noise
d.
probability
a
23. ______ communication is the exchange of a message across a communication channel from
one person to another.
a.
Downward
b.
Interpersonal
c.
Intrapersonal
d.
Horizontal
b
24. A breakdown at any point in the interpersonal communication process can affect the accuracy
of information being communicated. What is the sequence for communicating a message from the sender to the receiver?
a.
Decode, transmit, encode, receive
b.
Transmit, encode, decode, receive
c.
Encode, transmit, receive, decode
d.
Encode, transmit, decode, receive
c
25. What the receiver actually hears refers to ____ of the message; how this information is interpreted refers to ____ of
the message.
a.
reception/encoding
b.
reception/decoding
c.
transmission/decoding
d.
encoding/decoding
b
26. _____ is the interference that affects proper reception of a message.
a.
Noise
b.
Nonverbal cues
c.
Paralanguage
d.
Error
a
27. Mrs. Jones raises her voice when saying certain words. She is using _______ to communicate.
a.
noise
b.
artifacts
c.
nonverbal cues
d.
paralanguage
d
28. Which of the following is NOT a nonverbal cue category?
a.
Artifacts
b.
Use of space
c.
Use of time
d.
Noise
d
29. Which of the following is NOT an example of nonverbal communication:
a.
body language
b.
the way in which a persons uses space
c.
how a person uses time
d.
all three are example of nonverbal communication
d
30. Eye contact and touching are nonverbal cues known as:
a.
paralanguage
b.
artifacts
c.
proximity
d.
body language
d
31. People using the _____ zone are approximately 18 inches away from a person.
a.
intimacy
b.
public distance
c.
personal distance
d.
social distance
a
32. Husbands and wives usually use the _____ spatial distance zone whereas people transacting
business will use the _____ zone.
a.
public / personal
b.
intimacy / social
c.
intimacy / public
d.
personal / social
b
33. The tone, tempo, and volume in which one speaks is a nonverbal cue known as:
a.
artifacts
b.
paralanguage
c.
body language
d.
proximity
b
34. Ms. Brown has all of her awards and certificate she has earned on her wall. She is using _____ to communicate her
personality.
a.
paralanguage
b.
artifacts
c.
body language
d.
space
b
35. Visitors to offices that use _____ perceive the offices to be more comfortable and their occupants more friendly and
trustworthy.
a.
closed desk arrangements
b.
a uniform plan
c.
cubicles
d.
open desk arrangements
d
36. Information that is ____ has unimportant details removed.
a.
leveled
b.
sharpened
c.
assimilated
d.
omitted
a
37. Information that is _____ has been modified to fit an individual’s existing beliefs and knowledge.
a.
leveled
b.
assimilated
c.
omitted
d.
sharpened
b
38. A manager is experiencing communication overload to the point that she is throwing away
memos without reading them. This approach to handling overload is:
a.
omission
b.
error strategy
c.
queuing
d.
escape
a
39. ______ is a conscious decision not to process certain information whereas ____ is an attempt to deal with every
message received.
a.
Error / omission
b.
Omission / error
c.
Redundancy / omission
d.
Omission / redundancy
b
40. Dealing with communication overload by prioritizing which information should be dealt with first refers to:
a.
omission
b.
escape
c.
queuing
d.
omnibus processing
c
41. When communication overload gets too extreme an employee might begin to miss a lot of work or even resign. This
method of handling communication overload is known as:
a.
omission
b.
queuing
c.
escape
d.
redundancy
42. An administrative assistant who screens an executive’s phone calls, opens his mail, and keeps
rack of his appointments, exemplifies which approach to handling communication overload?
a.
Omission
b.
queuing
c.
Escape
d.
use of a gatekeeper
d
43. Which of the following is NOT a method for handling communication overload?
a.
Use of a gatekeeper
b.
Omission
c.
Use of multiple channels
d.
Assimilation
d
44. Almost half of the time that managers spend communicating with others is devoted to:
a.
writing
b.
reading
c.
listening
d.
writing and reading
c
45. Research indicates that we retain 25% of information presented in meetings 48 hours after the meeting. The inability
to retain this information is influenced by:
a.
memory loss
b.
how well we listen to the information
c.
our listening style
d.
all of these are influences
d
46. ______ listeners listen for the main ideas in communication whereas ______ listeners listen to the way
communication is spoken.
a.
Inclusive / stylistic
b.
Leisure / stylistic
c.
Empathic / technical
d.
Nonconforming / stylistic
a
47. Ms. Smith often misses the main point of a communication because she is interested in only the facts and main detail.
She is a(an) _____ listener.
a.
nonconforming
b.
empathic
c.
technical
d.
stylistic
c
48. ____ listeners attend to information that is consistent with their way of thinking.
a.
Technical
b.
Stylistic
c.
Nonconforming
d.
Empathic
c
49. If you made an oral presentation to your class on styles of listening, who would most likely remember the number of
listening styles?
a.
Leisure listeners
b.
Inclusive listeners
c.
Stylistic listeners
d.
Technical listeners
d
50. If you made an oral presentation to your class on listening styles, who would most likely remember how
understanding each of the six styles can increase communicator effectiveness?
a.
Leisure listeners
b.
Inclusive listeners
c.
Stylistic listeners
d.
Technical listeners
b
51. Which of the following is a good listening habit?
a.
Reacts to emotional words
b.
Tunes out dry subjects
c.
Is distracted easily
d.
Listens for central themes
d
52. Which of the following tips is probably not conducive to effective listening?
a.
Judging what the speaker is saying
b.
Making eye contact with the speaker
c.
Removing distractions
d.
Letting the other person finish speaking
a
53. If students don’t understand the vocabulary that a professor is using, the culprit may be:
a.
emotion
b.
cognitive ability
c.
noise
d.
bias
b
54. Which of the following does not affect the way in which a received message is interpreted?
a.
Emotional state
b.
Cognitive ability
c.
Bias
d.
All three affect the interpretation
d
55. Which of the following is NOT important for readability?
a.
Number of syllables per word
b.
Sentence length
c.
Both are important
d.
Neither are important
c
Objective Short Answer
56. What are the four grapevine patterns?
57. What are the three types of grapevine employees?
58. What are the four communication zones?
59. What are the six common reactions to communication overload?
60. What are the six listening styles?
61. What are the four commonly used readability indexes?
62. What factors determine readability?