Chapter 13—Managing Communication
TRUE/FALSE
1. Communication is the process of transmitting information from one person or place to another.
2. Due to perceptual filters, people exposed to the same information will often disagree about what they
saw or heard.
3. In the perceptual process, apprehension is the process of remembering interpreted information.
4. Perception is the process by which individuals attend to, organize, interpret, and retain information
from their environments.
5. In the perceptual process, interpretation is the step of incorporating new memories with old memories
and creating the ability to recall both.
6. Selective perception is the tendency to notice and accept objects and information consistent with our
values, beliefs, and expectations; and screen out or not accept inconsistent information.
7. According to attribution theory, the two general reasons or attributions we use to explain people’s
behavior are primary attribution and secondary attribution.
8. The resistance bias is the tendency for people to perceive themselves as personally and situationally
similar to someone who is having difficulty or trouble and, therefore, to use external attributions to
explain the person’s behavior.
9. The self-serving bias is the tendency to overestimate our value by attributing successes to ourselves
(internal causes) and attributing failures to others or the environment (external causes).
10. In the model of the communication process, decoding may result in faulty communication as a result
of perceptual filters on the receiver’s part.
11. Feedback is not necessary in the communication process when the sender and receiver are both
confident that they understand each other.
12. Horizontal communication flows among managers and workers who are at the same organizational
level.
13. Another name for the informal communication channel is the “grapevine.”
14. One recommendation for managers wishing to improve their formal communication is to decrease
reliance on downward communication.
15. The two kinds of one-on-one communication are mentoring and vestibule training.
16. Nonverbal communication is less informative than verbal communication. .
17. In nonverbal communication, the term kinesics is used to refer to the pitch, rate, tone, volume, and
speaking pattern (i.e., use of silences, pauses, or hesitations) of one’s voice.
18. When it comes to improving communication, managers must manage one–on-one communication
while also managing organization-wide communication.
19. As a general rule, managers prefer written communication methods over oral communication methods.
20. Managers with better listening skills are rated as better managers by their employees and are much
more likely to be promoted.
21. Listening is an example of a voluntary behavior.
22. In communicating feedback to employees, managers need to recognize that feedback can be
constructive or destructive.
23. Company hotlines, survey feedback, frequent informal meetings, and surprise visits are ways of
overcoming organizational silence.
24. Frequent, informal meetings between top managers and lower-level employees are one of the best
ways for top managers to hear what others feel and think.
25. In general, blogs serve no value in the corporate world.
26. In affective cultures, people are much more likely to display emotions and feelings when
communicating, whereas in neutral cultures they do not.
27. People in polychronic cultures tend to do more than one thing at a time and view time as circular.
28. The four important temporal concepts that affect cross-cultural communication are appointment time,
schedule time, discussion time, and acquaintance time.
29. When the Richemont Group purchased Vacheron Constantin, the world’s oldest watch manufacturer in
continuous production, the grapevine at Vacheron Constantin would more than likely have spread
rumors of the acquisition throughout the firm when the plan was still in the discussion stage.
30. Informal communication occurs when the director of the research and development department of a
watch manufacturer presents an idea for a digital watch made of diamonds to the marketing director.
31. The conduit metaphor causes problems in communication by making managers too complacent and
confident in their ability to easily and accurately transfer messages to receivers.
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. The last step in the perceptual process is ____.
a.
interpretation
b.
retention
c.
attention
d.
organization
e.
action
2. In the perceptual process, ____ is the process of noticing or becoming aware of particular stimuli.
a.
retention
b.
organization
c.
interpretation
d.
attention
e.
activation
3. In the perceptual process, ____ is the process of remembering interpreted information.
a.
apprehension
b.
organization
c.
interpretation
d.
retention
e.
activation
4. Which of the following statements about perception and perceptual filters is true?
a.
People pay attention to similar things.
b.
People organize and interpret what they pay attention to similarly.
c.
People remember things similarly.
d.
People are unaffected by differences in stimuli.
e.
People perceive according to personality-, psychology-, and experience-based filters.
5. ____ is the process by which individuals attend to, organize, interpret, and retain information from
their environments.
a.
Active hearing
b.
Passive listening
c.
Perception
d.
Apprehension
e.
Participative communication
6. Because of ____, people exposed to the same information will often disagree about what they saw or
heard.
a.
defensive biases
b.
feedback variables
c.
differences in communication media
d.
perceptual filters
e.
communications deviations
7. Perceptual filters may occur as the result of ____.
a.
stimulus-based differences
b.
physiology-based differences
c.
situation-contextual differences
d.
personality-based differences
e.
all of these
8. The steps in the basic perception process include all of the following EXCEPT ____.
a.
attention
b.
organization
c.
analysis
d.
interpretation
e.
retention
9. The steps in the perceptual process in order are ____.
a.
interpretation, attention, organization, action
b.
organization, attention, interpretation, retention
c.
attention, organization, interpretation, retention
d.
attention, interpretation, organization, retention
e.
attention, decision, intention, and action
10. In the perceptual process, ____ is the process of incorporating new information into your existing
knowledge.
a.
comprehension
b.
organization
c.
interpretation
d.
retention
e.
attention
11. In the perceptual process, ____ is the process of attaching meaning to new knowledge.
a.
attention
b.
organization
c.
interpretation
d.
definition
e.
retention
12. ____ is the tendency to fill in gaps of missing information by assuming that what we don’t know is
consistent with what we already know.
a.
Selective perception
b.
Kinesics
c.
Closure
d.
Defensive bias
e.
Attribution
13. A casual jogger noticed that the San Diego Zoo was prohibiting people in motorized wheelchairs from
viewing the zoo’s baby panda and saw nothing wrong with this policy. Another zoo patron, who uses a
wheelchair, saw the notice and felt he was being discriminated against because he could not access the
panda site. This is an example of ____.
a.
selective perception
b.
kinesics
c.
faulty closure
d.
selective retention
e.
defensive biases
14. When Robin was told that her favorite store would no longer stock her favorite brand of clip-on
earrings, she assumed this meant that the company was no longer producing clip-on earrings; even
though that was not the case. Robin’s incorrect assumption was due to _____.
a.
selective perception
b.
kinesics
c.
closure
d.
defensive bias
e.
attribution
15. Mike plays all kinds of competitive sports, and was excited to read that his company was sponsoring a
softball team. Non-athletic Kenneth typically walks by the same bulletin board at least three times
every day and has yet to see the softball notice. The fact that one saw the notice and the other did not is
due to ____.
a.
selective perception
b.
kinesics
c.
faulty closure
d.
selective retention
e.
defensive biases
16. ____ is the tendency to notice and accept objects and information consistent with our values, beliefs,
and expectations while ignoring, screening out, or not accepting inconsistent information.
a.
Selective perception
b.
Kinesics
c.
Closure
d.
Attribution
e.
The mirror effect
17. The retired founder of L. L. Bean spent much of his time sitting on a set of stairs where he could watch
customers coming and going to his store. He typically dressed in old pants, well-worn flannel shirts,
and a pair of muddy boots. Customers assumed he was a derelict. Those who recognized him thought
of him as a real character. He was seen differently by different people due to ____.
a.
attribution
b.
a defensive bias
c.
a reactive bias
d.
selective perception
e.
kinesics
18. According to attribution theory, ____ makes managers more likely to attribute workers’ problems or
failures to internal rather than external causes.
a.
closure
b.
the defensive bias
c.
the self-serving bias
d.
the fundamental attribution error
e.
kinesics
19. According to attribution theory, we use two general reasons or attributions to explain people’s
behavior. They are ____.
a.
formalized and non-formalized attributions
b.
self-serving and defensive attributions
c.
objective and subjective attributions
d.
internal and external attributions
e.
centralized and decentralized attributions
20. According to attribution theory, the defensive bias makes workers more likely to attribute their
performance problems to ____.
a.
external attributions
b.
personal causes
c.
an internal locus of control
d.
the absence of unity of command
e.
none of these
21. The ____ states that we all have a basic need to understand and explain the causes of other people’s
behavior.
a.
attribution theory
b.
behavioral reflection theory
c.
theory of causality
d.
principle of consideration
e.
theory of empathetic reinforcement
22. Renovation of a street and sidewalk was supposed to be finished in October yet wet weather prolonged
the rebuilding until the middle of December. The local retailers, on that street, blamed the city for their
low December holiday sales. If you agree with this analysis of why sales were poor, then you ____.
a.
are experiencing the halo effect
b.
do not believe in attribution theory
c.
have a defensive bias
d.
have a reactive bias
e.
are experiencing perceptual empathy
23. Lopez was injured at work when a warehouse shelving unit fell on him. According to attribution
theory, his co-workers assumed the accident was due to the shelves being improperly anchored to the
wall. His coworkers are guilty of _______ .
a.
fundamental attribution error
b.
reactive perception error
c.
error of culpability
d.
proactive perceptual error
e.
defensive bias
24. Karl was injured at work when a shelving unit fell on him. Karl was trying to reach an item on a high
shelf by climbing on the shelving unit rather than using a ladder. His employer would be committing
a(n) ____if Karl’s employer blamed the entire incident on Karl.
a.
fundamental attribution error
b.
reactive perception error
c.
error of culpability
d.
proactive perceptual error
e.
primary perceptual oversight
25. Someone experiencing a(n) ____ would be likely to take any negative criticism of his or her
department personally.
a.
empowerment bias
b.
error of culpability
c.
self-serving bias
d.
reactive error of perception
e.
proactive error of perception
26. When things go wrong in the workplace, workers are more likely to attribute their problems to ____,
while managers are more likely to attribute those same workers’ problems to ____.
a.
extrinsic reinforcers; intrinsic reinforcers
b.
external causes; internal causes
c.
the fundamental attribution error; the defensive bias
d.
the fundamental attribution error; the self-serving bias
e.
internal causes; external causes
27. ____ is the tendency to overestimate our value by attributing successes to ourselves (internal causes)
and attributing failures to others or the environment (external causes).
a.
Closure
b.
A defensive bias
c.
A self-serving bias
d.
The fundamental attribution error
e.
Overreward
28. In the model of the communication process presented in the text, ____ occurs when a message is put
into a written, verbal, or symbolic form that can be recognized and understood by the receiver.
a.
encoding
b.
decoding
c.
transmission
d.
feedback
e.
receiving
29. Jergen Lindegaart is the chief executive of SAS Scandinavian Airlines. When he explained to
stockholders why SAS was withdrawing from a joint venture with another company, he was engaged
in ____.
a.
encoding
b.
feedback preparation
c.
feedforward
d.
selective filtering
e.
decoding
30. In the model of the communication process presented in the text, ____ makes senders aware of
possible miscommunications and enables them to continue communicating until the receiver
understands the intended message.
a.
encoding
b.
noise
c.
transmission
d.
feedback
e.
the communication medium
31. The crew renovating the downtown area accidentally dug up the sidewalk belonging to a privately
owned section of the sidewalk, because they understood that all sidewalks were to be replaced. The
crew was actually supposed to replace all city-owned sidewalks. In terms of the communication
process, the crew members engaged in ____.
a.
selective perception
b.
incorrect decoding
c.
improper encoding
d.
negative feedback
e.
noise filtering
32. The crew renovating the downtown area accidentally dug up the sidewalk belonging to a private
owner. The crew misunderstood their instructions that only all city-owned sidewalks were to be
replaced due to bad phone connections. In terms of the communications process ____.
a.
noise prevented communication
b.
negative feedback occurred
c.
unreinforced communication resulted
d.
the city was guilty of a poor communication conduit
e.
selective encoding occurred
33. Noise can occur when ____.
a.
the sender isn’t sure of what message to communicate
b.
the receiver doesn’t have the time to understand the message
c.
the message is not decoded properly
d.
the message is not encoded properly
e.
any of these occur
34. The three formal communication channels in organizations are categorized as ____.
a.
downward, horizontal, and upward
b.
hierarchical, functional, and organizational
c.
horizontal, vertical, and grapevine
d.
upward, dyadic, and downward
e.
vertical, horizontal, and dyadic
35. One of Canada’s largest financial service providers, wanted to develop a customer-focused sales and
service culture, top management developed the main messages, which were consistently
communicated to all levels of employees throughout the organization. This is an example of a(n) ____
communication channel.
a.
downward
b.
upward
c.
horizontal
d.
formal
e.
informal
36. When the CEO of a large corporation explained to their unionized employees why the company had to
reduce healthcare coverage for its employees, he was engaged in ____ communication.
a.
upward
b.
dyadic
c.
horizontal
d.
downward
e.
functional
37. The ____ is the system of official channels that carry organizationally approved messages and
information.
a.
downward communication channel
b.
upward communication channel
c.
horizontal communication channel
d.
formal communication channel
e.
informal communication channel
38. Hot Topic is a fast-growing clothing chain targeted to the alternative teen demographic. The owner
and founder daily consults with her employees for suggestions on what the stores should carry. An
employee suggested that the stores should carry a certain type of soda. The employee’s suggestion was
an example of ____ communication.
a.
upward
b.
dyadic
c.
horizontal
d.
downward
e.
functional
39. When one of Canada’s largest financial service providers wanted to develop a customer-focused sales
and service culture, an executive team developed the plan through the use of ____ communication.
a.
upward
b.
dyadic
c.
horizontal
d.
downward
e.
functional
40. In a large corporation, employees are known as associates and don’t have titles or bosses in the
traditional sense. Instead, associates make commitments to work on projects that they believe are most
worthy of their time. As a result of doing away with traditional titles, the company encourages more
____ communication.
a.
upward
b.
dyadic
c.
horizontal
d.
downward
e.
hierarchical
41. The pirated radio stations sometimes use communications equipment instead of commercial broadcast
equipment to pass along advice, information, and support not communicated by the “establishment”.
This would be an example of a(n) ____ communication channel.
a.
downward
b.
upward
c.
horizontal
d.
formal
e.
informal
42. An angry and defensive managerial reaction is a common problem associated with ____
communication
a.
downward
b.
upward
c.
dyadic
d.
informal
e.
horizontal
43. In the ____ type of grapevine communication network, one highly connected individual shares
information with many other managers and workers.
a.
star chain
b.
gossip chain
c.
cluster chain
d.
leader chain
e.
linear
44. In the ____ type of grapevine communication network, numerous people simply tell a few of their
friends.
a.
cluster chain
b.
gossip chain
c.
linear
d.
stratified
e.
decision tree
45. Which of the following statements about informal communication in organizations is true?
a.
The informal communication channel is also called the conduit.
b.
Informal communication channels are primarily developed as a way to handle
management that is perceived as the enemy.
c.
Information carried by informal communication channels is estimated to be 75 to 95
percent accurate.
d.
The best management strategy to controlling informal communication is to withhold
information they wish to keep from employees.
e.
Intranets should never be used to control informal communications.
46. Which of the following statements about informal communication in organizations is true?
a.
Informal communication follows the same channels as formal communication does.
b.
Informal communication channels cannot be managed.
c.
Information carried through informal communication channels is estimated to be only
about 30 percent accurate.
d.
The best management strategy for controlling informal communication is to withhold
information they wish to keep from employees.
e.
None of these statements about informal communication in organizations is true.
47. The two primary types of grapevine communications networks are ____.
a.
vertical and horizontal
b.
upward and downward
c.
departmental and organizational
d.
linear and circular
e.
cluster and gossip
48. ____ is a kind of one-on-one communication used by managers to improve an employee’s on-the-job
performance or behavior.
a.
Downward guidance
b.
Coaching
c.
Counseling
d.
Leading
e.
Supportive supervision
49. Coaching is ____.
a.
a method commonly used to improve how managers communicate with their subordinates
b.
a kind of one-on-one communication primarily used by managers in exit interviews
c.
a kind of one-on-one communication primarily used by managers to improve an
employee’s on-the-job performance or behavior
d.
a multilevel communication method that is used in place of negative reinforcement
e.
two-way communication designed to be reciprocally fulfilling
50. Which of the following is one of the mistakes that managers tend to make when they are coaching
employees?
a.
They wait too long before talking to them about the problem.
b.
They refrain from showing any feelings when they confront the employee.
c.
They refer the employee to an EAP.
d.
They require the employee to pay for his or her additional training.
e.
All of these are common mistakes made by managers attempting to coach employees.
51. ____ is communication with someone about non-job-related issues that may be affecting or interfering
with the person’s performance.
a.
Coaching
b.
Leading
c.
Counseling
d.
Directing
e.
Supportive communication
52. Kinesics and paralanguage are two kinds of ____.
a.
communication channels
b.
perceptual errors
c.
verbal communication
d.
nonverbal communication
e.
grapevines
53. During a job interview, interviewers can use their knowledge of face and body movements to
determine when interviewees are telling the truth. This knowledge is called _____.
a.
proxemics
b.
kinesics
c.
paralanguage
d.
semiotics
e.
pseudo-language
54. When Lilah saw her guest wrinkling her nose, she realized that she should have changed the litter in
her cat box. Nose wrinkling is an example of communication through ____.
a.
proxemics
b.
kinesics
c.
paralanguage
d.
semiotics
e.
pseudo-language
55. In nonverbal communication, the term ____ refers to movements of the body and face.
a.
kinesics
b.
proxemics
c.
paralanguage
d.
pseudo-language
e.
semiotics
56. In nonverbal communication, ____ is the pitch, rate, tone, volume, and speaking pattern (i.e., use of
silences, pauses, or hesitations) of one’s voice.
a.
kinesics
b.
proxemics
c.
paralanguage
d.
pseudo-language
e.
semiotics
57. For some time, researchers have known that deceptive answers have a slower onset than honest ones.
In a job interview these characteristics would be examples of ____ that may help the interviewer
evaluate the job applicants.
a.
proxemics
b.
kinesics
c.
paralanguage
d.
semiotics
e.
pseudo-language
58. Rose knew by the shrillness of her teacher’s voice that she was really in trouble and would probably be
placed in after-school detention. Rose’s teacher used ____ to communicate dismay.
a.
proxemics
b.
kinesics
c.
paralanguage
d.
semiotics
e.
pseudo-language
59. Managers generally like and use____ but are less receptive to using ____.
a.
oral communication; written communication
b.
written communication; oral communication
c.
downward communication; horizontal communication
d.
informal communication; formal communication
e.
horizontal communication; downward communication
60. Clarissa is unable to do her job efficiently because her supervisor often interrupts her to ask irrelevant
questions or to make unimportant comments. Clarissa is experiencing a problem with ____.
a.
undefinable noise
b.
the use of an incorrect communication medium
c.
accepting feedback
d.
encoding and decoding
e.
the incorrect use of paralanguage
61. In which of the following cases would written communication be preferable to oral communication?
a.
when immediate feedback is needed
b.
when messages are complex and ambiguous
c.
when messages are emotion laden
d.
when messages are straightforward
e.
when paralanguage is required
62. Which of the following statements about hearing and listening are true?
a.
Hearing and listening are synonyms.
b.
Hearing is the act of perceiving sounds, while listening is the act of making a conscious