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CHAPTER 2. Teamwork and Global Issues in Technical Communication
True/False Questions
1. In collaborating to produce a document, all members of a collaborative team
participate in the actual “writing.”
2. “Reviewing” is a more precise term for “editing.”
3. A meeting leader should take charge by steering the group discussion.
4. Teleconferencing is no longer used as a form of virtual communication.
5. Paying attention to “face saving” is key to working across cultures.
6. Any technical document may be distributed globally.
7. Face-to-face meetings are still essential for personal contact.
8. Women who speak up in meetings are often perceived as overbearing, while
men who do so are considered to be leadership-oriented.
Fill-in-the-blank Questions
9. A allows users to collaborate by writing, sketching, and erasing in
real time from their computers.
10. When a document, you examine it for accuracy and readability.
11. Being embarrassed in public is an example of losing .
Multiple-choice Questions
12. Sources of conflict in collaborative groups include
(a) interpersonal differences.
(b) cultural differences.
(c) gender differences.
(d) All of these answers are correct.
(e) both cultural and gender differences
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13. Effective strategies for managing group conflict include
(a) suppressing disagreement with others’ ideas or opinions.
(b) offering and accepting constructive criticism.
(c) supporting a decision when you are outvoted.
(d) offering and accepting constructive criticism, as well as supporting a decision when
you are outvoted
(e) suppressing disagreement with others’ ideas or opinions, as well as offering and
accepting constructive criticism
14. Choose the most accurate statement below about reviewing a team document.
(a) Use general language when identifying weaknesses.
(b) Begin with a positive comment before suggesting improvements.
(c) Rewrite the entire document yourself if needed.
(d) Dictate advice to the team.
(e) Evaluate it on the first read.
15. An effective strategy for global technical communication is to
(a) avoid stereotyping.
(b) not do anything that will cause someone to lose face.
(c) avoid slang and idioms.
(d) understand the communication norms for the culture you will work with.
(e) All of these answers are correct.
16. Teamwork is successful only when there is
(a) homogeneity.
(b) cooperation.
(c) a team structure.
(d) cooperation and a team structure
(e) homogeneity and a team structure
17. Which statement below is most accurate?
(a) Blogs are not a useful medium for collaboration.
(b) An intranet is an external company Web site.
(c) Instant messaging is an easy means of holding real-time team meetings.
(d) “Web conferencing” is another term for “teleconferencing.”
(e) None of these answers is correct.
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18. When communicating with someone from another culture,
(a) use humor on first contact to break the ice.
(b) use humor only in email correspondence.
(c) use humor only in face-to-face contact.
(d) always use humor to facilitate strong interpersonal connections.
(e) avoid humor.
19. Which of the following statements about organizing a team project is least accurate?
(a) Work without a manager; allow all team members to take charge.
(b) Compose a purpose statement.
(c) Develop a file-naming system for documents.
(d) Decide on a specific meeting schedule.
(e) All of these are accurate.
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CHAPTER 2 ANSWER KEY