Business Communication Today, 12e (Bovee/Thill)
Chapter 3 Communicating in a World of Diversity
1) “All the characteristics and experiences that define each of us as individuals” is the definition
of
A) ethnicity.
B) diversity.
C) culture.
D) none of the above.
2) Intercultural communication can challenge supervisors in all of the following ways except
A) connecting on an interpersonal level with diverse employees.
B) providing motivation to diverse employees.
C) getting a broader range of views and ideas from diverse employees.
D) fostering cooperation and harmony among diverse employees.
3) Intercultural communication is the process of sending and receiving messages between people
whose cultural backgrounds
A) don’t include verbal and/or nonverbal signs.
B) don’t include a common language but do include common nonverbal customs.
C) could lead them to interpret verbal and nonverbal signs differently.
D) allow them to interpret verbal and nonverbal signals in identical ways.
4) Diversity in the workplace can be based on differences in
A) ethnic heritage.
B) religion.
C) age or gender.
D) all of the above.
5) The business advantages of today’s diverse workforce include
A) a wider range of views and ideas.
B) a broader talent pool from which to recruit.
C) a better understanding of diverse, fragmented markets.
D) all of the above.
6) The term ________ includes an appreciation for cultural differences that affect
communication and the ability to adjust one’s style when communicating across cultures.
A) cultural intuition
B) cultural insight
C) cultural competency
D) cultural dexterity
7) All of the following except ________ can help you to overcome ethnocentrism and
stereotyping.
A) advocating preconceptions
B) avoiding assumptions
C) accepting differences
D) avoiding judgments
8) As it pertains to communication, culture influences the
A) meanings of words.
B) importance of nonverbal signals.
C) use of time and space.
D) all of the above.
9) When you react ethnocentrically, you
A) assume that your culture is superior to others.
B) recognize the differences that exist between your culture and other cultures.
C) focus on the possibility that your words and actions will be misunderstood.
D) do all of the above.
10) Xenophobia is the fear of
A) crises.
B) working in unfamiliar environments.
C) strangers and foreigners.
D) change.
11) The practice of accepting multiple cultures on their own terms is known as
A) ethnocentrism.
B) cultural pluralism.
C) ethnography.
D) stereotyping.
12) Ethnocentrism can be overcome in part by
A) avoiding assumptions.
B) judging other groups according to your own standards.
C) ignoring the distinctions among cultures.
D) remembering that people from other cultures communicate in ways that are inferior to your
own.
13) Cultural differences appear in a number of important areas, including
A) nonverbal signals.
B) gender.
C) religion.
D) all of the above.
14) Every attempt at communication between two people from the same culture occurs within a
A) cultural context.
B) communication portal.
C) nexus of convenience.
D) cone of reciprocity.
15) Disabled employees can use ________ to pursue a greater range of career paths, thereby
giving employers access to a broader base of talent.
A) flexible initiatives
B) coordinated systems
C) assistive technologies
D) revolving methodologies
16) Nonverbal communication can be a reliable guide to determining the meaning of a message
A) in all communication situations.
B) across a wide range of electronic communication media.
C) in the majority of intercultural communication situations.
D) only if the sender and receiver assign the same meaning to nonverbal signals.
17) In high-context cultures,
A) people rely more on nonverbal circumstances and cues to convey meaning.
B) people rely less on the environmental setting to convey meaning.
C) the rules of everyday life are highly explicit.
D) all of the above occur.
18) To convey meaning in a low-context culture such as the one existing in Germany, people
rely more on
A) gestures and vocal inflection.
B) indirectness and metaphors.
C) situational cues.
D) explicit verbal communication.
19) The social media and technological skills of ________ are helping to change business
communication practices.
A) Generation X
B) Generation Q
C) Generation Y
D) Generation Z
20) Members of the ________ were born between 1946 – 1964.
A) Radio Generation
B) Lost Generation
C) Baby Boom Generation
D) Millennial Generation
21) All of the following except ________ can promote ethical choices across cultures.
A) sending honest messages
B) respecting cultural differences
C) capturing the moral high ground
D) sending and receiving messages without judgment
22) When it comes to decision-making customs, North American executives
A) tend to focus on the results of the decisions they face.
B) prefer to make their deals slowly, after much discussion.
C) spend a lot of time on each little point to display their good faith.
D) arrive at decisions through consensus, after an elaborate and time-consuming process.
23) Compared to low-context cultures, high-context cultures tend to take a(n) ________
approach regarding the meaning of business contracts.
A) equally flexible
B) more literal
C) more flexible
D) none of the above
24) People in the United States generally
A) view hard-earned material comfort as a worthy goal.
B) believe that people who work hard are no better than those who don’t work hard.
C) condemn materialism and prize a carefree lifestyle.
D) spend far less time on the job than German workers.
25) Women executives who travel abroad
A) can count on being treated with respect, regardless of the countries they visit.
B) should always assume that they will not be taken seriously as businesspeople.
C) may not be taken seriously as businesspeople, depending on the culture.
D) should insist on meeting only with other female executives.
26) Asking a colleague “How was your weekend?” is
A) an effective greeting in any culture.
B) accepted in the U.S., but considered intrusive in some cultures.
C) never acceptable in a business environment.
D) grounds for a lawsuit.
27) Meeting a deadline is generally less important than building a relationship for businesspeople
in
A) technical career fields.
B) low-context cultures.
C) high-context cultures.
D) high-paying positions.
28) When it comes to the future,
A) people of all cultures view planning as a valuable task.
B) individual views may differ, but culture generally does not determine one’s view of the future.
C) some societies view planning as a waste of time.
D) none of the above.
29) Associating youth with strength and age with declining powers is
A) a universal trait that characterizes all cultures.
B) common in European cultures, but not in the U.S.
C) common in the U.S., but not in many Asian societies.
D) an outdated practice.
30) When adapting to other cultures, the “Golden Rule” is
A) a helpful principle to follow.
B) less effective than treating others the way they want to be treated.
C) helpful, but only in Asian countries.
D) none of the above.
31) Business communicators can improve their cultural competency by
A) becoming aware of their own biases.
B) exercising tolerance, flexibility, and respect.
C) practicing patience and maintaining a sense of humor.
D) all of the above.
32) Learning about an unfamiliar culture
A) can be accomplished only by living among its people.
B) is generally a waste of time since no one in business expects you to do so.
C) is a worthy undertaking,even if you learn only a small amount.
D) requires at least one year of study before it is meaningful.
33) If you will be living in another country where English is not the official language but you
will be doing business in English, you
A) will not need to learn that country’s language.
B) should learn only those words that are absolutely necessary for getting around.
C) can show respect by making an effort to learn the language.
D) should only deal with natives who can speak English.
34) Letters from Japanese businesspeople tend to be ________ than those written in the United
States.
A) more direct
B) less direct
C) less interesting
D) shorter
35) In general, business correspondence in other countries is often ________ the style used by
U.S. businesspeople.
A) less formal than
B) more formal than
C) more humorous than
D) none of the above
36) When writing for multicultural audiences, it’s important to
A) be brief.
B) be direct and assertive.
C) address international correspondence exactly as you would in the U.S.
D) explain that you aren’t sure about what they expect.
37) When writing letters to businesspeople in other countries, you should
A) use an informal, friendly tone.
B) keep your sentences and paragraphs long.
C) be vague and general in your wording.
D) make generous use of transitional words and phrases.
38) When preparing a message to someone from another culture, you should
A) never write more than a single paragraph.
B) assume that the audience is familiar with common U.S. phrases and references.
C) be sure to remove all graphics, in case they might offend someone.
D) be careful to express numbers and dates in the format used in that person’s culture.
39) When writing to audiences whose first language is not English, using humor is generally
A) a bad idea, since jokes usually depend on culture-specific information.
B) an excellent way to establish a positive relationship.
C) acceptable, but only in high-context cultures.
D) acceptable, but only in low-context cultures.
40) Which of the following sentences contains an idiomatic expression?
A) Our monthly sales quota is unrealistic.
B) We don’t expect to meet our monthly sales quota.
C) Making our monthly sales quota will be a piece of cake.
D) The sales quota is very reasonable.
41) To English-speaking U.S. listeners, Arabic speech may sound
A) excited or angry.
B) disinterested.
C) timid.
D) all of the above.
42) When speaking in English to people who use English as a second language, the best
approach is to
A) forget about feedback; just make sure you get your message across.
B) repeat your sentences often, a little louder each time.
C) speak slowly and clearly.
D) use plenty of adjectives such as fantastic and fabulous.
43) During conversations with non-native English speakers, you should
A) immediately rephrase statements they don’t seem to understand.
B) avoid paying too much attention to nonverbal feedback.
C) avoid including any words or phrases from their native language.
D) do none of the above.