Business Communication Today, 12e (Bovee/Thill)
Chapter 4 Planning Business Messages
1) The three primary steps involved in preparing a business message are
A) planning, writing, and completing.
B) informing, persuading, and collaborating.
C) defining the purpose, the main idea, and the topic.
D) satisfying the audience’s informational, motivational, and practical needs.
2) Which one of the following is an element of the completing phase of the three-step writing
process?
A) Organizing the information
B) Interpreting the research
C) Proofreading the message
D) Selecting the right medium
3) All of the following except ________ are elements in the planning phase of the three-step
writing process.
A) gathering information
B) adapting to the audience
C) selecting the right medium
D) organizing the information
4) Planning is essential when writing business messages because
A) it helps you provide the right information to the right people in the right format.
B) it makes the writing process faster and less stressful.
C) it can save you from embarrassing blunders that could hurt your company or your career.
D) all of the above.
5) If you devote sufficient time to planning a business message before you begin writing it, you
can expect all of the following outcomes except
A) expediting the writing process.
B) avoiding embarrassing blunders.
C) experiencing extra work and stress in the writing and completing stages.
D) delivering concise, compelling information that your audience wants and needs to know.
6) In order to optimize your writing time, reserve about ________ of that time for revising,
producing, proofreading, and distributing your message.
A) 10 percent
B) 20 percent
C) 25 percent
D) 15 percent
7) Which of the following is not a general category common to business communication?
A) To inform
B) To persuade
C) To negotiate
D) To collaborate
8) An example of a specific purpose for a business message would be
A) to impart information to the audience.
B) to inform employees about the new vacation policy.
C) to persuade readers to take action.
D) to obtain audience participation and collaboration.
9) Most messages should not be sent unless they will
A) bring about a change.
B) increase your chances of being promoted.
C) please your boss.
D) do all of the above.
10) The best reason to defer or cancel a message is if
A) your news is bad.
B) someone else wants to deliver it.
C) your audience is highly receptive.
D) the time is wrong.
11) The primary audience for your message should always include
A) all who receive it.
B) the key decision makers in the audience.
C) those people with the highest status.
D) those people who represent the opinions and attitudes of the majority.
12) In general, for internal communication, the higher up your message goes, the
A) more details people want to see.
B) fewer details people want to see.
C) less likely you are to run into ethical problems.
D) more likely you are to run into ethical problems.
13) Messages should contain supporting detail and background information when
A) you expect a favorable response.
B) you and your audience do not share the same general background.
C) you and your audience share the same general background.
D) all of the above are the case.
14) Forecasting your audience’s reaction to your message is
A) impossible—there’s no way to know what it will be.
B) vital, because potential audience reaction affects message organization.
C) helpful only for internal communication.
D) helpful only for external communication.
15) You’re writing a proposal to give permission to some employees at your company to
telecommute. You know management will be skeptical, so you should
A) be as straightforward as possible about stating your conclusions and recommendations.
B) avoid stating your conclusions and recommendations.
C) use less evidence in support of your points.
D) build your case carefully, stating clear reasons for each conclusion you draw and
recommendation you make.
16) A knowledge-management system
A) helps companies limit the amount of information employees store on the network.
B) enables organizations to test employees periodically to ensure they are doing adequate
research.
C) is a centralized database of experiences and insights of employees throughout an organization.
D) is a tool for creating a bibliography when writing long reports.
17) Informal techniques for gathering insights and focusing your research efforts do not include
A) listening to the community.
B) asking the audience for input.
C) distributing questionnaires and surveys.
D) reviewing reports and other company documents.
18) When gathering information for a business message, keep in mind that audiences respond
best to information that
A) they could have found by doing their own research.
B) has not been categorized or grouped in any way.
C) has been filtered and prioritized according to their needs.
D) pertains to a broad cross-section of possible scenarios.
19) When meeting your audience’s informational needs, you should emphasize ideas
A) of greatest interest to the audience.
B) that are uncontroversial.
C) that will have the least impact on the audience.
D) that don’t need supporting evidence.
20) A good way to test the thoroughness of your business message is to check it for
A) a main idea.
B) a purpose.
C) the who, what, when, where, why, and how.
D) accuracy.
21) After sending project cost estimates to a longtime client, you realize you failed to include
information on some discount options. The best thing to do is
A) take no action.
B) blame someone else.
C) contact the primary audience immediately and correct the error.
D) start looking for a new job.
22) Choosing the right medium for your message
A) is not important as long as the content of your message is accurate.
B) is important only when communicating with managers and supervisors.
C) is vital for external communication, but not important for internal communication.
D) can make an important difference in how your message is perceived.
23) Which one of the following is the “leanest” communication medium?
A) Podcasts
B) Posters and signs
C) Telephone conversations
D) Multimedia presentations
24) Which media would be best for keeping in touch with a sales team whose members live in
several different states?
A) Written media
B) Oral media
C) Electronic media
D) Presentations
25) Telephone calls are
A) completely incapable of conveying nonverbal signals.
B) now acceptable only for external communication.
C) capable of conveying quite a few nonverbal signals.
D) no longer practical when compared to email.
26) Which of the following media would be best for sending a brief message (requiring no
response from your audience) about an upcoming software update?
A) Podcast
B) Email
C) Blog
D) Videoconference
27) VoIP is a
A) widely used format for sending documents electronically.
B) technology for making telephone calls via the Internet.
C) highly technical videoconferencing program.
D) type of voice-to-text translation software.
28) According to the concept of media richness, the richness of a medium does not depend on its
ability to
A) facilitate feedback.
B) establish a personal focus.
C) handle multiple information cues simultaneously.
D) convey a sense of affluence and exclusivity.
29) A ________ is the richest communication medium.
A) telephone conversation
B) retweet with a comment
C) video podcast
D) face-to-face conversation
30) A key advantage of oral communication is
A) the ability to plan and control the message.
B) the opportunity to meet an audience’s information needs.
C) the ability to transmit highly complex messages.
D) the opportunity to get immediate feedback.
31) As a new supervisor, you need to introduce yourself to your team of ten employees. The best
medium for this type of non-routine message would be
A) a face-to-face meeting.
B) an email message.
C) a conference call.
D) a text message.
32) A potential downside to the use of electronic media in business communication involves
A) delivering messages quickly.
B) maintaining employee productivity.
C) promoting audience interaction.
D) reaching geographically dispersed audiences.
33) Of the following media, which is the richest?
A) An electronic slide presentation that includes a series of images that are arranged to persuade
the audience to take a specific position
B) An interactive website enabling audiences to participate in the communication process
C) A presentation on DVD
D) A formal business letter
34) The ________ of a message is its overall subject, while the ________ is a specific statement
about that overall subject.
A) medium, theme
B) topic, main idea
C) scope, purpose
D) focal point, rationale
35) In high-context cultures, ________ media are often more effective than ________ ones.
A) leaner, richer
B) oral, written
C) foreign, domestic
D) none of the above
36) Which of the following is not listed among factors to consider when choosing a medium for
your message?
A) Urgency
B) Cost
C) Sender preferences
D) Audience preferences
37) In general, audiences are likely to
A) ignore poor organization if the message is important.
B) draw inaccurate conclusions from poorly organized messages.
C) fully understand most messages, even those that are poorly organized.
D) none of the above.
38) When you want to confirm, illuminate, or expand on the supporting points in a business
message, use ________ if you believe that dramatic tension will stimulate your audience’s
interest.
A) facts and figures
B) narration or storytelling
C) references to authority figures
D) examples and quotations
39) Use the ________ to organize a message if you believe your audience will be receptive to
what you have to say.
A) direct approach
B) didactic approach
C) dialectical structure
D) diametric pattern
40) The scope of a business message pertains to
A) a specific statement about the overall subject of the message.
B) the range of information you present to support your main idea.
C) the efforts you expend when you proofread the message.
D) the act of conveying the message through more than one informational cue.
41) If your audience will be skeptical of or resistant to your message
A) state your main idea and then present your evidence.
B) start with the evidence and build your case before presenting your main idea.
C) start by asking rhetorical questions to arouse the audience’s interest in your message.
D) open your message with a humorous anecdote to establish rapport with the audience.
42) As it applies to business communication, presenting information in a well-organized manner
A) helps your readers understand the message.
B) encourages your readers to accept the message.
C) allows your readers to save time.
D) all of the above.
43) Which of the following is an example of a message topic?
A) “To get the board of directors to increase the research and development budget”
B) “Competitors spend more than our company does on research and development”
C) “Funding for research and development”
D) “The research and development budget is inadequate in our competitive marketplace”
44) Whatever the length of your message, you should limit the number of major support points to
roughly
A) two.
B) three.
C) six.
D) ten.