Social relationships are uniform across cultures, and they do not affect business
communication.
Answer:
If an interviewer asks you what your interests outside of work are, it is desirable to
name at least 10.
Answer:
If the reader has to study the labels to get the right picture, the visual is unethical even if
the labels are accurate.
Answer:
A successful intercultural communicator should not be willing to ask questions about
preferences and behaviors.
Answer:
Reports that simply summarize an applicant’s income and other credit obligations are
known as annual reports.
Answer:
As you revise, it is more important to read a document from start to finish if you’ve
composed it in several sittings.
Answer:
Currently, organizations are seen to be working on reducing diversity in workforces to
prevent low productivity and cultural biases.
Answer:
Although job letters are frequently seen as evidence of your written communication
skills, flaws in your letter are not seen as predictors of performance.
Answer:
To keep visitors long enough on a home page to find or buy what they want, the first
screen should be extremely easy to use.
Answer:
Explain the different types of samples for surveys and their appropriateness to particular
survey situations.
Answer:
Stefan makes notes and provides a list of references to provide bibliographic
information to readers. This process is called documentation.
Answer:
While choosing a persuasive strategy, when the audience will do as you ask without any
resistance, you should use a direct request pattern.
Answer:
It is more effective to use a written channel over an oral channel if you want to use
emotion to help persuade an audience.
Answer:
The data, evidence, and facts required to produce a report must be both available and
understandable to the person preparing the report.
Answer:
Use present tense verbs in your résumé when describing all the jobs and positions you
have held earlier.
Answer:
Amy applied for a job at a construction company. To adapt her letter to the specific
organization, she gathered information about the job and not the company. This is an
effective technique for writing a job application letter.
Answer:
Whenever Ralphie’s team receives criticism from their supervisor, the team rationalizes
the criticism by saying that the supervisor has had a bad day. This rationalization will
help make Ralphie’s team a successful one.
Answer:
It is important to choose a persuasive strategy only after you have identified both the
specific action you want and the person who has the power to do it.
Answer:
Payback reports provide calculations to show the point at which a new capital
investment will pay for itself.
Answer:
Before an interview, try to find out from your career contacts what is considered
appropriate attire for the company and position for which you are going to be
interviewed.
Answer:
Your presentation visuals should include titles, but they do not need figure numbers.
Answer:
Business strategies that are highly successful in the United States may be ineffective in
other cultures and countries.
Answer:
Formal preparation for job hunting should begin as soon as you start at university.
Answer:
Telling a story in a message before providing statistics and figures takes away the
credibility of the message.
Answer:
While responding to a request for proposal, it is important to use the same headings,
terminology, and structure as used in the requesting document.
Answer:
Secondary research includes library research and online searches.
Answer:
You should use a separate piece of paper for a two-page résumé, rather than printing on
the back of a single page.
Answer:
Migrant workers benefit the economies of host countries rather than those of their home
countries.
Answer:
To create you-attitude at a sentence level use active verbs to avoid assigning blame in a
negative situation.
Answer:
Referral interviews work only for job candidates who already know powerful people
very well.
Answer:
The “call to action” section in a proposal for a class research project should ask an
instructor for suggestions on improving the research plan.
Answer:
Increasing white space helps improve the look of a message.
Answer:
To show correlations, use a map, a pie chart, or a Gantt chart.
Answer:
Which of the following best describes persona in a message?
A. It refers to the character who allegedly writes the letter to make a message
interesting.
B. It refers to the description of a product or service with vivid sensory details.
C. It refers to the strategy of making an audience imagine enjoying the benefits of a
product.
D. It refers to the use of wordiness to make a document appealing to an audience.
E. It refers to the use of a story to help an audience connect emotionally to a message.
Answer:
To distinguish yourself from other job candidates just out of college, in your job
application letter, you should:
A. provide specifics about what you’ve done.
B. stress the responsibilities you were given rather than the accomplishments you had.
C. dedicate several paragraphs of the letter to developing supporting details.
D. inflate some facts and use buzzwords to talk about personal connections to the
organization.
E. exaggerate your strengths and capabilities.
Answer:
Which of the following is an organized method of networking for jobs?
A. Information interviews
B. Walk-in interviews
C. Competency based interviews
D. Role-play interviews
E. Behavioral event interviews
Answer:
Which of the following should you do while creating a subject line for a negative
message?
A. Use a generic subject line when readers may ignore the message.
B. Use a negative subject line when the reader needs the information to make a
decision.
C. Use a neutral subject line in order to ensure that the reader reads the message.
D. Use an ambiguous subject line when the reader needs to make a decision.
E. Use a buffer in the subject line so that it stands out and draws the reader’s attention.
Answer:
When e-mailing your résumé to a prospective employer, which of the following is
considered a good practice?
A. Write a simple subject line that includes your name and the word “résumé.”
B. Use your current employer’s e-mail system so that you can immediately see any
responses, while you are at work.
C. Send several résumés if there are several job openings in the same organization.
D. Over use important words to lay emphasis.
E. Send your résumé from cryptic e-mail addresses.
Answer:
While conducting a survey on a sensitive issue about lesbian, gay, bisexual, and
transgender (LGBT) rights, Jenny needs to ask participants some personal questions. In
this case, it would be most appropriate for Jenny to ask:
A. closed questions, so that the participants give a limited number of possible
responses.
B. open questions, since they are easier for researchers to score.
C. open questions, as they are easier for respondents to answer.
D. closed multiple-choice questions, since seeing the choices listed shows people that
their answers are acceptable.
E. open questions, because analyzing the responses from open questions is less
straightforward than from closed questions.
Answer:
Which of the following sentences about global warming does NOT use parallel
structure?
A. Global warming can be tackled by enhancing carbon sinks and usage of cleaner
technologies.
B. Policies consist of targets for reduced emissions and increased use of renewable
energy.
C. Global warming will lead to rising sea levels and melting of glaciers in the
Himalayas.
D. Findings on the issue were gathered by interviewing farmers and researching
reports.
E. Causes of global warming can be attributed to the growing population and
increasing levels of consumption.
Answer:
Creating goodwill with content involves:
A. placing all the details of a message in the main body.
B. not anticipating the questions your audience is likely to have.
C. arranging the information to meet your needs, not the audience’s.
D. showing why information your audience didn’t ask for is important.
E. not showing your audience how the subject of your message affects them.
Answer:
Joshua works as a sales executive for a health insurance company. He was assigned the
task of designing a new insurance plan for his corporate clients. Before presenting his
proposal to the clients, he had to get the plan sanctioned by the department head. Once
the department head gave his approval, the sales executives for property insurance, life
insurance, and pension plans read through the new plan to gain a better understanding
of their co-worker’s proposal. Which of the following organizational audiences do the
sales executives for property insurance, life insurance, and pension plans best
represent?
A. The primary audience
B. Gatekeepers
C. The watchdog audience
D. Whistle-blowers
E. The auxiliary audience
Answer:
Which of the following guidelines should be followed when making a direct request?
A. Explain the benefits explicitly in the message.
B. Overcome objections to make the request concrete.
C. Avoid putting the main issue in the subject line.
D. Simply ask for what is needed in the message.
E. Challenge an audience by making them guess.
Answer:
Which of the following is inappropriate when e-mailing a job application letter?
A. Including your name as part of the subject line
B. Putting your name at the end of the message
C. Using double-spacing between paragraphs
D. Using smiley faces or emoticons
E. Repeating the job number or title in the first paragraph
Answer:
Which of the following is true of inaccuracies on résumés?
A. Background checks are conducted by job candidates to find out about fake
employers.
B. Background checks do not have the ability to find out fake Mensa memberships.
C. It is considered unethical to omit important details like a low GPA on your résumé.
D. It is considered acceptable to use inflated job details on your résumé to impress
employers.
E. The most frequent inaccuracies on a résumé are incorrect dates of employment.
Answer:
If Tina is angry about her team’s failure to meet a deadline, how should she
communicate this to her team?
A. She should single-handedly determine a way to prevent the problem from
happening again.
B. She should communicate with her team outside the organization.
C. She should point out how the problem affects her and no one else.
D. She should point out how the problem impacts other people or the company.
E. She should use ‘should have” statements to tell the team what they should have
done.
Answer:
Which of the following is recommended for an interviewee during a panel interview?
A. Ask all your questions to the panel member who seems to like you the most.
B. Avoid writing down the names of the panel members, as it will show that you cannot
memorize them.
C. Avoid addressing any one member of the panel individually.
D. Address and make eye contact only with the questioner to avoid feeling
overwhelmed.
E. Identify the person with the most authority, and use their body language for cues
about your performance.
Answer:
Which of the following is true of writing a report?
A. Don’t use background reading from your proposal to form the first draft of your list
of references.
B. Use a copy of your questionnaire in the appendix section of your report.
C. Write the scope and limitations sections of the report only after completing research.
D. Write the executive summary of the report before you’ve analyzed your data.
E. Write the important sections of a report toward the latter half to spend more time on
the history of the problem.
Answer:
Which of the following guidelines should you keep in mind when designing slides for
PowerPoint presentations?
A. You should make a minimum of seven points on each slide.
B. You should use a variety of backgrounds for your slides to make your presentation
look attractive.
C. You should choose a dark background if the lights will be off during your
presentation.
D. You should use high contrast between the words and backgrounds of your slides.
E. You should try to create slides that have more text than visuals.
Answer:
Which of the following is true of posting your résumé on the web?
A. Use résumé templates to add a professional touch to your résumé.
B. Use your mailing address as contact information rather than just e-mail address.
C. Ensure to replace employer names with generic descriptions for safety reasons.
D. Do no post your résumé on your personal website.
E. Ensure that the first screen does not include a job objective or Summary of
Qualifications.
Answer:
List the key elements for a good team meeting agenda.
Answer:
The top management of an organization called all the departmental heads for a meeting
to discuss the strategies the company could adopt to stabilize its market value during
recession. After the meeting, the departmental heads informed the employees that they
needed to work for an extra hour each day and that all other perks would be limited.
However, the heads held back the information that the top management had also
decided to downsize the workforce if conditions did not stabilize. In this scenario, the
departmental heads best represent the _____.
A. primary audience
B. watchdog audience
C. secondary audience
D. gatekeepers
E. category captains
Answer:
Which of the following should you do while organizing information that builds
goodwill?
A. Arrange the information to meet all of your needs.
B. Use headings and lists so readers can find key points quickly.
C. Present information that interests the audience in the middle of a paragraph.
D. Avoid showing why information your audience didn’t ask for is important.
E. Avoid anticipating an audience’s questions because it is distracting.
Answer:
Which of the following statements correctly explains the difference between successful
and unsuccessful student teams?
A. Successful teams allow sub-groups to make decisions; less successful teams insist
that important decisions are made by the entire team.
B. Successful teams try to ignore conflicts that occur; less successful teams deal with
all the conflicts that emerge.
C. Successful teams meet and talk through plans face-to-face; less successful teams
rely more on e-mail and other electronic communication tools.
D. Successful teams rationalize criticism; less successful teams listen to criticism and
try to change their performance on the basis of it.
E. Successful teams respond to words more than emotions; less successful teams pay
more attention to what is said and how it is said.
Answer:
Which of the following is true of threats?
A. They produce permanent change.
B. They invariably produce the action one wants.
C. They prevent creation of stress.
D. They produce tension in a work place.
E. They foster better working relationships.
Answer:
Which of the following should be adhered to when incorporating quotations in your
reports and business proposals?
A. Place quotation marks for indented quotations to set the passage as a quote.
B. Always summarize the main point of a quotation in a single sentence before the
quotation itself.
C. Don’t use citation and documentation if you quote someone in your writing.
D. Use long quotations extensively in your business proposals.
E. Indent long quotations on the right to set them off from your text.
Answer:
_____ often look like real postings with names and logos nearly identical to those of
real employers.
A. Phishing advertisements
B. Softlifted messages
C. Virus alerts
D. Ponzi schemes
E. Pop-ups
Answer:
Which of the following is true of thank-you notes from interviewees to interviewers?
A. It is usually sent within five days after the first interview.
B. It is better to not use emoticons whether it is by paper or e-mail.
C. It is more impressive to send a thank-you note via e-mail.
D. It is to be sent only if you do not hear back from an interviewer.
E. It is best to keep it short by using text messaging abbreviations.
Answer:
Laila is a popular pop music artist. She recently had a chat with Jeremy, her public
relations executive, asking him to work on increasing her online presence in order to
increase her fan following. Jeremy then uses a microblog, which lets Laila’s fans know
what music album she is working on and concerts she will be singing at through the use
of short text messages. Which of the following modes of social media is Jeremy most
likely using?
A. Facebook
B. Wikis
C. Twitter
D. Orkut
E. LinkedIn
Answer:
In response to a job advertisement, Greg, a graduate student, is preparing his résumé.
He is working on the Education section of the résumé. Which of the following shows
proper punctuation when he is presenting his degree on his résumé?
A. B S in Marketing
B. B S. in Marketing
C. B.S in Marketing
D. BS. in Marketing
E. BS in Marketing
Answer:
Matilda is delivering a presentation to a large group of people at a climate summit. Her
presentation is on the effects of using non-renewable energy. She is using a microphone,
so that her voice can reach the ends of the large conference hall. Matilda focuses on
giving voice to all the sounds of each word she speaks so that the members of the
audience at the end of the hall can hear her speech clearly. In this instance, Matilda is
focusing on _____.
A. controlling the tone of her voice
B. emphasizing her words
C. enunciating her words
D. controlling the pitch of her voice
E. stressing her words
Answer:
Jayla is planning to write a proposal titled, “The harmful impact of chemical fertilizers.”
In this proposal, she intends to talk about how chemical fertilizers cause the
contamination of groundwater and also about the seriousness of this issue. In which of
the following sections in the proposal would this information be included?
A. Audience
B. Procedure
C. Facilities
D. Resources
E. Problem
Answer:
A _____ typically provides a measure of variability that can be attached to
survey-derived estimates.
A. convenience sample
B. judgment sample
C. confidence interval
D. sampling frame
E. citation index
Answer:
Joshua, who works for a telecom company, has recently been made to move to a new
project. Joining in the middle of a fully functioning program makes him feel lost and
frustrated. Over lunch, Joshua shares his concerns with his colleague, Larry, and says,
“I do not know why I have been moved into a project when it is so close to completion.
What is worse, I was not briefed about the details of the project. I do not know how I
can help achieve the projects goals when I cannot understand the processes well.” What
should Larry say that will show that he understands and empathizes with Joshua’s
problem?
Answer:
You’ve been out of the job market for a while after having been laid off. What do you
need to do to prove to a potential employer that you’re up-to-date and motivated?
Answer:
Explain some of the areas where résumés are commonly inaccurate.
Answer:
Why is it necessary, in a formal report, to include a section that gives the background of
the situation or the history of the problem?
Answer:
Explain the differences between the two kinds of cultures as proposed by anthropologist
Edward Hall.
Answer:
Describe the closing section of an interview.
Answer:
List the factors which influence an audience’s reaction to bad news.
Answer:
Explain the reasons to learn the language of a country where you plan to work.
Answer:
Why is usability testing an important step in document design?
Answer:
What are some key factors that help a team leader manage her writing team more
efficiently?
Answer:
Raj Gupta works for a high-end clothing boutique and needs to submit a report to his
supervisor on the strategies they can implement to market a new line of eco-friendly
clothing. What standard guidelines should he follow that will help him manage his time
better while preparing the report?
Answer:
What are the different voice qualities you need to develop for a good speaking voice
when delivering an oral presentation?
Answer:
What important professional materials should you carry to an interview?
Answer:
What are some key guidelines to follow while writing a claim?
Answer:
What are the various communication channels that you can use to communicate?
Answer:
Explain when it is appropriate to use each of the following types of visuals: table, bar
chart, pie chart, and line graph.
Answer:
What are the factors which determine whether focus should be on criteria or alternatives
in a compare/contrast pattern report?
Answer:
What are some ways to make a home page easy to use so that visitors stay long enough
on the page?
Answer:
What are some key points you need to know while writing to international audiences?
Answer:
In business communication, what are some key points to ensure that your writing
contains nonracist and nonageist language?
Answer: