Which of the following is true about reports?
A) They answer business questions.
B) They should not be in the form of emails.
C) They must be a minimum of three pages long.
D) They cannot be longer than 100 pages.
E) They must always contain some data obtained from a primary source.
Answer:
Which of the following is an internal proposal?
A) a proposal asking another company to do a joint venture
B) a proposal asking local businesses if they will sponsor your charity event
C) a proposal asking a client to select your firm for an upcoming project
D) a proposal asking your supervisor to implement a new initiative
E) a proposal asking a foundation to fund a program for your community
Answer:
Of all the features in your message, the ________ has the most power to influence the
audience to accept your bad news.
A) desired business result
B) audience’s anticipated reaction
C) justification behind the bad news
D) silver lining, or hidden benefit of the bad news
E) apology
Answer:
Which of the following is NOT an example of a grant proposal?
A) a soup kitchen requesting funding from the city to update its equipment
B) a music school requesting funding from the local arts council to support an
after-school orchestra program
C) a school requesting funding from an environmental foundation for a gardening and
composting project on school grounds
D) a branch office requesting funding from headquarters for video-conferencing
equipment
E) an animal rescue group seeking funding from the ASPCA for a pet adoption drive
Answer:
Anne is trying to get a sense of the overall structure of her slide presentation. She
sketches headlines and ideas for the body of the slides on some Post-it notes,
rearranging them as necessary. Anne is creating a(n) ________ for her presentation.
A) storyboard
B) template
C) slide master
D) animation
E) dot leader
Answer:
Jenna requested and was granted a week’s vacation time at the end of June. Due to an
unforeseen crisis at the office her boss now needs to tell her that she must work during
that week instead of going on vacation.
When communicating this message to Jenna, the best approach for her boss would
likely be to ________.
A) state the main idea right away to get it over with
B) hint at the main idea and let Jenna read between the lines
C) tell Jenna the bad news first and then explain all the reasons why
D) build up to the main idea, stating the reasons, before actually giving her the bad
news
E) give her the bad news right away so that she doesn’t get impatient
Answer:
You are preparing a formal report. You want to include some raw data and large tables
in your report which you think the readers will find useful. But if you include this
information in the body of the report then it will interrupt the flow of the report. In such
a situation, you should include this information in the ________ of the report.
A) executive summary
B) appendix
C) introduction
D) table of content
E) glossary
Answer:
Which of the following is most likely to be the purpose of this message?
A) to document the scientific advances in the manufacturing of laundry detergent
B) to describe the technology that led to the new formula for Brite
C) to congratulate Brite’s research department on their achievements
D) to persuade customers to buy Brite
E) to analyze the likelihood that customers will try Brite
Answer:
After Monica shares an idea at a meeting, Rachel immediately responds, “That would
never work!” This response stops Monica’s participation in the rest of the discussion.
Which of the following statements would best have kept the discussion moving
forward?
A) I think that’s a terrible idea, but that’s just my opinion.
B) That’s a different way to look at it. How would it work?
C) I know you wouldn’t have come up with such an outlandish idea if you knew all the
facts.
D) That sounds ridiculous.
E) This plan is full of errors.
Answer:
To make the table of contents easy to read, many writers connect the headings to the
page numbers using ________.
A) footers
B) road signs
C) headers
D) dot leaders
E) trackers
Answer:
Reviewing your message and considering feedback ________.
A) generally leads to less successful proposals
B) may lead you to return to the analysis step, to reconsider the decisions about
purpose, audience, content, and medium
C) is part of composing, the second step of the ACE process
D) will be time consuming and unnecessary
E) sets the stage for your business message, helping you make good decisions, and
should be done before you begin composing
Answer:
Miranda is creating her first résumé and is unsure how to design it so that it looks
professional yet still stands out from the pack. She should ________.
A) put her focus on making her résumé look personalized and quirky, instead of
professionally designed
B) copy exactly the format of the sample résumé she sees online and consider it to be
professional and appealing
C) stop worrying about the format employers will not be deterred from seeing the
substance of a résumé because of poor design
D) ensure that her résumé is at least five pages long
E) use the best elements from a few samples as guides to create a professionally yet
uniquely designed résumé
Answer:
Which of the following best exemplifies a costly mistake that can be attributed to
passive listening?
A) forgetting to reorder supplies and having work come to a standstill while you send
an employee out to restock
B) taking an order so large that your factory has to run costly overtime shifts to meet
the production deadline
C) failing to proof your report before making copies of it, and having to reprint them all
after you realize this and correct the typos
D) scheduling two appointments for the same time and having to cancel on one of your
clients at the last minute
E) mailing out a coupon giving customers 50% off on their orders because you
misheard when your boss asked you to create a coupon for 15% off
Answer:
You need to reply to an angry customer about a problem with her recent purchase. From
her message it is clear that the problem occurred because she incorrectly used the
product. Which of the following would be best to include in your reply?
A) “Unfortunately this mistake is all your fault since you misused the product. You will
have to buy a new one would you like 10% off?”
B) “Operator error is not our responsibility. Even though we don’t have to we will offer
you a coupon good for a discount on your next purchase.”
C) “If you had read the manual you would not have broken the product. Please accept a
discount on a replacement item and next time don’t forget to read the manual!”
D) “We appreciate your business and only wish that you hadn’t misused the product.
Unfortunately you will have to buy a new one yourself. We will also give you a
discount.”
E) “Use of the product in this manner is inconsistent with our recommendations, and is
not covered by your warranty. In appreciation for your business we can offer you a
discount on a replacement item.”
Answer:
If you are writing a report that answers the question, “What is the better choice?” you
are writing a(n) ________ report.
A) progress
B) trip
C) compliance
D) evaluation
E) feasibility
Answer:
When a company decides to satisfy a customer claim for a refund, exchange, or repair,
________.
A) a well-written response gains nothing for the company
B) the business has an opportunity to create goodwill
C) the company should make it sound as if they’re doing the customer a favor
D) it must avoid beginning its message with a positive response
E) the company should always apologize first
Answer:
The process of negotiating an agreement in China can take a long time because
________ Chinese businesspeople.
A) relationships are very important to
B) unsolicited sales proposals are not entertained by
C) financial advantage and profit are not important to
D) oral commitments are not recognized by
E) written agreements are never used by
Answer:
Before you can roll out the new database system you have designed, you need
employees in departments across the company to volunteer to test it. You are drafting an
email that will be sent to all employees to persuade them to help you with this testing.
Which of the following statements would be the best to conclude the message?
A) Thanks so much you’re the best!
B) Get back to me ASAP if you want to participate.
C) Thanks to all for considering helping interested parties should email me at the
address below by Friday.
D) We will be very grateful to those people who will help us out. Let me know if you
are interested.
E) Submit the attached form within a week if you are willing to participate.
Answer:
________ arise from language that is ambiguous or difficult to understand.
A) Psychological barriers
B) Semantic barriers
C) Language barriers
D) Physiological barriers
E) Mixed messages
Answer:
The AIDA approach ________ situations when you know the audience.
A) is never used in
B) will be less powerful in
C) can be used only in those
D) can be more effective in
E) is not applicable in
Answer:
Jenna is at a panel interview where Ms. Taylor, a Senior VP, is the panel member with
the highest position in the company. Jenna is asked a question by Mr. Burton, another
panel member. When answering Jenna should ________.
A) make and maintain eye contact with Mr. Burton throughout her entire response
B) make and maintain eye contact with Ms. Taylor throughout her entire response
C) make eye contact with Mr. Burton, then make and maintain eye contact with Ms.
Taylor throughout the rest of the response
D) make eye contact with Ms. Taylor, then make and maintain eye contact with Mr.
Burton throughout the rest of the response
E) make eye contact with Mr. Burton, balance eye contact with the rest of the panel
during her response, and end by returning her eyes to Mr. Burton
Answer:
Which of the following would be an appropriate bullet point describing your work
study experience on your college campus?
A) Worked in the media relations office for the university
B) Typing, filing, and other miscellaneous general office duties
C) Tracked coverage of the university in print, online newsletters, and social
networking media
D) Press releases, web updates, social media
E) Writing, editing, proofing
Answer:
Which of the following medium options is recommended both for targeting a personal
appeal to an individual and for communicating with large audiences?
A) email
B) memo
C) telephone
D) group meeting
E) website
Answer:
Which of the following is an acceptable way to ease the impact of bad news?
A) using the active voice
B) putting the bad news ahead of the explanation
C) avoiding the passive voice
D) surrounding the bad news by two subordinate clauses
E) avoiding clear phrasing
Answer:
At your company, a number of routine office tasks are loosely shared among entry-level
employees, who perform these duties in addition to their specific job descriptions. This
often results in tasks being done late, poorly, or not at all. You suggest to your boss that
outsourcing this work might be a good idea. He is interested and asks you to research
and recommend a service provider.
In this case, which of the following is the best example of a primary source?
A) the website of an outsourcing service provider that you are considering
B) a Wikipedia article about the popularity of outsourcing
C) a journal article about the impact of outsourcing on a company’s bottom line
D) a research report discussing the effects of outsourcing on the overall economy
E) a textbook chapter about the ethical implications of outsourcing
Answer:
If a report uses secondary research sources, then which of the following sections should
be included in the report to list the secondary sources?
A) glossary
B) executive summary
C) reference
D) title page
E) table of content
Answer:
You are researching solutions for a problem that you are facing in your organization and
it appears that the in-depth research that you want has not already been done. In this
situation ________.
A) shutting down the research project is your only choice
B) performing tertiary research is required
C) composing a survey to elicit this information yourself is an option
D) interviewing experts in the field is not an appropriate choice
E) conducting secondary research is highly recommended
Answer:
Which of the following terms best represents the way you would like your audience to
respond to your message?
A) purpose
B) audience need
C) desired outcome
D) business result
E) potential resistance
Answer:
Collaboration ________.
A) usually leads to relational conflicts
B) ensures buy-in from all parties
C) is a good way to achieve workable solutions under time pressure
D) results in an “I win, you lose” outcome
E) usually results in a lose-lose situation
Answer:
Long formal reports provide previews in multiple ways which include all of the
following EXCEPT ________.
A) executive summaries
B) abstracts
C) tables of contents
D) appendices
E) introductions
Answer:
Which of the following is LEAST likely to trigger an emotional response?
A) No one around here ever listens to me.
B) I never feel that you hear what I am saying.
C) You always have to get the last word in.
D) I don’t feel as though my concerns are being heard.
E) Why don’t you ever let me speak?
Answer:
Which of the following is acceptable to do on your résumé?
A) including your major GPA with the correct label
B) rounding up your GPA
C) changing dates of employment
D) increasing previous salary amounts
E) inflating previous job titles
Answer:
Searching articles in online databases like Lexis-Nexis and Ebsco Business Source
Premier ________.
A) bears little resemblance to searching the web
B) is possible only if you personally purchase a subscription
C) allows you to search more sources, though most are less reliable than general web
pages
D) lets you specify that you only want articles that are peer reviewed
E) gives you access to article abstracts but never the full texts of the articles themselves
Answer: