Relational conflicts ________.
A) will simply go away if you ignore them
B) may be a nuisance but have no real business costs
C) have caused employees to reduce their commitment to the job
D) can only be solved by using accusatory rather than neutral language
E) cannot be helped by mediation or intervention from supervisors
Answer:
Dara just finished her interview. While she feels that she did a good job overall, she
thinks that she may have made a mistake when she was introduced to the panel. Which
of Dara’s actions is most likely to be problematic?
A) Dara used people’s names when she met them to personalize the conversation.
B) Dara referred to people by their last names until they indicated their first names.
C) Dara shook hands with just the key decision makers on the panel.
D) Dara shook hands with a firm, solid grip.
E) Dara helped herself remember people’s names by using them when she met them.
Answer:
Galaxy Foods, a large manufacturer of snack products, learns that some of the items it
labels as nut-free may actually have been contaminated by tree nuts. A press release
expressing this news needs to be drafted, and the PR department decides to use the
indirect organizational plan. This plan ________.
A) is a good idea under the circumstances, as it will soften the impact of the bad news
B) is a strategic and forward-thinking move, to preserve the positive image of the
company
C) is inappropriate, as it runs the risk of obscuring the bad news that could endanger
people’s health
D) is not the best decision as it will immediately alert the audience to the seriousness of
the bad news
E) will ensure that while the audience may be surprised by the bad news, it will not be
upset
Answer:
Which of the following is true regarding business research?
A) Business research shouldn’t follow a structured process.
B) The biggest challenge in business research is starting with a general topic and
developing a research question.
C) Understanding what you are looking for and where to look for it will benefit you in
business research.
D) The credibility of your information source is unimportant in business research.
E) Unlike academic research, business research does not require you to conduct
background research before you actually start exploring your specific question.
Answer:
Ryan, a recent college graduate, possesses exemplary written and oral communication
skills. He has always received top marks in the papers he wrote as part of his course
work, and was also a successful member of the school debate team.
In terms of his career, Ryan’s communication skills ________.
A) will neither help him find a job nor help him keep it
B) won’t make any difference in his salary potential
C) will be perceived as important by his employers, but they cannot be translated into
savings for his company
D) will make him a valuable employee
E) may have a positive impact on his professional life, but will have a negative impact
on his personal life
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 research project, who is your primary audience?
A) your company’s entry-level employees
B) your boss
C) your company’s owners
D) the outsourcing service providers
E) yourself
Answer:
Which of the following circumstances lends itself to the direct organization method?
A) informing your client that you have technical issues that are hampering the project
B) giving your client the statistics showing the workload on your team and asking for a
later deadline
C) telling your client that you are running behind schedule
D) sending your client a recommendation from another customer
E) informing the client about the attrition resulting in slow work
Answer:
Jasper is going to make a presentation to a large audience in a large room. He wants to
encourage his audience to look and listen carefully, and also wants an electronic record
of the material.
Which of the following mediums would be appropriate for Jasper’s presentation?
A) podcasts
B) flipcharts
C) props
D) slides
E) document cameras
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.
You mention that those who complete five hours of testing will earn an Amazon.com
gift certificate. This is an example of a(n) ________ benefit.
A) internal
B) secondary
C) peripheral
D) superficial
E) external
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.
Identify your primary audience, and your analysis of their concerns and needs.
Answer:
In the context of doing business with people from other cultures, effective
communicators ________.
A) memorize a list of cultural difference between countries
B) are ready to adapt to different cultural needs
C) ignore cultural differences and treat everyone equally
D) treat others as they would like to be treated
E) follow exclusively the communication conventions of their own culture
Answer:
Doing background research on your topic ________.
A) is not advised for business research
B) should not include information about your topic’s history
C) is vital, since you are required to include it in your final presentation
D) can help you structure your research
E) is only necessary for academic research
Answer:
Rereading the entire document from the audience’s perspective ________.
A) is best done as the final step in the revising process
B) leads to writer’s block
C) helps you identify audience benefits that you forgot to include
D) is an inefficient revising technique
E) is only recommended if you have extra time
Answer:
You need to write a letter to a customer denying a claim, as the customer is responsible
for the problem that she is asking you to fix. In this situation, ________.
A) the direct approach is best to buffer the bad news
B) the direct approach is preferred so that you get right to the point without introductory
pleasantries
C) the indirect approach alleviates the need to phrase the bad news tactfully
D) the indirect approach can provide introductory information so it can be understood
by the reader
E) you should always take responsibility for the claim even if you are not to blame in
order to maintain the customer’s goodwill
Answer:
In a high-context culture ________.
A) direct conversation is the norm
B) people tend to get right to the point
C) people use unambiguous language to communicate
D) people rely on subtle cues
E) people use explicit language to communicate a message
Answer:
During his job search Matt is invited for an interview at a company several hours away
from where he currently resides. The job opportunity sounds interesting, but he is not
sure that he would be willing to relocate. He should ________.
A) decline the interview since accepting it will require him to take the job if it is offered
B) decline the interview since it is a waste of time if he is unsure about relocating
C) agree to the interview since one should never decline an invitation to interview
D) decline the interview because it will be unethical to appear for the interview when he
is not sure about whether he would take the job
E) agree to the interview since it will enable him to see the area and learn more about
the job
Answer:
Max is going to make a presentation to his boss regarding a flex-time schedule. Max
knows that his boss does not accept arguments based solely on employee happiness or
satisfaction.
Which of the following would be the best approach for Max?
A) During the presentation, Max should stress that in a recent company survey, the
majority of employees were found to be in favor of a flex-time schedule.
B) During the presentation, Max should emphasize that work/life balance is one of the
biggest issues facing corporate America today.
C) During the presentation, Max should relate anecdotal evidence from other
companies that have implemented a flex-time schedule, showing how it has improved
the lives of several individual employees.
D) During the presentation, Max should provide research which shows that flex-time
scheduling is directly related to increased productivity and decreased employee
turnover.
E) During the presentation, Max should give personal testimony as to how much it
would improve Max’s life if the flex-time schedule were to be implemented.
Answer:
An expression of gratitude ________.
A) is the only element you should include in the closing of a request
B) is nice but not necessary at the end of short requests
C) should never be just a simple “thanks”
D) must always be an elaborate and effusive declaration
E) is typically included at the end of the request
Answer:
Which of the following statements about technology is true?
A) Technology increases the distance between communicators.
B) Technology allows an immediate exchange of information across miles and time
zones.
C) Technology does not change very rapidly.
D) Technology is not prey to pitfalls so it eliminates the risk of failed communication.
E) Technology does not allow people to share documents instantaneously.
Answer:
Which of the following is a consistent design principle that applies to all medium
options?
A) Start with a purpose-driven introduction.
B) Break the message into big chunks.
C) Avoid the use of words such as “first” and ‘second,” that signal shifts in content.
D) Do not use parallel bullet lists.
E) Begin each paragraph right away without a topic sentence.
Answer:
Which of the following does composing involve?
A) proofreading
B) revision
C) organizing the content
D) determining the purpose of the message
E) rereading the entire document from the audience’s perspective
Answer:
Which of the following best articulates the business result of this message?
A) to suggest the possibility of implementing a flex-time schedule in your office
B) to describe to your boss how your life would change with a flex-time schedule
C) to tell your boss how much your friend likes having a flex-time schedule
D) to improve employee productivity and job satisfaction by better enabling employees
to balance their work and personal lives
E) to have your boss agree to implement a more flexible working schedule for
employees
Answer:
If you perform a search using both of the following phrases, “health insurance plans”
and “freelance workers,” the search engine will ________.
A) give you those sites that include either exact phrase
B) only give you those sites that include both phrases
C) give you those sites that include any of these five words anywhere on a page
D) give you those sites that include at least two of these five words anywhere on the
page
E) only give you those sites that include the first phrase and exclude the second
Answer:
The term ________ refers to the supplemental information provided in a proposal. It
often includes examples of past projects, client testimonials, and technical
specifications.
A) overview
B) introduction
C) references
D) executive summary
E) appendices
Answer:
A good communicator ________.
A) must know all technologies
B) knows that all technology choices can be used interchangeably
C) understands that social media are inappropriate for business communication
D) thinks about the implications of technology options and uses his or her choices
wisely
E) avoids trendy new technology choices in favor of tried and true methods like phone
calls, memos, and face-to-face meetings
Answer:
Which of the following statements is incorrect?
A) An announcement email will be delivered to just one or two people.
B) An announcement email is usually a one-way, informational communication.
C) An announcement email should be organized so it is easy to skim.
D) An announcement email will go to a broad audience.
E) An announcement email rarely requires a response.
Answer:
Which of the following statements best phrases a negative comment positively?
A) You don’t have an eye for detail, but you really do have a great sense of the big
picture.
B) You do a good job at visualizing the big picture, and you’d be even more effective if
you improved your attention to detail.
C) I don’t know anyone better than you at seeing the big picture, but you could really
stand to improve your attention to detail.
D) You need to improve your attention to detail, but you’re already wonderful at seeing
the big picture.
E) Please don’t take this the wrong way, but you’d be more effective if you pay more
attention to detail.
Answer:
Ella receives an email from her coworker Maduca in Japan. Maduca tells Ella that she
will not be able to visit her in the U.S. offices as she had hoped to, and includes an
emoticon to express her sadness. Which of the following emoticons did Maduca most
likely use in her email?
A) (;_;)
B) :-(
C) o.o
D) :-0
E) *o*
Answer:
“If I get this information from you today, I will be able to finish my report by Friday
and not have to work over the weekend.”
Consider the statement above. Which of the following choices best revises this
statement to reflect a “you” perspective?
A) If you give me this information today, I will be able to finish my report by Friday
and not have to work over the weekend.
B) You need to give me this information today so that I won’t have to work over the
weekend to have my report ready for you by Monday.
C) Please give me this information today so that I can finish my report by Friday and be
able to start the week with a clean slate.
D) Will you please give me this information today, so that my report will be ready for
you to use at your Monday meeting?
E) I’d appreciate it if you could give me this information today so that I can complete
my report.
Answer:
Which of the following must be avoided when responding to multiple questions?
A) Most answers to questions benefit from a direct organization.
B) In case of multiple questions, list answers to questions in order of their importance,
not their order in the original message.
C) Build goodwill by opening the message with a positive response.
D) If your response is not controversial, begin with a direct answer.
E) You should end your message with a friendly closing and contact information, if
applicable.
Answer:
Bethany received a job offer from Company A, and they expect her response before she
will have had her interview at Company B. Which of the following must be avoided by
Bethany?
A) telling Company A that she is grateful for the offer but would like to complete all her
interviews so she can make an informed decision about her career options
B) acknowledging that time is money and any delays negatively affect the employer’s
ability to fill the vacancy in a timely manner
C) accepting an offer and casually declining it in a few days if she gets an offer she
finds more appealing from Company B
D) being honest with Company A about her situation and asking for more time to
complete her interviews, being careful not to suggest that Company A’s offer is not her
first choice
E) making a decision about Company A’s job offer based on the merits of the offer
alone, asking for advice from your professional network if need be
Answer:
Padma, an avid home cook, has no culinary training or experience in professional
kitchens. After dining at her house one evening, her friend Tom is so impressed by her
cooking that he gives Padma the opportunity to work in the restaurant he manages.
Padma is asked if she knows how to make a red wine reduction. Padma looks down at
her feet, quietly mumbles ‘sure,” and starts wringing her hands. When the job of making
the red wine reduction is assigned to someone else Padma is confused, as she had
answered affirmatively that she knew how to do it. Which of the following is the best
explanation of what happened here?
A) A psychological barrier has obstructed communication; by mumbling her reply
Padma is signaling that she is offended by the request.
B) A semantic barrier has occurred; since Padma answered ‘sure” instead of “yes” her
answer was confusing.
C) A language barrier has obstructed communication; Padma should have said “yes” in
several different languages to ensure that she was understood.
D) A physiological barrier has obstructed communication; by wringing her hands
Padma has given the impression that they hurt and that she cannot perform the task.
E) A mixed message has obstructed communication; Padma’s verbal and nonverbal
responses communicate different things.
Answer: