Before doing in-depth research to explore your research questions, it is important to
understand your general topic.
Answer:
While appearing for an interview, women should avoid ornate hair clasps or barrettes.
Answer:
When you follow up after a career fair, you can attach your résumé as a PDF to the
thank-you email you send to recruiters.
Answer:
A recommendation report is an example of an informational report.
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Evaluating your performance after an interview can better prepare you for your next
interview.
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When composing a simple message, writing more than one draft is a waste of time.
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Employers cite dressing inappropriately as one of the biggest mistake job applicants
make in interviews.
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Reducing your audience’s resistance to the sales message is not important in solicited
sales communication.
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After composing a bad-news message, analyze the situation by asking yourself about
the goal of your message, the audience, content, organization, and medium.
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Most persuasive business arguments involve establishing a problem or need, focusing
on benefits, and anticipating objections.
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Tone of voice is not considered a form of nonverbal communication.
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Content marketing means publishing content that audiences will value.
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Business reports often rely on numbers, and data graphics are the best tools for
communicating these numbers.
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While applying for a job, when possible, mail your documents in a large mailing
envelope rather than folding them into a standard envelope.
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When writing routine requests you should not adopt a “you” perspective.
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If you want to give your coworker time to consider your request carefully before
responding, one-on-one meeting is the best medium for communicating your message.
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Learning how difficult it will be for users to learn a new software program by watching
them perform tasks on it and noting any issues that need to be addressed, is an example
of observational research.
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Most day-to-day business reports are less than five pages long.
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Text messages lack nonverbal qualities that are important in most face-to-face
communication.
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In visual aid presentations, the speaker’s words carry the main story of the presentation
and the slides primarily provide illustration and backup.
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Most routine business communication benefits from an indirect organizational plan
which involves placing the main idea after the supporting details.
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Keeping your purpose and desired outcome in mind as you write your message helps
you evaluate whether your content supports your goal.
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Unlike other persuasive communication, a proposal does not require in-depth analysis.
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Effective business communicators have a competitive edge in the job market.
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Your goal at an interview is not to express your personality through clothing and
accessories but to dress in a way that allows people to focus on what you say.
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If you feel that a face-to-face meeting is the appropriate way to deliver your bad-news
message but it is too difficult to arrange logistically, a telephone call is a good
alternative that still allows for personal contact.
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The details of a proposal must always prove two things: that the plan is feasible and that
you are credible.
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While creating a presentation, you should use highly ornate dingbats and arrows as
bullets.
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When writing grant proposals, it is a good idea to identify a funding agency that is a
good match with the project you are trying to fund.
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A webinar is a web-based seminar that is broadcast over the Internet.
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Someone in a low-context culture would most likely say “no” directly.
Answer:
While instant messaging is increasingly used by businesses, it causes a decline in
productivity because of frequent interruptions that can’t be prevented.
Answer:
Avoiding a conflict instead of addressing it ________.
A) is never a good choice
B) is a poor choice if you think you have no chance of resolving the conflict to your
satisfaction
C) should not be done if it interferes with productivity
D) usually results in a win-win situation
E) tends to lead to the conflict improving on its own
Answer:
Which of the following is most likely to be included in the title page?
A) the suggested solutions
B) name of the recipient of the proposal
C) important implementation details
D) a project management plan and timetable
E) total project budget
Answer:
________ researchconsists of information other people have collected.
A) Primary
B) Exploratory
C) Secondary
D) Integrated
E) Tertiary
Answer:
Which of the following terms best describes web-based applications designed to
promote interactions among people?
A) cookie
B) social media
C) filter
D) firewall
E) router
Answer:
Which of the following is NOT an example of a denial message?
A) informing a host that you cannot attend her charity event
B) letting a colleague know that you cannot help with a project
C) alerting your employer that you cannot find any problems in the proposal he had you
review
D) telling a customer that you cannot refund her purchase
E) communicating that you cannot switch vacation days with your coworker
Answer:
Which of the following terms best represents a culture that values punctuality and
efficiency?
A) high-context culture
B) polychronic culture
C) collectivist culture
D) low-context culture
E) monochronic culture
Answer:
Which of the following can soften the bad news when denying a customer request?
A) making the customer feel guilty about requesting
B) stating that such requests in the future will not be entertained
C) stating that company policy prohibits the request
D) offering an alternative solution to the customer’s request
E) asking the customer to read the service guidelines before sending a request in the
future
Answer:
Career fairs ________.
A) occur when recruiters come to conduct on-campus interviews at a school
B) give you a limited amount of time to impress recruiters
C) don’t require you to wear professional clothing
D) are best visited later in the day, after recruiters have finished meeting most of the job
seekers
E) are an opportunity to answer questions, not ask them
Answer:
Violations of logic ________.
A) are also called default logic
B) are honest if used intentionally
C) are rarely considered to be misleading.
D) are unavoidable and are an accepted part of ethical persuasion
E) should be recognized to ensure that you are not persuaded by unsound ideas
Answer:
Which of the following questions is used for background research of your topic?
A) Who is the primary audience?
B) Who else might be affected by this problem or decision?
C) What sources will your audience expect you to consult?
D) What questions will your audience expect you to answer when you present the
research?
E) When and why did my research topic first develop?
Answer:
Which of the following examples includes redundancies?
A) past experience
B) unprecedented progress
C) considerable change
D) adverse effect
E) pleasant surprise
Answer:
Understanding the need your proposal meets and how to meet that need is involved in
the first step of preparing a proposal, defining its ________.
A) content
B) context
C) purpose
D) format
E) medium
Answer:
As a conflict management technique, accommodating ________.
A) is a poor choice if you decide that your position was wrong
B) is usually the best choice when you care deeply about the result
C) should never be used as a conflict management strategy
D) makes sense when the relationship is more important than the outcome of the issue
E) involves denying that the problem exists, screening phone calls, or even avoiding the
person completely
Answer:
You work for Say Cheese!, an online digital photo developing service, that also sells
specialty photo products. You receive an email from a customer who entered a coupon
code when placing her recent order, but didn’t receive the 15% discount it promised. In
researching the claim, you find that the coupon was for orders with merchandise worth
$50 or more. The customer’s merchandise was worth only $47. But since she is a
customer who has ordered from Say Cheese! before, you decide to grant her claim to
receive the 15% discount on her order.
Which of the following statements would be inappropriate to end this message?
A) Thank you for choosing Say Cheese! for your photographic needs.
B) Remember that Say Cheese! made this exception for you the next time you have
photo needs.
C) We at Say Cheese! thank you for this order and for your continued business.
D) Thank you for shopping at Say Cheese!, where customer satisfaction is the number
one priority.
E) We value your loyalty at Say Cheese! and hope to do business with you again.
Answer:
If you are involved in an affective conflict, you should ________.
A) choose to avoid a confrontation and deny that the problem exists
B) address the emotional issues before productively discussing the content of your work
C) use accusatory rather than neutral language to resolve the conflict
D) compete to win as a means of managing the conflict
E) frame your comments negatively while expressing your point of view
Answer:
For a business communicator, style ________.
A) refers to how you express yourself
B) is the content you express
C) pertains to what you don’t say
D) doesn’t impact the tone of the message
E) is irrelevant
Answer:
________ arrange data in columns and rows, allowing you to read down or across to
see different relationships.
A) Pie charts
B) Tables
C) Histograms
D) Line graphs
E) Bar charts
Answer:
You are assembling a team for a new project and need to select four more members.
You have it narrowed down to five candidates, and write down each of their names and
the reason you want to include them on your team. Which of the following members is
the LEAST compelling choice for your team?
A) Marjorie: She is very interested and motivated to work on this project.
B) Alberto: He has the technical expertise I lack.
C) Coleman: He has experience on this kind of project.
D) Gavin: He and I have worked together effectively in the past.
E) Rita: She’s my friend and I’d like to spend more time with her.
Answer:
Your boss asks you to create a proposal for an upcoming staff meeting which is going to
be held after a month and estimates that you should devote about 15 hours to writing it.
Spending one or two hours each day writing ________.
A) is an inefficient way to work
B) will not allow you to complete the proposal on time
C) is less effective than spending the two full workdays before the meeting in getting it
done
D) allows you to have a fresh perspective each day and work more constructively
E) is more taxing and stressful than writing for an extended period
Answer:
In today’s team-based businesses, which of the following is most likely to be the result
of collaboration?
A) It creates a situation where fewer ideas are generated.
B) It creates a situation where you may need to accommodate more ideas than you
decline.
C) It creates a situation where fewer ideas are needed because most of the information
can be obtained from the Internet.
D) It creates a situation where you may need to reject more ideas than you accept.
E) It creates a situation where people are reluctant to come up with creative ideas.
Answer:
Jennie is sending unsolicited sales proposals to several local vendors regarding her
company’s marketing services. Jennie’s goal in sending these proposals is that these
vendors should ________.
A) authorize the attached contracts
B) inform her about the amount of money they are currently spending on marketing
services
C) tell her who currently provides marketing services to them
D) file away her information for future reference
E) arrange a meeting with her or call her for further discussion
Answer:
Monster and HotJobs are examples of ________.
A) college career centers
B) professional organizations focused on academic disciplines
C) social networking outlets
D) job banks
E) personal networks
Answer:
While riding down in the elevator with your boss at the end of the day, you mention an
idea that gets her interested. She suggests meeting the next afternoon to discuss it
further. To confirm this meeting, ________.
A) you should email your boss that night, confirming your appointment for tomorrow
B) you should try to find your boss at the office in the morning to remind her about
your meeting
C) you should assume that your boss will put the meeting in her calendar, so no further
action on your part is necessary
D) you should wait for your boss to email you confirming the meeting
E) if your boss forgets to call you for the meeting, you should wait for two days and
then talk to her again about the meeting
Answer:
Which of the following terms best describes a report produced by a company or
organization to educate readers about a complex business issue, product, or technology?
A) memo
B) circular
C) codicil
D) white paper
E) affidavit
Answer:
Slides in a report deck ________.
A) should each communicate a clear and complete point
B) have less text on them than a traditional presentation slide
C) include headlines with periods at the end
D) should not use graphics
E) include headlines that are centered and have every word capitalized
Answer:
A U.S. company and an Indian company are working together on a technology venture.
A meeting is scheduled for Monday so that a prototype of the new system can be
demonstrated. Unfortunately the prototype may not be completed by then.
One of the Indian employees working on the project is asked whether or not the
prototype will be ready for the meeting. Which of the following is most likely to be the
way in which this employee would deliver the bad-news message?
A) There is a good chance that the prototype will not be ready.
B) We have been working late all week to get it done.
C) The process has been more difficult than anticipated, so it will not be quite finished.
D) Although the prototype is not yet ready, if we can delay the demo until Wednesday
the prototype will be fully functional.
E) While it will not be complete by Monday, we can demonstrate some aspects of the
prototype at the meeting.
Answer:
In the workplace context, the adage, “We like those most who are most like us,” means
that most of us prefer to ________.
A) work with people whose styles resemble our own
B) work with people whose approaches contrast with our own
C) avoid working with people who are similar to us
D) avoid working with people whose styles are within our comfort zones
E) work with people whose strengths differ from but balance with our own
Answer:
In which of the following is an oral communication method required?
A) writing news articles
B) updating Facebook status
C) participating in teleconferences
D) updating wikis
E) Tweeting
Answer:
Which of the following types of communication typically requires persuasion to
influence and motivate the audience?
A) handling routine customer claims
B) designing work schedules
C) preparing sales reports
D) writing job application letters
E) writing for-your-information messages
Answer:
You have completed a research project and have come up with some interesting and
persuasive content. Although your ideas are spot-on, the format of your final report is
difficult to read and a little confusing. This ________.
A) is problematic, as it will undermine your credibility
B) communicates to your audience, at a glance, that you are professional
C) is irrelevant, as the strength of your content will shine through
D) won’t affect the reception of your report, as formatting is only a very minor issue
E) is unfortunate, but cannot significantly affect the impact of your report
Answer:
Which of the following statements is NOT true regarding confirmation messages?
A) A confirmation is unnecessary if you make an oral agreement.
B) A confirmation is a message acknowledging that you have received information.
C) A confirmation is a message checking that you have understood information
correctly.
D) A confirmation in writing is a good idea if you made an agreement over the
telephone.
E) A confirmation in writing is a good practice for oral agreements.
Answer:
Which of the following statements phrases this bad news most clearly?
A) It is unfortunate that the damage is due to operator error; please see the enclosed list
of repair shops.
B) Warranty information makes it clear which types of situations are covered by
warranty and which are excluded; the following repair shops would be able to assist
you.
C) The warranty for this product excludes the situation you describe; we advise that you
contact one of the repair shops listed below if you wish to pursue these repairs yourself.
D) We wish that the terms of your warranty could cover issues like the one you
experienced; a repair can be easily arranged by contacting one of the following repair
shops.
E) Some instances of damage are covered by the warranty, while others are the
responsibility of the owner; if you really want the laptop repaired contact one of these
repair shops.
Answer:
You run a branch of a very technologically savvy real estate agency in a large city. The
company employs a powerful database to enable realtors to pinpoint the properties that
most accurately meet their clients’ specifications. Realtors currently consult the
database with clients in the office, to create a list of desirable properties to view. But
you think it would be even more effective and lead to quicker transactions if realtors
could access the database outside the office with clients. After some research you find
that the purchase of iPads for the realtors would make this possible.
Describe the proposal you would write in this situation.
Answer:
Why is using general search engines not as easy as it seems?
Answer:
Give some examples of situations in which the indirect approach would be favored over
the direct approach.
Answer:
Discuss how to build your reference list as you progress with your research.
Answer:
Delphine is newly graduated from college and begins working at a company where
instant messaging (IM) is a major form of communication. She is very familiar with
instant messaging as a means of social communication, so she feels that she will be
proficient in this aspect of the job without any training or guidelines. Delphine is also
pleased that she will be able to joke and exchange personal messages with her new
coworkers, while appearing to be hard at work. She signs on with her current username,
“DidiOfftheHook,” and sends an IM to the funny guy she met at orientation yesterday.
What advice would you offer Delphine regarding IM use in a business context?
Answer:
Discuss the advantages of appropriate documentation.
Answer:
You are crafting a message to grab your audience’s attention about SecureYourself, an
identify theft protection service. Give an example of a startling fact, a
thought-provoking story, and a motivating question that could grab your audience’s
attention about this service.
Answer:
Carol is trying to persuade her boss to let her take a training course. She says that her
friend took a similar course and her sales increased by 25%, so it’s likely that anyone
who takes the course will accomplish the same increase. Discuss why or why not this is
a logical argument to include in Carol’s message.
Answer:
Discuss the ethics of the blind carbon copy (bcc) feature in email.
Answer:
Your company plans to increase the monthly fees it charges to its clients, starting in
September. You are drafting a letter to mail to your clients, to inform them of this
increase and hopefully persuade them to keep their businesses with you.
You point out that this increase will allow the company to offer clients additional
benefits and 24-hour service. In researching competitor claims, you find that no other
competitor offers all the services your company does for the same price. After you draft
your message but before you send it you see that a rival company is running a
promotion to take advantage of the opportunity to attract some of your customers away,
by dropping its price, making its fee actually a little lower than yours for the same
services. Discuss how this information impacts your message.
Answer:
Describe a business situation in which passive listening could lead to a costly mistake.
Answer:
Your employee Jeremy is very creative and has offered some very insightful analysis
this past year. At the annual review, though, you will need to share some constructive
criticism with him. He is prone to missing deadlines and often turns in work with typos
and grammatical errors. Frame these negative comments positively.
Answer:
Describe the “headline test” in the context of professional business communication.
Answer:
Alex thinks that a mistake or two on a résumé is not such a big deal. Discuss whether or
not you agree with him.
Answer:
Evaluate the statement “I know that you will want to contact me for this position” as the
closing to a cover letter.
Answer:
Give three examples of types of reports and the appropriate mediums in which to send
them.
Answer: