Which of the following is a demonstrative pronoun?
A) He
B) This
C) Who
D) Anyone
E) We
Answer:
The preferred title for women in business is ________, unless the individual requests
otherwise.
A) Mrs.
B) Miss
C) Ms.
D) Madam
E) Mme.
Answer:
Longer speeches and presentations are organized like
A) reports.
B) memos.
C) letters.
D) email messages.
E) none of the above.
Answer:
The best email address to include on a résumé is
A) the one you have through your current employer.
B) a free personal address from one of the many services that offer them.
C) one that creatively includes the name of the company to which you are applying.
D) none—that way employers will be forced to call you.
E) one that includes numbers only, since this will help protect your privacy.
Answer:
The default margin setting for most word processing software is ________, with the left
margin aligned vertically and a ________ margin on the right.
A) ragged-left, flush
B) justified, ragged
C) ragged-right, flush
D) flush-right, justified
E) flush-left, ragged
Answer:
One task in effective paraphrasing is to
A) avoid using any business language or jargon.
B) check your version against the original to make sure that you didn’t alter the
meaning.
C) make sure your version is the same length as or longer than the original.
D) write in the passive voice.
E) do all of the above.
Answer:
Refusing to write a recommendation letter
A) should be avoided at all costs.
B) is unnecessary, since you can simply “forget” to write one if you decide against it.
C) is unethical, even if you have misgivings about the candidate.
D) is more risky than writing a negative letter.
E) is the best option if a candidate has serious shortcomings.
Answer:
When you have covered all the main points in your speech, you should
A) make sure your concluding remarks are memorable and expressed in a tone that is
appropriate to the situation.
B) wrap up as quickly as possible.
C) avoid using such phrases as “To sum it all up” and “In conclusion.”
D) keep it simple with a statement such as, “Well, I guess that’s it.”
E) be careful not to repeat any of them.
Answer:
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.
E) is an expensive scan-and-save system for converting paper documents to electronic
files.
Answer:
Taking the time to outline your points as you prepare business messages
A) will save you time in the long run and lead to better results.
B) is feasible only when you are working on long reports—otherwise it is a waste of
valuable time.
C) is a sign that your writing skills are weak, since good writers work from mental
outlines only.
D) eliminates the creative spontaneity you need to create dynamic messages.
E) generally causes undue confusion, since you may not know exactly what you want to
say.
Answer:
Four important design elements to consider when creating slides include all of the
following except
A) choosing color.
B) selecting background designs.
C) writing content.
D) selecting fonts and type styles.
E) choosing artwork.
Answer:
Which of the following possessive phrases is not correct?
A) A year’s recommendations
B) Two years’ recommendations
C) Its recommendations
D) His recommendations
E) It’s recommendations
Answer:
In the second stage of interviews, your best approach is to
A) stick to brief yes and no answers to the interview questions.
B) relate your training and experience to the organization’s needs.
C) inquire about salary and benefits.
D) press for an immediate decision on whether or not to hire you.
E) do all the above.
Answer:
Clip art cluttering a bar chart is an example of
A) a pictogram.
B) chartjunk.
C) a good way to grab reader interest.
D) a pictograph.
E) all of the above.
Answer:
Making generous use of descriptive labels, subheads, and other similar devices on a
website
A) confuses and frustrates online readers.
B) helps online readers get oriented to your website.
C) is fine for amateurs, but professional web designers avoid it.
D) is unnecessary if your primary audience is made up of English speakers.
E) none of the above.
Answer:
If you are a smoker and are going to a job interview,
A) ask the interviewer politely if you can smoke.
B) smoke only if the interviewer smokes.
C) refrain from smoking before and during the interview.
D) smoke just prior to the interview to calm yourself.
E) call ahead and ask about whether or not smoking is allowed in the building.
Answer:
Justified type is type that is
A) set flush on the left and flush on the right.
B) centered.
C) set flush left and ragged on the right.
D) set flush right and ragged on the left.
E) none of the above
Answer:
The receiver extracts the idea from the message in the ________ step of the
communication process.
A) decoding
B) interpreting
C) uncovering
D) deciphering
E) extrapolating
Answer:
The primary difference between constructive feedback and destructive feedback is
A) constructive feedback is focused on the people involved.
B) destructive feedback is focused on the process and outcomes of communication.
C) constructive feedback can hurt people’s feelings.
D) destructive feedback delivers criticism with no guidance for improvement.
E) constructive feedback includes a threat of consequences for failure.
Answer:
When rejecting a request because of company policy, you should
A) simply cite the policy as the reason for your decision.
B) be sure to include a copy of the policy with your rejection.
C) explain the policy so the audience can try to meet the requirements later.
D) say that violating the policy will get you into serious trouble.
E) admit that you think the policy is unfair, but you have to follow it anyway.
Answer:
If price is one of your strong selling points, you should
A) mention special offers, such as volume discounts, before actually stating the price.
B) compare the price to the cost of some other product or activity (“This exercise
equipment costs less than a health club membership”).
C) break the total price into smaller units (“Just six easy payments of $19.95 each will
bring you this lovely collector’s item”).
D) give it a position of prominence, such as in the headline or as the last item in a
paragraph.
E) not overemphasize it, since you might need to fall back on it later.
Answer:
Which of the following is not a general purpose common to business communication?
A) To inform
B) To persuade
C) To negotiate
D) To entertain
E) All of the above are common general purposes.
Answer:
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.
E) send a follow-up message, but explain that you just received the information.
Answer:
In business messages, using phrases such as, “We trust that this will resolve the issue”
A) requires care, since it can take away from the writer’s credibility.
B) is a good way to show your modesty.
C) displays common courtesy.
D) is acceptable for very formal contexts.
E) is generally ineffective unless a potential sale is involved.
Answer:
The first phase that a new team typically goes through is
A) conflict.
B) reinforcement.
C) orientation.
D) brainstorming.
E) intensification.
Answer:
“Latest Investment Performance” is an example of a message topic, whereas “Poor
Investment Performance Continues” is an example of a main idea.
Answer:
“Now that we’ve reviewed the problem, let’s take a look at some solutions” is an
example of
A) a poor transition.
B) a good transition between major sections of a speech.
C) a small link between sentences or paragraphs in a speech.
D) the kind of wording that should never appear in a speech.
E) a redundancy.
Answer:
To avoid being accused of defamation, you should
A) refuse to communicate with unhappy clients.
B) make it clear to disgruntled customers that you refuse to be intimidated.
C) refrain from using any kind of abusive language.
D) frequently refer to company policy.
E) make frequent use of hedging words such as ‘seems” and “appears.”
Answer:
When rejecting a job applicant, you can soften the blow by
A) expressing appreciation for his or her application.
B) mentioning the qualifications of the person who was hired.
C) telling the applicant how many others he or she was competing against.
D) apologizing for wasting the person’s time.
E) stating that the economy has made it hard for all job-seekers.
Answer:
Boldface, italic, underlining, and color are all examples of
A) typefaces.
B) fonts.
C) justification.
D) type styles.
E) none of the above
Answer: