Some experts have estimated that the average business executive spends about 45
minutes out of every hour communicating.
Answer:
One strategy for buying time when you can’t think of an immediate answer to a
question is to reflect the question back to the audience.
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Having too many people fill a functional role while leaving other roles unfilled detracts
from effective group communication and function.
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Your boss tore a ligament in a weekend skiing accident. It would be appropriate to
show your personal concern by sending him the following Instant Message from your
work computer: “2 bad 4 u, that sux.”
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If you sound like you lack conviction, you probably won’t excite your listeners about
the topic.
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In the U.S., social class can have a major impact on how people communicate on the
job.
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One advantage to answering questions during a presentation is that it allows you to
respond immediately to objections made by audience members.
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When you are introducing a speaker, keep your introductory remarks quite brief.
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A comparative-advantages strategy is especially useful when the audience is
considering an idea that competes with the one you are advocating.
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The words “jerk”; “bimbo”; “idiot”; and ‘slob” are all examples of biased words.
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When your instructor hands out an assignment description that you will complete on
your own, this is an example of horizontal communication.
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In the Middle East, negative emotional expression is usually suppressed, because it is
so important to show harmony.
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It’s best to replace negative phrases such as “Not too much,” or “no big deal,” with
positive phrases such as “OK,” “Sure,” or “You’re welcome.”
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An organization’s culture can be described as the personality of the organization.
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If you are invited to a panel interview, you will be seated with a small group of
candidates for the same job, and you will all take turns answering the same questions.
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The attire you wear will not make any difference to the audience, as long as your
speech is well organized and well rehearsed.
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According to Steven Covey, if you are a highly effective person, you will place more
emphasis on understanding others than on making sure you are understood.
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Spatial and chronological organizational patterns are identical.
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If you accidentally utter a phrase that pulls someone’s trigger and causes them to have a
strong emotional reaction, your best response is to let them finish their emotional
outburst without interruption. Then you can try to patch up the problem by choosing a
more agreeable word and continuing the discussion.
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The Leader Member Exchange (LMX) theory posits that employees can make a
difference in the quality of relationships with their leaders by communicating in ways
that show they are willing and able to exceed expectations.
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If you agree to answer questions during your presentation instead of afterwards, you
forfeit your ability to control timing and the sequence of points.
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Quotations can be used as proof in some types of presentations, but they should not be
used in an informative business presentation.
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Supporting materials make your presentation more convincing.
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You can increase the clarity of your verbal messages by using high-level abstractions
instead of low-level abstractions.
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When two coworkers manage their own conflict without asking the boss to referee,
they are using horizontal communication.
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There are no documented differences between men’s and women’s use of language.
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Visuals should not be used to illustrate complicated statistics.
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According to parliamentary procedure, the term “motion” refers to a “yes” vote on a
proposal.
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An exit interview gathers information about why an employee has chosen to leave the
organization.
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The standard format for a presentation to a business audience in the U.S. or Europe is:
introduction – body – conclusion.
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Most of us can fit comfortably in any organizational culture, as long as we are earning
a good salary.
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A person who is new at interviewing would do best to follow an unstructured interview
plan.
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Expressing opinions on matters that aren’t one’s own business is considered to be a
communication trait of unpleasant co-workers.
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In almost all cases, meetings should be called to a close when the scheduled closing
time has arrived, even if some items on the agenda haven’t been discussed.
Answer:
Research suggests that swearing on the job
A. is expected in some settings.
B. should be avoided until you are familiar with the norms of the organization.
C. has been identified as the leading cause of employee termination.
D. All of these statements are supported by research.
Answer:
The ‘style approach” to studying leadership explored
A. the impact of a leader’s communication method on the group’s effectiveness.
B. inborn traits of leaders.
C. conditions that might require different types of leadership.
D. functional leadership.
Answer:
Rheanna knows she deserves a raise for her high-quality performance on the job.
However, she has heard that her new boss dislikes people with Texas accents. Since
Rheanna has a strong Texas accent, she decides to wait six months before she asks for a
raise. She hopes the boss will know her well enough by then so that he will pay
attention to her work instead of her accent. Which context has contributed most to
Rheanna’s decision to wait?
A. physical context
B. chronological context
C. social context
D. spatial context
Answer:
Which of the following factors was mentioned in your text as likely to increase the
ability of interview participants to think creatively?
A. sitting at a desk in the supervisor’s office
B. scheduling the interview just after an important meeting
C. sitting 40 inches apart
D. meeting away from the normal habitat of either participant
Answer:
Culture refers to all of the following except
A. inherited and innate characteristics.
B. sets of values, beliefs and norms.
C. learned behaviors shared by a group.
D. a set of shared interpretations that affect the behaviors of a relatively large group of
people.
Answer:
The statement: “Time is money, so it should be rationed carefully” reflects a
______________ orientation toward time.
A. monochronic
B. deictic
C. polychronic
D. costly
Answer:
Which of the following activities is NOT identified in your text as a recommendation
for conducting background research prior to an employment interview?
A. taking classes relevant to jobs that sound appealing to you
B. cold-calling companies to ask about openings
C. talking about jobs with people who can tell you more about your chosen field
D. doing Internet research on organizations you’re interested in
Answer:
During his employment interview, Chen was asked several times to describe challenges
he had encountered on his last job and to explain how he handled them. Chen was
experiencing a(n) ________ interview.
A. panel
B. audition
C. experiential
D. behavioral
Answer:
Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of an effective closing strategy for a
sales presentation?
A. Focus on closing the immediate sale, not on developing a long-term relationship
with clients.
B. Keep an optimistic attitude.
C. Assure the client that your product exceeds their needs.
D. Call for action from the client.
Answer:
The concept of a bell-shaped agenda means that
A. The group should appoint one member who will act as a timer, ringing a bell or
buzzer when it is time to move on the next item.
B. Every third item on an agenda should be easy to complete so that the group will feel
a sense of success as it moves through the agenda.
C. The more time-consuming and difficult agenda items should be handled in the
middle third of the meeting.
D. The agenda should be distributed to the group three days before the meeting, and the
minutes should be distributed three days after the meeting.
Answer:
Marcy’s primary duties in the group are to keep the discussion on track, suggest
procedures, and coordinate the work of the other group members. Marcy is filling some
________ roles.
A. dysfunctional
B. task
C. informal
D. social
Answer:
Which is a guideline for designing effective visuals?
A. Supply all necessary details visually.
B. Use full sentences.
C. Use vertical printing.
D. Keep the design simple.
Answer:
All the following are signs of groupthink EXCEPT:
A. a lack of deliberation on the issues
B. freedom to voice dissenting ideas
C. a false illusion that the group agrees unanimously
D. a belief that our group is superior to competitors
Answer:
An effective evaluative listener will ask all of the following questions except
A. “Do these ideas reinforce my current beliefs?”
B. “Do the examples represent the whole situation?”
C. “Are there any important exceptions that the speaker hasn’t pointed out?”
D. “Is the evidence true?”
Answer:
According to your text, which of the following is the best way to approach conflict?
A. collaboration
B. accommodation
C. compromise
D. The best choice of method varies according to the circumstances.
Answer:
Which of the following does NOT influence the rating a candidate receives in a job
interview?
A. the interviewer’s mood
B. the time of day when the interview occurs
C. whether the candidate pronounces the interviewer’s name correctly
D. Any of these factors can influence a candidate’s rating.
Answer:
In Scandinavian countries, whose culture is classified as “feminine,” work teams tend
to emphasize
A. individual competence.
B. cooperative problem solving.
C. personal performance.
D. individual job advancement.
Answer:
If you paraphrased another person’s information to verify that you have accurately
noted the facts, which type of paraphrasing technique would you be using?
A. intent
B. content
C. structural
D. feeling
Answer:
A logic tree
A. shows a chronological pattern of organization.
B. visually shows the relationship among thesis, main points, and subpoints.
C. provides a way of combining research cards for an introduction.
D. is useful for speeches about biology.
Answer:
Jules takes time to chat with his friends at the beginning of the meeting, even though it
means the meeting will start late. Jules’ sociability illustrates a ________ time
orientation.
A. monochronic
B. polychronic
C. central standard
D. disrespectful
Answer:
According to Blake and Mouton’s leadership grid, a leader who uses an “authority
compliance” form of management would typically
A. focus on maintaining satisfying relationships among team members.
B. exert minimal effort and let members work on their own.
C. emphasize commitment and trust, thus accomplishing results.
D. seek efficiency, placing little emphasis on members’ individual and relational
concerns.
Answer:
One good reason to take a compromising approach to conflict is:
A. The other party is more powerful, so you know you are going to lose.
B. The issue is more important to the other party than it is to you.
C. Harmony is your key goal.
D. You’ve tried collaborating, but it didn’t work because the parties’ goals are mutually
exclusive.
Answer:
If Consuelo refers questions from individual group members back to the entire group
instead of answering them herself, she is using ______________ questions?
A. overhead
B. direct
C. reverse
D. relay
Answer:
Which of the following questions is NOT recommended as a starting point for building
an agenda?
A. What information will we need?
B. How can I prevent others from raising controversial points during the meeting?
C. What do we need to do in the meeting to achieve our objective?
D. What conversations will be important to the people who attend?
Answer:
A critical problem with the use of a(n) _______________ style of delivery is that you
focus so much on trying to recall what you are going to say next, that it makes it
difficult to speak with natural intonation.
A. extemporaneous
B. impromptu
C. manuscript
D. memorized
Answer:
Self-centered listeners
A. receive low ratings for social attractiveness
B. are well-liked
C. readily learn valuable new information
D. are likely to be promoted
Answer:
Why would an important person in an organization be willing to be interviewed by
you, a mere student?
A. Many successful people want to help others, just as they have been helped.
B. If you’ve made contact through a referral, your interviewee will be helping the
person who referred you.
C. The interviewee may be flattered that you asked for an interview.
D. All of the above are reasons why an important person in an organization would be
willing to meet with you.
Answer:
When Jordan asked a question, Jennifer repeatedly jumped in and voiced her opinion,
cutting off other group members before they had a chance to speak. As a result, Jordan
decided to aim his questions at specific individuals to allow for more sharing of
information across the group. Jordan was using _______ questions.
A. overhead
B. direct
C. reverse
D. relay
Answer:
Which of the following does NOT describe consensus?
A. It ranges from unanimous agreement to “Well, I can live with it.”
B. It occurs when members of a group support a collective decision.
C. It can and will occur in every productive group.
D. It means hammering agreements out of conflicting ideas.
Answer:
John is the leader of a small work team that is responsible for developing new safety
standards for a small construction company. The group has been having difficulty
developing new standards because John’s instructions have been extremely unclear. He
has stated a general goal, but he has not given the group any specific directions. John
could probably improve this group’s ability to complete its task if he would
_______________.
A. use only lower-level abstractions when he gives directions to the group.
B. use more jargon from the construction field when he gives directions to the group.
C. use higher-level abstraction to present the overall goal, followed by lower-level
abstractions when he explains exactly how to complete the task.
D. use terms that are more equivocal when he gives directions to the group.
Answer: