Which of the following is NOT a useful strategy in preparing business reports?
A) Understand and meet audience expectations.
B) Use the same format for reports, regardless of topic.
C) Keep your report as short as possible.
D) All of the above are useful strategies.
Answer:
Words such as “nevertheless,” “however,” “but,” and “therefore”
A) are called pointer words.
B) introduce modifiers.
C) occur only in complex sentences.
D) are useful for making transitions.
Answer:
Successful teamwork, productive meetings, effective listening, and nonverbal
communication all depend on ________ among all participants.
A) face-to-face contact
B) mutual respect and consideration
C) common cultural reference points
D) the use of the latest communication technology
Answer:
As a classic form of written business communication, ________ are brief written
messages sent to customers and other recipients outside the organization.
A) letters
B) memos
C) reports
D) proposals
Answer:
Within the context of social media, ________ refers to a sense of openness, of giving
all participants access to the information they need to understand the messages they are
receiving.
A) transformation
B) transcendence
C) transparency
D) translucency
Answer:
Before you add a page or a new article to an existing wiki,
A) remove any similar material that already exists on the wiki.
B) make sure that you’ve copyrighted the written material.
C) tweet your followers so they’ll know where to find what you’ve written.
D) determine how the new material will fit into the existing content on the wiki.
Answer:
Entries for the bibliography for a report following the Chicago style
A) alphabetize magazine articles by the name of the magazine, if no author is cited.
B) use quotation marks around the titles of articles from newspapers and journals.
C) capitalize only the first words of titles of books and articles.
D) use only the name of the principal author, followed by “et al.” to represent any other
authors.
Answer:
An effective visual includes a ________, which offers additional discussion of the
visual’s content.
A) title
B) legend
C) caption
D) figural
Answer:
Using short paragraphs will help you improve the readability of your business messages
because
A) they will make your writing look inviting.
B) they can help you emphasize your ideas.
C) they are easier to read than long paragraphs.
D) all of the above.
Answer:
Business communicators can improve their cultural competency by
A) becoming aware of their own biases.
B) exercising tolerance, flexibility, and respect.
C) practicing patience and maintaining a sense of humor.
D) all of the above.
Answer:
A woman returns a formal dress to your store, asking for a refund. The bodice is stained
and the hemline is torn, but she says she is returning it unworn because it doesn’t fit.
Which of the following would be the best way to refuse her request for a refund?
A) State that company policy prevents you from accepting the return but that if you had
anything to say about it, you’d take it back, no questions asked.
B) Restate her complaint to let her know you understand it, explain as positively as
possible that you are unable to accept the return of damaged merchandise, and
recommend a tailor who can fix the tear and alter the dress for her.
C) Challenge the woman to try on the dress and prove that it doesn’t fit.
D) Use humor to soften the blow of your refusal.
Answer:
Which one of the following is the “leanest” communication medium?
A) Podcasts
B) Posters and signs
C) Telephone conversations
D) Multimedia presentations
Answer:
To achieve the best physical appearance for your résumé, you should
A) have it prepared by a professional artist for esthetic appeal.
B) make subheadings easy to find and easy to read.
C) use colored paper.
D) use a variety of typefaces in various colors.
Answer:
A business can use ________ to engage members of an online community by providing
free information that’s valuable to current and potential customers.
A) content aggregation
B) content marketing
C) guerilla marketing
D) media blitzing
Answer:
A manager is using the ________ when he or she “walks-around” to chat with
employees face-to-face, seek input, answer questions, and interpret important business
events and trends.
A) oral medium, digital channel
B) visual medium, oral channel
C) visual medium, in-person channel
D) oral medium, in-person channel
Answer:
The introductory section of a formal proposal includes all of the following except
A) a statement of your qualifications.
B) the scope or boundaries of the proposal.
C) background information or a problem statement.
D) an overview of how the document is organized.
Answer:
In the marketplace of today, ________ are the primary means of socializing companies
and brands.
A) sports arenas
B) primetime commercials
C) social networks
D) magazine advertisements
Answer:
One potential drawback of focusing immediately on conclusions in a report is that you
may
A) reveal information you know about that has not been included in the report.
B) make everything you say seem too simple.
C) offend your audience.
D) do all of the above.
Answer:
________ is a shared system of symbols, beliefs, attitudes, values, expectations, and
norms for behavior.
A) Attitude
B) Culture
C) Disposition
D) Preference
Answer:
In participative management
A) employees are involved in the company’s decision making.
B) all top-level managers participate in profit sharing.
C) teams are discouraged in favor of individual achievement.
D) an authoritarian management model is used.
Answer:
To convey meaning in a low-context culture such as the one existing in Germany,
people rely more on
A) gestures and vocal inflection.
B) indirectness and metaphors.
C) situational cues.
D) explicit verbal communication.
Answer:
Any space in a message that doesn’t contain text or artwork, both in print or online, is
considered to be
A) ambiguous.
B) unnecessary.
C) neutral noise.
D) white space.
Answer:
Asking a colleague “How was your weekend?” is
A) an effective greeting in any culture.
B) accepted in the United States, but considered intrusive in some cultures.
C) never acceptable in a business environment.
D) grounds for a lawsuit.
Answer:
Circular reasoning is a logical fallacy that involves
A) reducing a wide range of choices to a simple “either/or” scenario.
B) using irrelevant evidence to support your argument.
C) trying to support a claim by restating it in different words.
D) attacking an opponent’s character, rather than countering his or her argument.
Answer:
If you devote sufficient time to planning a business message before you begin writing
it, you can expect all of the following outcomes except
A) expediting the writing process.
B) avoiding embarrassing blunders.
C) experiencing extra work and stress in the writing and completing stages.
D) delivering concise, compelling information that your audience wants and needs to
know.
Answer:
According to your textbook, structured presentation slides are usually the best choice
for
A) persuasive presentations.
B) educational presentations.
C) routine informative presentations.
D) motivational presentations.
Answer:
If you need to design a venue for delivering a presentation to a large audience,
________ will usually be the best seating arrangement.
A) café style seating
B) conference table seating
C) classroom or theater seating
D) horseshoe or “U” shaped seating
Answer:
When asking questions in a request message
A) begin with the least important question and work your way up to the most important.
B) avoid any open-ended questions.
C) begin with the most important question.
D) weave your questions into the rest of the content of your message.
Answer:
________ is the practice of assigning a wide range of generalized attributes to an
individual based on his or her membership in a particular culture or social group.
A) Xenophobia
B) Ethnocentrism
C) Stereotyping
D) Cultural pluralism
Answer:
Another term for online word-of-mouth marketing is ________, which refers to the
transmission of messages in much the same way that biological viruses are transmitted
from person to person.
A) sequential selling
B) viral marketing
C) content contagion
D) cyber schmoozing
Answer:
Any risks involved with your recommendations should
A) not be addressed, since they may discourage your audience.
B) be discussed in your report, but only in vague, general terms.
C) be addressed clearly in your report.
D) be outlined before you reveal the benefits that can be achieved.
Answer:
When you’re choosing a design strategy for your résumé, keep
A) your audience in mind.
B) your goals in mind.
C) your resources in mind.
D) all of the above.
Answer:
Group loyalty can lead members into ________, a willingness to set aside personal
opinions and go along with everyone else, even if everyone else is wrong.
A) renegotiation
B) collaboration
C) groupthink
D) teamwork
Answer:
According to your textbook, all of the following except ________ are factors you must
consider when choosing a medium for a persuasive business message.
A) urgency of the message
B) cost of producing and sending the messages
C) your personal preferences
D) your audience’s preferences
Answer:
You want to prepare a speaking outline for an upcoming presentation. Which one of the
following will help you get off to a good start?
A) Ignore your planning outline and chart a new course based on your personal
idiosyncrasies.
B) Find your planning outline and remove anything you don’t plan to say directly to
your audience.
C) Keyboard your script onto your presentation slides so you can read each slide
word-for-word.
D) Insert additional examples, details, and data into your original planning outline.
Answer: