When you write to people you do not know well outside your organization, it is good to
address them by first name to attempt to build a professional relationship.
Answer:
Progress reports contain the work that needs to be done along with who will be doing
it.
Answer:
The best way to prepare for a job interview is to know as much as possible about the
process and the employer.
Answer:
Complimenting a reader for a job well done is an example of a goodwill ending.
Answer:
If audience benefits are worded with you-attitude, they will sound selfish and won’t be
as effective as they could be.
Answer:
Bar charts are easy to interpret, because they ask people to compare distance along a
common scale which most people are able to judge accurately.
Answer:
Informational dimensions of teams focus primarily on promoting friendliness,
cooperation, and team loyalty.
Answer:
When listening to his co-workers explain processes, Marvin ignores instructions that he
thinks are unnecessary. This makes Marvin a good listener.
Answer:
Effective teams do not hold one another accountable for delivering against their plans.
Answer:
People from different cultures do things differently whereas all people within a single
culture behave in similar ways.
Answer:
While delivering negative messages to clients, it is important to make inconspicuous
refusals so that the clients do not feel offended.
Answer:
While writing progress reports, it is essential to present every detail as equally
important instead of emphasizing specific ones.
Answer:
Which of the following statements is TRUE of the time consumed due to bad writing?
A. Bad writing results in cycling of the document and increases the time required to
complete a document.
B. Bad writing always conveys good ideas, but requires more time to discuss each idea.
C. Bad writing is usually incomplete and, therefore, saves time by reducing unwanted
discussions.
D. Bad writing conveys very little information, so it requires very little time to
understand.
E. Bad writing doesn’t take long for the reader to read, as it is usually short.
Answer:
One common ground rule of workplace teams is to have only those members with
experience and knowledge speak on key issues and procedures.
Answer:
Recommendation studies generally use the comparison/contrast pattern for organizing
information.
Answer:
The purpose of a job application letter is to get an interview.
Answer:
A purpose of paraphrasing is to let a critic know that you agree with everything he or
she says.
Answer:
In a negative message, it is best to emphasize a refusal by placing it in a paragraph by
itself.
Answer:
Job advertisements contain extensive information about job descriptions and have fuller
job descriptions than web listings.
Answer:
It is unhelpful to schedule interviews with other companies before your interview with
the company that is your first choice.
Answer:
Extrinsic motivators do not necessarily come from using the product or doing the
action.
Answer:
Shane has been struggling to write his second book, but is experiencing writer’s block.
According to Robert Boice’s suggestions, Shane can overcome this block by not doing
any kind of writing until he is completely ready.
Answer:
Which of the following statements is TRUE of good business and administrative
communication?
A. It makes an audience guess the message a speaker or writer has presented.
B. It leaves the audience’s questions unanswered to create challenges and interactions.
C. It represents messages which are free from errors in spelling and grammar.
D. It considers members of an audience as numbers instead of as groups of people.
E. It takes a long time to decipher and it challenges an audience’s intellect.
Answer:
Gatekeepers, who have the power to stop a message from reaching an audience, can
exist outside the organization.
Answer:
According to Jakob Nielsen, a usability consultant, the best usability testing involves
watching people use the communication.
Answer:
It is a good practice to consider the other person’s background and experience in order
to reduce listening errors caused by misinterpretation.
Answer:
All forms of business communication should begin by considering both the audience
and purpose.
Answer:
It is always better to work out a customer problem in a public forum, so that the public
can see how you deal with customers.
Answer:
Jamie is known as an excellent listener at work. Likely, this is because he listens to
co-workers mostly for information, rather than feelings.
Answer:
A good progress report presents good news by speculating on the reader’s feelings about
the news.
Answer:
The drawback of sending text messages to customers is that, unlike email, they have to
opt in to receive texts.
Answer:
“RFP” stands for Research Funding Programs that are often requested by
non-governmental agencies.
Answer:
Regarding cultural preferences, the _____ culture generally has a reputation for
appreciating technical data and scientific detail.
A. Arabian
B. American
C. German
D. Chinese
E. Japanese
Answer:
Unadvertised jobs are called the _____ job market.
A. primary
B. hidden
C. peripheral
D. core
E. inactive
Answer:
Which of the following should you do to manage information efficiently in messages?
A. Place new material in the center of a message.
B. Use overviews if a message is short and concise.
C. Use multiple paragraphs while answering multiple questions.
D. Use color to highlight new information.
E. Place crucial information in an attachment.
Answer:
When offering a benefit to an audience only if the audience meets certain criteria, the
sentence is usually more positive if you:
A. put the benefit first.
B. put the requirement first.
C. avoid mentioning the benefit.
D. avoid mentioning the requirement.
E. replace a negative word with a hidden negative.
Answer:
Which of the following examples best illustrates a sentence with a hidden negative?
A. Please be patient; the issue will be resolved as soon as possible.
B. The issue will be resolved within a week.
C. Our new brand of cereal is healthier.
D. This itinerary contains all the details of your trip, along with the fares.
E. If you have questions about the registration process, please call the technical
helpline.
Answer:
Rosina writes a report on the advantages of online marketing. In one section of the
report, she indicates what topics it covers and how deeply it goes into each topic, but
does not summarize what it says about each topic. She uses phrases such as “it
includes” and “this report covers” to define the report in this section. Based on these
characteristics, this section is more likely to be an example of a(n) _____.
A. scope statement
B. purpose statement
C. descriptive abstract
D. assumptions section
E. limitations section
Answer:
Which of the following is true about the 1-2-3 pattern of organizing information in an
oral presentation?
A. This pattern works best when the audience will find your solution easy to accept.
B. This pattern may be necessary when the audience will find your solution hard to
accept.
C. This pattern works best when the history of a problem helps show its complexity or
magnitude.
D. This pattern works well when you want to organize short informative briefings.
E. This pattern works well when you want the audience to see the weaknesses in a
particular strategy.
Answer:
The passing off of the words or ideas of others as your own is called _____.
A. plagiarism
B. documentation
C. abstraction
D. citation
E. piracy
Answer:
The management at a small publishing house decides to start providing flextime to all
its employees. Which of the following is the management most likely trying to
achieve?
A. Decreased telecommuting
B. Decreased ethical dilemmas
C. Decreased employee turnover
D. Decreased work/family balance
E. Decreased employee satisfaction
Answer:
Which of the following statements is true of stories in informative messages?
A. They help people to remember information, but not understand it.
B. They are time-consuming and should be avoided.
C. They are usually in detail and one to two pages long.
D. They enable people to put facts in context.
E. They are fiction, but not narratives.
Answer:
Which of the following is true of ethics in business communications?
A. Business ethics pertains only to international pacts.
B. Ethical concerns are no longer a part of the business environment.
C. Consequences for not acting ethically are becoming less common.
D. Business ethics mostly involves routine practices that involve communication.
E. Employees have limited means for whistleblowing in these days of instant
communication.
Answer:
Which of the following is true of successful job searches?
A. They rely less on the Internet.
B. They build relationships through networking.
C. They avoid traditional résumés and cover letters as they are no longer relevant.
D. They accept that companies prefer entry-level recruiting to intern recruiting.
E. They use social media and focus your profiles and posts entirely on getting a job.
Answer:
Damario’s employee made an error in a quotation that was sent to one of Damario’s
valued customers. This placed Damario in an extremely awkward position with the
customer. Damario was furious with his employee and wanted to communicate this to
him in the best way possible. Which of the following statements illustrates the best use
of a phrase that communicates an appropriate tone?
A. I want you to have your documents reviewed by a peer before you send them to the
customer.
B. Are you always this incompetent?
C. You should have double-checked the document before you sent it to our customer.
D. Please learn from your mistakes.
E. You have put me in an awkward position and this should not happen again.
Answer:
Elijah wants to evaluate a proposed project in terms of its merits, demerits, and scope of
the project. He also wants to anticipate possible pitfalls in the form of external threats.
In this case, which of the following patterns of organizing data will work well for him?
A. Particular to general pattern
B. Elimination of alternatives
C. SWOT Analysis
D. Compare/contrast pattern
E. Pro-and-con pattern
Answer:
Which of the following is true of the people of the United States when they make
business introductions?
A. They use informal language and typically include first names.
B. The purpose of introduction is primarily to establish personal rapport.
C. The image of an individual communicating is generally part of a rich culture.
D. They generally stress the values of emotional support and hospitality.
E. They generally stress the importance of building harmony.
Answer:
According to Geert Hofstede, which of the following is true of a culture with a low
power-distance index?
A. It is characterized by a centralized hierarchy.
B. It is highly centralized according to power.
C. It is characterized by equality at all social levels.
D. It is extremely formal and rigid in nature.
E. It is characterized by bureaucracy and authority.
Answer:
If a company needs to change and knows what needs to be done, but it needs help doing
it, a proposal helps in:
A. accessing whether change is a good idea or not.
B. providing a plan for achieving desired changes.
C. providing insight on positive and negative impacts.
D. implementing the plan to bring about the change.
E. suggesting alternate outcomes if it decides not to change.
Answer:
Alana is a campaign leader at an environmental organization. She was asked to write a
progress report on her most recent campaign. Although Alana did not complete this task
on time, she was able to communicate this to her boss using positive emphasis. Which
of the following did Alana most likely say to her boss?
A. I worked very hard but failed to complete the report on time.
B. It is unfortunate that I did not complete the report when you asked for it.
C. My inability to complete the report on time may create backlogs in the campaign.
D. I have completed more than half of the report, and will complete the rest by the end
of the week.
E. I apologize for not creating the report on time; I will hopefully be able to send it in
by the end of the day.
Answer:
On her résumé, Sania gives basic details about her degree, field of study, date of
completion, and the name of the grad school. Further, she considers listing all her
courses. While doing so, which of the following is recommended?
A. She should use course numbers to make them chronological.
B. She should use short descriptive titles while listing them.
C. She should classify them under the heading, “Relevant Courses.”
D. She should avoid using subheads completely.
E. She should consider writing them in paragraphs as listing is an obtrusive way of
filling a page.
Answer:
Less successful teams are more likely to:
A. expect members to complete their own parts.
B. schedule frequent meetings.
C. respond to emotions as well as words.
D. pay attention to what is said and how it is said.
E. find ways to use members who don’t like working in teams.
Answer:
Arya has recently joined a travel agency as a communications executive. During
orientation, she learns that the agency prides itself on its informal work culture. Which
of the following is most likely a characteristic of the agency’s culture?
A. Rigid rules and regulations
B. Strict monitoring of activities
C. Hierarchical lines of command
D. Individual offices for employees
E. Individually empowered workers
Answer:
Ming, a communications manager at an environmental organization, recently used a
certain technique to develop ideas for a campaign. She jotted down the topic name at
the center of a sheet of paper and drew a circle around it. She then wrote down all the
ideas that came to her mind and circled them too. When this was done, she used colors
to highlight and separate groups of related ideas. Which of the following techniques did
Ming most likely use to generate her ideas?
A. Freewriting
B. Automatic writing
C. Brainstorming
D. Clustering
E. Free blogging
Answer:
Jessica has been a loyal customer of the Deluxe Bank for over ten years. Over the years,
she has never faced any major problems with the bank. However, when she applied for
a house loan recently, her request was rejected. In response, Jessica closed her current
account with the bank and switched to another bank. Her response best illustrates the
phenomenon of _____.
A. psychological repression
B. emotional regression
C. psychological reactance
D. psychodynamics
E. psychodrama
Answer:
Which of the following is the foundation of a good meeting?
A. Brainstorming ideas
B. Preparing minutes
C. Planning the agenda
D. Motivating members
E. Sharing ideas
Answer:
Sweeney’s Ice-cream advertised its new sundaes on fliers which were distributed in
malls. This initiative was successful and customers felt that the advertisement was
created especially for them. Keeping in mind you-attitude in messages, which of the
following did Sweeney’s Ice-cream most likely say in its fliers?
A. We, at Sweeney’s, are now offering fresh fruit sundaes at $5!
B. There are brand new flavors available at our store on St. Marks Street!
C. We are now serving the best fresh fruit sundaes in the city!
D. You will be delighted to taste our latest ice creams!
E. You can now try our new fresh fruit sundaes for only $5!
Answer:
Federico is using spreadsheets to compute data collected from a survey. He is
calculating a particular figure by adding up all figures and dividing it by the total
number of samples. Which of the following is he calculating?
A. Median
B. Mean
C. Range
D. Variance
E. Mode
Answer:
The store manager at Cult Culture Inc., a department store, wants all the sales personnel
to work for six days a week instead of five during the summer sale season. The manager
knows that the sales team will find it both physically and psychologically taxing to
work over weekends. Which of the following statements will best help inspire the sales
team to agree to the store manager’s request?
A. The company will be able to secure additional financing through the success of this
big sale.
B. The shareholders in the company will be delighted to receive extra income.
C. Those who work six days a week will receive a higher commission percentage on
sales.
D. I will be promoted if you can all work for four extra days in the coming month.
E. You will be able to serve our customers better, which will help improve the
company’s brand equity.
Answer:
Which of the following is true of body language?
A. It impacts cross-cultural communication.
B. It is universal across all cultures.
C. It has very mild consequences.
D. It is exactly the same as sign language.
E. It is a fully conscious and intentional act of communication.
Answer:
Joanna is conducting a training session at her organization for the first time. She is
nervous and wants to make a good impression; mostly, she wants the new trainees to
perceive her as a person with experience and authority. Which of the following
behaviors will help her make the most effective authoritative impression?
A. Ending her sentences on a higher pitch
B. Smiling frequently through the presentation
C. Nodding to express listening or engagement
D. Taking up space by spreading her materials on the table
E. Tilting her head repeatedly to show concern or interest for individuals
Answer:
Which of the following is a repercussion of groupthink?
A. Too many alternatives will emerge, making it impossible to reach consensus.
B. Members will test and analyze their assumptions against those of others in the team.
C. Each person will believe that he or she is right and make it hard to reach consensus.
D. Members will fail to prepare contingency plans to cope with foreseeable setbacks.
E. Members will make decisions that are riskier than the initial inclination of its
members.
Answer:
Catherine creates a résumé for a law-related position. She has many accomplishments
in both her work history and her education. She has worked as a law clerk at a reputed
law firm and currently works part-time for a startup firm. Which of the following
accomplishments should Catherine omit from her résumé?
A. Law clerk at FA Associates between 2008 and 2010
B. Crowned Homecoming Queen in junior year
C. Regional winner of a math contest in high school
D. Passed the CPA exam in 2006
E. National finalist of the North American Debating Championship in 2005
Answer:
Mr. Wagner, the head of a neighborhood watch committee, is in charge of running a
meeting of 30 people where 46 items on the agenda have to be voted on in a two-hour
time period. Which of the following techniques is likely to help Mr. Wagner help the
team make these many decisions in the limited time frame?
A. Taking individual votes for each item
B. Using an omnibus motion
C. Taking votes only of managers
D. Starting the agenda with routine items
E. Ensuring that minutes are taken for each vote
Answer:
What are the five techniques which help create positive emphasis in a message?
Answer:
Why is the use of humor in informative messages considered risky? How can this be
avoided?
Answer:
Briefly discuss the steps in identifying and developing good audience benefits.
Answer:
Benito, a team leader, needs to ensure that the collaborative document he and his team
created is revised. While revising, he notices that the document is written well, but does
not meet the conventions of business writing. What steps should Benito take to ensure
that he revises the document well?
Answer:
Define intercultural competence.
Answer:
List three tips for properly designing a table as a visual in a document.
Answer:
Organizational messages have multiple audiences. List the audiences and explain how
they differ from each other.
Answer:
List and explain some of the tips for using and documenting sources in a research
paper.
Answer:
List the possible documents that can be included in the appendix of a report.
Answer:
What is the purpose of using blogs and what are some characteristics of good blogs?
Answer:
Explain what forecasts, transitions, and topic sentences are.
Answer:
Explain how you can build credibility through the use of appropriate language and
strategy.
Answer:
What should you do in a written message when the audience will oppose what you have
to say?
Answer:
What are some key design principles to keep in mind while creating a brochure?
Answer:
Discuss, with the help of suitable examples, how intrinsic and extrinsic motivators help
to create effective audience benefits.
Answer: