A prospecting job application letter should begin with a statement designed to get the
reader’s attention.
Answer:
Using iTunes to distribute podcasts is unrealistic for most organizations.
Answer:
Website designers use the term informative nomenclature to describe the content,
structure, labeling, and navigational flow of all the parts of a website.
Answer:
For particularly difficult situations, it is best to place the buffer at the end of the
negative message.
Answer:
To increase the sophistication of your message, make liberal use of references such as
“the latter,” “the former,” “the aforementioned,” and “as mentioned above.”
Answer:
In the phenomenon of groupthink, the team may arrive at poor-quality decisions and
even act unethically.
Answer:
The habits you exhibit while using your mobile device exemplify your attitude toward
the people around you.
Answer:
The social networking aspect of microblogs makes them good for asking one’s
followers for input or advice.
Answer:
If you have no working relationship with your audience, you have only a few minutes
to convince them that what you have to say is worth listening to.
Answer:
Recommendation letters have created so many legal problems that many companies no
longer allow employees to write them.
Answer:
Following the “Golden Rule” is not an effective strategy for adapting to other cultures.
Answer:
“If we can’t meet the deadline, our losses will be significant” is a compound sentence.
Answer:
Letterhead stationery commonly includes the company’s URL.
Answer:
The term visual media signifies any format in which one or more visual elements play a
central role in conveying the content of a message.
Answer:
Firms on the leading edge of the mobile revolution are hesitant to integrate mobile
technology in their organizations.
Answer:
A combination résumé combines descriptions of your education and employment
background.
Answer:
Put a page number at the top of every page in a formal report.
Answer:
Without a steady stream of new information, a blog is unlikely to be successful.
Answer:
When writing a claim letter, you should assume that you will receive a fair adjustment.
Answer:
Companies that are succeeding in social media use a “we talk, you listen” approach to
communication.
Answer:
In general, the word “you” should be avoided when you are assigning responsibility for
a mistake or problem.
Answer:
The best approach to completing your business message is to focus on the details first
before addressing the document as a whole.
Answer:
Due to potential legal problems, many companies have a policy that prevents
employees from providing recommendation letters.
Answer:
Networking involves more than contacting powerful people and asking them for a job.
Answer:
Transitions connect ideas by showing how one thought is related to another.
Answer:
Skilled presenters are quick to put a stop to audience members engaging in
backchannel communication during a presentation.
Answer:
Including hyperlinks limits your ability to customize a linear presentation for different
audiences and situations.
Answer:
Punctuation goes inside quotation marks if the whole sentence is quoted but outside the
quotation marks if only the last part of the sentence is a quote.
Answer:
When it comes to business research, online sources generally require more careful
evaluation than other types.
Answer:
Selective listening is an important skill for professionals, since it helps them filter out
information that is not relevant to their jobs.
Answer:
Instant-messaging and texting have replaced many exchanges that used to take place
over the phone; therefore, today’s employees don’t have to worry about using phones in
a professional manner.
Answer:
Using descriptive headings, such as “Effects of Pay Scales on Employee Turnover,” will
help you maintain a hard-hitting, direct tone in a business report.
Answer:
Refusing a request to write a recommendation letter generally calls for using the
indirect approach and a great deal of diplomacy.
Answer:
An effective email subject line is very short and describes only the general topic of the
message.
Answer:
Communicating with people inside your organization usually requires more formality
than communicating with people outside the organization, such as suppliers or
customers.
Answer:
You should prepare for a video interview in much the same way you would prepare for
an in-person interview.
Answer:
The ________ feature of instant messaging enables users to see which people are at
their desks and available to IM.
A) ghost protocol
B) presence awareness
C) passcode exemplification
D) network compatibility
Answer:
As a member of an online social network, the recommendations you write
A) must include extensive detailed information.
B) cannot be seen by the other network members.
C) become part of your online brand.
D) don’t affect your online profile.
Answer:
In general, employers are looking for two things: proof that a candidate can handle the
responsibilities of the position and
A) excellent references.
B) high employment test scores.
C) evidence that the person will fit in with the organization.
D) long-term commitment to the organization.
Answer:
The top of a memo usually includes headings for
A) to, from, date, subject.
B) department, date, subject.
C) attention, to, from, date.
D) subject, to, date.
Answer:
Differences in ________, such as hand gestures and eye contact, are a major source of
misunderstanding during intercultural communications.
A) contextual cues
B) nonverbal signals
C) situational enhancements
D) proverbial exchanges
Answer:
Starbucks Coffee, Animal Planet, and Turner Classic Movies offer their followers
________ via their branded channels on YouTube.
A) value-added content
B) interesting information
C) question-and-answer forums
D) annual reports and financial statements
Answer:
The ________ is NOT included in the prefatory parts of a formal report.
A) cover
B) letter of authorization
C) introduction
D) table of contents
Answer:
________ sentences express two or more independent but related thoughts of equal
importance, usually joined by a coordinating conjunction.
A) Complex
B) Compound
C) Conjoined
D) Compound-complex
Answer:
Which of the following is NOT a typical element in a formal work plan?
A) Statement of purpose
B) Statement of the scope of the investigation
C) Discussion of tasks to be accomplished
D) Conclusions and recommendations
Answer:
The longest phase of a job interview is usually
A) the warm-up.
B) the question-and-answer stage.
C) the close.
D) none; all are about the same length.
Answer:
If you’re using the direct approach to deliver a negative message,
A) save the bad news for last.
B) state the bad news at the beginning.
C) embed the bad news in a parenthetical expression.
D) subordinate the bad news in a compound sentence.
Answer:
A hidden agenda refers to
A) a meeting agenda that is not revealed to others outside the meeting group.
B) individuals harboring motives, which they conceal from the rest of the group.
C) an agenda that members must look for before they can attend a meeting.
D) an approach to group dynamics that helps facilitate group functioning.
Answer:
If you can’t be sure which medium will be best to convey your persuasive message to a
diverse audience, you should
A) choose the one that is most economical.
B) select the one that is easiest to use (such as email).
C) use two or more media at the same time.
D) choose one at random and see how well it works.
Answer:
If an incoming message doesn’t fit into a person’s view of reality, then he or she may
use ________ to distort or ignore that information.
A) myopic introspection
B) cognitive reconstruction
C) selective perception
D) creative interpretation
Answer:
Most business presentations are intended to
A) entertain or enlighten the audience.
B) showcase your presentation skills.
C) inform or persuade the audience.
D) amaze the audience with technology.
Answer:
The categories of routine replies and positive messages include all of the following
except
A) answering requests for information and action.
B) granting claims and adjustments.
C) refusing applicants’ resumes.
D) sending goodwill messages.
Answer:
According to the MLA Style Manual, in the list of works cited
A) the date comes immediately after the author’s name.
B) electronic sources are not included.
C) the titles of books and periodicals are put in quotation marks.
D) all the main words are capitalized in the titles of books and articles.
Answer:
In the middle of an important meeting, you receive an unsolicited IM from a company
informing you of their great rates on vacations in Hawaii. This is an example of
A) spam.
B) a computer virus.
C) spim.
D) viral marketing.
Answer:
When outlining the content of your report
A) it is preferable to use informative headings as opposed to descriptive ones.
B) you should use complex language for all headings.
C) keep in mind that you will have to use this same outline for your final report.
D) do all of the above.
Answer:
Routine, positive messages should do all of the following except
A) leave your reader with a good impression.
B) use an indirect approach.
C) provide all required details.
D) communicate the information or positive news.
Answer:
Primary research refers to
A) new research done specifically for your current project.
B) the evidence that stands out in your report.
C) the research you conduct first.
D) research that is fairly easy to conduct.
Answer:
Which of the following techniques can help you proofread more effectively?
A) Read each page backward, from the bottom to the top.
B) Proofread the document as soon as you complete the draft.
C) To ensure consistency, proofread long documents from beginning to end without
stopping.
D) Always proofread using your monitor (rather than printing out a hard copy of the
document).
Answer:
In the workplace, a formal invitation to bid on a contract is called a
A) business offering.
B) request for proposals.
C) bid requisition.
D) project invitation.
Answer:
When adapting to other cultures, the “Golden Rule” is
A) a helpful principle to follow.
B) less effective than treating others the way they want to be treated.
C) helpful, but only in Asian countries.
D) none of the above.
Answer:
Effective business writers use ________ to help readers prepare for upcoming
information and ________ to help them verify and clarify what they’ve just read.
A) introductions; conclusions
B) previews; reviews
C) synopses; executive summaries
D) headings; subheadings
Answer:
For years, email has been the primary communication medium at your company.
However, many of your employees now use IM daily for personal messages, and
they’ve come to you asking your approval to begin using it to communicate with clients
and vendors. Your greatest concern is likely to be
A) incompatibility between your company’s IM system and the systems your vendors
and clients use.
B) the need for users to learn complicated software that may take years to learn.
C) the ability to use it only on expensive, highly specialized devices.
D) the high cost.
Answer:
Learning about an unfamiliar culture
A) can be accomplished only by living among its people.
B) is generally a waste of time since no one in business expects you to do so.
C) is a worthy undertaking, even if you learn only a small amount.
D) requires at least one year of study before it is meaningful.
Answer:
The subject line of an email message
A) is rarely read by the recipient.
B) helps recipients decide whether to read the message.
C) should describe only the general topic of the message.
D) does all of the above.
Answer:
All of the following except ________ are important functions of a transmittal document
in a formal report.
A) introducing the report
B) offering to provide additional information or assistance
C) authorizing the completion of the report
D) acknowledging help received while preparing the report
Answer:
________ control the way one slide replaces another on-screen during a presentation.
A) Slide templates
B) Slide transitions
C) Slide hyperlinks
D) Slide builds
Answer:
When you must deliver bad news in the workplace, remember that
A) you should de-emphasize the news at all costs.
B) your feelings, as well as the feelings of anyone who receives the message, are
irrelevant.
C) delaying, downplaying, or distorting the news may be unethical or illegal.
D) internal and external audiences will react to the news in the same way.
Answer:
________ headings identify a topic but do little more; ________ headings guide readers
to think in certain ways about a topic.
A) Topical; interrogative
B) Universal; relational
C) Descriptive; informative
D) First level; second level
Answer:
Marketers use quantifiable characteristics known as ________ and psychological
characteristics known as ________ to help them understand the needs of an audience.
A) social graphics, intuitional data
B) demographics, psychographics
C) crowdsourcing, regionalism
D) psychometrics, cryptography
Answer:
Which of the following would be the best wording to use on a résumé?
A) “I was in charge of a staff of six employees.”
B) “I supervised a full staff of six employees.”
C) “Was in charge of entire departmental staff.”
D) “Supervised staff of six employees.”
Answer:
Name at least five types of information that should NOT be included on résumés when
candidates are applying to companies in the United States.
Answer:
List three ways to increase the formality of business reports.
Answer:
Explain why goodwill messages are important, and then describe at least two
characteristics of effective goodwill messages.
Answer:
Explain the dual purposes of employment interviews.
Answer:
Briefly explain the difference between descriptive headings and informative headings.
Answer:
What elements are normally included in the body of a formal proposal?
Answer:
What is location-based social networking? Why is it important to business
communication?
Answer:
Briefly describe at least three advantages of using lists in business documents.
Answer:
What are three methods of reasoning you can use when making a logical appeal?
Answer:
What are linear and nonlinear presentations? How are they organized?
Answer:
What two essential questions do employers seek to answer about each candidate in
interviews?
Answer:
List at least three types of nonverbal differences might you encounter when working
with businesspeople from other cultures. Provide at least one example of how these
differences might cause misunderstandings in communication.
Answer:
Briefly describe at least three factors to consider when choosing media for business
messages.
Answer:
List two ways that including too many visuals can distract your audience from the main
points of your message.
Answer:
When you’re writing an introduction to a routine request, what should you do?
Answer:
In preparing to write persuasive messages, what two categories of information are vital
to assess the needs of your audience?
Answer: