You run a computer repair and networking company and subcontract some of your
business out to independent computer professionals.
You have detected mistakes in the last two jobs performed by Ashley, one of your
subcontractors. When delivering this bad-news message to her, ________.
A) be sure to sugarcoat it so that you do not damage your relationship with Ashley
B) don’t worry about using tact in this message, as Ashley is working for you in this
relationship
C) imply the bad news, so that you don’t run the risk of insulting Ashley
D) assume some of the blame yourself so that Ashley can save face
E) use tact and sensitivity, as an unhappy subcontractor could complain about you to
customers and damage your company’s reputation
Answer:
Which of the following changes is most likely to negatively affect the audience?
A) change in processes
B) change in systems
C) layoffs
D) human resource modifications
E) technological changes
Answer:
Primary research ________.
A) involves collecting your own original data
B) includes industry journals and experts outside your company
C) is the information that other people have collected
D) includes existing company reports and databases
E) is always more efficient than secondary research
Answer:
In China, signed contracts ________.
A) mean a final agreement
B) must be honored
C) are not open to renegotiation
D) signal interest in doing business
E) are a binding commitment
Answer:
Acme Corporation wants to assess candidates’ ability to think logically under pressure,
their common sense, and their time management skills, so it is most likely to conduct
interviews in the ________ format.
A) action interview
B) panel interview
C) on-campus interview
D) one-on-one interview
E) preliminary interview
Answer:
In your résumé, your name ________.
A) should have a font size that is two times smaller than the rest of the résumé text
B) should appear on every page in the résumé in the margin
C) should have a font size that is the same as the rest of the résumé text
D) should be in bold font
E) should appear at the bottom of the résumé
Answer:
Which of the following statements makes it sound as if you are doing the customer a
favor?
A) Although you have selected the wrong item, we are happy to take the trouble to
exchange it.
B) Your business is important to us, so we are pleased to offer you rush shipping on this
order.
C) Customer satisfaction is our top goal, so we will be happy to grant your request.
D) You are a valued customer, so please accept a 10% discount on your replacement
order.
E) We are happy to send you the replacement piece by expedited mail.
Answer:
Business use of instant messaging (IM) ________.
A) is restricted for informal communication only
B) is expected to decline in coming years
C) allows employees to communicate real-time information
D) is typically recommended for sharing confidential information
E) is not allowed for formal communication
Answer:
The first step in the process of designing slide presentations is ________.
A) organizing the content
B) developing a template
C) identifying the type of presentation
D) creating a storyboard
E) creating handouts
Answer:
If a proposal is a few pages long, then which of the following components is most likely
to help the reader see the structure of the document at a glance?
A) references
B) headings
C) appendices
D) glossary
E) foot notes
Answer:
You have lunch with a friend and she tells you that her office recently implemented
flex-time hours. It has been a positive change at your friend’s workplace, and you think
that it would be great to have flex-timing at your office too. You decide to approach
your boss about this possibility.
In terms of a logically structured argument, which of the following best articulates your
position?
A) A flex-time schedule will increase productivity and employee satisfaction by better
enabling them to balance their work and personal lives.
B) A flex-time schedule will allow workers to create schedules better suited to their
personal lives.
C) Employee turnover is on the rise.
D) Flex-time schedules at other companies have been shown to aid in recruitment.
E) Many employees have voiced frustration over work hours that do not allow them to
meet their personal obligations.
Answer:
“According to the U.S. Department of Labor, companies that implemented a flexible
scheduling option experienced a decrease in employee absenteeism within the next
quarter.”
Which of the following types of evidence is illustrated by this example?
A) numerical data
B) fact
C) personal experience
D) example
E) anecdotal
Answer:
In the context of report decks, trackers on the slides are sometimes called ________.
A) headers
B) dot leaders
C) markers
D) road signs
E) footers
Answer:
In today’s business world, learning about other cultures is ________.
A) optional
B) necessary
C) not required
D) ill-advised
E) interesting but of no real business concern
Answer:
In formal reports and in report decks, the additional information is included in a(n)
________.
A) glossary
B) reference list
C) executive summary
D) title page
E) appendix
Answer:
________ sources are books and articles that synthesize material from ________
sources, framing them for general readers.
A) Primary; secondary
B) Secondary; tertiary
C) Tertiary; primary
D) Primary; tertiary
E) Tertiary; secondary
Answer:
“Your assessment of this data is just plain wrong.”
Which of the following best rephrases the statement above, avoiding language that will
trigger a negative response?
A) “You didn’t do such a good job analyzing this data.”
B) “I interpreted this data differently.”
C) “I think you are way off base here.”
D) “I’m afraid that your assessment of this data leaves much to be desired.”
E) “I respectfully state that you missed the point.”
Answer:
As a sender, immediately after ________ your message, you will most likely ________.
A) encoding; decode your message
B) encoding; choose your medium
C) decoding; choose your medium
D) decoding; prepare feedback
E) encoding; close the dynamic loop
Answer:
Which of the following would NOT be an appropriate question to ask at a career fair?
A) Assuming I get a call for an interview, what will the interview process be like?
B) What advice would you give to job seekers interested in your company?
C) What do you enjoy most about working for your company?
D) I heard about your company’s latest project in the news what can you tell me about
it?
E) What is the employee contribution for the health plan?
Answer:
According to the AIDA approach, which of the following would be most likely to grab
an audience’s attention?
A) How would you like to buy a new car?
B) Did you know that our range of cars can save you up to 50% in higher gas mileage
than the rest?
C) Our cars are well engineered and beautifully designed to appeal to the discriminating
customer.
D) Our cars may cost more, but as mom always said, you get what you pay for.
E) Come in today and test drive one of our new models.
Answer:
Using the blind carbon copy (bcc) feature of email ________.
A) discloses to the recipient that you are sending a copy of the email to someone else
B) enables centralized tracking of information
C) is ethical if you are intending to deceive the “to” recipient about who is receiving the
email
D) tends to lengthen the recipient list
E) diverts recipients’ attention from the message content with an overly long header
Answer:
The communication skills you already possess ________ in the workplace.
A) will likely hamper your attempts to communicate
B) are inapplicable to communication
C) are most likely sufficient to meet every challenge of communication
D) will be valuable to you for communicating
E) must all be unlearned if you want to successfully communicate
Answer:
Which of the following is an example of a grant proposal?
A) a supervisor requesting funding from her boss for new computers, monitors, and
printers to enable her department to function more efficiently
B) an academic organization requesting funding from a foundation to support a math,
science, and technology competition
C) a bookstore employee suggesting to the bookstore owner that they start organizing
family-friendly programs, like a story hour
D) a chef in a restaurant requesting that the restaurant start offering a line of light and
healthy menu choices
E) an employee asking for approval to work in a flex-time schedule
Answer:
Ella attends a university in the Northeast and recently met with a recruiter for an
on-campus interview. The recruiter, whose company is based on the West Coast, was so
impressed that Ella has moved forward to the second round of interviews. Which of the
following is most likely to happen regarding the next round of interview?
A) The recruiter will come back to Ella’s campus to interview her a second time.
B) Ella will be asked to meet the recruiter at a job fair for the second interview.
C) A telephone interview will be arranged for Ella to speak with someone at the
company.
D) Ella will be asked to visit the company’s headquarters for the second round of
interview.
E) The second round of interview will be arranged over an instant messaging system.
Answer:
Carol approaches a coworker, shaking her head as she does so. With a frown on her
face, she angrily asks, “Did you finish the report yet?”
Which of the following represents verbal communication?
A) shaking head
B) frowning
C) using those specific words
D) using an angry tone of voice
E) emphasizing the word “yet”
Answer:
Emma and Jessica work together and both want to increase sales at their company.
Emma argues this is best achieved by investing in research and development so they
can create the best possible products. Jessica believes that increasing their sales force is
the way to go.
Assume that Emma and Jessica decide to go to their supervisor, each making a case for
why her idea is preferable and leaving it to the supervisor to determine which is best. In
this case which of the following conflict management techniques is being used by
Emma and Jessica ?
A) avoid confrontation
B) accommodate or give in
C) compete to win
D) compromise
E) collaborate to find the best solution
Answer:
Organizations increasingly require proposals to be submitted ________.
A) as text messages
B) through an online form
C) as posts on social networking sites
D) on blogs
E) by an instant messenger
Answer:
During a presentation, smiling ________.
A) is frowned upon
B) projects energy
C) is universally encouraged for both the speaker and the audience, regardless of
cultural context
D) tenses up your facial muscles
E) makes it more likely that your audience will argue with you
Answer:
Simon is at an interview for an entry-level position at a large company.
If Simon is asked about what interests him the most about the company or the position,
Simon would be best off answering:
A) “Everything I’m just so eager to work for your company.”
B) “I am excited about the new line of products you are pursuing, and putting my
design skills to work in making them a reality.”
C) “I think working at such a prestigious company will put me in a good position to
start my own business somewhere down the line.”
D) “I don’t know that much about your company, but from what I do know I think I’d
really fit in and enjoy working here.”
E) “I think this position would be perfect for me, and will fulfill my ambition to work at
a prestigious company.”
Answer:
Which of the following types of interviews is most likely to involve several people,
such as a search committee, who gather in a conference or seminar room with a job
applicant to discuss the position?
A) group interview
B) telephone interview
C) panel interview
D) one-on-one interview
E) action interview
Answer:
Which of the following is a physiological barrier to hearing?
A) car horns and idling engines at an intersection
B) conversations in a crowded restaurant
C) loud music at an outdoor street fair
D) clogged ears after swimming
E) loud noise made during construction work
Answer:
Which of the following is most likely to increase the number of results in a web search?
A) putting quotation marks around your search phrase
B) searching for specific file types
C) excluding words from your search with a minus sign
D) using the Boolean operator AND
E) using the wildcard asterisk (*) in the phrase being searched
Answer: