What should be your focus when editing for conciseness?
A) Building simple sentences
B) Making sure each word contributes to an effective sentence and each sentence helps
build a coherent paragraph
C) Replacing paragraphs with bullets and lists
D) Ensuring consistent tone throughout
E) Checking readability
A knowledge-management system
A) helps companies limit the amount of information employees store on the network.
B) enables organizations to test employees periodically to ensure they are doing
adequate research.
C) is a centralized database of experiences and insights of employees throughout an
organization.
D) is a tool for creating a bibliography when writing long reports.
How can you be sure the information you are using is accurate and of good quality?
A) Verify that the information was gathered using the journalistic approach
B) Verify that the information is current and reliable
C) Only use information generated by a knowledge management system
D) Use information that is most interesting to the primary audience members
E) Use free writing to cover all key ideas
Because recruiters typically skim a rsum for essential information, produce your rsum
with
A) a casual, nonlinear design.
B) a clean, professional-looking design.
C) a colorful, sparkling design.
D) a dense, information-intensive design.
E) strong, well-written paragraphs
Business communication that is interactive, conversational, and open to those who wish
to join follows which type of communication model?
A) Published
B) Broadcasted
C) Social
D) Passive
E) Reshaped
A bar chart would be particularly useful for
A) illustrating what percentages of a company’s monthly budget are spent on utilities
and other expenses.
B) comparing sales totals of three breakfast cereals from 2012 to 2016.
C) showing the stages in production of a jet engine.
D) depicting links between employees at a large firm.
E) illustrating by age group which cereals are preferred.
Which of the following is not an example of demographic information?
A) Age
B) Occupation
C) Lifestyle
D) Income
Which of the following is one of the benefits of incorporating mobile communication in
business?
A) Increased employee productivity
B) Limited customer relationships
C) Better defined business partner parameters
D) Stronger written communication skills
E) More collaborative writing
Unlike reports focused on conclusions or recommendations, reports focusing on logical
arguments
A) use an indirect approach.
B) are not very convincing.
C) emphasize the positive.
D) do not include outside evidence.
E) focus on creating a strong introduction and summary.
When choosing the clothing you will wear for an interview, the best policy is to
A) pick something that will make you stand out from the crowd.
B) wear only bright colors.
C) dress as comfortably as possible.
D) dress conservatively.
E) be fashionable and trendy.
Which of the following will be improved with increased flexibility and actively seeking
mutual ground when communicating with those of other cultures?
A) The honesty of the message
B) The clarity of information
C) The amount of judgment when interpreting messages
D) The attitudes towards work and success
E) Manners
When you want to emphasize a subordinate idea in a complex or compound-complex
sentence, where should the dependent clause be placed?
A) After the main idea as its own simple sentence
B) Between two simple sentences
C) At the beginning or at the end of the sentence
D) In the middle of the main idea
E) In the middle of the sentence
Why is it important to gauge audience members’ level of understanding when crafting a
message?
A) To determine their general background and level of effort
B) To make sure those of a higher rank have all their needs addressed
C) To keep the communication internal if necessary
D) To determine how much help they will need in understanding your message
E) To forecast probable reaction to the message
When someone is determining how to express an idea, which stage of the
communication model are they engaging in?
A) Having an idea
B) Transmitting the message through a channel
C) Determining how the audience will respond to the message
D) Encoding the idea as a message
E) Producing the message in a transmittable medium
In a routine request, in which part of the message should you make your request?
A) In the middle paragraph
B) At the very end of the message
C) After the list of reasons for the request
D) Before identifying time frames for granting the request
E) At the beginning of the message
A typical paragraph contains the three basic elements of
A) a topic sentence, support sentences, and transitional words and phrases.
B) simple, compound, and complex sentences followed by compound-complex
sentences.
C) the main idea, supporting ideas, and evidence.
D) a problem, discussion, and a solution.
You’ll impress prospective employers with your application letter if you
A) use a flashy, eye-catching layout that demonstrates how you might be able to
upgrade the company’s correspondence.
B) show that you know something about the company and its place in the market.
C) use a personal, “chummy” tone.
D) include a list of your skills and abilities.
E) specifically demand an interview.
A ________ suggests an individualized solution for a potential customer and requests a
purchase decision.
A) grant proposal
B) sales proposal
C) solicited proposal
D) project proposal
E) yardstick proposal
Which of the following steps should be taken when you have an important or
complicated message to deliver by phone?
A) Plan what you want to say before calling
B) Establish the needs of the person you are calling
C) Leave a detailed voice message describing when you will call and what the
discussion will be about
D) Be courteous
E) Be short and to the point, with more detailed information sent electronically
A ________ is an unbiased condensation of the information uncovered in your research.
A) problem statement
B) research summary
C) cause and effect analysis
D) primary collation
If you’re a frequent user of social media, much of what you write will involve
A) orientations.
B) narratives.
C) reference materials.
D) status updates and announcements.
How do visuals improve the impact and quality of a presentation?
A) By creating interest
B) By replacing much of the verbal aspect of the presentation
C) By adding information not covered in the presentation
D) By focusing the attention away from the speaker
E) By being available to all audience members
Which of these is an example of courteous phone behavior?
A) Vary pitch and inflection
B) Increasing the audience’s knowledge level
C) Verify you are calling at a good time
D) Forward all calls you cannot answer directly
E) Use voicemail to screen calls
Which type of report is written to convey information on sales calls, conferences, trips,
and other activities?
A) Operating
B) Personal activity
C) Plans
D) White papers
E) Backgrounders
When responding to questions during a job interview, you should
A) stick to neutral topics such as the weather.
B) look for opportunities to frame your answers as brief stories rather than simple
declarative answers.
C) limit yourself to yes or no answers only.
D) not be afraid to ask, “Could we move on?” if the employer asks a question you don’t
like.
E) include a personal story that expands each answer.
Marketers use ________ to track the online behavior of website visitors and serve up
ads based on what their interests appear to be.
A) cyber stalking
B) crowdsourcing
C) social convergence
D) behavioral targeting
E) demographics
Which of these would be a violation of transparency in a company’s use of social
media?
A) A social media user name that is the company name, rather than the name of an
individual
B) Tweets from a company that don’t disclose who owns the company
C) Tweets and Facebook posts on non-business matters
D) Using Tweets and Facebook posts to sell a product
E) A social media account that appears to be a real person but is in fact a fictitious
persona, with the writing done by the company’s marketing staff
One way to be tactful when giving your reasons for bad news is to
A) explain why the decision is good for you and your company.
B) highlight, if possible, how your negative decision benefits the recipient.
C) explain that the decision is based on company policy.
D) apologize for having to be the bearer of bad news.
E) ignore any request you don’t intend to comply with.
Some email users employ ________ to express emotional nuances in casual or informal
email messages.
A) emoticons
B) monograms
C) cyphers
D) cryptograms
The best option for creating a training module on the features of a software program
would be
A) overhead transparencies.
B) screencasting software.
C) image editing software.
D) chalkboards and whiteboards.
E) Prezis.
________ is nearly always the easiest and most effective way to deliver a presentation.
A) Memorizing the presentation
B) Speaking from an outline or notes
C) Reading the presentation slides
D) Speaking extemporaneously
When writing a proposal, where should a review of the situation and an indication of a
need for action be discussed?
A) Background or statement of the problem
B) Solution
C) Scope
D) Report organization
E) Limitations
Sources of secondary information include
A) first-hand observation.
B) in-person interviews.
C) newspapers and periodicals.
D) experiments.
E) focus group observations
In the reasons section of a negative message, you should
A) prepare the reader for the negative news.
B) state the bad news directly.
C) apologize for the negative decision.
D) establish common ground with the reader.
E) include every reason you have identified.