When it comes to planning business messages, social media
A) enable you to quickly locate experts and vital information on a wide variety of
topics.
B) are not really helpful, although they can be used in to send the message in the
completing step.
C) can be helpful for personal situations, but are inappropriate for business.
D) are generally useful only for getting quick feedback from close associates.
E) are distractions that decrease your chances of creating an effective message.
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.
E) none of the above
Answer:
“Virtual offices” that give everyone on a team access to the same set of resources and
information are called
A) instant messaging software.
B) videoconferencing systems.
C) shared workspaces.
D) extended databases.
E) none of the above.
Answer:
An executive summary
A) is never longer than a few paragraphs.
B) may contain headings and visual aids.
C) comes before the synopsis in the prefatory section of a report.
D) is always included with reports longer than 10 pages.
E) is the same thing as a synopsis.
Answer:
To illustrate how your department’s budget will be distributed by percentage and type of
expense, you should use
A) an organizational chart.
B) a Gantt chart.
C) a pie chart.
D) a line chart.
E) an inverted pyramid.
Answer:
When you prepare a speech or presentation, your first step involves
A) analyzing the situation.
B) choosing the right words.
C) planning the content, length, and style of your speech or presentation.
D) deciding on the right mix of visuals and text for your slides.
E) doing all of the above.
Answer:
Software, database, and website are ________ words.
A) abstract
B) concrete
C) active
D) passive
E) none of the above
Answer:
When using graphics, photos, video clips and other online content in multimedia
documents,
A) it is vital to make sure you can legally use them.
B) copyright is not a concern as long as the items were obtained from the Internet.
C) citation is unnecessary unless your audience asks where you found something.
D) you do not need permission unless you want to use a celebrity photo.
E) you can protect yourself against all potential copyright violations by simply
including a sentence that reads, “All outside content is the property of the respective
owners.”
Answer:
When it comes to paragraph length, you should
A) use long paragraphs with detailed information for direct-mail letters.
B) use long paragraphs if you want your document to look more inviting.
C) keep all paragraphs to fewer than 60 words.
D) use one-sentence paragraphs only occasionally, for emphasis.
E) limit all paragraphs to three sentences.
Answer:
Which of the following would be an inappropriate use of the word “you” in a negative
message?
A) You possess many fine skills.
B) The frying pan you ordered is being shipped today.
C) You shouldn’t have washed that wool shirt; it should be dry cleaned only.
D) When you have more managerial experience, we encourage you to reapply.
E) As you know, our company’s client base has grown more slowly than expected.
Answer:
Compared to more traditional approaches, using social media for promotional messages
A) is far more expensive.
B) allows for the same strategies and techniques.
C) requires a different, more interactive approach.
D) is generally less effective.
E) reaches a much smaller audience.
Answer:
During the revision stage of preparing your slide presentation, you should
A) decide on the background color to use.
B) decide where builds and transitions should be inserted.
C) check for readability and conciseness.
D) determine your main idea.
E) decide on the right balance of text and visuals.
Answer:
In conversations with a nonnative English speaker with whom you have a longstanding
business relationship, you notice that he consistently makes language mistakes that
could hurt his credibility. In response, you should
A) ignore the errors—correcting him could compromise your business interactions.
B) interrupt him and point out the errors, then explain that no one will take him
seriously unless he gets his act together.
C) politely offer advice on the appropriate words and phrases to use.
D) imitate the errors yourself in the hope that he will recognize the need to correct
them.
E) encourage him to watch network television news programs and model his speech
patterns after those of the newscasters.
Answer:
During the ________ phase of group development, the team clarifies and summarizes
the agreed-upon solution, and team members receive their assignments for carrying out
the group’s decision.
A) orientation
B) conflict
C) brainstorming
D) emergence
E) reinforcement
Answer:
One important element of basic email etiquette is to
A) respect the chain of command.
B) use bullets and lists.
C) include headings on all emails.
D) capture your readers’ attention.
E) send all messages prior to 12:00 noon on weekdays.
Answer:
When drafting content for online reports, it is helpful to use the inverted pyramid style
of organization in which you
A) cover the most important information first and then gradually reveal more detail.
B) cover the least important information first and work your way to the main idea.
C) make readers believe you are headed in one direction, and reveal your true intentions
at the end.
D) walk readers through arguments you don’t support, and then explain why.
E) use as many complex sentences as possible.
Answer:
If you choose not to list your GPA in the “Education” section of your résumé,
A) most employers will not interview you.
B) employers will generally respect you for being humble.
C) you should be prepared to answer questions about it during the interview.
D) you should always state it in your application letter.
E) you should simply include a statement that reads, “GPA withheld for privacy
reasons.”
Answer:
Letters from Japanese businesspeople tend to be ________ than those written in the
United States.
A) more direct
B) less direct
C) less interesting
D) shorter
E) better illustrated
Answer:
The main tasks in completing a business message consist of all except
A) proofreading.
B) revising.
C) forecasting.
D) producing.
E) All of the above are part of the completing step.
Answer:
In a formal proposal, a synopsis or executive summary may be
A) essential for highlighting your competitive advantage.
B) useful if the proposal is fairly short.
C) placed in an appendix.
D) unnecessary.
E) most effective if it does not mention the RFP to which you are responding.
Answer:
When writing an employment termination letter, you should
A) include words that are open to interpretation, such as difficult and untidy.
B) clearly present the reasons for the action.
C) not get too caught up in trying to preserve a good relationship with the employee.
D) make clear to the employee that you have carefully researched relevant employment
laws.
E) express your hope that legal action will not be necessary.
Answer:
Infographics are
A) visuals in business messages that inform, rather than decorate.
B) software programs designed to help create effective visuals for business reports.
C) professional designers who are skilled in making business documents come to life
with effective visuals.
D) statistical analyses that help companies determine the exact mix of text and visuals
to use in communicating with a particular audience.
E) messages that combine powerful visuals with supporting text.
Answer:
Employers use preliminary screening interviews to
A) find out as much as possible about each job candidate.
B) give employment tests.
C) filter out applicants who are unqualified or otherwise not a good fit for the
organization.
D) offer jobs to the best candidates.
E) help finalize their expectations for the job.
Answer:
Touch
A) is the least important form of nonverbal communication.
B) is the great equalizer, putting people of different status on the same footing.
C) should be completely avoided in all business situations.
D) is governed by cultural customs that establish who can touch whom and when.
E) is a universal language, consistent in meaning from culture to culture.
Answer:
When you describe your work experience on your résumé, you should
A) start with your most recent job and work back chronologically.
B) describe one or two jobs in detail so that employers get an idea of your work ethic.
C) list only full-time positions.
D) try to come up with fancier titles for the jobs you’ve held.
E) omit any positions in which you did not get a raise.
Answer:
If the audience for your marketing or sales message promoting a new security system is
made up of wealthy professionals, which of the following consumer benefits would you
want to emphasize most?
A) the reliability of the system when protecting the consumer’s property
B) the low cost
C) the attractive appearance of the device
D) easy, do-it-yourself installation
E) how many hundreds of households have the system installed
Answer:
A computer thesaurus
A) catches punctuation as well as grammar errors.
B) highlights phrases in passive voice.
C) suggests correct spelling.
D) can help you find just the right word for a given situation.
E) is not included with common word processing software
Answer:
When you want to develop a paragraph by showing how a general idea is broken into
specific categories, which of these methods would you use?
A) Illustration
B) Comparison and contrast
C) Cause and effect
D) Classification
E) Generalization
Answer:
Which of the following would be the best opening for a routine request?
A) Please send me a summary of last month’s east region sales data.
B) As soon as you get this, send me last month’s sales data.
C) I know you may not want to, but send me last month’s sales data.
D) I am very sorry to ask you to do this.
E) Hopefully, this will not be too much trouble for you.
Answer:
A title slide
A) is the equivalent of a report’s cover and title page.
B) defines the topic of the presentation and informs the audience why you are speaking
on the topic.
C) lists the topics you plan to cover in your presentation.
D) always contains the word “Introduction.”
E) is unnecessary except for highly formal presentations.
Answer:
In evaluating your performance in mock interviews, what sorts of things should you
(and your interview partner) pay particular attention to?
Answer:
What part of a routine request should explain what you are asking the audience to do?
Answer:
List three functions of the close in a business report.
Answer:
Describe at least three common employment messages that follow an interview.
Answer:
________ is the tendency to judge all other groups according to your own group’s
standards, behaviors, and customs.
Answer:
Briefly explain the primary difference between linking and embedding files in business
reports.
Answer:
Explain the increasing dependence on knowledge workers in business, and provide at
least two examples that illustrate the value of information in today’s economy.
Answer:
List at least three general situations in which you should consider sending a printed
version of a business message instead of using an electronic medium.
Answer:
Briefly distinguish between the direct and indirect approaches to organizing business
messages.
Answer:
List at least three guidelines that can help you avoid being accused of defamation.
Answer:
________ is a fear of strangers and foreigners.
Answer:
Briefly explain how nervousness can actually improve the quality of your presentation.
Answer:
Should you use the word I in your résumé? Why or why not?
Answer:
Describe the general function of internal proposals, and provide at least one example to
illustrate.
Answer:
Why is it often helpful to enlist the help of two people when proofreading reports and
proposals?
Answer:
List the three most common strategies for structuring analytical reports.
Answer:
Briefly explain the differences among user-generated content sites, community Q&A
sites, and community participation websites.
Answer:
Briefly define multimedia.
Answer:
Rewrite the following negative message using positive words rather than negative ones:
“Since you failed to send payment, we cannot ship your order.”
Answer: