44) A manager who is instructing his employee about work tasks is communicating
A) informally.
B) horizontally.
C) externally.
D) through the grapevine.
E) vertically.
45) The more management levels through which a message passes, the
A) more important the message is.
B) higher the chance the message will become external.
C) more informal the organization.
D) more disorganized the organization.
E) more distorted the message may become.
46) The vice president of finance at Capital City College disseminated a new five-year strategic
plan to deans and department chairs. This is an example of ________ communication.
A) external
B) horizontal
C) corporate
D) downward
E) informal
47) Maureen, a marketing manager, shares some of the market research her department has
analyzed with the research and development group. Maureen is communicating
A) by wandering around.
B) horizontally.
C) upward.
D) through the grapevine.
E) externally.
48) At the end of the fiscal year, Thompson Investments releases an earnings report to clients. By
sending the earnings reports to its clients, Thompson Investments is communicating
A) vertically.
B) externally.
C) horizontally.
D) downward.
E) upward.
49) ________ communication channels develop outside the organizational structure and do NOT
follow the chain of command.
A) Informal
B) Vertical
C) Horizontal
D) Customary
E) External
50) Gossip and rumor in an organization are part of the ________, which itself is a type of
________ communication channel.
A) organizational chart; horizontal
B) culture; horizontal
C) grapevine; informal
D) grapevine; horizontal
E) organizational chart; informal
51) The grapevine is
A) a formal communication channel.
B) almost wholly inaccurate.
C) slower than formal channels.
D) the source of as much as 90 percent of all organizational communication.
E) more active when official communication is lacking.
52) The key to protecting digital communication systems against fraud, hackers, identity theft, and
other threats is
A) using file-sharing services.
B) hiring ethical employees.
C) using prevention techniques like strong passwords.
D) creating a well-funded IT department.
E) minimizing turnover.
53) When thieves use your name and good credit rating to get cash or buy things, they are engaging
in
A) Robin Hood theft.
B) credit mishandling.
C) credit exploitation.
D) identity theft.
E) misuse of standing.
54) All of you taking this course have e-mail, even if it is only the student account issued by the
college or university, and probably check it multiple times a day, but think about the average user.
Which of the following statements would be FALSE?
A) The average worker can receive hundreds of e-mails in a day.
B) Texting and social networking have begun to reduce the dominance of e-mail.
C) The number of e-mail users worldwide has peaked and begun to decline.
D) Many computer applications require an e-mail address for access.
E) Most workers feel that they can answer only a few dozen e-mails per day.
55) Which of the following is appropriate for workplace e-mail?
A) forwarding e-mails to friends and relatives
B) complicated topics
C) maintaining work–life balance by not sending e-mails before or after work hours
D) informality and grammatical errors
E) sensitive personal issues
56) The source for crowdsourcing is most often
A) executive advisory councils.
B) the Internet and social media.
C) boards of directors.
D) professional associations.
E) competitors.
57) Generally, typical listeners retain ________ of what they hear.
A) 5 percent
B) all
C) 75 percent
D) two-thirds
E) 20 to 50 percent
58) Active ________ is the process of actively decoding and interpreting verbal messages, which
requires full attention and processing.
A) empathizing
B) comprehension
C) hearing
D) listening
E) evaluation
59) Which of the following is NOT a suggestion that may help you be a good listener?
A) Show respect for the speaker; do not interrupt.
B) Ask good questions.
C) Paraphrase and summarize remarks.
D) Use nonverbal cues to demonstrate interest and involvement.
E) Mentally compose your response.
60) Active listening requires all of the following EXCEPT
A) decoding.
B) interpreting verbal messages.
C) full attention.
D) processing of information.
E) focusing on the delivery rather than content.
61) Which of the following is a tip for writing more effectively for business purposes?
A) Avoid using a subject line when sending an e-mail.
B) Start by stating your purpose and what you expect of the reader.
C) Use the passive voice (rather than the active voice).
D) Construct interesting, complex sentences.
E) Begin an e-mail with an informal greeting like “Hey.”
62) The introduction to a business speech should
A) get right to the point.
B) contain at least one joke.
C) contain a phrase like “I’m honored to be here.”
D) contain significant details of the presentation.
E) contain an unrelated story to catch the interest of the audience.
63) Which of the following is NOT appropriate to include in the conclusion of a speech?
A) a signal phrase to cue listeners about the wind-up
B) “thank you”
C) a call to action
D) details you forgot from earlier
E) a little upbeat story or a quotation
64) Luke gave some people street directions, but because they only nodded their heads and didn’t
repeat the directions back to him, he doesn’t really know whether the directions were understood.
Why?
A) Because they did not respond, there may have been a feedback barrier.
B) Because they did not respond, there may have been a sender barrier.
C) Because they did not respond, there may have been an encoding barrier.
D) Because they did not respond, there may have been a medium barrier.
E) Because they did not respond, there may have been a decoding barrier.
65) Which of the following is the best advice for face-to-face communication?
A) Begin with good news, and lead up to bad news.
B) Use a face-to-face meeting as an opportunity to multitask.
C) Hold “town hall” meetings daily.
D) Speak “off the cuff” rather than preparing a dull list of topics that need to be discussed.
E) Have face-to-face meetings spontaneously when you encounter a coworker in the daily course
of doing business (for example, in the copy room or lunch room).
66) Imagine that you work for a life insurance company. The company is offering a new type of
life insurance policy for senior citizens (people over age 65) and retirees. Keeping generational
differences in mind, which of the following is the best medium for communicating with potential
customers/clients?
A) e-mail
B) YouTube videos
C) telephone calls
D) Facebook
E) text messages
67) Which of the following is an example of a barrier in cross-cultural communication?
A) You are trying to get through to a colleague on the telephone, but you keep getting a buy signal.
B) Men are less likely than women to indicate that they are unsure about an issue.
C) The “OK” hand symbol means “all right” or fine in the United States, but is considered an insult
in parts of Europe.
D) Those over the age of 70 are significantly less likely to use any form of social media.
E) Due to a hurricane affecting the East Coast, all Internet connections are down for thousands of
miles.
68) Among people aged 18–29, the most popular social network is ________, and ________ is the
most popular social network among people aged 30–59.
A) Facebook; Facebook
B) Twitter; Google+
C) Instagram; Tumblr
D) Snapchat; LinkedIn
E) Pinterest; Twitter
69) Which of the following statements about social media is FALSE?
A) Social media can lead to hiring discrimination by revealing applicants’ religious affiliation, age,
family composition, or sexual orientation.
B) Your overall presence on the Internet and social media sites should reflect a mature and
responsible individual and include nothing you’d be afraid to see in the newspaper.
C) In terms of job recruiting, LinkedIn is the most widely used social media site.
D) The use of social media in the workplace often leads to reduced turnover, higher performance,
and increased job satisfaction.
E) Social media rarely reduces productivity in the workplace.
70) Which term refers to the use of the Internet at work for personal use?
A) cyberloafing
B) jargon
C) crowdsourcing
D) cyberthreat
E) media policy
71) Which of the following is NOT an element of an effective social media policy?
A) Encourage employees to post honest, bold, and even unpopular decisions.
B) Align social policy with the organization’s culture.
C) Explain what is considered illegal.
D) Clarify what is confidential.
E) Create safe channels for employees to air their concerns before going online.
72) Which of the following is an example of empathetic communication?
A) “We need to get this job finished on time if we want to keep our jobs.”
B) “These intense deadlines are both unreasonable and unfair.”
C) “You don’t have a choice; this is the job we hired you to do.”
D) “I understand your frustration; this deadline is intense, and we’re running on reduced staff.”
E) “If you don’t like your job, we can easily replace you.”
73) Tucker is sitting in a seminar where a speaker is explaining the company’s retirement plan
options. Tucker is only 24 years old, and he thinks retirement is so far away that he doesn’t think he
needs to pay attention to the speaker. He starts texting his friends and updating his Facebook page;
he even slumps in his chair. He has completely tuned out of the presentation. In this case, Tucker
has a(n) ________ listening style.
A) detached
B) active
C) involved
D) passive
E) passive-aggressive
74) When someone restates in their own words the crux of what they heard, they are
A) providing feedback.
B) paraphrasing.
C) using active listening.
D) encoding a message.
E) decoding a message.
75) Ally is known for not listening in meetings and for misunderstanding directions. Ty has
decided to take a new approach with her, regardless of whether he is speaking with her or sending
her an e-mail. The last thing he asks Ally to do is use her own words to tell him what she is
supposed to do. How does Ty want Ally to respond?
A) by encoding
B) by decoding
C) by paraphrasing
D) by providing feedback
E) by eliminating noise
76) Rob told Tamara to get him a report “right away.” Tamara was not sure what “right away”
meant. This is an issue of
A) jargon.
B) semantics.
C) medium.
D) encoding.
E) feedback.
77) Contrary to stereotypes, ________ has no impact on media richness preference.
A) gender
B) culture
C) language
D) education
E) age
78) When Rosalyn comes into the office, she speaks to no one, shuts her door, and is rarely seen
again until lunch. She supervises a team of 12 people though. Carmelita has a new idea she would
like to share with management, but is unsure if she should take it to Rosalyn. How would you
describe this upward communication?
A) lacking trust
B) proper use of a rich medium
C) missing a chain of command
D) disorganized organization
E) confusing semantics
79) Jyllian, a supervisor, told her employees, “The store will close Monday for inventory and all
employees are expected to participate.” Without knowing how Jyllian communicated her message,
we know it was done
A) by wandering around.
B) horizontally.
C) upward.
D) through the grapevine.
E) downward.