Which of the following statements is true of following up after you send a job
application letter?
A. You can follow up twice after one week to ask if e-mail materials were received.
B. You can follow up with the employer once if you hear nothing after two or three
weeks.
C. If your job letter was solicited, it is fine to follow up two or three times.
D. If your job letter was prospecting, you must wait till the employer gets in touch with
you.
E. You can follow up once after two or three days to ask if e-mail materials were
received.
Answer:
Which of the following steps should you undertake, as a candidate for a campus
interview?
A. Avoid following standard protocol, because it will prevent you from standing out.
B. Focus on only one selling point that you want the interviewer to remember.
C. Schedule the interview late in the day if you are given a choice about the schedule.
D. Have good professional stories about your work to help you stand out from the
crowd.
E. Avoid mentioning selling points, because they distract the interviewer and disrupt
the process.
Answer:
A sentence in a job application letter reads, “You can call my professor to verify
whether the recommendation is valid.” Which of the following is most likely to be the
best revision for this sentence to ensure positive emphasis?
A. My professor is willing to verify the written recommendation over telephone.
B. Professor Jackson can provide more specific information about my coursework and
qualifications.
C. Professor Jackson would be happy to confirm your views if you check with him.
D. You can verify the recommendation by calling Professor Jackson.
E. Professor Jackson will help you verify the validity of the recommendation.
Answer:
Positive and informative messages should include benefits when:
A. presenting factual information only.
B. presenting benefits that may not be obvious.
C. the benefits make the audience seem selfish.
D. the audience’s attitude toward the information does not matter.
E. the benefits are so obvious that restating them insults the audience’s intelligence.
Answer:
Dario heads a team at an organization. He often interacts with his team through
meetings and e-mails to discuss various issues, strategies, and ideas. In which of the
following scenarios should Dario use oral communication over written
communication?
A. When he wants to resolve conflicts between his team members
B. When he wants to present many specific details about a particular project
C. When he wants to document something that the team unanimously agreed on
D. When he wants to minimize undesirable emotions between his team members
E. When he wants to provide complex, technical data related to a product
Answer:
Which of the following is the best way to deal with a situation when all your work
experience is in your family’s business?
A. List your family members as references, but in your letter of application stress that
they were just as hard on you as they would have been if you had not been related.
B. Never list the name of the company if it contains your family name.
C. List the company you worked for and list a client who can talk about your work.
D. Mention that there is no scope for growth since it’s a family business.
E. Avoid mentioning the names of your supervisors.
Answer:
Which of the following statements is true of the pitch of a voice?
A. A high-pitched voice is usually perceived as being more authoritative than a
low-pitched voice.
B. A high-pitched voice is usually perceived as being less pleasant to listen to than a
low-pitched voice.
C. Your voice goes down in pitch when you’re angry or excited.
D. Women tend to have lower-pitched voices than men.
E. When you increase the volume of your speech, your pitch tends to decrease.
Answer:
Which of the following functions do verbs and gerunds generally serve in a résumé?
A. They save space and prevent grammatical errors.
B. They create a lack of parallelism in sentence structure.
C. They allow you to present information briefly than nouns do.
D. They create a more dynamic image of you than nouns do.
E. They are vital to catch the eye of the employer.
Answer:
Nicole decides to present the design of a new bioreactor to her clients orally. Which of
the following is most likely the reason she chooses an oral presentation over a written
document?
A. Unlike a written document, an oral presentation would make it easier for Nicole to
present specific details about the reactor and its functioning.
B. Nicole would be able to make use of visuals to explain her design in an oral
presentation, but she cannot do that in a written document.
C. Unlike a written document, an oral presentation would make it easier for Nicole to
answer her client’s questions and build consensus.
D. An oral presentation would allow Nicole to present the complex data associated
with her design more easily than a written document.
E. An oral presentation would make it easier for Nicole to reduce undesirable emotions
in her audience than a written document would.
Answer:
When integrating visuals and data displays into your text, a fuller explanation of a
visual is necessary when:
A. similar material is presented to the audience quite frequently.
B. the visual is simple and well designed.
C. the information it presents is a minor part of your proof.
D. the audience is familiar with the topic and the data.
E. the material is new to the audience.
Answer:
Which of the following best describes the Plain Writing Act?
A. It requires all federal agencies to use clear prose that can be easily understood by
the public.
B. It governs the writing, publishing, and usage of printing presses in the country.
C. It insists that the language used in legal documents should be written more
technically.
D. It requires all federal agencies to ensure that content used in any document must
acknowledge its source.
E. It states that all business writing must be directed toward the welfare of the society.
Answer:
Jovina works as a marketing manager and needs to attend a meeting with Kiara, a
colleague from the communications team. A day prior to the meeting, they decide that
they should meet at 9 a.m. However, Kiara arrives at 9:45 a.m. and does not feel the
need to apologize to Jovina. She feels that being 45 minutes late is the same as being 10
minutes late. Which of the following best describes Kiara’s attitude toward time?
A. Kiara measures time by the season.
B. Kiara measures time by the sun.
C. Kiara calculates time frames based on her internal body clock.
D. Kiara measures time in five-minute blocks.
E. Kiara calculates time in one hour blocks.
Answer:
Evelyn Jones who works for Lobo Events, an event management company, is preparing
a document on the problems faced while hosting events and generating revenue. In the
report, she explains that unavailability of venues for events in particular seasons and
steep charges by music bands are challenges faced by the company. In addition, she
explains the company’s performance and that it generated revenue of $25,000,000 in the
last three months. Which of the following documents is Evelyn preparing in this
scenario?
A. Letter of transmittal
B. Performance appraisal
C. Procedure bulletin
D. Quarterly report
E. 10-K Report
Answer:
To reduce the number of conflicts in a team, it is useful to:
A. realize that team members are responsible for each others’ happiness.
B. avoid discussing ground rules at the beginning.
C. discuss conflicts only when they become unavoidable.
D. avoid acknowledging problems as they arise.
E. make responsibilities clear at the beginning.
Answer:
Which of the following purposes does a proposal serve when a company knows it needs
to change, but is unsure of what they should do?
A. Providing a record of the implementation and evaluation process
B. Assessing whether change is a good idea and analyzing why
C. Developing a plan to decide what course of action should be taken
D. Providing insight on whether change is desirable or not
E. Implementing a suitable plan and increasing measurable outcomes
Answer:
Natalie Tong is a sales executive at an insurance firm. She is working on convincing a
large corporate client to insure its employees. Although she knows that the task at hand
is challenging, she is determined to achieve her objective. Which of the following is
responsible for extrinsically motivating Natalie to convince the client?
A. The prospect of getting a commission
B. The pride in undertaking a challenge
C. The satisfaction in achieving her company’s objectives
D. The desire to improve her public relation skills
E. The pleasure in contributing to her team’s target
Answer:
Which of the following is true of goodwill in business communication?
A. Goodwill is less important, now that the majority of jobs are in service.
B. Goodwill increases the challenges of business and administration.
C. Goodwill is important internally, not externally.
D. Goodwill helps to create less staff turnover.
E. Goodwill is built exclusively by you-attitude.
Answer:
Which of the following should you do while writing proposals?
A. Ensure that unimportant information is provided in the beginning.
B. Pay close attention to the ending of the proposal, as it is very important.
C. Use a different structure from the RFP to help the proposal stand out better.
D. Use headings different from those in the RFP when replying to it.
E. Avoid using the same terminology as used in the RFP.
Answer:
Which of the following tasks can be undertaken by a portable media player?
A. Broadcasting streaming video
B. Accessing blogs and websites
C. Video conferencing
D. Completing a time sheet
E. Making telephone calls
Answer:
Jacob is drafting an annual report for his organization. After completing the report, he
sends it to all the team leaders in the organization, so that they can check the content
and add information regarding the achievements of their team. After Jacob receives the
altered reports from the leaders, he sends them to the CEO for a final check. The CEO
checks the report, and sends Jacob the corrections that need to be incorporated. Which
of the following best describes the process depicted by this scenario?
A. Document cycling
B. Inconsistent messages
C. E-mail storage process
D. Administration of documents
E. Incompatible communication systems
Answer:
For which of the following reasons are proposals generally created?
A. When projects are shorter than routine work
B. When projects involve costs lower than routine work
C. When project activities are similar to routine work
D. When projects activities require less time and effort
E. When projects create larger changes than routine work
Answer:
While writing résumés, which of the following steps will help emphasize content?
A. Use a vertical list to add emphasis.
B. Put less important material in the end of a list.
C. Be elaborate about low-level jobs that show dependability.
D. De-emphasize material by setting it off with white space.
E. Emphasize material by setting it off in paragraphs without headings.
Answer:
Which of the following is an example of verbal communication?
A. Logos
B. Gestures
C. Eye contact
D. Pictures
E. Tweets
Answer:
Which of the following is true of the connotations of colors according to professions?
A. Red suggests “death” to healthcare professionals.
B. Blue suggests “unreliability” to financial managers.
C. Green suggests “healthy” to healthcare professionals.
D. Red suggests “losing money” to financial managers.
E. Green suggests “danger” to engineers.
Answer:
Agnese is conducting research to write the first draft of her research proposal on
immigration and its effects. Which of the following enables her to use older references
to find newer articles on the same topic?
A. Census reports
B. Abstracts
C. Specialized encyclopedias
D. Newspapers
E. Citation indexes
Answer:
Kingsley Inc., a clothing retail line in London, recently expanded its business to
Scotland. After some basic market research, the management realized that a majority of
the people in London preferred organic clothing. Keeping this in mind, it launched its
store with clothes made from hemp and bamboo. This strategy turned out to be very
successful, as it received a good response from buyers. Which of the following
statements best explains Kingsley’s strategy?
A. It stereotyped groups in order to understand a group’s culture better.
B. It adapted its products to cater to the needs and tastes of the local market.
C. It desensitized itself to the differences in preferences and tastes within the country.
D. It realized that the differences in preferences and tastes were bad and inferior.
E. It ignored the differences in preferences and tastes within the country.
Answer:
Which of the following is true of layoffs?
A. They never happen for personal reasons.
B. They provide long-term savings.
C. They should only be delivered orally.
D. They hurt the productivity of remaining employees.
E. They require no explanation by the employers.
Answer:
In a compare/contrast pattern of organizing data, focus on the criteria when:
A. the criteria are difficult to differentiate or separate from one another.
B. one alternative is clearly superior than other alternatives.
C. the audience grasps the alternative as a whole rather than as the sum of its parts.
D. the audience intends to compare options independent of recommendations.
E. the audience focuses on the idea behind the alternative instead of its components.
Answer:
Alyssa is applying for a job as a technical consultant at a software company. She is
preparing for her first round which is a phone interview. If she performs well in this
round, she will be eligible for a face-to-face round with the director of the organization.
Which of the following will help Alyssa have a good phone interview:
A. Taking ample notes during the interview to help her keep track of the entire
conversation
B. Browsing relevant online websites during the interview to ensure that she is
answering the questions well
C. Avoiding hand gestures while talking, since no one can see her
D. Putting on soft music in the background to calm her mind and get rid of nervousness
E. Smiling and leaning forward while talking, because it will help add warmth to her
words
Answer:
Use a(n) _____ when you want to combine experience gained in paid jobs, course
work, activities, and volunteer work.
A. chronological résumé
B. skills résumé
C. infographic résumé
D. social résumé
E. targeted résumé
Answer:
Which of the following is true of an international career experience?
A. Multicultural awareness is sought exclusively for mid-level recruitments.
B. Migrant workers benefit host countries instead of home countries.
C. The importance of second-language proficiency is declining because of
globalization.
D. International experience is unimportant because employees prefer to work in their
own countries.
E. Executive head hunters look for people with international experience while
recruiting.
Answer:
Which of the following questions is one of the five questions that should be asked for
solving business communication problems?
A. What can you infer from the information you’re given?
B. What information must your message include?
C. Where could you get additional information?
D. Which solution is likely to work best?
E. What channel should you use?
Answer:
SL Foods Inc. produces a line of processed snacks for children between three to five
years of age. Most purchase decisions for children in this age group are made by their
parents. Which of the following audience benefits should the company focus on while
designing printed advertisements?
A. The processed snack is endorsed by the children’s favorite cartoon character, Skippy
the cat.
B. The dealers are earning a good commission on the sales of the product.
C. The processed snack is a healthy food option for preschoolers.
D. The product comes with a free plastic toy, worth $1.
E. The processed snack has a patented recipe.
Answer:
Which of the following is true of informative messages?
A. They are always lengthy and descriptive in nature.
B. They elicit a neutral reaction from the receiver.
C. They immediately ask a receiver to undertake action.
D. They are void of any persuasive elements in them.
E. They have a primary purpose to build a good image of the sender.
Answer:
Loretta, a professor, recently gave a presentation on over-consumerism and its impacts.
The presentation was a huge success, mainly because she used a lot of nonverbal
communication which drew the audience’s attention and made the presentation
interesting. Which of the following is a form of nonverbal communication that Loretta
must have used in her presentation?
A. Anecdotes
B. Narrations
C. Quotations
D. Graphics
E. Jokes
Answer: