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REVIEW QUESTIONS & SUGGESTED ANSWERS
1 What are the three purposes for which people communicate? What percentage of a
manager’s time is spent communicating? Give examples of the types of communication
managers use.
The three purposes of communication are to inform, to persuade, and to entertain. Managers
1. Describe the elements of the Transactional Process Model of Communication, the
various parts and how interference or barriers impede communication.
The Transactional Process Model of Communication includes the following.
a. The sender who creates or encodes a message.
2. How is the formal flow of communication different from the informal flow of
communication?
3. What is the difference between intrapersonal and interpersonal communication?
4. What are some common causes of unethical behavior in the workplace?
The common causes of unethical behavior in the workplace are (a) excessive emphasis on profits,
© 2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a
publicly accessible website, in whole or in part
1
5. Describe several intercultural communication barriers and how they might be
overcome.
Intercultural barriers include stereotypes, differences in the interpretation of time, differing
6. What aspect of cultural diversity do you feel will impact you most in your career:
international, intercultural, intergenerational, or gender? Explain your answer,
including how you plan to deal with the challenge.
Answers will vary, but student responses should focus on one of the three listed here, using
7. Describe several ways that communication technology can assist individuals and
organizations.
Communication technology can assist individuals and organizations in collecting and analyzing
8. What legal and ethical concerns are raised over the use of technology?
9. How does communication in work teams differ from that of traditional organizations?
Communication in work teams differs from that in traditional organizations in that
10. Why has communication been identified as perhaps the single most important aspect of
team work?
Communication has been identified as perhaps the most important aspect of team work because
© 2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a
publicly accessible website, in whole or in part
2
FEATURED ASSIGNMENTS
1Writing About Your Team Orientation: Take the team player quiz at the Monster career site
and write a brief paper about their team orientation and how being a team player may affect
their career success.
11. Analyzing an Ethical Dilemma: Research a scandal in the business or popular press using
campus resources. Read the article and respond to the following questions:
a. Who are the stakeholders in the case? What does each stand to gain or lose, depending
on your decision?
b. How does the situation described in the case relate to the four-dimension model shown in
Figure 1–4?
c. What factors might influence your decision as the manager in the case?
Students’ answers will vary depending on the article(s) they select.
12. Intercultural Interview: Assemble a group of three and interview an international student at
your institution. Generate a list of English words that have no equivalents in his or her
language. You should also find out about nonverbal communication that may differ from that
used in American culture. Be prepared to share your findings in a short presentation to the
class.
13. Communication Failure: Assemble a group and discuss experiences where “communication
failure” was blamed for problems that occurred in your work, academic, or personal
interactions. Generate three to five additional ways communication can fail, with suggestions
for correcting them. Your instructor may ask you to share your results in a short presentation.
Five reasons communications fail:
It’s not my responsibility: Employees don’t want to shoulder responsibility for others’ tasks,
I just assumed: Never make assumptions. Ask questions so that all information is clear.
Answers for additional ways communication can fail will vary.
© 2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a
publicly accessible website, in whole or in part
3
ADDITIONAL ASSIGNMENTS
1Miscommunication Cause and Solution: Identify and describe a miscommunication that you
have had with a fellow college student, friend, family member, co-worker, or representative of
a company with which you have dealt. Explain the source or cause of the communication.
Was it due to some type of interference? Or was it a problem with encoding? What feedback
might you have given to eliminate the problem?
Some of the interferences that may occur at various stages of the communication process include:
Differences in educational level, experience, culture, and other characteristics of the sender
and the receiver increase the complexity of encoding and decoding a message.
Various behaviors can cause breakdowns in the communication process at the encoding stage,
such as when the sender uses:
Words not present in the receiver’s vocabulary.
14. Formal Network Flows: Identify an organization with which you are part. This organization
can be your workplace, or a church, sports, or university organization in which you
participate. Try to identify the formal network flows that are dominant in the organization.
Does organization primarily flow upward, horizontally, or downward? Based upon this
observation, can you see ways that network flow might be improved and its benefits to the
organization?
Downward communication flows from supervisor to employee, from policy makers to operating
© 2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a
publicly accessible website, in whole or in part
4
15. History and Development of Your Career Field: Research the history and development of
your chosen career field as well as some of the companies and organizations that offer
employment in that area. How have their business practices changed over the years? What
has been the effect of technology on the organization(s)? What has been the effect of
globalization? Has the legal environment changed in such a way as to affect its practices and
communication?
CASE ASSIGNMENT 1
CAN THE UNITED STATES SUCCEED WITHOUT REWARDING RUGGED
INDIVIDUALITY?
A basic element of the fabric of U.S. entrepreneurship is the faith in the ingenuity of the
The recent shift in organizational structures toward team design has caused management
to reassess reward systems that focus on individual recognition and to consider rewards that are
based on team performance. Some fear that removing individual incentive will lead to mediocrity
Team advocates say that teams are here to stay and liken those who deny that reality to
© 2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a
publicly accessible website, in whole or in part
5
Questions
1 How would you respond to those with concerns about loss of individual incentive?
Argue for or against the increased emphasis on team reward, using either personal
examples or examples from business.
Arguments in favor of increased emphasis on team reward include: (a) team reward encourages
2 Structure a reward system that would recognize both individual and team performance.
You may use an organization of your choice to illustrate.
3 Select a specific corporation or nation that has implemented the team model. Describe
the transition away from a hierarchical structure and the consequences that have
resulted from the shift, both positive and negative.
Organizations selected will vary. Focus on how well the student described the transition from
CASE ASSIGNMENT 2
Your state’s Department of Transportation, in concert with the Governor’s Office, has proposed a
master plan for the expansion of Interstate highway between two major cities in your state. The
freeway currently has four lanes and will be expanded to six lanes. Two approaches have been
Questions
1. Who are potential audiences or groups who would be concerned about the decision?
© 2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a
publicly accessible website, in whole or in part
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Answers may vary, but residents of the area, commuters who use the road regularly, business
2. What communication messages would be appropriate for a variety of the audiences?
Televised press conference, local informational meetings, mailings to affected business owners,
3. Divide the class into groups that develop responses to the hard questions that may be
asked at a press conference. Remind students of the following in creating responses:
acknowledge the emotion, restate the concern expressed, stay cool and composed and
avoid arguing or debating, identify the value or principle that is the basis of person’s
question or feelings. Have groups share responses to the questions.
a. I own a small business in just out of Detroit in front of where the traffic will be
b. Isn’t it true that the governor doesn’t really care about the state as much as she
c. My grandchildren live just an hour away up the freeway. They’ve been the joy of
d. I own a small company and was thinking of putting a new office just twenty miles up
© 2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a
publicly accessible website, in whole or in part
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