Instructor Resource
Lussier, Management Fundamentals 8e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
1
Instructor Manual
Chapter 13: Communication and Information Technology
Work Application Sample Answers
Most of the answers are actual student answers or based on student answers. You may give
these answers as part of your lecture before, after, or in place of getting student answers.
13-1. Give an example of vertical (upward and downward), horizontal, and grapevine
communication at a company where you work or have worked.
Over the summer I worked for an ice cream shop. My boss, the owner, did not work at the
13-2. Give an example of a message that might be transmitted in a work setting. Be sure
to illustrate the four steps in the communication process, state the channel, and note if
feedback was given.
The following may be used if you are quitting your job because you found a better one:
13-3. Give two examples of different communication barriers you encountered at work.
Explain how each barrier could have been overcome.
Instructor Resource
Lussier, Management Fundamentals 8e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
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Noise: My boss was out of town, and she called me from Chicago to tell me what time her
13-4. Give an example of an oral message and a written message you received at work,
and specify the channel of each.
Oral message: My boss would always give me my assignments using face-to-face
13-5. Recall a specific task that a boss assigned to you. Identify which steps in the face-
to-face message-sending process he or she did and did not use.
I had to do a mass mailing for my boss. My boss did not develop rapport (step 1) or state
13-6. Recall a past or present boss. How effective was this person at getting feedback?
Was the boss open to feedback and aware of nonverbal communication? Did the boss
ask questions and ask you to paraphrase?
My past boss was not good at getting feedback. She really was not open to feedback,
Instructor Resource
Lussier, Management Fundamentals 8e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
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13-7. Refer to the Self-Assessment. What is your weakest listening skill? Give an
example of how your listening skills have had an impact on you at work
I’d have to say my weakest listening skill is tuning people out who do not agree with my
13-8. Recall two oral messages you received and your responses to them. Identify your
response style, and give examples of responses you might have given using two other
response styles.
1. Sender: This order needs to be ready by 5:00 p.m. today.
13-9. Recall a situation in which a manager had to handle an emotional employee. Did
the manager follow the guidelines for calming an emotional person? Did the manager
use reflective, empathic responses?
The place where I used to work based raises on cost of living and merit. My boss only
Instructor Resource
Lussier, Management Fundamentals 8e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
13-10. How would you rate yourself on your ability to accept criticism without getting
emotional and defensive? How could you improve your ability to accept criticism?
I’m not great at accepting criticism. When my boss criticizes me, I tend to become
Review Question Answers
13-1. What are the differences among vertical, horizontal, and grapevine
communication?
Vertical communication is the flow of information both downward and upward through
13-2. What takes place during the information systems process?
13-3. What is the difference between encoding and decoding?
Encoding is the sender’s process of putting the message into a form that the receiver will
13-4. What is filtering?
Instructor Resource
Lussier, Management Fundamentals 8e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
13-5. What is the difference between setting and body language?
13-6. What is the difference between nonverbal and oral and written communication?
13-7. What is media richness?
13-8. What should be included in your plan to send a message?
Before sending a message, you should answer these what, who, how, when, and where
questions:
13-9. What are the four ways to get feedback on messages?
The four ways to get feedback on messages are (1) Be open to feedback. (2) Be aware of
13-10. Why should you listen, analyze, and then check understanding?
You have to listen first so that you can hear the message. You analyze second so that you
13-11. Why is criticism important to the individual and organization?
Instructor Resource
Lussier, Management Fundamentals 8e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
Communication Skills Answers
13-1. Select an organization with which you are familiar. How can the flow of
communication be improved?
13-2. Is the grapevine helpful or harmful to most organizations? Should managers try to
stop grapevine communication? Why or why not?
13-3. Which e-commerce methods have you used? Which one do you use most often?
13-4. Wireless phones and handheld devices are blurring work and home life. Is this
positive or negative? Should people stay connected and work while on vacation?
13-5. What is the relationship between information and the management functions?
13-6. What is the difference between a computer network and an information network?
A computer network connects independent computers directly together (P2P). An
13-7. What does perception have to do with encoding and decoding?
Encoding and decoding are based on perception. As messages are transmitted, receivers
13-8. Which communication barrier do you think is the most common, and which
barrier do you believe has the most negative effects on communication?
Instructor Resource
Lussier, Management Fundamentals 8e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
13-9. Which message transmission channel do you use most often in your personal and
professional life? What is your strongest and weakest channel? How can you improve
on your weakness?
13-10. When sending messages, how effective are you at checking the receiver’s
understanding? Can you improve? If so, how?
13-11. When receiving messages, how effective are you at listening? Can you improve?
If so, how?
13-12. Which response style do you use most often?
Applying the Concept Answers
Applying the Concept 13-1: Communication Flow
Identify the form of communication flow occurring for each statement.
A. Vertical downward
B. Vertical upward
C. Horizontal—identify as between (1) peers or (2) departments
D. Grapevine
1. “Kyra, here is the report you asked me to complete for you. Check it, and I’ll make
any changes you want.”
2. “Tomas, I just sold products to two new customers who want to set up charge
accounts. Please rush the credit check so we can increase business.”
Instructor Resource
Lussier, Management Fundamentals 8e
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3. “Juanita, please take this stamped auto registration form to the Registry of Motor
Vehicles for me right away.”
4. “Hey, Bubba, have you heard that Paul and Betty Sue were caught . . . ?”
5. “Arjun, will you please hold this so we can get it straight and finish the job?”
Applying the Concept 13-2: Communication Barriers
Identify the communication barrier indicated by each statement.
A. Perception
B. Information overload
C. Channel selection
D. Noise
E. Trust and credibility
F. Not listening
G. Emotions
H. Filtering
I. Language/culture
6. “Ramzie, I don’t like texting back and forth, and it takes longer, so please call me so
we can talk.”
7. “Joe, how many times do I have to tell you to put down the phone when I’m giving
you instructions?”
8. “Eliana, please shut the loud music off. I need to talk to you about your incident with
Kara.”
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Lussier, Management Fundamentals 8e
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9. “Jose, please come over here and tell me what Juan is talking about because I can’t
understand him.”
10. “Ronnie, you shouldn’t be upset, so chill out, will you?”
11. “So, Billy Jean, do you understand?” She doesn’t respond (thinking, “You just went
through 14 steps, and I was lost back on step 2”).
12. “Yes, Deondre. We are right on schedule” (meanwhile thinking, “We are actually
behind, but we’ll catch up”).
13. “Paul, I said I’d do it in a little while. It’s only been 10 minutes, so why do you expect
it to be done by now?”
14. “Kasandra, you don’t know what you are talking about. I’ll keep doing it my way.”
Applying the Concept 13-3: Channel Selection
Oral communication
A. Face-to-face
B. Meeting
C. Presentation
D. Telephone
Written communication
E. Email/text
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F. Memo
G. Letter
H. Report
I. Bulletin board, poster, newsletter
15. Jose is applying to colleges and asked you for a recommendation.
16. You are running late for a meeting and want your boss to know you are on your way
and will be around five minutes late.
17. Your boss likes your creative idea for a new product and told you to come to a meeting
with higher-level managers to pitch it to them.
18. HR came out with a new policy and wants to inform employees internally of the
change.
19. You are waiting for UPS to deliver an important package, and you want to know if it
is in the mailroom yet.
20. Employees have been leaving the lights on in the break room when no one is in it, so
you decided to send a message to them to shut them off.
21. You need to explain a new project to three of your ten employees.
22. Chris is late again, and you need to take some action.
Instructor Resource
Lussier, Management Fundamentals 8e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
23. “Sandy, I need you to go into our big database and run these statistics for me. Can
you please have the numbers to me by noon?”
Applying the Concept 13-4: Response Styles
Identify the response style exemplified in each statement.
A. Advising
B. Diverting
C. Probing
D. Reassuring
E. Reflecting
Administrative Assistant: Carl, do you have a minute to talk?
Boss: Sure, what’s up, Mary?
AA: Are you aware of all the swearing people do in the operations department? It carries
through these thin walls into my work area. It’s disgusting.
24. “Tell me what specific swears are being said that you find offensive.”
25. “No. I didn’t know anyone was swearing because I don’t spend much time in the ops
department. But, I’ll look into it.”
26. “Don’t let it bother you; just ignore the swearing.”
27. “Are you going to the company picnic?”
28. “So you don’t like swearing—is that it?”
Instructor Resource
Lussier, Management Fundamentals 8e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
Join the Discussion
Join the Discussion 13-1: The Grapevine
The grapevine is commonly used to spread rumors and gossip. Most grapevine information is
harmless and informs employees of what is going on in the firm. However, some, especially
talk regarding work-related matters and coworkers, can destroy trust and sabotage
productivity.
1. Have you or has anyone you know been hurt by rumors or gossip? Explain the
situation and how you or the other person was hurt.
2. Do rumors and gossip help or hurt individuals and the organization?
3. Is it ethical and socially responsible to spread rumors and gossip?
4. Should employees gossip and spread rumors when they are not sure of the accuracy
of the information they are spreading?
5. How should managers handle rumors and gossip?
Join the Discussion 13-2: Should Personal Cell Phones Be Banned at Work?
As discussed, employees are wasting a lot of time at work using either their companies’
computers or their own personal cell phones. To help prevent employees from wasting time,
organizations are monitoring the use of their technology and banning personal cell phones at
work.
1. Is it ethical and socially responsible for employees to use company time and perhaps
its technology for personal use? Should employees get paid for doing personal things at
work?
2. Is it ethical and socially responsible for companies to monitor employee use of their
technology? Should they monitor?
Instructor Resource
Lussier, Management Fundamentals 8e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
3. Is it ethical and socially responsible for companies to ban the use of employee
personal technology on the job? Should they ban personal cell phones at work?
Join the Discussion 13-3: Emotions and Communications
We have discussed diversity in every chapter, so let’s get right into the questions.
1. Should we leave our emotions at home and suppress them at work?
2. Do you agree with this statement: “You shouldn’t confront others when you are
emotionally angry because you can’t be rational, you won’t fix the problem, and you
will hurt relationships”?
3. Do you believe women are more emotional than men? If so, why, and is the difference
a positive or negative thing?
4. Do you agree with this negative stereotype: “Women are too emotional to make good
managers”?
5. Do you believe men and women communicate differently? If so, how, and is the
difference a positive or negative thing?