Deck 6: Communication

Question 1

Communication is essential in performing all management functions.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Communications received through the grapevine are notoriously inaccurate.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

A message consists only of words.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Downward communication originates with employees and passes on to managers and supervisors.

Question 5

The sender is the one who decodes the message.

Question 6

The receiver is the one who assigns meaning to a message.

Question 7

High information-receiving supervisors are apt to spend much of their time listening to employees' discussions about organizational and personal issues.

Question 8

Supervisors who are low disclosers are less visible and communicate less frequently.

Question 9

A nonverbal space signal can include huddling close, being distant, or sitting beside someone.

Question 10

A sender's choice of channel is not very important as long as the message is conveyed to the receiver.

Question 11

Messages received in response to the original message are considered to be noise.

Question 12

It is best to use e-mails to communicate sensitive messages in the workplace.

Question 13

Most managers prefer working for a boss who is a high disclosure-high receiver.

Question 14

Grapevine is the formal flow of communication in organizations.

Question 15

The channel is the means by which a message is passed.

Question 16

A grapevine is the best-known informal communication method.

Question 17

Lateral-diagonal communication has become more important as organizations continue to become more specialized.

Question 18

Computer fluency has now become a prerequisite for most supervisory positions.

Question 19

Feedback is the response that a communicator receives.

Question 20

Communication always flows downward in an organization.

Question 21

A diverse workforce presents a major communication challenge to supervisors.

Question 22

Men's linguistic styles tend to be more expressive and polite than those of women.

Question 23

Part of communication planning involves determining the appropriate communication channel or medium that will be used to convey the message.

Question 24

The best communication occurs when status differences between supervisors and employees are increased.

Question 25

Active listening places the supervisor in a receiver's role and encourages feedback from others.

Question 26

If a message is personal or sensitive, face-to-face communication is not appropriate.

Question 27

Linguistic styles can pose a problem when communicating with people from different cultures.

Question 28

If an employee trusts his or her supervisor, he or she is more willing to communicate frankly about job problems.

Question 29

Perception is the process by which one selects, organizes, and gives meaning to the world around oneself.

Question 30

Key ideas in communication can be reinforced by using repetition.

Question 31

Information richness is the sheer amount of information that a communication channel carries.

Question 32

As a result of specialization in the organization and use of jargon, communication barriers between departments have decreased.

Question 33

A defensive attitude is an effective means of encouraging feedback.

Question 34

Effective communication is a one-way street.

Question 35

Face-to-face communication is lowest in information richness.

Question 36

A primary communication barrier is posed by the lack of a common primary language.

Question 37

The tendency to put similar things into different categories is called stereotyping.

Question 38

Written communication is good for carrying impersonal information such as data.

Question 39

The very fact that one person is boss over others creates a barrier to open communication.

Question 40

Informal communication serves no important purpose for employees.

Question 41

_____ is initiated by employees with their immediate supervisor.

A) Downward communication
B) Ancillary communication
C) Lateral communication
D) Upward communication

Question 42

A(n) _____ uses intranet or Internet technology that allows people to receive messages in real time. It can include a group of people who type individual messages seen by everyone in the "chat room."

A) text message
B) instant message
C) voicemail
D) teleconference

Question 43

An announcement of the goals and objectives of an organization is an example of _____.

A) upward communication
B) downward communication
C) informal communication
D) noise

Question 44

_____ refers to messages and documents created, transmitted, and usually read entirely on computer.

A) E-mail
B) Intranet
C) Voicemail
D) Teleconference

Question 45

Potential barriers to effective communication in each phase of the communication process model, are known as:

A) jargon.
B) noise.
C) object signals.
D) lateral flows.

Question 46

_____ exists separately from established communication systems.

A) Downward communication
B) Upward communication
C) Informal communication
D) Lateral-diagonal communication

Question 47

The _____ is the person who encodes the message in the communication process model.

A) receiver
B) probe
C) sender
D) channel

Question 48

A progress report on a project sent by an employee to his manager is an example of _____.

A) informal communication
B) downward communication
C) upward communication
D) grapevine

Question 49

Group meetings, written forms, telephone, and face-to-face conversations are examples of:

A) messages.
B) feedback.
C) channels.
D) organizational barriers.

Question 50

A manager who frequently talks to his employees about performance expectations and encourages feedback from them is:

A) initiating the grapevine.
B) likely to be disliked by the employees.
C) high as an information discloser and information receiver.
D) encouraging informal communication.

Question 51

Which of the following is true of the grapevine?

A) The Internet and electronic media have slowed down the passage of information along the grapevine.
B) The grapevine is plain workplace gossip and is inaccurate most of the times.
C) In most organizations, the grapevine is the  employees' major source of information about the company.
D) The grapevine can be eliminated by preventing employees from meeting in informal settings beyond the office hours.

Question 52

______ is the the process by which a receiver converts into an idea(s) the communication symbols from a sender.

A) Decoding
B) Encoding
C) Scrambling
D) Deciphering

Question 53

A worker asks seeks clarification regarding a job assignment given to her by her supervisor. The worker's communication is an example of:

A) feedback.
B) stereotyping.
C) downward communication.
D) a channel.

Question 54

Which of the following would be an example of lateral-diagonal communication?

A) A conversation between the maintenance supervisor and the production supervisor
B) A report from the night shift supervisor to the plant manager on the number of products produced
C) A memo from the president to the accounts supervisor
D) A report from the accounting personnel to the president

Question 55

Encoding refers to the process of:

A) conceiving an idea.
B) converting ideas into symbols such as words or gestures.
C) translating communication symbols to ideas.
D) responding to someone else's communication.

Question 56

Which of the following statements is true of nonverbal gestures/signals?

A) Most of emotional meaning is communicated verbally.
B) The impression of a person's emotions is formed more strongly from the words the person uses than the person's tone of voice, facial expression, or other nonverbal means.
C) Nonverbal signals should be avoided, as they distort the meaning of a message.
D) Nonverbal messages are a rich communication source.

Question 57

Slumped posture, clenched fists, or kicking pieces of furniture are nonverbal signals that belong to the category of ______.

A) voice signals
B) body signals
C) space signals
D) time signals

Question 58

The means used to pass a message is the:

A) symbol.
B) probe.
C) feedback.
D) channel.

Question 59

The reflective statement is a nonverbal communication technique.

Question 60

The type of communication which originates with managers and is directed to employees is:

A) downward communication.
B) upward communication.
C) lateral-diagonal communication.
D) informal communication.

Question 61

_____ is a form of informal communication.

A) A progress report
B) The grapevine
C) An attitude survey
D) A morale survey

Question 62

How have intranets and the Internet affected supervisory communication?

Question 63

Which of the following factors affects how a person is perceived in an organization?

A) The rules and norms of the organization
B) The organization's goals
C) The person's nationality
D) The organization's mission

Question 64

_____ is one of the organizational barriers to communication.

A) Layers of hierarchy
B) Technological advancement
C) Lack of specialization
D) Employee empowerment

Question 65

Which of the following is true of linguistic styles?

A) Linguistic styles remain the same across different cultures.
B) Differences in linguistic styles are important communication barriers.
C) Body language is not related to linguistic styles.
D) There is no difference between the linguistic styles of American males and females.

Question 66

A common barrier to communication associated with specialization in an organization is:

A) the grapevine.
B) filtering.
C) jargon.
D) the rumor mill.

Question 67

Describe the basic elements in the communication process model and explain how the process works.

Question 68

Briefly describe and give an example of the seven types of signals used in nonverbal communication.

Question 69

An employee will be more willing to communicate frankly to his or her supervisor:

A) when there is mutual trust between the supervisor and the employee.
B) if status differences are emphasized.
C) in a highly formal setting.
D) when the supervisor is prejudiced and maintains rigid discipline all the time.

Question 70

Grapevines:

A) serve no purpose.
B) breed monotony in the workplace.
C) are a formal communication method.
D) are primarily accurate.

Question 71

The _____ is best defined as a form of active listening in which the listener repeats, in a summarizing way, what the speaker has just said.

A) reflective statement
B) filtering method
C) perceptive approach
D) informal declaration

Question 72

_____ is best defined as the amount of verbal and nonverbal information that a communication channel carries.

A) Informal communication
B) Information richness
C) Linguistic value
D) Electronic diversity

Question 73

_____ consist of those factors that call attention to the fact that the supervisor ranks higher than his or her employees.

A) Trade barriers
B) Status barriers
C) Linguistic barriers
D) Channel barriers

Question 74

Layers of hierarchy is a barrier to communication because:

A) each level can add to, take from, qualify, or change the original message.
B) top level managers hesitate to give employees unwelcome information as employees exercise power over their rewards and penalties.
C) organizational hierarchy contradicts the principle of specialization.
D) communication at higher levels of management is always informal and ambiguous, and the information is out of reach of the lower levels of management.

Question 75

Describe the three flows of communication used in the formal organizational communication system, and give an example of each.

Question 76

The tendency to put similar things in the same categories to make them easier to deal with is referred to as:

A) communication.
B) stereotyping.
C) jargon.
D) linguistics.

Question 77

Stating the same concept in different words is:

A) repetition.
B) planning.
C) stereotyping.
D) transmission.

Question 78

Which of the following is the richest communication form?

A) E-mails
B) Memos
C) Telephone messages
D) Letters and notes

Question 79

Which of the following is true about repetition?

A) It helps when when certain parts of a message are more important than others.
B) It is also known as transparency.
C) It increases the chance of incorrect assumptions being made by the receiver.
D) It decreases the reader's recall.

Question 80

What is the significance of feedback?