Deck 8: Organizational Communication

Question 1

Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of organizations?

A) Interdependence.
B) Hierarchical structure.
C) Separation from the environment.
D) None of the above

Answer 1

Separation from the environment.

Question 2

Which of the following statements is true of bureaucracies?

A) Employees work freely without supervision.
B) Workers are rewarded equally regardless of their individual performances.
C) From their inception, bureaucracies were considered to be inefficient and dehumanizing.
D) There is a clear chain of command.

Answer 2

There is a clear chain of command.

Question 3

According to Daniels and his colleagues, organizations should be thought of as

A) islands.
B) predators.
C) self-contained nations.
D) forms of behavior.

Answer 3

forms of behavior.

Question 4

The term "climate" when used to describe organizations refers to

A) the number of competitors the organization must defeat to be successful.
B) geographical and weather conditions that can affect how hard employees work.
C) the way members perceive the organization; its identity.
D) the ratio between cots of production and profits.

Question 5

What is genre?

A) Another term for the superior-subordinate relationship
B) One of the characteristics of good organizations
C) A unique type of communication with its own rules of discourse
D) Communication that is abstract and impersonal

Question 6

A salesperson plays racquetball with the secretary of the head of research and afterwards they discuss the latest office rumors. This is an example of

A) informal channels of communication.
B) upward flow.
C) downward flow.
D) sexual harassment.

Question 7

The head of marketing sends a memo to the CEO of the company. This is an example of

A) informal channels of communication.
B) upward flow.
C) downward flow.
D) sexual harassment.

Question 8

The dean of humanities and sciences addresses faculty at a monthly meeting. This is an example of

A) informal channels of communication.
B) upward flow.
C) downward flow.
D) sexual harassment.

Question 9

Which of the following statements is NOT true of the way employees feel about downward flow?

A) They often don't receive enough information to do their jobs.
B) They often feel they receive too much information.
C) They receive too much face-to-face and not enough mediated communication.
D) They receive too much mediated communication and not enough face to- face communication.

Question 10

Which is the best definition of how assimilation operates in serial transmission?

A) Details are left out so the amount of information in the message is reduced.
B) Unfamiliar material is changed so that it makes sense to the sender.
C) Certain high points in a message given special significance.
D) All of the above

Question 11

A gatekeeper in an organization is

A) a person who communicates frequently with people outside the organization.
B) the person whose job it is to maintain security and make sure trade secrets do not leave the organization.
C) anyone who is in a position to pass on or discard information.
D) the person whose job it is to listen to workers at lower levels of the organization and pass their concerns directly to the top.

Question 12

An ombudsman in an organization is

A) a person who communicates frequently with people outside the organization.
B) the person whose job it is to maintain security and make sure trade secrets do not leave the organization.
C) anyone who is in a position to pass on or discard information.
D) the person whose job it is to listen to workers at lower levels of the organization and pass their concerns directly to the top.

Question 13

What is NOT true about organizational grapevines?

A) The grapevine satisfies personal needs not met by formal channels.
B) Rumors comprise only a small proportion of the information on the grapevine.
C) Most of the grapevine is made up of rumors.
D) The grapevine is richer in content than formal communication and allows for immediate feedback and clarification.

Question 14

The term tight-coupling refers to a

A) situation in which nepotism is rampant within the organization.
B) situation that occurs when members within the organization feel that they are being supervised too closely.
C) high degree of interdependence between sub-units within the organization.
D) high degree of concern for the impact of an organization on its environment.

Question 15

__________ skills are directly related to a particular job (such as experience in selling for a job insales).

A) Work content
B) Transferable
C) Self-management
D) Other-management

Question 16

Which of the following is NOT a necessary element of professional communication?

A) acknowledging status difference
B) putting aside personal difference
C) high levels of self disclosure
D) time management

Question 17

The term organizational culture is/are

A) the extent to which the organization is accepted by its surrounding community.
B) collectively held understandings about organizational identity.
C) the extent to which the organization creates a quality product.
D) the extent to which organizational members are demographically homogeneous.

Question 18

Which increases surprise?

A) Linking newcomers with mentors
B) Early appraisal meetings with feedback
C) Encouraging secrecy norms and a learn-on-your-own philosophy
D) All of the above

Question 19

Which of the following is a good example of an organizational metaphor?

A) Here at Acme we're a caring family
B) Here at Acme we'll give you a gold watch at retirement
C) Acme is known as "Big Red"
D) Here at Acme we'll tell you if you do a good job

Question 20

Orientation for first-year students at a college or university is an example of

A) rite of enhancement.
B) rite of renewal
C) rite of passage.
D) rite of conflict reduction.

Question 21

The purpose of rites of integration is often to

A) permit catharsis and channel aggression.
B) strengthen organizational boundaries by defining who belongs and who doesn't, and to punish out of role behavior.
C) motivate individuals to strive as well as enhance values of the organization.
D) compartmentalize conflict.

Question 22

Sexual harassment is more likely to occur in which of the following situations?

A) When the organization is tightly coupled
B) When the superior and subordinate see each other as equals
C) When the organizations defines the normal employee as male
D) When support systems for women and people of color are strong and readily available

Question 23

Which of the following is the richest medium?

A) face-to-face conversation
B) telephone conversation
C) e-mail
D) written memo

Question 24

An organization is a system consisting of a large number of people working together in a structured way to accomplish multiple roles.

Question 25

Interdependence means that people share a common fate.

Question 26

A hierarchy is a system in which everyone is equal.

Question 27

Organizations can and should attempt to remain aloof from their environments.

Question 28

According to the structurational approach, there is a reciprocal relationship between organizational structure and organizational communication.

Question 29

Communication in organizations is more formal and deferential than communication in the interpersonal context.

Question 30

The best way to deal with a friend who becomes your supervisor is to treat that friend exactly the way you treat him or her outside work.

Question 31

Aisatsu is a Japanese term that mean intense loyalty to one's company.

Question 32

Downward communication often contains information that is misleading or wrong.

Question 33

Message filtering refers to the changes that occur as messages pass from person to person.

Question 34

One way to improve accuracy during serial transmission is to build redundancy into messages.

Question 35

Subordinates are often reluctant to ask questions of their supervisors.

Question 36

Psychologist Stanley Milgram found that it takes an average of five or six links to send a message from one stranger to another.

Question 37

Opinion leaders are superior to others, so they tend to have very few connections with coworkers.

Question 38

A liaison is someone who connects two cliques without being a member of either one.

Question 39

A bridge is a member of a clique who has connections with another clique.

Question 40

According to Perrow, one of the factors that led to the Three Mile Island nuclear accident was the fact that the system was so tightly coupled.

Question 41

Organizational members experience surprise when they find that old scripts and schemata no longer work.

Question 42

Because employees are chosen for competence rather than personal compatibility, people often find themselves working with others they would not choose as friends.

Question 43

The metaphors used in an organization often embody basic aspects of organizational culture.

Question 44

When it comes to professional relationships it is important to balance inclusion and distance.

Question 45

Office romances can disrupt work and make others feel one of the lovers is being given unfair advantages.

Question 46

Several studies have found that the majority of respondents accept office romances.

Question 47

According to Conrad, colleges and universities have characteristics that make sexual harassment very unlikely.

Question 48

Rich media are called "rich" because they use the most expensive technology.

Question 49

Stakeholders are groups of people who affect or are affected by organizations.

Question 50

What are four characteristics of organizations?

Question 51

What problems can be found in upward, downward and horizontal flow? What can be done to solve those problems?

Question 52

Discuss the grapevine. Define and discuss its characteristics.

Question 53

What is the difference between loose and tight coupling? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each?

Question 54

Name and define five of the seven network roles described in the text.

Question 55

List 5 rules for creating professional relationships in the workplace. For each, explain briefly why it is important.

Question 56

The text lists 6 kinds of organizational rites: rites of passage, degradation enhancement, renewal, conflict reduction and integration. Choose four and for each give an example, explain its purpose and describe its consequences.