Deck 3: Communicating in a World of Diversity

Question 1

When it comes to decision-making customs, North American executives

A) spend a lot of time on each little point to display their good faith.
B) arrive at decisions through consensus, after an elaborate and time-consuming process.
C) tend to focus on the results of the decisions they face.
D) prefer to make their deals slowly, after much discussion.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Applied to nonwhite U.S. residents, the term minority is

A) accurate only for the female population.
B) increasingly inaccurate.
C) still accurate in states such as California and Texas.
D) the only politcally correct option.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Meeting a deadline is generally less important than building a relationship for businesspeople in

A) high-paying positions.
B) low-context cultures.
C) technical career fields.
D) high-context cultures.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

"All the characteristics and experiences that define each of us as individuals" is the definition of

A) diversity.
B) culture.
C) ethnicity.
D) none of the above.

Question 5

Diversity in the workplace can be based on differences in

A) ethnic heritage.
B) age or gender.
C) religion.
D) all of the above.

Question 6

Asking a colleague "How was your weekend?" is

A) accepted in the U.S., but considered intrusive in some cultures.
B) grounds for a lawsuit.
C) an effective greeting in any culture.
D) never acceptable in a business environment.

Question 7

Ethnocentrism can be overcome in part by

A) avoiding assumptions.
B) remembering that people from other cultures communicate in ways that are inferior to your own.
C) ignoring the distinctions among cultures.
D) judging other groups according to your own standards.

Question 8

In high-context cultures,

A) people rely more on nonverbal circumstances and cues to convey meaning.
B) the rules of everyday life are highly explicit.
C) people rely less on the environmental setting to convey meaning.
D) all of the above occur.

Question 9

Many difficulties in intercultural communication occur because people in different cultures have different

A) environments.
B) assumptions about how people should think, behave, and communicate.
C) inborn genetic traits that define who they are and how they interact with the world.
D) media.

Question 10

Xenophobia is the fear of

A) strangers and foreigners.
B) change.
C) crises.
D) working in unfamiliar environments.

Question 11

Compared to low-context cultures, high-context cultures tend to take a(n) ________ approach regarding the meaning of business contracts.

A) more flexible
B) equally flexible
C) more literal
D) none of the above

Question 12

To convey meaning in a low-context culture such as the one existing in Germany, people rely more on

A) explicit verbal communication.
B) indirectness and metaphors.
C) situational cues.
D) gestures and vocal inflection.

Question 13

Women executives who travel abroad

A) should always assume that they will not be taken seriously as businesspeople.
B) can count on being treated with respect, regardless of the countries they visit.
C) should insist on meeting only with other female executives.
D) may not be taken seriously as businesspeople, depending on the culture.

Question 14

When you react ethnocentrically, you

A) recognize the differences that exist between your culture and other cultures.
B) assume that your culture is superior to others.
C) focus on the possibility that your words and actions will be misunderstood.
D) do all of the above.

Question 15

When it comes to the future,

A) people of all cultures view planning as a valuable task.
B) some societies view planning as a waste of time.
C) individual views may differ, but culture generally does not determine one's view of the future.
D) none of the above.

Question 16

The practice of accepting multiple cultures on their own terms is known as

A) cultural pluralism.
B) ethnocentrism.
C) stereotyping.
D) ethnography.

Question 17

Cultural differences appear in a number of important areas, including

A) gender.
B) religion.
C) nonverbal signals.
D) all of the above.

Question 18

People in the United States generally

A) believe that people who work hard are no better than those who don't work hard.
B) condemn materialism and prize a carefree lifestyle.
C) view hard-earned material comfort as a worthy goal.
D) spend far less time on the job than German workers.

Question 19

Culture influences a person's understanding of

A) words.
B) use of time and space.
C) nonverbal signals.
D) all of the above.

Question 20

Associating youth with strength and age with declining powers is

A) an outdated practice.
B) common in European cultures, but not in the U.S.
C) a universal trait that characterizes all cultures.
D) common in the U.S., but not in many Asian societies.

Question 21

In general, business correspondence in other countries is often ________ the style used by U.S. businesspeople.

A) more humorous than
B) more formal than
C) less formal than
D) none of the above

Question 22

If you will be living in another country where English is not the official language but you will be doing business in English, you

A) can show respect by making an effort to learn the language.
B) will not need to learn that country's language.
C) should learn only those words that are absolutely necessary for getting around.
D) should only deal with natives who can speak English.

Question 23

A group of men and women of various ages working together is an example of cultural diversity.

Question 24

Letters from Japanese businesspeople tend to be ________ than those written in the United States.

A) shorter
B) less interesting
C) less direct
D) more direct

Question 25

Intercultural communication is the process of sending and receiving messages within a specific culture.

Question 26

International business communication has been hampered by opening trade barriers throughout the world.

Question 27

When writing to audiences whose first language is not English, using humor is generally

A) acceptable, but only in high-context cultures.
B) a bad idea, since jokes usually depend on culture-specific information.
C) acceptable, but only in low-context cultures.
D) an excellent way to establish a positive relationship.

Question 28

When writing letters to businesspeople in other countries, you should

A) be vague and general in your wording.
B) make generous use of transitional words and phrases.
C) use an informal, friendly tone.
D) keep your sentences and paragraphs long.

Question 29

To English-speaking U.S. listeners, Arabic speech may sound

A) disinterested.
B) timid.
C) excited or angry.
D) all of the above.

Question 30

When writing for multicultural audiences, it's important to

A) be brief.
B) address international correspondence exactly as you would in the U.S.
C) explain that you aren't sure about what they expect.
D) be direct and assertive.

Question 31

Most people belong to only one culture.

Question 32

When preparing a message to someone from another culture, you should

A) assume that the audience is familiar with common U.S. phrases and references.
B) be careful to express numbers and dates in the format used in that person's culture.
C) never write more than a single paragraph.
D) be sure to remove all graphics, in case they might offend someone.

Question 33

Learning about an unfamiliar culture

A) is generally a waste of time-no one in business expects you to do so.
B) can be accomplished only by living among its people.
C) requires at least one year of study before it is meaningful.
D) is a worthy undertaking-even if you learn only a small amount.

Question 34

When adapting to other cultures, the "Golden Rule" is

A) helpful, but only in Asian countries.
B) less effective than treating others the way they want to be treated.
C) a helpful principle to follow.
D) none of the above.

Question 35

When speaking in English to people who use English as a second language, the best approach is to

A) repeat your sentences often, a little louder each time.
B) speak slowly and clearly.
C) forget about feedback; just make sure you get your message across.
D) use plenty of adjectives such as fantastic and fabulous.

Question 36

During conversations with non-native English speakers, you should

A) avoid including any words or phrases from their native language.
B) avoid paying too much attention to nonverbal feedback.
C) immediately rephrase statements they don't seem to understand.
D) do none of the above.

Question 37

If you translate a message from English into another language, it is a good idea to

A) use several translators.
B) translate it word for word.
C) have it back-translated.
D) do all of the above.

Question 38

When speaking with someone from another culture, avoid

A) paying any attention to the person's body language.
B) using any foreign phrases.
C) talking down to the other person.
D) doing all of the above.

Question 39

Although U.S. business is becoming more international and more culturally diverse, cultural diversity is still low on the list of companies' priorities.

Question 40

Which of the following sentences contains an idiomatic expression?

A) Our monthly sales quota is unrealistic.
B) We don't expect to meet our monthly sales quota.
C) The sales quota is very reasonable.
D) Making our monthly sales quota will be a piece of cake.

Question 41

When ethnocentric people stereotype an entire group of people, they are usually justified in doing so.

Question 42

In general, attitudes toward work and success are consistent across the world.

Question 43

Differences in nonverbal communication are often a major source of misunderstanding in intercultural communication.

Question 44

In some cultures, planning for the future is regarded as a waste of time.

Question 45

Evidence suggests that whatever the culture, men and women tend to have slightly different communication styles.

Question 46

Culture is inborn, not learned.

Question 47

Studies have shown that people often have cultural biases of which they're not even consciously aware.

Question 48

For Chinese businesspersons, the primary role of a business meeting is likely to be building relationships, not exchanging information.

Question 49

Members of a well-established culture tend to view their culture as complete, which can dull or even suppress curiosity about other cultures.

Question 50

A new employee from another country has just joined your team. To avoid ethnocentrism, you should strive to ignore the differences between her culture and your own.

Question 51

People within a particular culture tend to differ enormously in their basic assumptions about how people should think, behave, and communicate.

Question 52

In low-context cultures, businesspeople tend to focus on the results of the decisions they face.

Question 53

Ethnocentrism is the tendency to have an equally unbiased view of all ethnic groups.

Question 54

People in the United States are generally accustomed to having less privacy at work than their counterparts in other cultures.

Question 55

When traveling to another country to conduct business, you should assume that frequent eye contact is regarded as a sign of honesty and openness in any culture.

Question 56

In every culture, it's safe to assume that people view material comforts earned by individual effort as a sign of superiority.

Question 57

Members of low-context cultures place more emphasis on nonverbal communication than on verbal communication.

Question 58

Following the "Golden Rule" is not an effective strategy for adapting to other cultures.

Question 59

Cultural context refers to the pattern of physical cues, environmental stimuli, and implicit understanding that conveys meaning between members of the same culture.

Question 60

In many Asian societies, younger employees generally avoid disagreeing with senior executives in public.

Question 61

Cultural ________ is the practice of accepting multiple cultures on their own terms.

Question 62

In general, when writing to someone in another country, U.S. businesspeople should be a bit more formal than they would be otherwise.

Question 63

As businesses become more global, the workforce is increasingly ________: made up of employees with different national, religious, and ethnic backgrounds.

Question 64

________ is a shared system of symbols, beliefs, attitudes, values, expectations, and norms for behavior.

Question 65

Because high-quality translation software is now widely available, the demand for multilingual communicators continues to decrease.

Question 66

________ is the tendency to judge all other groups according to your own group's standards, behaviors, and customs.

Question 67

________ is the practice of assigning a wide range of generalized attributes to an individual on the basis of membership in a particular culture or social group.

Question 68

There are no differences between English as it is written in the U.S. and English as it is written in the United Kingdom.

Question 69

When communicating with people from other cultures, it is best to apologize when you make a mistake.

Question 70

Machine translation software is generally far more effective than human translators.

Question 71

Cultural ________ is an appreciation for cultural differences that affect communication and the ability to adjust one's communication style to ensure that efforts to send and receive messages across cultural boundaries are successful.

Question 72

In ________-context cultures, people rely less on verbal communication and more on the context of nonverbal actions and environmental setting to convey meaning.

Question 73

________ is a fear of strangers and foreigners.

Question 74

Foreign language instruction is one area where social networking technology has failed to have much of an impact.

Question 75

When conducting business with others who speak a language other than English, it is best to avoid trying to speak any words or phrases in their language.

Question 76

In intercultural conversations, speaking slowly is usually regarded as a sign of disrespect.

Question 77

The process of sending and receiving messages between people of different cultures is called ________ ________.

Question 78

When writing to someone for whom English is a second language, you should avoid using slang and idioms.

Question 79

Unlike most Asian professionals, French executives do not put their colleagues at ease with praise before they criticize.

Question 80

Cultural ________ is the pattern of physical cues, environmental stimuli, and implicit understanding that convey meaning between two members of the same culture.