Deck 15: Managing Communication

Question 1

Selective perception is the tendency to notice and accept objects and information consistent with our values, beliefs, and expectations; and screen out or not accept inconsistent information.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

When it comes to improving communication, managers must manage one-on-one communication while also managing organization-wide communication.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

The self-serving bias is the tendency to overestimate our value by attributing successes to ourselves (internal causes) and attributing failures to others or the environment (external causes).

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Nonverbal communication is less informative than verbal communication. .

Question 5

Managers with better listening skills are rated as better managers by their employees and are much more likely to be promoted.

Question 6

One recommendation for managers wishing to improve their formal communication is to decrease reliance on downward communication.

Question 7

The resistance bias is the tendency for people to perceive themselves as personally and situationally similar to someone who is having difficulty or trouble and, therefore, to use external attributions to explain the person's behavior.

Question 8

Perception is the process by which individuals attend to, organize, interpret, and retain information from their environments.

Question 9

In the perceptual process, apprehension is the process of remembering interpreted information.

Question 10

Horizontal communication flows among managers and workers who are at the same organizational level.

Question 11

In the model of the communication process, decoding may result in faulty communication as a result of perceptual filters on the receiver's part.

Question 12

As a general rule, managers prefer written communication methods over oral communication methods.

Question 13

According to attribution theory, the two general reasons or attributions we use to explain people's behavior are primary attribution and secondary attribution.

Question 14

The two kinds of one-on-one communication are mentoring and vestibule training.

Question 15

Communication is the process of transmitting information from one person or place to another.

Question 16

Due to perceptual filters, people exposed to the same information will often disagree about what they saw or heard.

Question 17

In the perceptual process, interpretation is the step of incorporating new memories with old memories and creating the ability to recall both.

Question 18

Another name for the informal communication channel is the "grapevine."

Question 19

Feedback is not necessary in the communication process when the sender and receiver are both confident that they understand each other.

Question 20

In nonverbal communication, the term kinesics is used to refer to the pitch, rate, tone, volume, and speaking pattern (i.e., use of silences, pauses, or hesitations) of one's voice.

Question 21

Perceptual filters may occur as the result of ____.

A) stimulus-based differences
B) physiology-based differences
C) situation-contextual differences
D) personality-based differences
E) all of these

Question 22

A casual jogger noticed that the San Diego Zoo was prohibiting people in motorized wheelchairs from viewing the zoo's baby panda and saw nothing wrong with this policy. Another zoo patron, who uses a wheelchair, saw the notice and felt he was being discriminated against because he could not access the panda site. This is an example of ____.

A) selective perception
B) kinesics
C) faulty closure
D) selective retention
E) defensive biases

Question 23

In general, blogs serve no value in the corporate world.

Question 24

In communicating feedback to employees, managers need to recognize that feedback can be constructive or destructive.

Question 25

In the perceptual process, ____ is the process of remembering interpreted information.

A) apprehension
B) organization
C) interpretation
D) retention
E) activation

Question 26

The steps in the perceptual process in order are ____.

A) interpretation, attention, organization, action
B) organization, attention, interpretation, retention
C) attention, organization, interpretation, retention
D) attention, interpretation, organization, retention
E) attention, decision, intention, and action

Question 27

Which of the following statements about perception and perceptual filters is true?

A) People pay attention to similar things.
B) People organize and interpret what they pay attention to similarly.
C) People remember things similarly.
D) People are unaffected by differences in stimuli.
E) People perceive according to personality-, psychology-, and experience-based filters.

Question 28

The last step in the perceptual process is ____.

A) interpretation
B) retention
C) attention
D) organization
E) action

Question 29

Listening is an example of a voluntary behavior.

Question 30

In the perceptual process, ____ is the process of incorporating new information into your existing knowledge.

A) comprehension
B) organization
C) interpretation
D) retention
E) attention

Question 31

____ is the tendency to fill in gaps of missing information by assuming that what we don't know is consistent with what we already know.

A) Selective perception
B) Kinesics
C) Closure
D) Defensive bias
E) Attribution

Question 32

Frequent, informal meetings between top managers and lower-level employees are one of the best ways for top managers to hear what others feel and think.

Question 33

In the perceptual process, ____ is the process of attaching meaning to new knowledge.

A) attention
B) organization
C) interpretation
D) definition
E) retention

Question 34

Because of ____, people exposed to the same information will often disagree about what they saw or heard.

A) defensive biases
B) feedback variables
C) differences in communication media
D) perceptual filters
E) communications deviations

Question 35

Mike plays all kinds of competitive sports, and was excited to read that his company was sponsoring a softball team. Non-athletic Kenneth typically walks by the same bulletin board at least three times every day and has yet to see the softball notice. The fact that one saw the notice and the other did not is due to ____.

A) selective perception
B) kinesics
C) faulty closure
D) selective retention
E) defensive biases

Question 36

In the perceptual process, ____ is the process of noticing or becoming aware of particular stimuli.

A) retention
B) organization
C) interpretation
D) attention
E) activation

Question 37

____ is the process by which individuals attend to, organize, interpret, and retain information from their environments.

A) Active hearing
B) Passive listening
C) Perception
D) Apprehension
E) Participative communication

Question 38

The steps in the basic perception process include all of the following EXCEPT ____.

A) attention
B) organization
C) analysis
D) interpretation
E) retention

Question 39

When Robin was told that her favorite store would no longer stock her favorite brand of clip-on earrings, she assumed this meant that the company was no longer producing clip-on earrings; even though that was not the case. Robin's incorrect assumption was due to _____.

A) selective perception
B) kinesics
C) closure
D) defensive bias
E) attribution

Question 40

Company hotlines, survey feedback, frequent informal meetings, and surprise visits are ways of overcoming organizational silence.

Question 41

When things go wrong in the workplace, workers are more likely to attribute their problems to ____, while managers are more likely to attribute those same workers' problems to ____.

A) extrinsic reinforcers; intrinsic reinforcers
B) external causes; internal causes
C) the fundamental attribution error; the defensive bias
D) the fundamental attribution error; the self-serving bias
E) internal causes; external causes

Question 42

Jergen Lindegaart is the chief executive of SAS Scandinavian Airlines. When he explained to stockholders why SAS was withdrawing from a joint venture with another company, he was engaged in ____.

A) encoding
B) feedback preparation
C) feedforward
D) selective filtering
E) decoding

Question 43

In the model of the communication process presented in the text, ____ makes senders aware of possible miscommunications and enables them to continue communicating until the receiver understands the intended message.

A) encoding
B) noise
C) transmission
D) feedback
E) the communication medium

Question 44

The crew renovating the downtown area accidentally dug up the sidewalk belonging to a privately owned section of the sidewalk, because they understood that all sidewalks were to be replaced. The crew was actually supposed to replace all city-owned sidewalks. In terms of the communication process, the crew members engaged in ____.

A) selective perception
B) incorrect decoding
C) improper encoding
D) negative feedback
E) noise filtering

Question 45

According to attribution theory, the defensive bias makes workers more likely to attribute their performance problems to ____.

A) external attributions
B) personal causes
C) an internal locus of control
D) the absence of unity of command
E) none of these

Question 46

Renovation of a street and sidewalk was supposed to be finished in October yet wet weather prolonged the rebuilding until the middle of December. The local retailers, on that street, blamed the city for their low December holiday sales. If you agree with this analysis of why sales were poor, then you ____.

A) are experiencing the halo effect
B) do not believe in attribution theory
C) have a defensive bias
D) have a reactive bias
E) are experiencing perceptual empathy

Question 47

The ____ states that we all have a basic need to understand and explain the causes of other people's behavior.

A) attribution theory
B) behavioral reflection theory
C) theory of causality
D) principle of consideration
E) theory of empathetic reinforcement

Question 48

____ is the tendency to notice and accept objects and information consistent with our values, beliefs, and expectations while ignoring, screening out, or not accepting inconsistent information.

A) Selective perception
B) Kinesics
C) Closure
D) Attribution
E) The mirror effect

Question 49

In the model of the communication process presented in the text, ____ occurs when a message is put into a written, verbal, or symbolic form that can be recognized and understood by the receiver.

A) encoding
B) decoding
C) transmission
D) feedback
E) receiving

Question 50

Noise can occur when ____.

A) the sender isn't sure of what message to communicate
B) the receiver doesn't have the time to understand the message
C) the message is not decoded properly
D) the message is not encoded properly
E) any of these occur

Question 51

The crew renovating the downtown area accidentally dug up the sidewalk belonging to a private owner. The crew misunderstood their instructions that only all city-owned sidewalks were to be replaced due to bad phone connections. In terms of the communications process ____.

A) noise prevented communication
B) negative feedback occurred
C) unreinforced communication resulted
D) the city was guilty of a poor communication conduit
E) selective encoding occurred

Question 52

____ is the tendency to overestimate our value by attributing successes to ourselves (internal causes) and attributing failures to others or the environment (external causes).

A) Closure
B) A defensive bias
C) A self-serving bias
D) The fundamental attribution error
E) Overreward

Question 53

Someone experiencing a(n) ____ would be likely to take any negative criticism of his or her department personally.

A) empowerment bias
B) error of culpability
C) self-serving bias
D) reactive error of perception
E) proactive error of perception

Question 54

Karl was injured at work when a shelving unit fell on him. Karl was trying to reach an item on a high shelf by climbing on the shelving unit rather than using a ladder. His employer would be committing a(n) ____if Karl's employer blamed the entire incident on Karl.

A) fundamental attribution error
B) reactive perception error
C) error of culpability
D) proactive perceptual error
E) primary perceptual oversight

Question 55

According to attribution theory, ____ makes managers more likely to attribute workers' problems or failures to internal rather than external causes.

A) closure
B) the defensive bias
C) the self-serving bias
D) the fundamental attribution error
E) kinesics

Question 56

Lopez was injured at work when a warehouse shelving unit fell on him. According to attribution theory, his co-workers assumed the accident was due to the shelves being improperly anchored to the wall. His coworkers are guilty of _______ .

A) fundamental attribution error
B) reactive perception error
C) error of culpability
D) proactive perceptual error
E) defensive bias

Question 57

The retired founder of L. L. Bean spent much of his time sitting on a set of stairs where he could watch customers coming and going to his store. He typically dressed in old pants, well-worn flannel shirts, and a pair of muddy boots. Customers assumed he was a derelict. Those who recognized him thought of him as a real character. He was seen differently by different people due to ____.

A) attribution
B) a defensive bias
C) a reactive bias
D) selective perception
E) kinesics

Question 58

According to attribution theory, we use two general reasons or attributions to explain people's behavior. They are ____.

A) formalized and non-formalized attributions
B) self-serving and defensive attributions
C) objective and subjective attributions
D) internal and external attributions
E) centralized and decentralized attributions

Question 59

One of Canada's largest financial service providers, wanted to develop a customer-focused sales and service culture, top management developed the main messages, which were consistently communicated to all levels of employees throughout the organization. This is an example of a(n) ____ communication channel.

A) downward
B) upward
C) horizontal
D) formal
E) informal

Question 60

The three formal communication channels in organizations are categorized as ____.

A) downward, horizontal, and upward
B) hierarchical, functional, and organizational
C) horizontal, vertical, and grapevine
D) upward, dyadic, and downward
E) vertical, horizontal, and dyadic

Question 61

The two primary types of grapevine communications networks are ____.

A) vertical and horizontal
B) upward and downward
C) departmental and organizational
D) linear and circular
E) cluster and gossip

Question 62

When Lilah saw her guest wrinkling her nose, she realized that she should have changed the litter in her cat box. Nose wrinkling is an example of communication through ____.

A) proxemics
B) kinesics
C) paralanguage
D) semiotics
E) pseudo-language

Question 63

____ is a kind of one-on-one communication used by managers to improve an employee's on-the-job performance or behavior.

A) Downward guidance
B) Coaching
C) Counseling
D) Leading
E) Supportive supervision

Question 64

Which of the following statements about informal communication in organizations is true?

A) Informal communication follows the same channels as formal communication does.
B) Informal communication channels cannot be managed.
C) Information carried through informal communication channels is estimated to be only about 30 percent accurate.
D) The best management strategy for controlling informal communication is to withhold information they wish to keep from employees.
E) None of these statements about informal communication in organizations is true.

Question 65

In a large corporation, employees are known as associates and don't have titles or bosses in the traditional sense. Instead, associates make commitments to work on projects that they believe are most worthy of their time. As a result of doing away with traditional titles, the company encourages more ____ communication.

A) upward
B) dyadic
C) horizontal
D) downward
E) hierarchical

Question 66

Coaching is ____.

A) a method commonly used to improve how managers communicate with their subordinates
B) a kind of one-on-one communication primarily used by managers in exit interviews
C) a kind of one-on-one communication primarily used by managers to improve an employee's on-the-job performance or behavior
D) a multilevel communication method that is used in place of negative reinforcement
E) two-way communication designed to be reciprocally fulfilling

Question 67

When one of Canada's largest financial service providers wanted to develop a customer-focused sales and service culture, an executive team developed the plan through the use of ____ communication.

A) upward
B) dyadic
C) horizontal
D) downward
E) functional

Question 68

Which of the following statements about informal communication in organizations is true?

A) The informal communication channel is also called the conduit.
B) Informal communication channels are primarily developed as a way to handle management that is perceived as the enemy.
C) Information carried by informal communication channels is estimated to be 75 to 95 percent accurate.
D) The best management strategy to controlling informal communication is to withhold information they wish to keep from employees.
E) Intranets should never be used to control informal communications.

Question 69

The pirated radio stations sometimes use communications equipment instead of commercial broadcast equipment to pass along advice, information, and support not communicated by the "establishment". This would be an example of a(n) ____ communication channel.

A) downward
B) upward
C) horizontal
D) formal
E) informal

Question 70

Kinesics and paralanguage are two kinds of ____.

A) communication channels
B) perceptual errors
C) verbal communication
D) nonverbal communication
E) grapevines

Question 71

Which of the following is one of the mistakes that managers tend to make when they are coaching employees?

A) They wait too long before talking to them about the problem.
B) They refrain from showing any feelings when they confront the employee.
C) They refer the employee to an EAP.
D) They require the employee to pay for his or her additional training.
E) All of these are common mistakes made by managers attempting to coach employees.

Question 72

During a job interview, interviewers can use their knowledge of face and body movements to determine when interviewees are telling the truth. This knowledge is called _____.

A) proxemics
B) kinesics
C) paralanguage
D) semiotics
E) pseudo-language

Question 73

In the ____ type of grapevine communication network, numerous people simply tell a few of their friends.

A) cluster chain
B) gossip chain
C) linear
D) stratified
E) decision tree

Question 74

____ is communication with someone about non-job-related issues that may be affecting or interfering with the person's performance.

A) Coaching
B) Leading
C) Counseling
D) Directing
E) Supportive communication

Question 75

An angry and defensive managerial reaction is a common problem associated with ____ communication

A) downward
B) upward
C) dyadic
D) informal
E) horizontal

Question 76

In the ____ type of grapevine communication network, one highly connected individual shares information with many other managers and workers.

A) star chain
B) gossip chain
C) cluster chain
D) leader chain
E) linear

Question 77

The ____ is the system of official channels that carry organizationally approved messages and information.

A) downward communication channel
B) upward communication channel
C) horizontal communication channel
D) formal communication channel
E) informal communication channel

Question 78

When the CEO of a large corporation explained to their unionized employees why the company had to reduce healthcare coverage for its employees, he was engaged in ____ communication.

A) upward
B) dyadic
C) horizontal
D) downward
E) functional

Question 79

Hot Topic is a fast-growing clothing chain targeted to the alternative teen demographic. The owner and founder daily consults with her employees for suggestions on what the stores should carry. An employee suggested that the stores should carry a certain type of soda. The employee's suggestion was an example of ____ communication.

A) upward
B) dyadic
C) horizontal
D) downward
E) functional

Question 80

In nonverbal communication, the term ____ refers to movements of the body and face.

A) kinesics
B) proxemics
C) paralanguage
D) pseudo-language
E) semiotics