Deck 9: Communicating in Teams and Organizations

Question 1

Emotional contagion provides continuous feedback and communicates that the listener does not empathize with the sender.

Answer 1

False
Explanation: Emotional contagion provides continuous feedback, communicating that we understand and empathize with the sender.

Question 2

Intended feedback is encoded,transmitted,received,and decoded from the receiver to the sender of the original message.

Answer 2

True
Explanation: Feedback repeats the communication process. Intended feedback is encoded, transmitted, received, and decoded from the receiver to the sender of the original message.

Question 3

Codebooks are symbols used to convey message content,whereas mental models are knowledge structures of the communication topic setting.

Answer 3

True
Explanation: Codebooks are symbols used to convey message content, whereas mental models are knowledge structures of the communication topic setting.

Question 4

According to the communication process model,communication begins with forming the message,then encoding it.

Question 5

People who experience social isolation are more susceptible to physical and mental illnesses.

Question 6

When sender and receiver have shared mental models,more communication is necessary to clarify meaning about that context.

Question 7

Employee well-being cannot benefit from the communication experience itself though it could assist the process of employee well-being.

Question 8

Mimicking another person's behavior and emotions is a part of emotional contagion.

Question 9

In the communication process model,encoding the message refers to selecting the appropriate medium and sending your ideas through that medium.

Question 10

The introduction of e-mail in organizations reduces some face-to-face and telephone communication and the flow of information to higher levels in the organization.

Question 11

Individual preference for specific communication channels is a factor contributing to social acceptance.

Question 12

E-mail is a very good medium for communicating emotions.

Question 13

One reason that people communicate with each other is to fulfill their drive to bond.

Question 14

Emotional contagion fulfills our drive to bond with others.

Question 15

Communication refers to the process by which information is transmitted and understood between two or more people.

Question 16

E-mail helps organizations to significantly reduce the problem of information overload.

Question 17

Most information is communicated verbally rather than nonverbally in quiet settings.

Question 18

One consequence of introducing e-mail is that it tends to decrease the amount of communication across the organization.

Question 19

The effectiveness of the encoding-decoding process is independent of the sender's and the receiver's proficiency with the communication channel.

Question 20

Flaming refers to the capacity of an organization to transmit information more quickly through computer networks than through traditional paper media.

Question 21

People experienced with a particular communication medium can "push" the amount of media richness normally possible through that information channel.

Question 22

Media richness refers to the ratio of the cost of using a medium relative to its frequency of use in the organization.

Question 23

Language differences among people can produce communication noise.

Question 24

Ambiguous language is sometimes necessary to describe situations or concepts that are ill-defined or lack agreement between sender and receiver.

Question 25

Maintaining eye contact to show interest in someone's conversation is one of the few forms of nonverbal communication that transmits common meaning across all cultures.

Question 26

The three components of listening are encoding,decoding and interpreting.

Question 27

Research has found that women are generally more sensitive than are men to nonverbal communication.

Question 28

Rich media have less social distractions compared to lean media.

Question 29

The sensing stage of active listening includes empathizing and organizing information.

Question 30

Buffering occurs when we decide to overlook messages,such as using software rules to redirect e-mail from distribution lists to folders we never look at.

Question 31

Active listeners constantly cycle through the three components of listening during a conversation and engage in various activities to improve these processes.

Question 32

People are persuaded more under conditions of low social presence than high social presence.

Question 33

Instant messaging is a richer channel of communication than video conferencing.

Question 34

Most information technologies require less social etiquette and attention,so employees can easily multi-communicate.

Question 35

Information overload occurs when an individual's information-processing capacity exceeds the job's information load.

Question 36

According to media richness theory,lean media are better than rich media when the communication situation is nonroutine and ambiguous.

Question 37

Talking while someone is speaking to you is interpreted by the Japanese as the person's interest and involvement in the conversation.

Question 38

Jargon improves communication efficiency when both the sender and receiver understand this specialized language.

Question 39

A communication channel with high media richness should be used in routine situations where the sender and receiver have common understanding and expectations.

Question 40

The responding stage of active listening includes showing interest and clarifying the message.

Question 41

What effect does "noise" have in the communication model?

A) It distorts and obscures the sender's intended message.
B) It prevents the sender from forming a message.
C) It helps the sender to select a more appropriate medium to transmit the message.
D) It helps the receiver to decode the message more carefully.
E) The concept of "noise" is not significant in the communication model.

Question 42

Which of the following fundamental drives is highly influenced by effective communication?

A) Drive to succeed
B) Drive to defend
C) Drive to bond
D) Drive to acquire
E) Drive to achieve

Question 43

Management by walking around minimizes the problem of filtering in the communication process.

Question 44

Which of the following represents the first step in the communication model?

A) Form message
B) Encode message
C) Decode message
D) Transmit message
E) Form feedback

Question 45

The grapevine is an important social process that fulfills the employees' drive to bond.

Question 46

Which of the following tends to be the preferred medium for coordinating work,increases communication with people further up the hierarchy,and is an increasing source of information overload?

A) Electronic company magazines
B) Annual performance reviews with supervisors
C) Intranet web sites
D) E-mail
E) The corporate grapevine

Question 47

Open space arrangements in workstations increase communication and potentially decrease noise,distractions,and loss of privacy.

Question 48

According to the communication process model:

A) information flows through channels between the sender and receiver.
B) the sender and receiver are at different levels and communicate only when the levels match.
C) communication is a free-flowing conduit.
D) information transmission is minimal in a formal communicative process.
E) the sender is the dominant and more important partner.

Question 49

Which of the following is an advantage of using e-mail communication?

A) It reduces the problem of information overload.
B) It reduces the frequency of flaming.
C) It is easier to interpret emotional meaning in e-mail messages as they are less formal.
D) It increases the politeness and respect of communication.
E) It significantly alters the flow of information within groups.

Question 50

Management by walking around occurs when senior executives get out of their offices and communicate face-to-face with employees.

Question 51

Which of the following represents the first three steps in the communication model in the correct order?

A) Decode message, encode message, and provide feedback
B) Form message, transmit message, and decode message
C) Encode message, transmit message, and receive message
D) Form message, transmit message, and receive message
E) Form message, encode message, and transmit message

Question 52

In the communication process model,"decoding the message" occurs immediately:

A) before the sender forms the message.
B) after the receiver receives the message.
C) after the sender forms feedback of the original message.
D) after the receiver transmits the message.
E) before the receiver receives the message.

Question 53

Organizational grapevine distorts information by deleting fine details and exaggerating key points of stories.

Question 54

The best way to manage organizational grapevine is to ignore the information it communicates.

Question 55

_____ refers to the process by which information is transmitted and understood between two or more people.

A) Communication
B) Jargon
C) Flaming
D) Grapevine
E) MBWA

Question 56

Effective communication occurs when:

A) information is sent through informal rather than formal channels.
B) information is collected from various sources but sent to a limited audience.
C) the sender convinces the receiver to accept the information sent.
D) information is transmitted and understood between two or more people.
E) the sender transmits information that is received by someone other than the intended receiver.

Question 57

Grapevine is the main conduit through which organizational stories and other symbols of the organization's culture are communicated.

Question 58

Which of the following happens immediately after the receiver receives the encoded message in the communication process model?

A) The sender receives confirmation that the message has been understood
B) The receiver confirms with the sender that the message sent was intended to be a message
C) The receiver decodes the received message
D) The receiver encodes the message
E) The receiver forms a direct feedback in response to the received message

Question 59

Which of the following communication media tends to be the best for transmitting emotions?

A) Newsletters
B) E-mail messages
C) Telephone conversations
D) Face-to-face meetings
E) Written messages

Question 60

The encoding-decoding process is generally more effective when both parties:

A) have a diverse set of skills and capabilities.
B) differ in their level of expertise and knowledge.
C) have uncommon knowledge and expertise in the topic of discussion.
D) are skilled in using the selected communication channel.
E) have formed perceptions and varying beliefs about interpersonal communication.

Question 61

The capacity of a communication medium to transmit information is referred to as:

A) media richness.
B) information overload.
C) channel frequency.
D) channel diversity.
E) communication frequency.

Question 62

When a sender and receiver,belonging to the same group,want to transmit technical information more efficiently,they should use:

A) jargon that they both understand.
B) information filtering.
C) mediators in communication.
D) nonverbal communication.
E) formal written communication.

Question 63

Which of the following communication channels has the lowest media richness?

A) Newsletter
B) E-mail
C) Telephone call
D) Video conference
E) Instant messaging

Question 64

Language differences can produce communication noise even when people speak the same language.This occurs because of the:

A) skill differences among people.
B) lack of necessary aptitudes.
C) richness of the communication channel.
D) reduced channel bandwidth.
E) cultural differences among people.

Question 65

Employees can expand the data-carrying capacity of lean media channel if they:

A) avoid emotional contagion.
B) are highly proficient with that communication channel.
C) are unfamiliar with the receiver of the information.
D) avoid using jargon and short-hand symbols in the communication.
E) are new to using that communication medium.

Question 66

Which of the following is a factor in social acceptance?

A) The symbolic meaning of the chosen channel
B) The media richness of the selected channel
C) The bandwidth of the channel
D) The diplomatic acceptance of the message
E) The content and accuracy of the message

Question 67

In organizational communication,"flaming" generally refers to:

A) telling an employee in front of other people that he or she is fired.
B) ranting and raving in front of a large audience.
C) an emotionally charged e-mail message, usually one that communicates the sender's anger.
D) using any signal with the hands that conveys an obscene meaning to the receiver.
E) interrupting the speaker before he or she has finished talking.

Question 68

Buffering,summarizing,and omitting are ways to:

A) reduce information overload.
B) avoid organizational risk.
C) avoid the risk of flaming.
D) improve communication between men and women.
E) increase media richness.

Question 69

Which of the following communication channels is most effective when the sender wants to persuade the receiver?

A) A formal memorandum sent to the receiver
B) An informal speech to a large audience
C) A personalized letter to the receiver
D) A personal face-to-face meeting with the receiver
E) An informal memorandum issued to the receiver

Question 70

Which of the following conditions would necessitate the use of non-verbal communication instead of verbal communication?

A) Low physical distance
B) Need for immediate feedback
C) Personal nature of communication
D) Familiarity with the listener
E) Increased noise

Question 71

Which of the following communication channels has the highest media richness?

A) Newsletter
B) E-mail
C) Telephone call
D) Video conference
E) Instant messaging

Question 72

Several employees in a newly formed group must work together to develop a new product.No one in this group has worked with anyone else in this group before and the development of this product has not been attempted previously.According to the media richness model,which of the following communication channels is most appropriate in this situation?

A) Written documents
B) E-mail
C) Face-to-face meetings
D) Bulletin boards
E) Financial statements

Question 73

What effect does emotional contagion have on the communication process?

A) It distorts the communication process and causes dissatisfaction to all the parties involved.
B) It provides feedback to the sender that the receiver understands and empathizes with the message.
C) It reduces the level of actual communication among colleagues.
D) It makes it more difficult for the receiver to receive emotional meaning of the sender's experience.
E) It forms a strong communication barrier between the sender and the receiver.

Question 74

Safety representatives in each of the six plants of a manufacturing company need to communicate to each other every week the number and type of health and safety incidents in their plant.Each representative has a safety reporting document where he or she notes the type and number of infractions during the previous week.These incidents are well known to other representatives,so there are rarely any surprises.This weekly communication calls for:

A) an active corporate grapevine.
B) high emotional contagion in communication.
C) the use of nonverbal communication.
D) increased number of face-to-face meetings.
E) lean media.

Question 75

Which of the following is an advantage associated with using written communication channels in persuading people?

A) It can make better use of the social perceptions of individuals.
B) It can be used as a medium for richer communication.
C) It is better in presenting technical details.
D) It can be used to obtain high-quality immediate feedback.
E) It sends emotional and logical messages to receivers.

Question 76

Emotional contagion occurs when:

A) we share the emotions of other people.
B) we are required to show or hide our emotions, based on rules prescribed by the job.
C) two or more people experience different emotions even though they are observing the same object.
D) the communication medium has different meaning for the receiver and the sender.
E) two or more people experience the same emotions even though they are observing different objects.

Question 77

Listeners often engage in an automatic process of "catching" or sharing another person's emotions by mimicking that person's facial expressions and other nonverbal behavior.Which of the following drives causes this effect?

A) Drive to defend
B) Drive to bond
C) Drive to achieve
D) Drive to learn
E) Drive to protect

Question 78

Senior executives at a large tire company learned that a line of tires had a tendency to fall apart in very warm weather.This resulted in several vehicle accidents in the Middle East and South America.However,the executives did not hear about these problems until several weeks after the lower-level managers learnt about the same.Although the senior executives encourage staff to openly communicate all information,the lower-level staff held back the information for fear that they might lose their jobs.Which communication concept best describes this communication situation?

A) Media richness
B) Persuasive communication
C) Filtering
D) Flaming
E) Information overload

Question 79

Which of the following is a key element in emotional contagion?

A) Passive listening
B) Hidden motive
C) Persuasion
D) Tacit knowledge
E) Flaming

Question 80

In the communication process,filtering occurs when:

A) the sender carefully selects words that the receiver is most likely to understand correctly.
B) the receiver removes noise from the communication process so that the sender's message is more accurately understood.
C) people communicate mainly positive information about themselves by screening out negative information.
D) an organization is able to prevent grapevine communication by sending the information more quickly through newsletters and other formal communication channels.
E) the receiver avoids receiving messages from a sender, such as by avoiding the person or deliberately not reading e-mail messages.