Deck 2: Planning the Report

Question 1

Planning is less important for a report addressed to employees than for one addressed to a customer.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

Face-to-face communication is a lean medium because it usually involves little written material.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Which group of factors BEST represents effective report planning?

A) Identify purpose, identify audience, modify purpose, identify context, select medium, and choose report structure
B) Identify purpose, identify audience, identify context, identify content, modify content, and select medium
C) Identify purpose, identify audience, identify context, identify content, select medium, and get approval for medium
D) Identify purpose, identify audience, identify context, identify content, select medium, and choose report structure

Answer 3

D

Question 4

The report planning model does not apply to collaborative writing.

Question 5

A guide for selecting report content is to include only the information the receiver needs to act and meet your purpose.

Question 6

Few reports, especially long ones, employ a single organizing structure.

Question 7

In a report outline, one division may have more topics and subtopics than another.

Question 8

Potential secondary readers are of minor importance as you identify the audience for your report.

Question 9

A formal report outline is of value to the writer, not to the reader(s).

Question 10

Report content may be influenced by the report environment.

Question 11

Which choice is the BEST example of an interactive medium?

A) An announcement posted on a bulletin board
B) A telephone message left on voice mail
C) A text message
D) A letter

Question 12

The spatial structure uses time as the organizational component of the message.

Question 13

Wiggio is online groupware designed for college students.
B. Multiple Choice - For the following items, select the most appropriate choice (a-d).

Question 14

The psychological environment of the communication often influences the writer's choice of report structure.

Question 15

Groupware aids teams with task-oriented behaviors, such as exchanging information.

Question 16

The psychological context for a report is less important than the physical context.

Question 17

Which statement accurately describes the relationship between media richness and communication success or failure?

A) A lean medium is likely to fail in a nonroutine situation because it has sufficient data and no excess cues to distract the reader.
B) A lean medium is likely to fail in a nonroutine situation because it has too little data, and cues tend to downplay significance of the message.
C) A rich medium is likely to fail in routine situations because data are lacking and excess cues cause confusion and distort meaning.
D) A rich medium is likely to fail in a nonroutine situation because it has too much data and too many cues.

Question 18

Medium selection should be based primarily on the writer's preferences.

Question 19

A brief report does not require a plan.

Question 20

In going from forming stage to performing stage, teams often regress to an earlier stage-norming to storming, for example.

Question 21

Use deductive structure when the reader needs little psychological preparation for the main point of the message.

Question 22

Using groupware like Wiggio may speed up a team's passage through forming and storming stages of team development.

Question 23

Select the BEST description of Wiggio collaborative software.

A) Contains tools called Communication, Conferencing, and Coordination.
B) Contains functions called Folder, Messages, Conference, and Calendar.
C) Contains tools called Folder, Messages, Meeting, Calendar, Poll, and Links.
D) Contains functions called Connect, Confer, Coordinate, and Communicate.

Question 24

Reports can be classified according to their general purposes: production, innovation, or maintenance.

Question 25

Select the BEST description of an effective, logical outline.

A) One or more divisions may have fewer than two parts; divisions are balanced; divisions help the reader focus quickly on important content; division headings are concise; and division topics appear in non-parallel grammatical form.
B) Every division and subdivision has two or more parts; divisions are balanced; divisions help the reader focus quickly on important content; division headings are lengthy and descriptive; division topics appear in parallel form.
C) One or more division may have fewer than two parts; divisions need not be balanced; divisions help the reader focus quickly on important content; division headings are concise; and division topics appear in parallel grammatical form.
D) Every division and subdivision has at least two parts; divisions are balanced; divisions help the reader focus quickly on important content; division headings are concise; division topics appear in parallel grammatical form.

Question 26

Because of the strong focus on tasks during a team's norming stage, the threat of "groupthink" exists at this stage.

Question 27

Which statement best describes an ethical decision reached during a collaborative writing project?

A) I will take public responsibility for my actions related to the project.
B) All information on the Internet is in the public domain, and I may use it without acknowledging the source.
C) I will not concern myself with grammatical accuracy because other group members will correct my errors.
D) If I run out of time to finish my part of the assignment, other group members will take up the slack.