Question 1

In ________, people rely heavily on nonverbal and subtle situational cues in communicating with others, and a person's official status, place in society, and reputation carry considerable weight.
A) individualistic cultures
B) low power distance cultures
C) cultures that score low on uncertainty avoidance
D) high-context cultures
E) cultures that have long time orientation

Accepted Answer

High-context cultures, such as many Asian and Middle Eastern cultures, rely heavily on nonverbal communication and situational cues to convey meaning. A person's status and reputation also play a significant role in communication within these cultures.

Question 2

A manager should practice ________, which means in dealing with cross-cultural communication, a manager should put herself in the place of the employee to understand the employees values, experiences and frames of reference.
A) evaluation
B) empathy
C) complicity
D) commiseration
E) apathy

Accepted Answer

Empathy allows a manager to understand and appreciate the perspective of employees from different cultural backgrounds. This helps in effective communication and creates a positive work culture. Evaluation and complicity do not promote cross-cultural understanding, while commiseration and apathy are not helpful in dealing with communication barriers.

Question 3

James and Neung are negotiating a purchase from Neung's Tai corporation. James notices that Neung is very quiet. Rather than assume that Neung is upset at how the negotiations are going, James continues to discuss the details of how the purchase will ensue. Finally James closes the deal and later learns that Neung's quiet moments were respectful moments to allow James to reveal his deal. Which strategy did James use to succeed?
A) assume certain universal similarities
B) emphasize description rather than interpretation
C) practice empathy
D) assume differences until similarity is proven
E) treat interpretations as a working hypothesis

Accepted Answer

The answer of James and Neung are negotiating a purchase...

Question 4

Which of the following is not something a manager should do to communicate better across cultures?
A) assume similarity until difference is proven
B) emphasize description rather than interpretation
C) practice empathy
D) interpret the situation from the differing perspectives of all concerned
E) treat interpretations as a working hypothesis

Accepted Answer

A manager should not assume similarity until difference is proven as this can lead to misunderstanding and miscommunication across cultures. It is important to acknowledge and understand cultural differences from the outset to effectively communicate and work with individuals from different cultures. The other choices, emphasizing description rather than interpretation, practicing empathy, interpreting the situation from the differing perspectives of all concerned, and treating interpretations as a working hypothesis, are all important strategies for effective cross-cultural communication.

Question 5

Which of the following best characterizes the communication problem occurring between employees and senior management?
A) filtering
B) sabotage
C) communication apprehension
D) information overload
E) selective perception

Accepted Answer

A) Filtering refers to a sender's purposely manipulating information so the receiver will see it more favorably. A manager who tells his boss what he feels the boss wants to hear is filtering information. In this example the company is filtering the information that reaches management.

Question 6

Brenda should advise new employees to do which of the following when dealing with others from different cultures?
A) remember that individuals are similar in many ways
B) avoid interpreting another's actions until you know the full story
C) act decisively and quickly to demonstrate your power
D) minimize opportunities for feedback
E) do your best to avoid conflict

Accepted Answer

The answer of Brenda should advise new employees to do...

Question 7

Team A must operate very quickly to meet stringent deadlines. The quality of the final project depends highly on Team A's output, so Team A must also work very accurately. Which of the following network structures should Harriet choose for this team?
A) chain
B) wheel
C) mesh
D) star
E) all-channel

Accepted Answer

B) The wheel rates highest of effectiveness in speed, emergence of leaders, and accuracy. However, it rates low on membership satisfaction. It is the best choice for Harriet as she needs accuracy and speed to meet her deadline.

Question 8

After establishing Team D in a wheel network structure, Harriet receives negative feedback from members of the team. Many team members express frustration about working in the group, and most dislike the interpersonal style of the team leader. Which of the following strategies would most likely help to improve the team members' morale?
A) Leaving the team as a wheel network and encouraging team members to share the leadership responsibility.
B) Restructuring the group as a chain network and replacing the leader with another group member.
C) Leaving the team leader in place and restructuring the group as a chain network.
D) Transferring the team leader to another group and restructuring the group as an all-channel network.
E) Leaving the team as a wheel network and replacing the team leader with another group member.

Accepted Answer

The answer of After establishing Team D in a wheel...

Question 9

In the communication process, Mary is ________.
A) the sender
B) the receiver
C) the decoder
D) the channel
E) the encoder

Accepted Answer

Mary is the one who initiates or sends the message, making her the sender in the communication process.

Question 10

Communication that flows from one level of a group or organization to a lower level is lateral communication.

Accepted Answer

Lateral communication refers to communication that flows between individuals or groups at the same level within a group or organization, not from higher to lower levels.

Question 11

Lateral communications are often created to short-circuit the vertical hierarchy within an organization.

Accepted Answer

Lateral communications facilitate communication between different levels or departments within an organization, bypassing the traditional vertical hierarchy of information flow. This allows for quicker and more effective collaboration and problem-solving.

Question 12

The telephone is the ________.
A) sender
B) receiver
C) medium
D) message
E) decoder

Accepted Answer

The telephone is the medium through which the message is transmitted from Mary to Joe. The sender is Mary, the receiver is Joe, the message is that the meeting has been moved to one o'clock, and the decoder is Joe who will interpret the message.

Question 13

Brenda explains to new employees that ________ cultures rely heavily on nonverbal cues and subtle situational cues in communicating with others, and a person's official status, place in society, and reputation carry considerable weight.
A) low power distance
B) high power distance
C) uncertainty avoiding
D) low-context
E) high-context

Accepted Answer

High-context cultures, such as many Asian and Middle Eastern cultures, rely heavily on nonverbal cues and situational cues in communication, and a person's status and reputation are important in social interactions.

Question 14

Which of the following values is most likely to be important to low-context cultures?
A) status
B) directness
C) titles
D) trust
E) space

Accepted Answer

Low-context cultures tend to value directness, clarity, and explicit communication. Other choices such as status, titles, and trust may be important in certain contexts, but they are not necessarily specific to low-context cultures. Space may also be important in some cultures, but it is not necessarily more important to low-context cultures than high-context cultures.

Question 15

The mistakes committed by the sales staff suggest that sales personnel are probably experiencing which of the following as a result of their intensive training?
A) filtering
B) emotional labor
C) information overload
D) communication apprehension
E) selective perception

Accepted Answer

Information overload refers to a state in which information input exceeds the processing capacity of an individual or system. The intensive training given to sales personnel may have resulted in an overwhelming amount of information that they are unable to effectively process, leading to mistakes during their work.

Question 16

In the communication process, decoding precedes encoding.

Accepted Answer

The sender initiates a message by encoding a thought. The message is the actual physical product of the sender's encoding. The receiver is the person(s) to whom the message is directed, who must first translate the symbols into understandable form. This step is the decoding of the message. Decoding comes after the sender's encoding.

Question 17

Harriet has been charged with the task of evaluating two employees for possible promotions. She is interested in learning which employee has the most effective leadership skills. One of the employees is assigned to Team B, and the other is assigned to Team C. Which network structure should Harriet choose for these teams if she wishes to place the two employees in clear leadership positions on the teams?
A) wheel
B) chain
C) concentric
D) all-channel
E) mesh

Accepted Answer

The wheel network structure is the best choice for placing employees in clear leadership positions as it has a central leader and all communication flows through that leader. This allows for clear direction and control over the team, making it easier for Harriet to evaluate the effectiveness of the two employees' leadership skills. The chain structure would also work, but it may not provide as clear of a leadership position for the employees as the wheel structure. The concentric and all-channel structures are not appropriate as they do not have a clear leader, and the mesh structure is too decentralized for this purpose.

Question 18

The advantages of oral communication are precision and tangibility.

Accepted Answer

The advantages of oral communication are that it allows for immediate feedback, can convey emotions and tone, and can build relationships through personal interaction. However, precision and tangibility may not always be guaranteed in oral communication as there is room for misinterpretation and lack of clarity.

Question 19

Joe misses the one o'clock meeting because he misunderstood which meeting Mary was referring to. Joe forgot to ask Mary to clarify which meeting she meant. Joe's misunderstanding therefore occurred due to ________.
A) improper encoding
B) improper decoding
C) noise
D) a lack of feedback
E) improper channel selection

Accepted Answer

D) Feedback is the check on how successful we have been in transferring our messages as originally intended. It determines whether understanding has been achieved.

Question 20

The advantages of written communication are speed and feedback.

Accepted Answer

The advantages of written communication are accuracy and documentation, not speed and feedback.

Quiz 10: Communication

In ________, people rely heavily on nonverbal and subtle situational cues in communicating with others, and a person's official status, place in society, and reputation carry considerable weight.

A manager should practice ________, which means in dealing with cross-cultural communication, a manager should put herself in the place of the employee to understand the employees values, experiences and frames of reference.

Which of the following is not something a manager should do to communicate better across cultures?

Which of the following best characterizes the communication problem occurring between employees and senior management?

Brenda should advise new employees to do which of the following when dealing with others from different cultures?

Team A must operate very quickly to meet stringent deadlines. The quality of the final project depends highly on Team A's output, so Team A must also work very accurately. Which of the following network structures should Harriet choose for this team?

In the communication process, Mary is ________.

Communication that flows from one level of a group or organization to a lower level is lateral communication.

Lateral communications are often created to short-circuit the vertical hierarchy within an organization.

The telephone is the ________.

Brenda explains to new employees that ________ cultures rely heavily on nonverbal cues and subtle situational cues in communicating with others, and a person's official status, place in society, and reputation carry considerable weight.

Which of the following values is most likely to be important to low-context cultures?

The mistakes committed by the sales staff suggest that sales personnel are probably experiencing which of the following as a result of their intensive training?

In the communication process, decoding precedes encoding.

The advantages of oral communication are precision and tangibility.

Joe misses the one o'clock meeting because he misunderstood which meeting Mary was referring to. Joe forgot to ask Mary to clarify which meeting she meant. Joe's misunderstanding therefore occurred due to ________.

The advantages of written communication are speed and feedback.