Deck 10: Communication

Question 1

The tendency for information to be watered down or stopped altogether during transmission is ________.

Answer 1

filtering

Question 2

The toy market has fallen off, and the Zippy Toy Company has to lay off workers.The plant manager must inform all the workers, but he is so upset about his task that he writes a vague, contradictory letter which no one understands.What happened?

A)Rumour has caused confusion.
B)Jargon caused the manager to produce non-verbal communication.
C)All-channel communication was used when exit interviews would have been better.
D)The mum effect caused the workers to have decoding problems.
E)Status differences have resulted in ineffective communication.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

What is filtering and what are the different forms it can take? Why does filtering occur in organizations?

Answer 3

Filtering is the tendency for a message to be watered down or stopped during transmission.Upward filtering often occurs because employees do not feel the information is important enough to pass along, or because they are afraid that their boss will use the information against them.Downward filtering is often due to time pressures or simple lack of attention to detail, but it may also be due to more sinister motives.Some managers filter downward communications to maintain an edge on their subordinates.

Question 4

The filtering of information pertains to what type of communication?

A)Upward communication
B)Downward communication
C)Non-verbal communication
D)Upward and downward communication
E)Cross-cultural communication

Question 5

Filtering is the tendency for a message to be watered down or stopped altogether at some point during transmission.

Question 6

What are the basic forms of communication which take place in a chain of command? What factors often lead to ineffective communication in a chain of command?

Question 7

Effective communication occurs when the right information gets to the right people ________.

Question 8

Sticking to the strict chain of command can be especially slow for ________ communication.

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

Question 9

The chain of command does not reflect the number of communication channels that exist in organizations because

A)it ignores informal communication.
B)it ignores downward communication.
C)it ignores upward communication.
D)it ignores horizontal communication.
E)managers may not encode communication.

Question 10

Research suggests that

A)employees with good performance ratings are more likely to be informed of those ratings than employees with bad ratings.
B)employees with good performance ratings are less likely to be informed of those ratings than employees with bad ratings.
C)employees with good and bad performance ratings are just as likely to be informed of these ratings.
D)employees with good and bad performance ratings are just as unlikely to be informed of these ratings.
E)employees are seldom informed about their performance regardless of how they have performed.

Question 11

Which of the following is an example of filtering?

A)The manager confused her secretary.
B)Bob didn't tell his employees about their impending layoffs.
C)Sarah misunderstood her boss's memo.
D)Ralph sent an email directly to the vice president to explain the sudden decrease in sales.
E)All of the above

Question 12

Which of the following is an example of encoding?

A)Thinking
B)Reading a novel
C)Reading a memo
D)Writing a letter
E)Watching television

Question 13

The chain of command is fastest for communication between departments.

Question 14

Communication is defined as

A)understanding between people.
B)the exchange of information.
C)a method of persuasion.
D)the flow of information down an organizational hierarchy.
E)the encoding of information.

Question 15

Who is decoding a message?

A)Robin, who is initiating downward communication
B)Sal, who is preparing a financial statement
C)William, who is studying blueprints
D)Olive, who is making a speech
E)Sylvia, who is passing along a bit of gossip about a coworker

Question 16

Which of the following is an example of horizontal communication?

A)A supervisor tells an employee that he has been performing poorly.
B)An employee explains to her boss why her performance has not been up to par recently.
C)The vice-president of marketing sends a memo to the vice-president of manufacturing.
D)The president of a college calls a meeting to explain the college's financial situation to the faculty.
E)A purchasing agent leaves a voicemail message for a new supplier.

Question 17

The chain of command is the fastest communication system.

Question 18

Effective communication occurs when the right people receive the right information in a ________ manner.

A)timely
B)formal
C)friendly
D)filtered
E)proper

Question 19

In order for a receiver to understand a communicated message, he or she must first ________ the message.

A)filter
B)encode
C)decode
D)transmit
E)integrate

Question 20

Who is encoding messages?

A)Bob, who is writing a technical report
B)Aaron, who is hearing a rumour on the grapevine
C)Sharon, who is the target of upward communication
D)Alexis, who is trying to figure out what her boss's memo means
E)Victor, who is trying to decipher some legal jargon in a contract

Question 21

Psychological safety is important for

A)cross-cultural communication.
B)voice.
C)the grapevine.
D)upward communication.
E)downward communication.

Question 22

Which of the following will result in a climate of silence?

A)Rumours
B)The grapevine
C)Jargon
D)Self-censorship
E)Filtering

Question 23

What does psychological safety refer to?

A)A shared belief that it is safe to say what you want
B)A shared belief that it is safe to use the grapevine
C)A shared belief that informal communication is safe
D)A shared belief that it is safe to take social risks
E)A shared belief that what you say will be confidential

Question 24

Which of the following best characterizes high "voicers"?

A)They report more work stress than those who remain silent.
B)They report lower job satisfaction than those who remain silent.
C)They report less work stress than those who remain silent.
D)They report higher job satisfaction than those who remain silent.
E)They report lower organizational commitment than those who remain silent.

Question 25

The constructive expression of disagreement or concern about work unit or organizational policies is known as

A)filtering.
B)the grapevine.
C)voice.
D)rumours.
E)upward communication.

Question 26

Which of the following contributes to silence and works against voice?

A)Filtering
B)The grapevine
C)Jargon
D)Rumours
E)The mum effect

Question 27

The constructive expression of disagreement or concern about work unit or organizational practices is known as

A)the grapevine.
B)jargon.
C)voice.
D)informal communication.
E)the mum effect.

Question 28

Voice can be contrasted with

A)email.
B)written communication.
C)non-verbal communication.
D)informal communication.
E)silence.

Question 29

Myra knows that her organization should not be using certain chemicals in the production process but has decided not to say anything about it.What is this an example of?

A)A rumour
B)The grapevine
C)Jargon
D)Silence
E)Filtering

Question 30

Who is most likely to exercise voice?

A)Those who are conscientious and agreeable
B)Those who are extraverted and agreeable
C)Those who are conscientious and extraverted
D)Those who are conscientious and introverted
E)Those who are agreeable and introverted

Question 31

Who is most likely to exercise voice?

A)More satisfied employees who identify more strongly with their work unit or organization
B)More committed employees who identify more strongly with their work unit or organization
C)More satisfied employees who are more committed to the organization
D)More satisfied employees who like to communicate
E)More satisfied employees who don't like to use the grapevine

Question 32

Voice refers to

A)a specialized language used by members of particular occupations or organizations.
B)the transmission of messages by some medium other than speech or writing.
C)speaking up.
D)a condition in which a person's words, thoughts, feelings, and actions all contain the same message.
E)all of the above.

Question 33

Which of the following is an example of the mum effect?

A)The president of a firm would not tell a newspaper reporter what the firm's market share was.
B)The secretary did not care to participate in the office grapevine.
C)The manager would only communicate with workers through their supervisor.
D)The sales manager decided to postpone announcing the good news about the Christmas bonuses until the company party at the end of the month.
E)The young lawyer who lost the court case delayed telling the senior partner of the law firm.

Question 34

The mum effect is one example of

A)how the grapevine works.
B)how rumours get transmitted.
C)how information filtering occurs.
D)how the clothing we wear transmits information.
E)how status can lead to problems in informal communication.

Question 35

Which of the following contributes to a positive climate for voice?

A)Direct supervisors
B)Teammates
C)Direct supervisors and teammates
D)Higher-level managers
E)Direct supervisors and higher-level managers

Question 36

Voice can be considered a form of

A)organizational citizenship behaviour.
B)non-verbal communication.
C)job performance.
D)filtering.
E)ineffective communication.

Question 37

Voice can be directed to

A)teammates.
B)one's boss.
C)management.
D)teammates, one's boss, or management.
E)one's boss or management.

Question 38

The mum effect means that people

A)fail to encode bad news.
B)fail to decode bad news.
C)refuse to pass on a rumour.
D)refuse to filter information.
E)prefer to communicate bad news rather than to receive it.

Question 39

Silence refers to

A)the failure to communicate.
B)withholding relevant information.
C)the use of written communication.
D)the use of non-verbal communication.
E)the use of technology to communicate.

Question 40

The mum effect is a good example of

A)moderately high information richness.
B)poor cross-cultural communication.
C)information overload.
D)filtering.
E)ineffective decoding.

Question 41

High "voicers" report less work stress than those who remain silent.

Question 42

The mum effect is an example of filtering.

Question 43

Jack spends much of his time speaking up to others in the organization about his concerns and disagreements about the organization's practices.As a result, he tends to experience much less work stress than his co-workers who choose to be silent.

Question 44

Employees who are agreeable and extraverted are more likely to speak up.

Question 45

The tendency to avoid communicating bad news to others is called the ________.

Question 46

The mum effect works against voice.

Question 47

Voice can be contrasted with silence.

Question 48

High "voicers" report more work stress than those who remain silent.

Question 49

An atmosphere of psychological safety is important for using the grapevine.

Question 50

Jack spends much of his time speaking up to others in the organization about his concerns and disagreements about the organization's practices.As a result, he tends to experience much more work stress than his co-workers who choose to be silent.

Question 51

Sam has organized a meeting with her teammates to express her concern about the use of chemicals in the production process.What is this an example of?

A)A rumour
B)The grapevine
C)Informal communication
D)Voice
E)The chain of command

Question 52

Employees who are not satisfied and do not identify strongly with the organization are most likely to exercise voice.

Question 53

The mum effect is even more likely when the sender is responsible for bad news.

Question 54

Employees who are conscientious and extraverted are more likely to speak up.

Question 55

Psychological safety refers to a shared belief that it is safe to communicate.

Question 56

The tendency to avoid communicating unfavourable news to others is called non-verbal communication.

Question 57

Voice can be directed to teammates, to the boss, or to management in general.

Question 58

Psychological safety refers to a shared belief that it is safe to take social risks.

Question 59

Voice is a form of organizational citizenship behaviour.

Question 60

Voice tends to be perceived as a low risk form of communication.

Question 61

High "voicers" report less ________ than those who remain silent.

Question 62

________ refers to a shared belief that it is safe to take social risks.

Question 63

________ refers to "speaking up."

Question 64

The constructive expression of disagreement or concern about work unit or organizational practices is known as ________.

Question 65

Rumours are

A)examples of non-verbal communication.
B)examples of jargon.
C)always false.
D)examples of filtering.
E)unverified beliefs.

Question 66

Voice can be considered a form of ________.

Question 67

Discuss the role that climate and psychological safety plays in employee voice.How can organizations create a positive climate and an atmosphere of psychological safety?

Question 68

Employees who are conscientious and ________ are most likely to speak up.

Question 69

More ________ employees who identify more strongly with their work unit or organization are most likely to speak up.

Question 70

Voice can be contrasted with ________.

Question 71

Speaking up can be perceived as ________ due to inherent power differentials in organizations.

Question 72

The ________ occurs when people avoid communicating unfavourable news to others.

Question 73

The Bouncy Ball Company has realized that employees are not speaking up about important work unit and organization concerns.As a result, they have hired a consultant to help them increase employee voice and create a more positive climate.If you were the consultant, what would you tell the company to do to increase employee voice and create a positive climate for voice and an atmosphere of psychological safety?

Question 74

The ________ is even more likely when the sender is responsible for bad news.

Question 75

Voice might be directed horizontally, to teammates, or vertically, to the boss or to ________ in general.

Question 76

Which of the following best represents the accuracy of the grapevine?

A)At least 75 percent of the controversial organizationally related information carried by the grapevine is correct.
B)At least 75 percent of the noncontroversial organizationally related information carried by the grapevine is correct.
C)At least 75 percent of the controversial organizationally related information carried by the grapevine is incorrect.
D)At least 75 percent of the noncontroversial organizationally related information carried by the grapevine is incorrect.
E)At least 75 percent of the controversial and noncontroversial organizationally related information carried by the grapevine is incorrect.

Question 77

An organization's informal communication network is known as the

A)greenvine.
B)gruntvine.
C)grapevine.
D)gripevine.
E)grapeline.

Question 78

What is voice and what are the different forms it can take? Who is inclined to exercise voice in organizations?

Question 79

Who is most likely to pass on grapevine information?

A)Introverts
B)Those with high self-esteem
C)Extraverts
D)Males
E)Females

Question 80

Self-censorship will result in a climate of ________.