Deck 1: Communicating in the Workplace

Question 1

The ability of people to quickly assess the emotions of those around them and adapt their words, tone, and gestures accordingly is known as social intelligence.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

No two people have identical contexts or mental "filters."

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Internal audiences as well as external ones can occupy different professional roles and therefore favor different kinds of content and language.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

The informal network inside an organization is often referred to as the grapevine.

Question 5

Sensing a need for communication typically occurs at the recipient's end in the business communication process.

Question 6

The official culture and the actual culture in a company are exactly the same.

Question 7

Solving a communication problem is typically a linear process.

Question 8

The ability to interact with data, see patterns in data, make data-based decisions, and use data to design for desired outcomes is known as visual literacy.

Question 9

A business's communication with its suppliers is a typical example of internal-operational communication.

Question 10

The formal network refers to the main lines of operational communication in a business.

Question 11

Imagination and creativity are for the creative disciplines. Business communication problems should be solved using standard procedures.

Question 12

Interpreting a message is more than just extracting information from a message.

Question 13

Communication ranks at or near the top of the business skills needed for success.

Question 14

Written communication has replaced oral communication in business settings.

Question 15

Poor communication negatively affects big businesses, not small businesses.

Question 16

The kind of communicating a business does is independent of the nature of the business.

Question 17

Personal communication interferes with good business relationships and should be prohibited in the workplace.

Question 18

The importance of communication skills is the same at all levels of an organization.

Question 19

Bypassing is a communication problem that occurs when a sender and receiver attach completely different meanings to the same words.

Question 20

The widespread use of the Internet has increased companies' attention to social responsibility.

Question 21

The automation of tasks by smart machines _____.

A) improves the average social intelligence of employees
B) enables employees to spend more time on tasks that require strong interpretive skills
C) offers employees the opportunity to develop visual literacy and ethical reasoning
D) develops a high level of information literacy in employees
E) improves the technological competence of employees

Question 22

The advent of new media has _____.

A) increased the need for employees who have social intelligence
B) eliminated the need for traditional modes of communication such as face-to-face conversations
C) limited the demand for digital networking and virtual collaboration
D) increased the hierarchical nature of organizational setups
E) reduced the decision-making power of front-line employees

Question 23

Which of the following is true about internal-operational communication?

A) It includes a business's communication with its customers.
B) It includes a business's communication with its suppliers.
C) It includes the orders and instructions that supervisors give to their employees.
D) It includes the instructions that the supervisors of a business give to its vendors.
E) It includes a business's communication with government agencies.

Question 24

Baby Boomers refer to those people who _____.

A) have more than three children
B) were born after the year 1979
C) were brought up in multi-cultural societies
D) oppose population-control strategies
E) were born soon after World War II

Question 25

Which of the following is an example of external-operational communication?

A) Discussions held by the senior management to determine the goals and processes of a business
B) Orders and instructions issued by supervisors to employees about handling irate customers
C) Discussion between the CEOs of two companies regarding a possible merger of their companies
D) Employees' reports concerning sales, production, inventories, finance, and maintenance
E) Messages written by employees to their supervisors regarding the progress of their work

Question 26

Identify the impact of new media on communication.

A) New media have increased rigidity in thinking and reduced people's problem-solving skills.
B) New media have decreased the average social intelligence of people at work.
C) New media have increased the ease of tapping the intelligence of people outside an organization.
D) New media have reduced the need for cross-cultural competency.
E) New media have lowered the quality of communication at the workplace.

Question 27

Which of the following statements is true about email?

A) Email came into existence during the 1950s.
B) Email has entirely replaced the need for phone conversations.
C) Email is the primary form of oral communication.
D) Email allows a communicator to reach out to only one person at a time.
E) Email is the most heavily used communication medium in business.

Question 28

An angry customer calls the public relations department of Neptune Inc. to complain about a defect in the company's product. This form of communication can be categorized as _____.

A) internal-operational communication
B) external-operational communication
C) personal communication
D) informal communication
E) grapevine communication

Question 29

Social intelligence is best defined as the ability to _____.

A) choose the right format for a given document
B) quickly assess the emotions of those around and adapt their words, tone, and gestures accordingly
C) interact with data, see patterns in data, make data-based decisions, and use data to design for desired outcomes
D) determine the deeper meaning or significance of data
E) observe proper business etiquette

Question 30

_____ is best defined as the ability to understand and adapt to the preferences for individualism or collectivism, religious beliefs, political environment, and ideas about social hierarchy of people in different countries.

A) Cross-cultural competency
B) Ethical reasoning
C) Computational thinking
D) Visual literacy
E) Corporate social responsibility

Question 31

The widespread use of the Internet has _____.

A) forced companies into focusing harder on developing a socially responsible image
B) restricted negative information from spreading quickly and widely
C) reduced the likelihood of culturally diverse people working together on a global team
D) made organizations less accountable to society and removed them from public scrutiny
E) reduced the amount of time employees can spend on tasks that require deeper interpretation

Question 32

Which of the following constitutes an internal audience for a business?

A) The company's competitors
B) The company's customers
C) The company's employees
D) The company's suppliers
E) Government officials

Question 33

Which of the following is an example of internal-operational communication?

A) A letter written by a consumer to the customer care service
B) An advertisement put on a company's website for the general public
C) An order form submitted to an organization's supplier for raw materials
D) A businessperson's posts on Twitter or LinkedIn
E) A memo concerning the production and sales targets for an organization

Question 34

Which of the following is true about external-operational communication?

A) It includes the ongoing discussions that the senior management undertakes to determine the goals and processes of the business.
B) It includes all of the business's efforts at selling, from sales letters and emails to ads, tradeshow displays, and customer visits.
C) It includes the orders and instructions that supervisors give employees, as well as written and oral exchanges among employees about work matters.
D) It includes company reports that employees prepare concerning sales, production, inventories, finance, maintenance, and so on.
E) It includes the messages that employees write and speak in carrying out their assignments and contributing their ideas to the business.

Question 35

Computational thinking is best defined as the ability to _____.

A) interact with data, see patterns in data, make data-based decisions, and use data to design for desired outcomes
B) understand and adapt to other people's preference for individualism or collectivism, political environment and ideas about social hierarchy of different countries
C) quickly assess the emotions of those around and adapt one's words, tone, and gestures accordingly
D) create visuals and determine the deeper, underlying meaning or significance of messages
E) manipulate people into accepting one's viewpoint regarding ethics and social responsibility

Question 36

A memorandum reporting the shortage of certain goods written by the warehouse supervisor of Yellow Lamination Inc. to the company's purchasing department would be best classified as a form of _____.

A) internal-operational communication
B) external-operational communication
C) personal communication
D) grapevine communication
E) internal-external communication

Question 37

Which of the following is a current challenge for business communicators?

A) Increased popularity of hierarchical structures in organizations
B) Decreased diversity of employees at the workplace
C) Increased focus on corporate social responsibility
D) Increased rejection of new media in family-owned businesses
E) Decreased usage of electronic correspondence by business writers

Question 38

The ability to meaningfully, accurately, and efficiently create and interpret pictures and other graphics is known as _____.

A) cross-cultural competency
B) social intelligence
C) computational thinking
D) ethical reasoning
E) visual literacy

Question 39

Cross-cultural competency is best defined as the ability to _____.

A) understand and adapt to the preference for individualism or collectivism, religious beliefs, political environment, and ideas about social hierarchy of different countries
B) interact with data, see patterns in data, make data-based decisions, and use data to design for desired outcomes
C) determine the deeper, underlying meaning or significance of messages
D) manipulate people into accepting one's viewpoint regarding religion
E) create and interpret graphics

Question 40

Which of the following statements is true about increasing globalism and workplace diversity?

A) Businesspeople, on a global level, have the same understanding of punctuality and efficiency.
B) Countries and cultures become less interconnected as businesses expand across the world.
C) The requirement for cultural agility in workplace communication has increased significantly.
D) People around the world share standardized notions of business and communication.
E) The differences in cultures are solely responsible for workplace diversity.

Question 41

Which of the following is true about contexts for communication?

A) Communication can be influenced by the communicators' professional roles.
B) The communicators' personal contexts do not influence their communication.
C) The largest context in which business communication takes place is the organizational context.
D) The organizational context does not influence either external communication or the grapevine.
E) Customs and cultures have no effect on business communication.

Question 42

Which of the following best exemplifies a personal context influencing communication?

A) Because of Medpace Inc.'s hierarchical structure, employees are expected to use a formal style when communicating with high-ranking executives.
B) Jose, a freelance software trainer, prefers to use technical jargon when communicating with vendors.
C) Paula, a fashion designer, writes a fashion blog.
D) Jason, stressed because of a tight deadline, writes a rude email to a coworker.
E) Gemini Inc.'s employees use social media in their communication at work.

Question 43

Skillful managers are most likely to deal with their organization's grapevine by _____.

A) controlling it with rules and regulations
B) establishing communication procedures to control the network
C) recognizing its presence and using it for a positive purpose
D) ignoring it
E) deregulating the use of social media during work hours

Question 44

Which of the following statements is true about organizational culture?

A) The concept of organizational or corporate culture was popularized in the early 1930s.
B) A company's organizational culture can be determined by management.
C) The focus on organizational culture by management consultants and theorists has drastically decreased over time.
D) The official organizational culture of a company is exactly the same as its actual organizational culture.
E) Organizational culture refers to an organization's customary, but often unstated, ways of perceiving and doing things.

Question 45

Which of the following is true about the formal network of an organization?

A) The formal network does not include the upward and lateral movement of information in an organization.
B) The formal communication network never includes external audiences.
C) The formal network is the only important communication network in an organization.
D) The formal network is unrelated to an organization's business plan.
E) The formal network constitutes the main lines through which the bulk of operational communication flows.

Question 46

Which of the following statements is true about business communication within an organization?

A) An organization's communication patterns are independent of the industry in which it operates.
B) Organizations in a stable environment tend to depend on established types of formal communication.
C) Simpler organizations typically require more communication than complex organizations.
D) The geographic dispersion of an organization tends to have an adverse impact on its external communication.
E) The communication of a homogeneous organization requires more adaptation to participants' values than that of a multicultural organization.

Question 47

The grapevine of an organization is best defined as _____.

A) a network that follows a set pattern of communication within the organization
B) a network that is highly dependent on the computational skills of the organization's employees
C) a collection of the simple, well-defined communication streams within an organization
D) the informal network used by the employees within the organization
E) the network used by the organization to communicate with its core business partners

Question 48

A _____ refers to the major, well-established channels for information exchange within an organization.

A) personal communication network
B) formal network
C) supply chain
D) regulatory network
E) grapevine

Question 49

Which of the following approaches will be most effective for solving business communication problems?

A) Use trial and error.
B) Treat all situations involving communication as well-defined problems.
C) Use what has worked for other companies.
D) Consider the likely effects of a number of different solutions, and choose the solution with the best likely effect.
E) Use a formula that works for solving well-defined problems.

Question 50

Which of the following statements is true about ill-defined problems?

A) Ill-defined problems can be solved by using a set formula.
B) There are few ill-defined problems in a well-run business.
C) Ill-defined problems are always negative.
D) Solving ill-defined problems requires analytical skill and good judgment.
E) Ill-defined problems have unique and perfect solutions.

Question 51

Which of the following best exemplifies a communicator's professional context influencing communication?

A) Medpace Inc.'s hierarchical structure causes its employees to expect a formal style in communications from their superiors.
B) Jose, an optimistic person, likes to put an inspirational quote at the end of his email messages.
C) Gordon, a graphic designer, prefers to communicate ideas visually.
D) Melissa refuses to apologize to her subordinate after yelling at the subordinate in public.
E) Trevor often uses social media sites at work because his company's products are marketed to young adults.

Question 52

Which of the following is a form of external-operational communication?

A) Discussions among the board members to decide the future course of the organization
B) Coffee-table conversations between employees regarding the progress of their respective projects
C) Monthly sales reports created by an automated software
D) Meetings that executives hold with leaders of community organizations
E) Messages that employees write to their team members regarding project-related issues

Question 53

Which of the following statements is true about the actual organizational culture of a company?

A) It is invariably the same as the company's official organizational culture.
B) It is a dynamic, living realm of meaning constructed through communications at the topmost level of the company.
C) It is always reflected in the company's mission statement.
D) It is announced through formal communications by the management of the company.
E) It is the medium of preferred values and practices in which the company's members do their work.

Question 54

Which of the following is true about the informal network of an organization?

A) The informal network consists of organized, well-established channels for information exchange.
B) The informal network can be controlled by the manager's network.
C) The informal network carries insignificant information.
D) Use of the informal network should be discouraged.
E) The informal network follows no set pattern and is usually a complex relationship of smaller networks.

Question 55

The first step in the communication process is to _____.

A) compose a message
B) interpret the message
C) sense the need for communication
D) select a course of action
E) decide on a response

Question 56

Communication with an external audience should be undertaken with careful attention to both content and tone because _____.

A) front-line employees now have a higher level of decision-making power
B) new media are increasing the need for employees with social intelligence
C) external audiences tend to have low literacy
D) such messages can be regarded as public-relations messages, conveying a certain image of the company
E) communicating with external audiences is far more important than communicating with internal audiences

Question 57

In the process of communication, once the primary sender of a message develops a well-informed sense of the situation, the next logical step is to _____.

A) analyze the potential audiences
B) interpret the message
C) choose an appropriate time to send the message
D) draft and then revise the message carefully
E) extract information from the message

Question 58

Which of the following best exemplifies personal communication?

A) A team's discussion of how to improve work performance
B) An acknowledgement that an order has been received
C) A note to a supplier thanking him for the Christmas card he sent
D) A business proposal written to the general manager of a company
E) A team meeting to discuss the progress of an ongoing project

Question 59

Which of the following statements is true about personal communication?

A) Personal communication is an official part of a business's operations.
B) Personal communication should be avoided as it is often counter-productive to the organization's goals.
C) Personal communication is regulated by the formal network.
D) Communication with external parties will often include elements of personal communication.
E) The attitudes of the employees and those with whom they communicate are not influenced by personal communication.

Question 60

Which of the following best illustrates an ill-defined problem?

A) How to calculate the annual profits of a company
B) How to calculate the money left in a department's budget
C) How to count the number of hours an employee stays in the office
D) How to communicate a dip in profits to a company's stakeholders
E) How to fill in a monthly production report

Question 61

List the two main categories of problems. What approach is followed in solving these problems?

Question 62

Discuss the term "new media."

Question 63

Create a business scenario involving communicators from two different countries and give a brief account of the different contexts that would need to be considered for effective communication to occur.

Question 64

Josiah has just been hired by a large investment firm. His boss informs him that Fridays are "casual." When Friday comes, Josiah comes to work in jeans and a golf shirt, but all the other males are wearing dress shirts and slacks. This problem in communication is an example of _____.

A) masking
B) bypassing
C) exaggeration
D) heckling
E) brainstorming

Question 65

Which of the following is most likely to be true of a situation that heavily involves the audience in the communication process?

A) The communicator will not be able to develop a well-informed sense of the situation.
B) Solving a communication problem will be a recursive process.
C) The communicator will have trouble achieving his/her goals.
D) Choosing an appropriate medium for the message becomes a challenge.
E) Composing the message will requires lesser consideration.

Question 66

How does a communicator's particular context influence the act of communication?

Question 67

Pedro, a sales manager, asks Rafael, one of his new recruits, to send him a sales report by EOD (end of day). Rafael intends on creating the report after returning home and sending it to Pedro by midnight. While Rafael is on his way out after finishing his work for the day, Pedro spots him and asks him for the report. It is only then that Rafael realizes that Pedro expected him to finish the report before leaving. This scenario exemplifies _____.

A) groupthink
B) heckling
C) masking
D) brainstorming
E) bypassing

Question 68

Explain the main categories of business communication.

Question 69

Briefly define the formal network of an organization.

Question 70

List the steps involved in the communication process.

Question 71

Discuss the effects of the grapevine on an organization. How do skillful managers take advantage of this network?

Question 72

Describe the various factors that affect the types and amount of communicating that a business does.

Question 73

What is the goal of business communication? Define the terms mental filters and bypassing.

Question 74

_____ is the communication problem that arises when two people using the same word think that they agree on its meaning but actually do not.

A) Groupthink
B) Brainstorming
C) Masking
D) Bypassing
E) Heckling