Question 1

Which of the following states that we all have a basic need to understand and explain the causes of other people's behaviour?

Accepted Answer

Attribution theory states that we all have a basic need to understand and explain the causes of other people's behavior. This theory helps us to understand how people make judgments about the behavior of others and the factors that influence those judgments.

Question 2

In the model of the communication process,what occurs when a message is put into a written,verbal,or symbolic form that can be recognized and understood by the receiver?

Accepted Answer

Encoding refers to the process of putting a message into a form that can be recognized and understood by the receiver. This can involve putting the message into a written, verbal, or symbolic form. Once the message has been encoded, it is then transmitted to the receiver, who must decode or interpret the message in order to understand its meaning.

Question 3

The crew renovating the downtown area accidentally dug up the sidewalk belonging to the First Methodist Church because they understood that all sidewalks were to be replaced. The crew was supposed to replace only city-owned sidewalks. In terms of the communication process,what did the crew members engage in?

Accepted Answer

The crew members engaged in incorrect decoding by misunderstanding the information they received about which sidewalks were supposed to be replaced.

Question 4

Lopez was injured at work when a warehouse shelving unit fell on him. According to attribution theory,what would his coworkers be guilty of if they assumed the accident was due to the shelves being improperly anchored to the wall?

Accepted Answer

Defensive bias occurs when people attribute others' accidents to external factors to protect themselves from feeling vulnerable to similar situations.

Question 5

Which of the following terms is used to describe the experience of someone likely to take any negative criticism of his or her department personally?

Accepted Answer

The self-serving bias is the tendency to attribute success to one's own abilities and efforts, while attributing failure to external factors. This bias can also lead someone to take negative criticism of their department personally, as it threatens their self-image and perception of their own abilities.

Question 6

What are the three formal communication channels in organizations?

Accepted Answer

The three formal communication channels in organizations are downward, upward, and horizontal. Downward communication flows from higher levels of management to lower levels, upward communication flows from lower levels to higher levels, and horizontal communication flows between colleagues or departments at the same level. Option B is incorrect because functional and organizational channels are not formal communication channels, but rather refer to how tasks and responsibilities are divided in an organization. Option C is incorrect because it includes only upward and horizontal channels, but not downward. Option D is incorrect because it includes functional and organizational channels, which are not formal communication channels.

Question 7

Hot Topic is a fast-growing clothing chain targeted to the alternative teen demographic. Hot Topic's CEO is Betsy McLaughlin,who relies on her employees to locate new trends. McLaughlin consults almost daily with her employees for suggestions on what the stores should carry. After attending an Insane Clown Posse concert,an employee suggested the stores should carry Faygo soda (the kind the band sprays on audience members during a concert). Which type of communication was the employee's suggestion an example of?

Accepted Answer

The employee's suggestion was an example of upward communication, where the employee is providing feedback, ideas or suggestions to their supervisor or manager. In this case, the employee is suggesting a new product for the store and is providing the idea to Hot Topic's CEO, Betsy McLaughlin, who relies on her employees for new trends.

Question 8

When things go wrong in the workplace,workers are more likely to attribute their problems to external causes. What are managers more likely to attribute those same workers' problems to?

Accepted Answer

Managers are more likely to attribute workers' problems to internal causes such as lack of ability or effort. This is known as fundamental attribution error, where people tend to overemphasize dispositional (internal) factors when explaining the behavior of others.

Question 9

When Scotiabank,one of Canada's largest financial service providers,wanted to develop a customer-focused sales and service culture,it avoided information overload by limiting the number of communication vehicles used. Top management developed the main messages,which were consistently communicated to all levels of employees throughout the organization. Which type of communication channel is this an example of?

Accepted Answer

This is an example of downward communication, where top management develops the messages and communicates them to lower levels of the organization.

Question 10

What is the term for the system of official channels that carry organizationally approved messages and information?

Accepted Answer

The formal communication channel refers to the system of official channels that carry organizationally approved messages and information. It includes communication that flows downward, upward and horizontally within the organization, but the key characteristic is that it is formal and follows organizational hierarchy and protocols.

Question 11

What term can be used to describe anything that interferes with the transmission of the intended message?

Accepted Answer

Noise refers to anything that disrupts the intended message or communication, such as background sounds, distractions, or physical barriers. Downward and upward communication refer to the direction of the message flow and obstruction is too general of a term to specifically describe communication interference.

Question 12

What is the term for the tendency to overestimate our value by attributing successes to ourselves (internal causes)and attributing failures to others or the environment (external causes)?

Accepted Answer

This is known as the self-serving bias, where we take credit for successes and blame others or external factors for failures.

Question 13

What was Ellis Jacob,chief executive of Cineplex,engaged in when he explained to shareholders and the media why Cineplex was merging with Famous Players?

Accepted Answer

The answer of What was Ellis Jacob,chief executive of Cineplex,engaged...

Question 14

Which type of communication was Dieter Zetsche,chief executive of DaimlerChrysler,engaged in when he explained to unionized employees why the company had to reduce its health-care coverage for employees?

Accepted Answer

Dieter Zetsche, as the CEO of DaimlerChrysler, was engaging in downward communication when he explained to unionized employees why the company had to reduce its health-care coverage for employees. Downward communication flows from higher-level management to lower-level employees and is used to relay information, directives, and feedback.

Question 15

Renovation of a street and sidewalk was supposed to be finished in October. Wet weather prolonged the rebuilding until the middle of December. Local retailers blamed the city for low holiday sales. Why would you agree with this analysis of why sales were poor?

Accepted Answer

The local retailers are exhibiting a defensive bias by blaming the city for low holiday sales instead of considering other factors that may have affected their sales. They are trying to protect themselves from taking any responsibility for poor performance.

Question 16

According to attribution theory,to which of the following causes does the defensive bias make workers more likely to attribute their performance problems?

Accepted Answer

Defensive bias leads individuals to attribute their performance problems to external, situational causes rather than personal factors to protect their self-esteem.

Question 17

The crew renovating the downtown area accidentally dug up the sidewalk belonging to the First Methodist Church because they understood that all sidewalks were to be replaced. The crew was supposed to replace only city-owned sidewalks. In terms of the communication process,what did the crew do improperly?

Accepted Answer

The crew improperly decoded the message, meaning they misunderstood or incorrectly interpreted the instructions given to them. They thought all sidewalks were to be replaced, not just the city-owned ones.

Question 18

In the model of the communication process,what makes senders aware of possible miscommunications and enables them to continue communicating until the receiver understands the intended message?

Accepted Answer

Feedback is the element of the communication process that allows senders to become aware of any possible miscommunications and adjust their message accordingly until the receiver understands the intended message. It is a crucial component for effective communication. A, B, and C are all important elements of communication but do not directly address how senders become aware of miscommunications and ensure understanding by the receiver.

Question 19

According to attribution theory,what are the two general reasons,or attributions,we use to explain people's behaviour?

Accepted Answer

Attribution theory proposes that we explain people's behavior by making internal attributions (attributing their behavior to dispositional factors such as personality or character) or external attributions (attributing their behavior to situational factors such as the environment or circumstances). Therefore, the best choice is D - internal and external attributions.

Question 20

Karl was injured at work when a shelving unit fell on him. According to attribution theory,what would his employer be committing if he thought Karl was completely responsible for the accident because Karl was trying to reach an item on a high shelf by climbing on the shelving unit rather than using a ladder?

Accepted Answer

The employer would be committing a fundamental attribution error by solely blaming Karl for the accident and ignoring external factors such as the lack of a ladder or instructions on how to safely access items on high shelves. This error involves attributing an individual's behavior to their personality or character rather than considering situational factors.

Quiz 14: Managing Communication