Chapter 4

Hannah posts her resume on the websites of several companies. Unfortunately, it is poorly formatted and contains several spelling and grammar errors. What kind of communication barrier may this cause? a. Bypassing b. Emotional distraction c. Physical distraction d. Differing frames of reference

Physical distraction

You are in charge of preparing a sales brochure and must profile your audience. What question should you ask to profile your primary audience? a. You should ask all these questions. b. How much does this person know about the subject? c. Should I expect a neutral, positive, or negative response to my message? d. What do I know about this person's education, beliefs, culture, and attitudes?

You should ask all these questions.

An American sales team offended a group of Peruvian business people by starting its sales presentation without first engaging in informal conversation as expected in the Peruvian culture. The communication barrier in this instance could be attributed to a. emotional interference caused when senders or receivers are distracted by internal feelings. b. a failure to recognize different frames of reference. c. poor listening skills. d. bypassing.

a failure to recognize different frames of reference.

Sofia is an event planner and is responding to an e-mail request from a client. What should Sofia do during the second phase of the writing process? a) Determine the best organizational pattern for her reply message to the client. b) Analyze the situation and anticipate how her client will respond to her message. c) Proofread for spelling and grammar errors in the message. d) Check the format of the message.

a) Determine the best organizational pattern for her reply message to the client.

Jeanette is offended when she notices that only masculine pronouns are used in the company's human resources manual. This decoding problem is a result of a) a closed communication climate. b) a semantic obstacle. c) an external disruption. d) bypassing.

b) a semantic obstacle.

A company's annual report describes the company's efforts to give back to the community. The primary purpose of this report is to ____; the secondary purpose is to ____. a) promote goodwill; persuade b) inform; promote goodwill c) inform; persuade d) persuade; inform

b) inform; promote goodwil

____ is the process of creating a message that suits your audience. a) Anticipation b) Analyzing c) Adaptation d) Researching

c) Adaptation

Suzanne has just received an e-mail message from a client and is reading it carefully to determine her client's needs. She is involved in the ____ part of the communication process. a) channel selection b) feedback c) decoding d) encoding

c) decoding

While reading an e-mail message from her boss, Melissa is distracted by numerous typographical and spelling errors. These errors that detract from the message and make it difficult to read are called a) feedback. b) bypassing. c) noise. d) frame of reference.

c) noise.

Which of the following sentences does not show gender bias? a) All managers and their wives are invited to Friday's cocktail party. b) Two firemen will collect the toy donations. c) Every flight attendant must submit her security clearance card before boarding. d) The servers at Cafe Divine are always professional.

d) The servers at Cafe Divine are always professional.

Differences in frames of reference are especially significant when a) overcoming physical barriers to communication. b) dealing with conflicting emotions. c) working on improving one's listening skills. d) communicating with people from different cultures.

d) communicating with people from different cultures.

Deborah is writing a proposal to solicit business from a potential client. She should expect to spend the most time on a) composing the first draft of the proposal at her computer. b) researching the information to include in the proposal. c) analyzing the purpose of the message and anticipating the needs of the client. d) editing, proofreading, and evaluating the proposal.

editing, proofreading, and evaluating the proposal.

The U.S. Army carefully selected the words used in its slogan, "Be all you can be," while a) selecting the channel. b) decoding the message. c) evaluating the message. d) encoding the message.

encoding the message.

Jay includes the sentence "Let me know whether I can answer any questions" at the end of his e-mail message as a way to encourage a. frame of reference. b. feedback c. decoding d. bypassing

feedback.

As her supervisor explains the new procedure, Rachel nods her head. Rachel's response is an example of a.nonverbal feedback b.verbal feedback c.noise d.evaluation

nonverbal feedback

The primary purpose of messages that sell products, convince managers, motivate employees, and win over customers is to a.promote goodwill b.persuade c.educate d.inform

persuade

Victoria is writing an e-mail message to her colleagues to encourage them to take part in a charitable fund-raiser. Her primary purpose is to a. intimidate. b. promote goodwill. c. persuade d. inform.

persuade.

____ helps the sender know whether the message was received and understood. a.noise b.bypassing c.decoding d.feedback

Feedback

Which of the following takes place during the first phase of the 3-x-3 writing process? a) Edit the message to make sure it is clear, conversational, concise, and readable. b) Write the rough draft. c) Analyze the audience and your purpose for writing. d) Gather any needed information through formal or informal research techniques.

Analyze the audience and your purpose for writing.

Which of the following statements about the "you" view is most accurate? a. The "you" view can be used effectively in all business messages. b. Be careful because second-person pronouns such as you and your can be overused and misused. c. First-person pronouns such as I, we, and our should be avoided in business messages because they take the focus off the reader. d. The "you" view emphasizes first-person pronouns such as I, we, and our.

Be careful because second-person pronouns such as you and your can be overused and misused.

Kendra is part of a team that will be preparing a presentation to the board of directors about a new product idea. What will her team likely do the first time they meet? a) Start preparing PowerPoint slides. b) Brainstorm for ideas. c) Start composing a first draft of the presentation d) Begin their research.

Brainstorm for ideas.

Select the best definition of communication. a) Communication is the transmission of ideas from one individual or group to another. b) Communication is the transmission of information and meaning from one individual or group to another. c) Communication is the transmission of data from one individual or group to another. d) Communication is the transmission of information from one individual or group to another.

Communication is the transmission of information and meaning from one individual or group to another.

While conducting an orientation session for new employees, Clayton noticed looks of confusion on the faces of some listeners. He then paused and asked his audience, "What questions do you have so far?" Clayton was striving to overcome communication barriers by a. questioning his assumptions, biases, and prejudices b.reducing physical distractions c. improving his language and listening skills d. creating an environment for useful feedback

Creating an environment for useful feedback

As a technical support rep, Michael is responding to a customer's question sent to him via e-mail. What is the very first task Michael should do? a.conduct any necessary research b.determine the purpose of the message he will send as a response c.Hit the "reply" button d. start composing his reply

Determine the purpose of the message he will send as a response

Alex is having trouble concentrating on a report he is reading because his smartphone keeps ringing and his colleagues keep sending him text messages. What kind of communication barrier is this? a) Differing frames of reference b) Bypassing c) Lack of language skills d) Digital interruptions

Digital interruptions

How can one become a better business writer? a) Do all of these choices. b) Study models of successful business messages. c) Practice writing a variety of business messages. d) Follow a systematic process such as the 3-x-3 writing process.

Do all of these choices.

Which of the following sentences uses conversational, middle-level diction? a) Salutations! I deem it possible that you will be perplexed by what has transpired on this very day. Please approach my office to confer with me before you depart for the present day. b) All of these sentences use conversational, middle-level diction. c) Hey, dude! UR not gonna believe this! Come by 2C me B4 you leave 2day. d) Hello! You will not believe what I just learned. Drop by my office before you leave today to discuss it.

Hello! You will not believe what I just learned. Drop by my office before you leave today to discuss it.

You are talking with the president of your company about a possible merger. Which of the following is the most useful feedback you can provide during the conversation? a.There's no way this merger can possibly work b.Are you insane? c.I just don't understand why you think we should go through with this merger d. If I understand correctly, your recommendation is that we go through with the merger.

If I understand you correctly, your recommendation is that we go through with the merger.

Which of the following is an example of an internal disruption in the decoding process? a. Sylvia finds it difficult to read her colleague's email message because its filled with grammatical errors b. Meghan finds her mind drifting during a lecture as she thinks about her upcoming trip to Florence. c. Loud construction sounds outside prevent Samuel from hearing the message d. Brandon is finding it hard to pay attention during the interview because the interviewer's phone keeps ringing

Meaghan finds her mind drifting during a lecture as she thinks about her upcoming trip to Florence

Robert must send an e-mail message to a client in Turkey. He is carefully selecting his words to ensure that his Turkish client, who speaks English as a second language, will understand them. He is involved in which part of the communication process? a) Message encoding b) Idea formation c) Message transmission d) Message decoding

Message encoding

Francis is starting his first full-time job after graduating from college, and he wants to sound conversational but professional on the job. What is the best advice you can give him? a. Use texting-style abbreviations such as BTW and slang in his professional messages to be concise and to show that he's up-to-date with technology. b. Strive for an informal, conversational tone in most business messages. c. Use high-level diction in most business messages. d. Avoid sending text messages on the job because doing so will make him look unprofessional.

Strive for an informal, conversational tone in most business messages.

Which of the following statements about team writing is most accurate? a. Team members are more likely to work together during Phase 2 of the writing process than any other phase. b. Team members will usually gather at the beginning of a project to brainstorm. c. To save time, teams should go through the revision and evaluation phase just one time. d. In preparing big projects, teams will usually function together for each phase of the writing process.

Team members will usually gather at the beginning of a project to brainstorm.

When choosing the best channel for your message, you should consider the importance of the message, the amount and speed of feedback and interactivity required, the necessity of a permanent record, the cost of the channel, the degree of formality desired, the confidentiality and sensitivity of the message, and a. the receiver's preference and level of experience b.the ability of the channel to make your company look cutting edge c. The ability of the channel to showcase your technical expertise d. your own communication channel preference

The receiver's preference and level of expertise

Determining whether a message will be transmitted by e-mail or delivered in person is part of a. adapting a message to the audience b. selecting an appropriate communication channel for the message c. using the correct tone for the message d. selecting the appropriate audience for the message

selecting an appropriate communication channel for the message

The process of communication begins when a.The receiver actually receives the message b. the sender has an idea c.the message is sent over a communication channel the receiver d. the message is put into words

the sender has an idea.