MGMT 309 - Chapter 4
32) Which of the following is an example of proxemics?
B) standing close to others
18) If you assume that every member of a society or subculture has the same characteristics or traits, you are guilty of ________.
B) stereotyping
89) In high-context cultures, feelings and thoughts are not explicitly expressed.
TRUE
90) The Japanese ningensei style of communication refers to the preference for humanity, reciprocity, a receiver orientation, and an underlying distrust of words and analytic logic.
TRUE
60) The Japanese preference for humanity, reciprocity, and analytic logic is known as ________.
C) ningensei
36) Which of the following is an element of paralanguage?
C) yawning
70) Which of the following characteristics is shared by both openness in communication and resilience in communication?
A) tolerance for ambiguity
22) The term ________ refers to behavior that communicates without words.
B) nonverbal communication
23) ________ is one of the elements of nonverbal communication.
C) Kinesic behavior
53) Which of the following is most likely a characteristic of low-context cultures?
D) Feelings and thoughts are expressed in words.
59) Which of the following is most likely characteristic of communication channels in low-context cultures?
D) controlled flow of information
26) Subtle differences in eye behavior are known as ________.
D) oculesics
44) Carlos has an appointment with Higuain in a half hour at his office. However, Carlos decides to take care of some personal errands on his way to the office and informs Higuain. Carlos does not make it on time for the appointment. Higuain most likely concludes that Carlos is from a ________.
D) polychronic culture
71) The term communication is the process of gathering messages through the Internet and printed media.
FALSE
74) When a member of one culture imposes his or her cultural practices on a member of another culture, intercultural communication takes place.
FALSE
75) Attribution is the process by which people send messages to each other across various cultures.
FALSE
77) Behavior that communicates explicitly via words and actions is called nonverbal communication.
FALSE
81) In high-contact cultures, people prefer much less sensory involvement, standing farther apart and touching far less.
FALSE
82) In low-contact cultures, people prefer to stand close, touch a great deal, and experience a "close" sensory involvement.
FALSE
84) The term object language, or material culture, refers to the value of the material artifacts given to the parties involved in order to show our goodwill.
FALSE
86) In polychronic cultures, people focus on one thing at a time and adhere to time commitments.
FALSE
9) ________ is the process in which people look for the explanation of another person's behavior.
A) Attribution
62) Jerry, representing a U.S firm, is sent to Saudi Arabia to negotiate his company's contracts. Which of the following should Jerry keep in mind when negotiating with the Arabs?
A) Business should be conducted personally and not via telephone or email.
65) ________ is the process of translating the received symbols into the interpreted message.
A) Decoding
48) Which of the following is the most accurate statement concerning the role of context in cross-cultural communication?
A) In high-context cultures, the message is implicit; in low-context cultures, the message is explicit.
51) Which of the following is true about high-context cultures?
A) One has to read between the lines and interpret meaning from one's general understanding.
1) ________ describes the process of sharing meaning by transmitting messages through media such as words, behavior, or material artifacts.
B) Communication
54) The executives from Carlo Foods, U.S., are in Japan to negotiate with Jeong, the head of a local investment firm. While Jeong listens to their plans, he realizes that there are considerable amounts of calculation errors in the market statistics involved in the plan. He starts showing signs of impatience and folds his hands, with a frown on his face. The executives realize that something is wrong and are confused about it. Jeong most likely belongs to a ________.
B) high-context culture
64) When encoding a message during cross-cultural communication, it is most effective for senders to ________.
B) make gestures
68) Recognizing that one's knowledge, perceptions, and beliefs are valid only for oneself and not for everyone else is known as ________.
B) orientation to knowledge
55) As manager with an international trade firm, John Smith frequently travels between Europe and Saudi Arabia. On John's most recent trip to Saudi Arabia, he noticed that Tariq, his business associate, not only talked about business matters but also talked about several other things, such as upcoming events in Saudi Arabia and the associated impact on the economy. This most likely indicates that Tariq is from a ________.
B) polychronic culture
28) During a business meeting in the United States, a relaxed posture is acceptable, but in Europe or Asia such body language would most likely be interpreted as ________.
B) rudeness
20) Which of the following is one of the reasons that language frequently causes miscommunication during international business situations?
B) translating a local language too literally
58) Al Razim, a construction engineer, recently travelled to Germany in order to find investors for his real-estate project. While he finally succeeded in getting an investor, he was surprised by the explicitness of the Germans. Sometimes all he got was a direct "No." This is because Germans are a ________ culture.
C) low-context
4) Phil sent an email requesting Mel to join him in the conference room at 2 P.M. and to bring the final report on the building's floor plans. However, Mel's personal secretary skips reading the entire email and just informs Mel to join Phil in the conference room at 2 P.M. This is an example of ________.
C) noise
38) The considerable variation between Americans and Chinese in the use of silence during meetings is an aspect of ________.
C) paralanguage
66) What is the best method for avoiding miscommunication?
C) practicing projective listening
16) Tom manages a U.S. pharmaceutical subsidiary located in Ireland. In order to communicate effectively with Irish employees and improve their productivity, Tom should ________.
C) provide positive support to employees
19) In an interview, a British journalist asked a German athlete, "Are you a typical German?" When asked to clarify, the journalist explained that a typical German loved machines, worked hard, and was dependable. This is an example of ________.
D) stereotyping
6) Which of the following is the primary cause of noise in the communication process?
D) the difference between two individuals' life space
88) In low-context cultures, key information is embedded in the context rather than made explicit.
FALSE
72) Anything that serves to undermine the communication of the intended meaning is typically referred to as noise.
TRUE
73) Cultural noise is the cultural variables that undermine the communication of intended meaning.
TRUE
76) Stereotyping occurs when a person assumes that every member of a society or subculture has the same characteristics or traits.
TRUE
78) The term kinesic behavior refers to communication through body movements—posture, gestures, facial expressions, and eye contact.
TRUE
79) Kinesics and proxemics are elements of nonverbal communication.
TRUE
80) Proxemics deals with the influence of space on communication—both personal space and office space or layout.
TRUE
83) The term paralanguage refers to how something is said rather than the content—i.e., the rate of speech, the tone and inflection of voice, other noises, laughing, or yawning.
TRUE
85) In monochronic cultures, time is experienced in a linear way, with a past, a present, and a future, and time is treated as something to be spent, saved, made up, or wasted.
TRUE
87) In high-context cultures, feelings and thoughts are not explicitly expressed; instead, one has to read between the lines and interpret meaning from one's general understanding.
TRUE
37) Changing the meaning of words by changing the inflection of your voice is an example of ________.
A) paralanguage
45) In ________ cultures, people tolerate many things occurring simultaneously and change plans frequently.
A) polychronic
61) Which of the following is a characteristic of the Japanese ningensei style?
A) reciprocity
52) In ________ cultures, communication occurs within an extensive network of close personal and business relationships.
C) high-context
43) Classified and compartmentalized, time serves to order life in a ________.
A) monochronic culture
5) Anything that serves to undermine the communication of the intended meaning is known as ________.
A) noise
29) Which of the following terms refers to the influence of closeness and space on communication?
D) proxemics
39) The manner in which people communicate through material artifacts such as architecture, office design, and cars is known as ________.
A) object language
27) The tendency of Americans to look people in the eye contrasts with the tendency of the British to keep looking away while conversing. Such differences are categorized as ________.
A) oculesics
15) Brenda is the head of a sports firm in Sweden. In order to communicate effectively with her workers, Brenda should ________.
A) build friendly relationships and encourage two-way dialogues
13) According to the GLOBE project, workers from countries that ranked low on performance orientation, e.g., Russia or Greece, ________.
A) do not take hard facts and figures seriously
49) In high-context cultures, ________.
A) feelings and thoughts are not explicitly expressed
56) Larry is a top-level manager at Smart-Tech, an American semiconductor firm. Larry is involved in the negotiation procedures between Smart-Tech and a Saudi Arabian financial group. Larry arrives in Saudi Arabia hoping to quickly conclude the business deal. However, to his surprise the Arabs show no great interest in coming to a decision, despite several rounds of discussion. This type of behavior from the Saudi Arabian financial group is most likely attributed towards its ________.
A) high-context culture
21) Understanding foreign languages is especially important for international managers because of ________.
A) increased diversity in the global workforce
24) Posture, gestures, facial expressions, and eye contact are examples of ________.
A) kinesic behavior
40) Which of the following is true about monochronic and polychronic cultures?
B) Monochronic cultures treat time as a tool for bringing order to life; polychronic cultures tolerate many events occurring simultaneously.
35) ________ refers to how something is said rather than the content—i.e., the rate of speech, the tone and inflection of voice, other noises, laughing, or yawning.
B) Paralanguage
8) Intercultural communication most likely occurs when ________.
B) a member of one culture sends a message to a member of another culture
14) According to the GLOBE project, a coworker or subordinate from Sweden, a country ranking low on assertiveness, would most likely prefer ________.
B) a two-way dialogue
41) Which of the following is a characteristic of a person in a monochronic culture?
B) adheres to plan commitments
17) Which of the following is a cultural variable in the communication process?
B) attitude
10) According to Hall and Hall, when people experience a failure in communication, they tend to blame the confusion on the other person's stupidity, deceit, or craziness. This process of trying to explain the other person's behavior is known as ________.
B) attribution
46) Which of the following is a characteristic of a person from a polychronic culture?
B) changes plans frequently
63) Which of the following tips is most likely to lead to effective intercultural communication?
C) Messages need to be encoded carefully.
42) Which of the following is a true statement about polychronic cultures?
C) Polychronic people focus on relationships rather than material systems.
47) Larry is a top-level manager at Smart-Tech, an American semiconductor firm. Larry is involved in the negotiation procedures between Smart-Tech and a Saudi Arabian financial group. Larry has recently arrived in Saudi Arabia for the purpose of negotiating the final terms of the contract. Which of the following statements undermines the argument that Larry should adhere to a strict agenda when negotiating with the Arabs?
C) Saudi Arabia is a polychronic culture.
69) ________ and ________ are personality traits categorized as openness.
C) Tolerance for ambiguity; extrovertedness
67) Interaction posture is best defined as the ________.
C) ability to respond to others in a nonjudgmental way
34) Which of the following would most likely occur in a low-contact culture?
C) colleagues maintaining a respectful distance while greeting each other
7) Which of the following terms refers to any cultural variables that undermine the communication of intended meaning?
C) cultural noise
11) Trust improves cross-cultural communication by ________.
C) encouraging the open exchange of ideas and information
30) A ________ culture is characterized by people standing close together and touching a great deal.
C) high-contact
50) In ________ cultures, people expect others to understand unarticulated moods, subtle gestures, and environmental clues.
C) high-context
12) Which of the following will help an international business manager cultivate trust in cross-cultural communications?
C) socializing when possible and making friendly contacts with persons involved
25) Which of the following is a true statement regarding kinesic behavior?
D) The meaning of body movements varies by culture.
31) Which of the following will a person working in a high-contact culture most likely experience?
D) coworkers putting an arm over their colleague's back
3) Which of the following does NOT constitute a normal interpersonal communication task for managers?
D) giving speeches at conferences
2) Communication to managers is of vital importance because it ________.
D) greatly helps in negotiating future plans
57) The international business manager of Toro Automobiles, based in London, is currently in Indonesia negotiating with potential partners to set up a manufacturing plant. He is intrigued and startled by the lack of apprehension shown by every person he has met in standing close to him when greeting him. This is because the persons or the groups involved in the meeting are a part of a ________.
D) high-contact culture
33) Josh, a tourist from the United States, goes on a five-day trip to Japan. Apart from learning their rich history and heritage, he notices that people do not shake hands, but bow to each other. He is most likely to conclude that the Japanese have a ________.
D) low-contact culture
