Organizational Communication Exam One

How many tables and figures should be included in a report to warrant a list of illustrations in the front matter? 5 10 1 15

5

The earliest known example of managerial communication may be the record keeping procedure developed by Sumerian priests around ______. 5,000 BCE. 8,000 BCE. 1 CE. 1,000 CE.

5,000 BCE.

Which of the following is NOT considered back matter of a formal report? Glossary Acknowledgments Appendix Bibliography

Acknowledgments

When should a writer edit a document? At the same time as revising Instead of revising Before revising After revising

After revising

As the complexity of a message increases, managers should attempt to use ______. wider bandwidth and the medium that will add to psychological closeness symbolism consistent with the complexity all of these the technology that provides for the greatest amount of feedback

All of these

Competition means ______. two or more parties work against one another to acquire the business of a third party. a service or product must possess greater value at the same price. defective parts must be minimal, few product repairs can be tolerated. all of these

All of these

Employees are more easily persuaded when ______. They like their manager They view the persuader as an authority The manager is physically and psychologically close to them All of these

All of these

Managers must take the following into account when sending a message. the receiver's relationship and status differences with the manager the receiver's interest and emotional state the receiver's knowledge and communication skills all of these

All of these

Physical distance between sender and receiver impacts ______. tone and loudness gestures and posture feedback and time all of these

All of these

Sexual harassment involves ___________. Language Looking Touching All of these

All of these

The effects of constant e-mail alerts include ______. continuous partial attention impaired decision-making impeded creativity all of these

All of these

Which of the following is a disadvantage of texting as a channel? Security may be compromised. Lack of structure and format. Unprofessional writing style. All of these

All of these

Which of the following is a good reason NOT to apologize? Apologizing implies responsibility for wrongdoing Apologizing invites legal action against the writer and the organization Apologizing can damage a company's image All of these

All of these

When a manager is encoding a message, which consideration can be safely ignored? her communication preferences her receiver the organization's culture all of these are important considerations

All of these are important coniderations

Interpersonal and intrapersonal communication can be hindered by the following critical errors. assumption-observation, failure to discern, and oneness assumption-observation, failure to listen, and sameness assumption-observation, failure to quantify, and sameness assumption-observation, failure to discriminate, and allness

Assumption-observation, failure to discriminate, and allness

Which of the following factors should influence the format that a report takes? Legality Audience direct order indirect order

Audience

The information transmission capacity of the available sensory channels is known as ______. Perspective Sensuality Capability bandwidth

Bandwidth

An appropriate phrase to eliminate the allness error is ______ "either... or...." "In my opinion,...." "I am certain this is true." "This is what I consider critical information."

"This is what I consider critical information."

Major factors affecting communication contingencies are ________. Time, diversity, ethics, and competition Product quality, diversity, subordination, and competition Ethics, diversity, product quality, and competition Competition, creative analysis, products quality, and ethics

Ethics, diversity, product quality, and competition

A familiar environment by its very nature should be avoided because it is a distraction for a manager and the receiver. True False

False

A public setting is always preferable when a manager praises a direct report's performance. True False

False

Contemporary CEOs are returning to an autocratic model of leadership. True False

False

Effective communication is NOT a leading indicator of financial performance. True False

False

GDSS (group decision support systems) increase both efficiency and groupthink. True False

False

Headings are NOT appropriate in a letter report because the length is usually only 5-8 pages. True False

False

Indirect order is usually preferred for short reports and proposals. True False

False

Of the five levels of managerial communication, the most important is the intercultural level. True False

False

Persuasion is an effort to coerce, fool, seduce, or manipulate the receiver. True False

False

Research indicates that the communication of complex detailed information is improved dramatically by using face-to-face rather than written channel. True False

False

Research suggests that electronic media don't affect the closeness people feel toward each other. True False

False

Technology dramatically increases the feedback cycle. True False

False

Technology eliminates the need for multicultural awareness. True False

False

The contingency approach was a management philosophy in the 20th century. True False

False

The title page serves to motivate the reader to read, interpret, and use the formal report. True False

False

With the advent of new technology, written reports are being phased out. True False

False

Intrapersonal communication ______. links members of an organization or company focuses on internal behavior focuses on the exchange of thoughts requires meetings to take place

Focuses on internal behavior

Which of the following is an advantage of collaborative writing? Everyone contributes to the project at all times It fosters formal chains of communication and authority Group decision-making Everyone is a team leader

Group decision-making

Which of the following channels is the best one to use when notifying employees of impending layoffs? one-to-one conversations E-mail group meetings Intranet

Group meetings

Time ________. Cannot be well managed in a meeting Has an effect only on workplace productivity Can be ignored in more small group meetings Has an effect on all elements of management communication

Has an effect on all elements of management communication

The extent to which people feel close to each other is called ______. Parallelism Proximity Propinquity Propriety

Propinquity

The second layer of the strategic communication model consists of ______. the sender, receiver, and purpose of the communication the totality of the message and its likely impact on the receiver the cultural background of the receiver the date, time, and place of the communication

The sender, receiver, and purpose of the communication

All of the following are common purposes for managerial communication except __________. To gain information To achieve status To share information To persuade

To achieve status

Which of the following is NOT a standard guide word for a memo? Topic To From date

Topic

The major advantage for companies of using videoconferencing is ______. time zone differences can be ignored travel time and costs for meetings are reduced to avoid eye contact meetings are shorter

Travel time and costs for meetings are reduced

A goal of empowerment is to allow employees more freedom within their jobs. True False

True

A political device for internal correspondence is to "copy" in certain people. True False

True

A receiver's level of knowledge is easily measured by asking specific, open-ended questions and receiving feedback. True False

True

Although the whole rationale for reliance on technology is increased efficiency and productivity, its use must be constantly reassessed. True False

True

An organization's culture can encourage or discourage information flow. True False

True

As little as one or two errors can change a trusting communication climate to one of distrust. True False

True

Bandwidth is the information transmission capacity of the available sensory channels. True False

True

Business transactions were recorded in the Middle East as early as 5000 BCE. True False

True

Dale Carnegie was one of the first writers to link communication skills with managerial effectiveness. True False

True

In terms of information theory, selective attention is the result of information jamming. True False

True

Managerial communication behavior represents ritualistic responses to the need to appear competent, intelligent, legitimate, and rational. True False

True

Most of the data needed for business reports are primary data. True False

True

Paragraphs bring separate thoughts together and arrange them to convey a single important idea. True False

True

Prompt postmortems are unpleasant but valuable tools for work performance improvement. True False

True

Scientific management identifies the most efficient and effective manner for performing a task. True False

True

Sensitive messages should usually be communication in face-to-face settings. True False

True

Sexual harassment definitions are continually evolving. True False

True

The most common reason that managers write reports is that someone asked them to. True False

True

Managerial communication may occur at any of the following levels except ______. Universal Intrapersonal Intercultural group

Universal

The four concepts that help one understand the use of mediated communication include ______. feedback, closeness capability, volumity, and bandwidth videoconferencing, sensuality, feedback, and perceived closeness bandwidth, perceived closeness, feedback, and capability bandwidth, perceived closeness, feedback, and symbolic interactionist perspective

Bandwidth, perceived closeness, feedback, and symbolic interactionist perspective

When sending a negative message, managers should ______. Get right to the point Use any available source of technology to get the message to the receiver Use email Be sensitive to the receiver

Be sensitive to the receiver

"BIF" stands for ______. Big Idiom Forgotten Best Idea First Big Idea First Best If Formal

Best Idea First

Research shows that managers choose the face-to-face channel to symbolize ______. Trust or goodwill Formality Both a desire for teamwork and trust or goodwill A desire for teamwork

Both a desire for teamwork and trust or goodwill

Words that create sharp, vivid images and stimulate reader interest are known as ______. Denotation Concrete Abstract Jargon

Concrete

Writing "he made five errors in six attempts" instead of "he really messed up" is an example of _______. Concreteness Abstraction Conciseness sexism

Concreteness

Which of the following meanings of a word is the subjective one that is largely determined by a person's previous experiences or associations? Malapropism Euphemism Connotation Denotation

Connotation

Which approach to management communication is characterized by the interdependence of jobs, organizations, and people? scientific management human relations Contingency all of these

Contingecy

Organizations are _______. A dated concept. Continuously evolving Static entities Stable

Continuously evolving

Although active voice is usually preferred over passive in business writing, its main advantage is that it is ______. Emphatic Direct Shorter Diplomatic

Diplomatic

Age diversity management ______. includes considerations of the way employees work applies only to the U.S. culture is especially important to menial jobs protects the rights of older people

Includes considerations of the way employees work

Which of the following work activities is not supported by GDSS? message exchange idea creation document preparation individual goal planning

Individual Goal Planning

When characteristics of the receiver cause distortions to the sender's intended message, they are referred to as ______. poor communication skills communication adaptations external noise internal noise

Internal Noise

Dale Carnegie's philosophy stressed that managers should use which of the following strategies to attain employee commitment? interpersonal communication economic incentives the authority of the manager's position Threat

Interpersonal communication

Contemporary managerial communication stresses the importance of which of the following? Listening maintaining discipline giving orders keeping written records

Listening

Ethics is ______. the result of political scandal a 20th-century phenomenon a cost of doing business the result of the culture, education, and philosophy of management

The result of the culture, education, and philosophy of management

For which of the following should you use the direct strategy? Negative responses to inquiries and requests Refused claims Persuasive messages None of these

None of these

Writers who prepare messages matching their readers' interest are using _________. Metacommunication Connotations Euphemisms None of these

None of these

How short should most routine e-mail messages be? One sentence One screen One word One paragraph

One screen

Which aspects of an organization's physical space encourage open communication? Open space, surveillance cameras, closed doors Music, sparse furniture, long empty hallways Open space, live plants, music, food Waterfalls, sparse furniture, surveillance cameras

Open space, live plants, music, food

Understanding of a manager's message is based on the receiver's __________. Perception and message interpretation Experience and attention Position on the company's organizational chart Education and attention

Perception and message interpretation

A janus statement consists of a(n) _______. Review and preview Deduction Explanation Calendar of January

Review and preview

When a manager uses the face-to-face channel to remind her team of a regular routine meeting, she is ignoring which message factor? Negativity Persuasiveness Sensitivity Complexity

Sensitivity

When selecting a channel, a manager should consider which aspects of the message? sensitivity, agreeableness, privacy, and negativity privacy, complexity, information overload, and negativity sensitivity, privacy, complexity, and agreeableness sensitivity, negativity, complexity, and persuasiveness

Sensitivity, negativity, complexity, and persuasiveness

Which of the following channels is most likely to get the quickest response? Memo Text message Voicemail e-mail

Text message

What factors are included in the third layer of the strategic communication model? The targeted audience, the purpose, the medium, and the physical environment The message content, the channel, the time the communication occurs, and the physical environment The medium, the physical environment, the content, and the time the message occurs The target audience, the purpose, the time the communication occurs, and the physical environment.

The message content, the channel, the time the communication occurs, and the physical environment

What determines whether a message is positive or negative? The sender's communication skills The receiver's perspective The sender's perspective The organization's history

The receiver's perspective

Shaking hands upon meeting someone uses which of the following cues? Visual, tactile, olfactory, gustatory Auditory, tactile, olfactory, gustatory Visual, auditory, tactile, olfactory Visual, auditory, tactile, gustatory

Visual, auditory, tactile, olfactory

The introduction of a memo report should include which of the following? Purpose data sources Scope all of these

all of these

Which of the following is the most frequent reason memos are used in an organization? fixing responsibility to communicate with groups both to communicate with groups and fixing responsibility Copying-in

both to communicate with groups and fixing responsibility

Organization by ______ is the most common organizational plan because it is so broad. Quality quantity or size criteria or factors Place

criteria or factors

Which is an optional element in the introduction of a formal report? definitions of key terms a statement of authorization a plan of development a statement of methodology

definitions of key terms

The "you" attitude does not ______. stress reader benefits use the words you, your, or yours anticipate questions emphasize negatives

emphasize negatives

What are the four most common types of workplace diversity? urbanization, acculturation, orientation, and education religion, nationality, age, and gender gender, culture, age, and education race, ethnicity, religion, and outlook

gender, culture, age, and education

Which of the following is a function of headings in a report? headings minimize white space headings spell out the significance of the material in a section headings act as signposts to guide the reader through the report all of these

headings act as signposts to guide the reader through the report

Revising involves which of the following? Neatness rewriting the paper as many times as necessary reading what has been written for clarity, accuracy, and tone writing a paper with as few errors as possible

reading what has been written for clarity, accuracy, and tone

An easy way to find positive words for a negative message is to ______. admit responsibility say what will happen deny the bad news place blame

say what will happen