Business Communications Exam 1

Experts suggest that ___ of your time should be spent on the drafting phase.

25 percent

You are preparing a comprehensive report on telecommunication practices in your industry. You need some background information on the history of Internet use in professional environments.

Access traditional sources and electronic sources.

Parallel sentences are balanced and easy for readers to understand. Choose which sentence has the better parallel structure.

Although the presentation was extremely long, it outlined the research, analyzed the data, and provided clear recommendations that will be useful in the future.

Identify the correct pattern of a complex sentence.

An independent clause and a dependent clause

You prepare notes for a staff meeting to present potential solutions to the lingering problem. You consider several key agenda items to include

Analyzing

In the case that you attend communication workshops, as I suggested, you might find that the overall benefit that you receive relates directly to the advancement of your career. Attending communication workshops may help advance your career.

Attending communication workshops may help advance your career.

Look at the problem from the perspective of the audience instead of your own

Audience oriented

As the leader of your workgroup, you want to encourage a positive working environment. You decide to make posters for the hallway with tips for improving communication between the diverse members of your group. What would be the best tip to be placed on a poster?

Build on similarities. Value differences.

The president of the Association of Accounting Students is a junior.

Common noun

The administrative assistant prepared the executive briefing

Concrete noun

Which of the following emphasizes the main idea? Congratulations! We would like to offer you the position of senior analyst. We have now successfully concluded our interview process and you have passed

Congratulations! We would like to offer you the position of senior analyst.

At a team meeting, your manager addresses some of the discord between your team members and suggests that your team should work individually instead of as a group. She asks if anyone has an opinion on the subject. You know that there are often tough times when working in a group, but in the end your team always produces great results. What could you say to convince your manager to keep your team working together?

Diverse teams made up of people with different experiences are better able to create competitive advantages in the marketplace.

I see that there appears to be an absolutely unfamiliar potential client requesting to converse with you in the upcoming afternoon interval. Would you prefer that I reject his request because you are already experiencing an overload of professional work demands?

Economical

In some cases it is necessary to de-emphasize an idea, such as bad news. Does the following selection emphasize or de-emphasize the bad news? We are unable to renew your contract for the upcoming year due to company-wide budget cuts.

Emphasize

Employees today aren't hired only for their knowledge. Their ability to learn new things is also vital. Employees today aren't hired only for their knowledge, their ability to learn new things is also vital.

Employees today aren't hired only for their knowledge. Their ability to learn new things is also vital.

Although most international business is conducted in English, levels of comprehension can vary. How can you enhance your oral communication skills in international environments? Check all that apply.

Encourage accurate feedback, Follow up in writing, Smile when appropriate, Accept blame

Which of the following is a situation that might call for an indirect strategy?

Facilitates a fair hearing

Mr. Algazi provides the information his client has requested through a voice message

Feedback travels to sender

Choose the best revision to the following sentence. Teagan saw the recommendations flipping through the report.

Flipping through the report, Teagan saw the recommendations.

Hey Marilyn, Nice work on that presentation. I'm going to send a copy to the CEO to show off your creativity. Congratulations to you and your team. Speaking of teams, I'm sending a recommendation to Human Resources. Your leadership during the presentation really shows, and you deserve a promotion for all that hard work. A team is only as good as its leader, after all. Before sending the message, it occurs to you that your e-mail will probably be forwarded to other subordinates. What will you need to change to make the message appropriate for both a subordinate and other subordinates?

Focus on congratulating the team using each individual's name and use a more formal tone. Send news about the promotion recommendation in a separate e-mail.

Alyssa knows very little about the migratory habits of the flamingo, but she is told to give an extensive report about them to a panel of ornithologists. In order to prepare, she spends three days in the library reviewing magazines and journal articles, searching academic databases, and identifying primary sources.

Formal research

Read the following selections and identify the sentence error. Typing an e-mail message is a form of message encoding. Such as converting an idea into written language.

Fragment

You can also improve your messages through stylistic emphasis in sentence structure and word choice. Which of the following stylistic devices can be used to achieve emphasis? Check all that apply.

Give important information the spotlight. Label the main idea. Avoid general words.

Mr. Youngher arrives at his interview for a community relations internship with Bethlehem Electric in Chicago five minutes late and in a rumpled suit. When he is introduced to the chief marketing officer, Mr. Youngher moves in close as they shake hands and winks. The executive takes a step back. Read the following scenario and answer the question. What advice or tips would you give Mr. Youngher as he prepares for other interviews?

He should learn to appreciate the power of appearance and improve his decoding skills to be a better reader of others' reactions.

The Boston Hotel High-end linens 600-thread-count sheets Coffeemaker and selected teas Imported beer Fresh-squeezed juices Affordability Food and drink Double-thick bath towels Silk pillowcases Raw silk curtains with gold embellishments $100/night four-star rooms Free snacks, shampoo, and conditioner Free wireless Internet What are three subcategories in the previous scratch list?

High-end linens, affordability, food and drink

If you can write well, you can represent your company well. If you can write well; you can represent your company well.

If you can write well, you can represent your company well.

You have just been offered a promotion that your friend and coworker, Alyssa, has been hoping for. Alyssa knows that you had a scheduled meeting with your boss today and sends you an e-mail asking how your meeting went. You know Alyssa will be upset when she hears the news of your promotion; however, she is a good friend, and you need to be honest and tell her in your response e-mail.

Indirect

You need to compose an e-mail informing coworkers of an upcoming bowling party. Which is the best research approach?

Informal. Look at past flyers for this event, ask coworkers what kind of food they would like to have at the party, and ask which bowling alley they prefer.

When Mr. Lakely, a recruiter for United Health, calls job applicant Leanne Pufall to schedule a second-round interview, he reaches Leanne's voice mail, which has an offensive joke message.

Leannes message is unprofessional

Be sure that you educate yourself as to how to speak with a measured pace and articulation. Learn to speak slowly and clearly.

Learn to speak slowly and clearly.

Which one of the following techniques will help you control the length of your paragraphs?

Limit the length of your paragraph to approximately eight or fewer lines.

Local markets have become saturated, therefore companies now look to other countries for further expansion. Local markets have become saturated; therefore, companies now look to other countries for further expansion.

Local markets have become saturated; therefore, companies now look to other countries for further expansion.

Outlines give you a chance to organize your thinking before determining word choice and sentence structure. Which of the following will help you create a more effective outline?

Make each subpoint exclusive Avoid single items under major components Divide the main topic into major components

As diversity grows in both society and the workplace, interacting and communicating with your coworkers will present specific challenges and rewards. It is important to be sensitive to the diverse backgrounds of your coworkers and to understand how to navigate an increasingly diverse workplace. Which of the following are appropriate strategies for communication in diverse workplaces? Check all that apply.

Make fewer assumptions, Learn about your cultural self, Understand the value of difference

Marjan is working on a team completing a recommendations report. She has gathered and sorted customer survey data, and now she needs to share it with the team for comments and corrections. Marjan is preparing to e-mail the data to her teammates.

Marjan should post the data on the team wiki.

After identifying the purpose of your message, you should select the most appropriate communication channel. When determining the most effective channel for your message, which of the following should you consider? Check all that apply.

Necessity of a permanent record Receiver's preference and level of technical expertise Importance of the message Degree of formality desired

As part of a plan to emphasize a dynamic corporate culture at the Gagnier and Morris advertising company, Megan has done away with traditional cubicles and replaced them with open-area, nonterritorial workspaces, or "hot desks."

Nonterritorial offices

Stereotypes are:

Oversimplifications that cause misunderstandings and misconceptions

Does the following sentence use the active or passive voice? Refreshments will be served

Passive

The delivery person wrecked the office supply van. The problem in this ineffective selection is:

Passive voice

Determine which sentence has achieved a casual, yet professional tone.

Please verify the data in the report, paying special attention to page three.

What is the best way to develop tolerance?

Practice empathy

Which of the following are qualities of successful business writing? Check all that apply

Purposeful, Focused on the concerns of the audience

After a gas pipeline explosion that destroyed homes and injured dozens of people, Pacific Power Company publicly unveiled a new mission statement with a greater focus on safety and corporate accountability.

Renewed emphasis on ethics

Janet, an HR manager at a telecommunications company, has been asked to review the company's policies for hiring contractors to ensure those policies comply with the company's ethical mission statement.

Renewed emphasis on ethics

Deborah's team was reorganized to be cross-functional, and each member is now expected to collaborate on every step of the process for updating her company's website, including generating content, encouraging traffic through SEO optimization, and tracking the website's hits.

Self-directed work groups and virtual teams

William Fairaizl left a voicemail to the job candidate, asking him meet with him at 4:00 p.m.

Sender encodes the message

Rehanna decides to propose a cost-saving reorganization of the company's client database

Sender has an idea

Which of the following are techniques that you can use to help the reader follow your ideas? Check all that apply.

Show connections with transitional expressions. Repeat a key idea by using the same expression or a similar one.

Identify the sentence pattern of the following sentence. Katherine submitted the recommendation report yesterday

Simple

You receive a voice mail from your supervisor asking you to compile a list of talking points for an upcoming interview on the Morning News Show. The best informal information gathering technique to find out the details of what your boss expects would be to:

Talk with your boss

Which of the following selections effectively use the "you" view. Check all that apply.

Thank you for your letter regarding your CRB2 home entertainment center. You are invited to take advantage of our professional development workshops

Communication with the public and employees should be overseen by the director of PR. The duties of the crisis team should be divided according to each member's area of expertise. Since communicating accurate information is critical, you will need to assign specific members to interface with your own employees and public-safety agencies. If your company does not have a public relations executive, this job should be handled by the head of marketing or human resources. Furthermore, all members of your crisis team should receive training in crisis communication. 1. Communication with the public and employees should be overseen by the director of PR. The duties of the crisis team should be divided according to each member's area of expertise. Since communicating accurate information is critical, you will need to assign specific members to interface with your own employees and public-safety agencies. If your company does not have a public relations executive, this job should be handled by the head of marketing or human resources. Furthermore, all members of your crisis team should receive training in crisis communication. 2. All members of your crisis team should receive training in crisis communication, and the duties of the crisis team should be divided according to each member's area of expertise. Since communicating accurate information is critical, you will need to assign specific members to interface with your own employees and public-safety agencies. Communication with the public and employees should be overseen by the director of PR. If your company does not have a public relations executive, this job should be handled by the head of marketing or human resources. 3. The duties of the crisis team should be divided according to each member's area of expertise. Since communicating accurate information is critical, you will need to assign specific members to interface with your own employees and public-safety agencies. Communication with the public and employees should be overseen by the director of PR. If your company does not have a public relations executive, this job should be handled by the head of marketing or human resources. Nevertheless, all members of your crisis team should receive training in crisis communication.

The best revision is 3

The communication process works fluidly. It moves from one step to the next often without pause. The communication process works fluidly it moves from one step to the next often without pause.

The communication process works fluidly. It moves from one step to the next often without pause.

____ luggage hasn't arrived yet

Their

In North America, keeping people waiting for a business appointment is considered rude.

Time orientation

When you compose messages, you may use the active or passive voice to convey meaning. Most business messages use the active voice. Which of the following are instances when you would use the passive voice in a business message? Check all that apply.

To conceal the doer of an action Correct To emphasize an action instead of the recipient of an action Correct To de-emphasize negative news

To ensure clear communication, use precise words to convey your ideas. To ensure clear communication; use precise words to convey your ideas.

To ensure clear communication, use precise words to convey your ideas.

The Freebird Turbocharger is being recalled. All customers who submitted warranty cards can have their installed turbochargers serviced free by authorized mechanics. If you do not have a warranty with Freebird, bring your original receipt to your local Freebird dealership and they will complete the repairs at cost. What is the primary purpose of this message?

To inform a customer about a recall

What is the secondary purpose of this message?

To retain the customer's goodwill

As a member of the crisis management team, you are required to attend our biannual crisis management workshops. These workshops will prepare you to lead your division in the event of a company crisis. The workshops always take place during the second week in January, and they are held at our headquarters in Dallas, Texas. Workshop registration information is available on the company website. Identify the function of the sentence As a member of the crisis management team, you are required to attend our biannual crisis management workshops.

Topic sentence

Raphael is faxing several associates in Indonesia. I have attached the contract for you're review. Please review this ASAP. What can he do to improve the clarity of what he wrote? Check all that apply.

Use correct grammar, Consider local styles, Write out acronyms

Which one of the following selections uses a conversational but professional tone?

We are going to take action in response to recent market fluctuations

Nonverbal distractions

We don't listen due to our reaction to unusual clothes, speech, or mannerisms.

Faking attention

We pretend to pay attention and find it hard to remember what was said.

Unfortunately, we had a hard time completing the report; we deserve an extension

We request a brief extension to complete the report.

As you first begin the composition process, which of the following questions should you ask yourself?

What do I hope to achieve by sending this message? Why am I sending this message?

Which questions should you ask yourself in order to avoid frustration and inaccurate messages? Check all that apply.

What does the receiver need to know about this topic? What action should the receiver take? How is the receiver to take action?

A good writer anticipates the audience of a message. Although you can't always know exactly who the audience is, you can imagine the general characteristics of the receiver. Profiling your audience allows you to adopt the appropriate tone, language, and channel. Which of the following are appropriate questions to ask when profiling your audience? Check all that apply.

What is my relationship with the audience? How much does the audience know about my topic? What position does the audience hold in my organization? Should I expect a neutral, positive, or negative response to my message?

Two barriers prevent people from successfully understanding and accepting people from other cultures: ethnocentrism and stereotypes. Fortunately, these barriers may be overcome by developing tolerance. Choose the best answer for each of the following. If you have an ethnocentric view of the world, you hold which expectation?

You expect the rest of the world to follow your customs and share your values.

Which of the following is a situation that might call for an indirect strategy? Check all that apply.

You need to convince your coworkers to adopt a new software program that they don't understand. You are sending a past-due notice on an account. You need to fire your receptionist.

Who might be the secondary audience for your message to Mr. Gallegos? Check all that apply.

Your boss Mr. Gallegos's friends and family who might also be customers

Something is wrong with your executive assistant. He's been late to work 12 times in the last month. He's been forgetting to spell check outgoing documents. He seems depressed. You need to find out what is bothering him before his poor work performance puts his job in jeopardy. You should use

a face to face conversation

Which of the following are steps involved in the prewriting phase of the writing process? Check all that apply

adapting, anticipating, analyzing

Both the client and the company representative ______ expected to approve the agreement.

are

Your satisfaction is important to us. Please share your thoughts and comments on how we can improve your dining experience. Is the preceding message sender focused or audience focused?

audience focused

If she ____another company, we'll need to expand our search for candidates.

chooses

Today's workplace requires all employees, even hourly workers, to create reports and exchange messages. These messages should be

clear and concisely written

When the committee ___to a decision, we will proceed with the plan.

comes

Body language ___messages nonverbally.

communicates

Eye contact _____the appearance of confidence.

conveys

The public relations team _____ not agree with the operations team on this decision.

does

Reading comprehension rates ___ as sentences become longer.

drop off

After completing your first draft, you will check the message for clarity, conciseness, tone, and readability

editing

the ___ from both magazines are meeting next Tuesday

editors in cheif

Every ___ must submit his or her time sheet at the end of the week.

employee

Communication is the transmission of information and meaning from one individual or group to another. The central objective of communication is to transmit meaning. The communication process is generally defined in five steps: sender has an idea, sender encodes the idea in a message, message travels over a channel, receiver decodes the message, and feedback travels to sender. Complete the sentence with the most appropriate choice. The process of translating ideas into words that will convey meaning is referred to as ___

encoding

In business messages, the quantity of words enhances the quality of the message.

false

The ___ are well prepared in case of an emergency.

flight attendants

You work in the customer care division at Flannery Electronics. Mr. Gallegos, a longtime customer, is experiencing a problem with his home theater system and has submitted a letter requesting that Flannery Electronics either fix or replace his system at no cost. Unfortunately, Mr. Gallegos's customer service and factory warranties expired three months ago. You must write to Mr. Gallegos and inform him that Flannery will be unable to honor his request. Should the tone for this message be formal or informal?

formal

Seasonal fruits and vegetables are shipped from Chile and sold in the United States along with domestically grown produce.

heightened global competition

Programmers like Steven and ___ are invaluable

her

Each employee must submit ___performance goals by the end of the week.

his or her

Identify tips that would help Diane listen more effectively to her team. Check all that apply.

hold her fire, establish a receptive mind-set, capitalize on lag time

The form that ___ take may be influenced by frame of reference, culture, and background.

ideas

Facial expressions, gestures, and posture can be almost as revealing as a person's eyes. Involuntary facial expressions can add or detract from a message as much as gestures can. Understanding how your gestures influence the reception of your message is likely to do which of the following? Check all that apply.

improve your delivery, make you a more compelling speaker

Our company is growing fast, which always means changes and innovations. Because of this growth, the accounting department will be restructured. For the last five years, Tim has served as chief manager with grace and dedication. However, because of the restructuring, Tim's position will no longer be needed. He will be working in the marketing department on the third floor, starting next Tuesday. In this message, the ____ organizational pattern is used

indirect

I think ___his purple stapler.

it's

Both the folder and ___tab are green

its

You can counter the effects of psychological listening barriers by

keeping an open mind

Which communication channel would be most appropriate?

letter

the client ___ the new marketing plan

likes

We must address safety concerns before we ____more skilled technicians.

lose

Make sure you put the correct subject line in your e-mail when writing to your coworkers and ___

me

When you leave tonight, can you call Danny and

me

Please ensure that all members of the team _____ quickly on the decision.

move

Mr. Gallegos will most likely have a ___ response to the message you send him.

negative

In American culture, good eye contact enables the sender to see if the receiver is

paying attention

How we use time in North America reveals insights into our ____ . Additionally, the way we structure space and territory can provide information on our ___.

personalities and attitudes, objectives and ourselves

Western cultures are more relaxed about social status, and input from subordinates is tolerated and even encouraged.

power distance

Looking neat and well groomed in your personal appearance and preparing well-organized and attractive documents builds your

professional credibility

You can counter the effects of faking attention by

providing feedback

Using a direct opening strategy

reduces frustration

Which of the following are correctly spelled plural nouns? Check all that apply.

secretaries, companies, CPAs

Collective nouns may be considered singular or plural depending on their action. Choose the appropriate verb for the bold noun in the following sentence. Our committee ___ the employee of the year.

selects

Diane is part of a recently restructured team. Diane previously held a supervisory role in a different division; however, due to a company merger, she is now a new member of a team with no formal hierarchy. In meetings, Diane is often distracted by the fact that she is no longer leading the team, and she doesn't think her new coworkers really "get the big picture." Diane finds herself just waiting for breaks in the conversation to make her points and ideas heard. When others are talking, she is often bored and inattentive, thinking about other tasks she needs to accomplish. Identify the listening barriers. Check all that apply.

thought speed, psychological barriers

Entrepreneurial folklore weaves a dream of perfection in the pursuit of success;____, 50 percent of all entrepreneurial businesses fail in the first year.However ____ , with hard work and proper planning, you can increase your chance for success.

unfortunately however

Message sent from a BlackBerry mobile device to a client: R U going 2 B in this PM need 2 chat

unprofessional

To help organize your thoughts before writing, you should

use a scratch list or outline

Complete the following sentence. Organizing information in ____ provides emphasis by making items stand out.

vertical lists

____ , you should focus your efforts on four primary areas: idea development, feasibility research, business plan writing, and securing capital._______ , the planning phase of any business venture is difficult. ________ , thorough development, research, and funding will help make your dream a reality.

when planning your new business since all of these tasks require time and commitment nevertheless

For ___ was the laptop ordered?

whom

the project team ___ hard to complete tasks on time

works

What is the difference between ____ and ____ computers?

your, her