Final

Which of the following should you focus on during the drafting stage for routine messages?

front-loading the message

The step of idea development for routine messages primarily involves

identifying and gathering relevant, accurate, and up-to-date information.

Savita sends the following message to a colleague she has texted only once before: "Do you want to meet for coffee to discuss combining our efficiency reports?" What would make this text more professional?

identifying who she is at the beginning of the message

The tone for persuasive messages should be pushy and exaggerated.

False

Which of the following is a feature of cultures with high performance orientation?

Financial incentives are acceptable motivators.

Which of the following is a good guideline for messages that express sympathy?

Handwrite your expression of sympathy whenever possible.

Paul always hits "reply to all" whenever he answers a team email, even if the email was a question posed by one other person and directed only to Paul. When he initiates an email about his project, he sends it to everyone in his department. Judging only from this information, what impact does Paul have on his department's communications?

He is contributing to email overload in his department.

How do individualists differ from collectivists?

Individualists prefer direct communication, unlike collectivists.

Just before Ellen goes to bed at 11:00 p.m., she realizes that she forgot to confirm a meeting that she is supposed to attend the following day. She texts her colleague the following message: "Hi, it's Ellen. Are we still on tomorrow at 3:00?" What should she have done differently?

waited to send the text right after she arrived at the office the next day

Judging only by length, which of the following is the best subject line for an email?

Team meeting, Harper conference room, at 11:00

Read the following request, which Shana sent to her supervisor. Then choose the answer below that best evaluates the email. SUBJECT: request for vacation time in October Les, as we discussed yesterday, I would like to take the first week in October as vacation time. My niece is getting married, so I want to travel to San Francisco to help with last-minute planning. My current project ends September 20, so the trip should not interfere with any department deadlines. Would you be able to let me know by the end of this week so I can book my airline ticket while I can still get a discount rate?

The email is specific, positive, and shows concern for the department.

Read the following email, which Leah sent to her supervisor. Then choose the answer below that best explains what is wrong with the email. SUBJECT: praise for our intern's work Janice, I just wanted to let you know that Bryan is doing exceptional work as an intern. I'm really happy with his effort.

The email is too general to tell Janice anything about Bryan's performance.

Your colleagues and customers will be more easily persuaded when you show interest in them personally.

True

A message that makes a claim is most likely to close with

a call to action.

Jasper has to send out a number of communications. Which of the following is appropriate to send as a text?

a quick compliment to a colleague who gave a great presentation

Hannah is in the middle of writing a report, and she does not want to disrupt the flow of her work by walking over to the department bookcase to double check the name of their main competitor's product. She decides to text Joe, who sits next to the bookcase, to ask him to do it. Because of repeated incidents like this, Hannah is likely to be seen as

a taker.

Which component of the FAIR test refers to the transparency of the motives and reasoning of the person delivering the bad news?

access

The mum effect results when employees in an organization

avoid sharing bad news because they do not want to be blamed.

Hannah receives an email from Keith, a subordinate who is about to start analyzing a market research report. Keith has never done this before, so he sends Hannah a long paragraph that contains five questions about the assignment. What is the best way for Hannah to respond to Keith?

by writing her answers to the questions as a numbered or bulleted list

Email communication is

characterized by little coordination.

Fred has been sent to build a factory in a small village. His new employees speak often of the rewards the factory will bring to their community. It takes Fred a long time to form relationships because the social networks there are close knit. Which term best describes the primary trait of the culture he is dealing with?

collectivism

Which of the following is most likely to take place during the drafting stage?

creating a professional and helpful tone

Which of the following is a feature of cultures with low performance orientation?

Expressions of loyalty and sympathy are valued.

Lorna assumes that her colleagues in Mexico will be just as motivated by an individual rewards program as people in the United States are. This is an example of the outgroup homogeneity effect.

False

Marta is a German woman who was just hired by a multinational company. It will be helpful for her to assume that her colleagues in Brazil will conceptualize time the same way she does.

False

Strong nouns and verbs make persuasive messages sound boring and like all other routine business messages.

False

Angela spends a summer working in a hotel owned by some of her Italian relatives. She soon realizes that her job is secure even if she does not work very hard. When she makes mistakes, no one ever comments on them for fear of hurting her feelings. What is true of the culture in which she is working?

It is a low performance orientation society.

What is the advantage of front-loading a routine message?

It makes it easier to grab the reader's attention.

Craig is the sales manager at Blaize Supersports and has a 20-member sales team. During an average day, Craig receives about 115 emails and sends out 75 emails. James, a salesperson at the store, is typing an email to Craig. James wants to take a week off to spend time with his family. Which of the following is true concerning the subject line of James's email?

It should use a descriptive subject line such as "James requests time off."

Which of the following highlights the difference between Chinese and Brazilian etiquette and customs?

Meetings begin on time in China, while meeting times are relaxed in Brazil and often start 10 to 15 minutes late.

Which of the following is characteristic of highly assertive cultures?

People tend to speak directly and without using vague expressions.

Leo has been offered a job at the Standard Trust Investment Company, an old institution with a hierarchical culture. Which of the following should Leo expect to be true of the company?

Power is concentrated at the top of the organization.

Which of the following guidelines best ensures that your email is easy to read?

Provide a descriptive signature block.

Which of the following is a good way to write directions?

Put the different steps in a numbered or bulleted list.

What is the main challenge that authors of routine messages have to overcome?

Readers receive so many routine messages that it is hard to catch their attention.

Which of the following is true about developing routine messages?

Routine messages need to be reviewed.

Using positive wording in persuasive messages helps your audience focus on the benefits rather than the drawbacks of what you are trying to promote.

True

For the majority of bad-news messages, it is advisable to

keep the structure of the message as indirect as possible.

Giles lives in a society where people are expected to solve their own problems. During business meetings, leaders do not waste time offering welcome or making social talk. Unfair treatment on the job is considered just the way life is. Which phrase best describes the type of culture Giles lives in?

low humane orientation

In high gender egalitarianism cultures

men and women have equal influence in professional decision making.

Which of the following is most likely to be a component of a message that expresses sympathy for a death?

offering support

In cultures that are high in uncertainty avoidance

orderliness and consistency are held to be important.

Which of the following will damage the credibility of the author of routine messages?

overly general messages

People from cultures that are high in uncertainty avoidance

prefer formality in the majority of interpersonal business interactions.

A person who has to deliver a bad-news message should gather as much information as possible from a variety of sources to reduce the

probability of making irrational judgments.

What component of the FAIR test relates to the question "Have I stated the message in a way that recognizes the inherent worth of others?"

respect

Lok meets with the team he oversees and gives each team member a spreadsheet that shows when various stages of the project are due. The assignments for each team member are shown in a different color. What aspect of setting expectations has Lok just done?

setting deadlines

When making requests, ______ goes a long way in maintaining goodwill.

showing respect for the recipient's time

In cultures that are low in uncertainty avoidance

tasks involving calculated risks, problem solving, and experimentation are preferred.

One possible negative effect of texting is that

the brevity of texts can make them sound bossy.