communications midterm

___ have become that most widely used form of written business communication due to their low cost and superior speed and efficiency in communicating with both internal and external audiences a. emails b. instant messages via twitter c. letters d. text messages e. memos

a

mckimson communications recently got rid of most of its bulky computer servers and moved the majority of its software and files to website storage systems. this is an example of a business making use of the technology known as ___ a. cloud computing b. collaborative software c. internet tracking d. concept mapping e. a mobile application

a

octavia is an executive overseeing the operation of a large office, and she writes a memo to employees that says, "you will be overjoyed to learn that we will be getting a new phone system next week" what mistake is octavia making? a. she is talking down to her readers b. she is being overly formal c. she is using discriminatory language d. she is blaming her readers e. she is using unfamiliar jargon

a

thomas thinks it is important to be as efficient as possible and absolutely hates to be late to appointments. thomas most likely belongs to a ___ culture a. monochronic b. polychronic c. low-context d. high-context e. collectivistic

a

which of the following best defines a pictograph? a. a pictograph is a bar or column chart that uses bars made of pictures b. a pictograph is a pie chart whose slices are made of pictures c. a pictograph is a special form of stacked column chart that is used to compare subdivision of percentages d. a pictograph is always a bar chart that is used to illustrate statistical data e. a pictograph is a map that uses formatting techniques to clearly outline geographic areas and show differences between them

a

which of the following is true about personal communications? a. personal communication helps make and sustain the relationships upon which a business depends b. personal communication mainly includes information that flows out of the organization to vendors, partners, and competitors c. personal communication follows a set pattern of communication dictated by the rules of a formal framework d. external-operational communication does not include elements of personal communication e. personal communication constitutes an official and limited part of a business's operations

a

which of the following statements about memos is true? a. memos are mostly used for communicating within an organization b. memos are currently more popular than emails c. memos have the same function as all other communication forms d. memos are more formal than letters e. memos are currently the most widely used form of internet communication

a

which of the following terms is best defined as the ability of people to quickly assess the emotions of those around them and adapt their words, tone, and gestures accordingly? a. social intelligence b. bypassing c. computational thinking d. visual literacy e. cross-cultural competency

a

a decision tree ___ a. is a chart that shows the hierarchy of levels and positions in an organization b. is a chart that allows the reader to follow a particular path and arrive at an outcome c. is a visual presentation that shows planning and scheduling activities d. is a chart that shows comparisons of qualities at a moment in time e. is a chart that is used to compare the subdivisions of percentages

b

barry considers the customs of his culture to be normal and the customs of other cultures to be weird. barry is displaying ___ a. cultural intelligence b. ethnocentrism c. power distance d. monochromic tendencies e. low-context tendencies

b

fusion foods owns several restaurants in a city that recently raised the minimum wage to $15 per hour. the wage hike will happen over a period of four years, with an increase of $1.25 taking place each february. fusion foods executives are interested to see if there is a relationship between the change in the minimum wage and the profits of their restaurants, which cater to different target markets. what type of visual would best help fusion foods reveal a possible correlation? a. a gantt chart b. a scatter diagram c. a pullis chart d. a decision tree e. a stacked column chart

b

good cross-cultural communication skills are most likely to result in which of the following? a. the elimination of cultural differences in the workplace b. an increase in your effectiveness as an employee c. an increase in workplace tension d. a reduction in the number of hours you spend at work e. you will become fluent in at least three foreign languages including chinese

b

the increase of globalization means that businesspeople will often interact with people from other countries who have differing views on punctuality, efficiency, social hierarchy, and even work itself. because of this, it is important for employees to have ___ a. computational thinking skills b. cross-cultural competency c. visual literacy d. technological competence e. ethical reasoning

b

the production manager of a company writes a message to one of the company's suppliers regarding a revised price quote for raw materials. this message is a form of ___ communication a. internal-operational b. external-operational c. grapevine d. visual graphic e. mixed-result

b

when felipa meets with a client, she likes to spend the first half hour or so of the meeting chatting about the client's life and current events. felipa is most likely a member of a ___ culture a. monochronic b. polychronic c. low-context d. high-context e. collectivistic

b

when writing negative news, you should ___ a. keep the message brief by writing negative news simply and offering no more than a short apology b. keep the negative message brief, but spend as much space as needed on explanatory, cushioning words c. be sure to spend at least a paragraph delivering the negative news - after all, its hammer time d. open the message with a positive sentence, then spend as much space as necessary explaining the negative news and instead deliver a positive message

b

which of the following statements about "you viewpoints" is true? a. taking a you-viewpoint always means de-emphasizing I, we, and our b. using the you-viewpoint means considering a communication situation from the recipient's perspective c. the you-viewpoint means using a uniform method to manage a recipient's response d. the you-viewpoint must be applied on a purely sentence level e. it is impossible to be unethical while using the you-viewpoint

b

which of the following statements is true? a. letters are used primarily to correspond with people inside an organization b. letters are used to present a professional, polished image of a company to external audiences c. letters have become less conversational and more formal over time d. letters use a fixed form of salutation regardless of the recipient

b

which of the following is the best rule to follow for ordering the pieces of the pie when using a pie chart? a. apple pie usually comes before pecan pie, but donuts always comes first b. arrange the slices in alphabetical order c. slice the largest piece at the 12 oclock position and then order the pieces from largest to smallest d. slice the largest piece at the 12 oclock position then order the pieces from smallest to largest e. slice all pieces evenly and use different fonts to distinguish varying data

c

katashi comes from a culture with stable, coherent traditions. as a result, when he is talking with co-workers, he relies on shared assumptions rather than explicitly stating all information. katashi most likely belongs to a(n) ___ culture a. monochronic b. polychronic c. low-context d. high-context e. collectivistic

d

tania had to submit her report to four managers for review, and she is waiting for their replies. because she is on a tight deadline, she wants to edit her report as each set of comments comes in, but she is reluctant to make permanent revisions because sometimes various managers make contradictory suggestions that she has to resolve. which of the following features in microsoft word will best allow tania to keep a record of her edits as she works so that she can reject or change some of them later? a. insert comment b. grammar check c. track changes d. page layout e. smartart

d

the ___ sentence expresses the main idea of a paragraph, and the remaining sentences build around it and support it a. coherent b. run-on c. see-saw d. topic e. transitional

d

the most frequently used chart is comparing the subdivisions of wholes (100% of something) is the ___ a. combination chart b. line chart c. pictograph chart d. pie chart e. orienterring chart

d

the quality of enabling readers to proceed easily through a message, without side trips and backward shifts, is called ___ a. subordination b. redundancy c. coordination d. coherence e. viscosity

d

when visuals do not fit a specific part of the document but are still appropriate to include with a document, you should ___ a. not decide the layout of these visuals on the basis of their size b. place them at the beginning of the document c. place them after every important section d. place them in an appendix and refer to the appendix at appropriate points in the document e. place them in an email attachment

d

which of the following is true about social media messages produced by a business? a. social media is used solely for personal purposes and not business purposes b. messages on social networking sites cannot be viewed by the public c. messages on social networking sites are never restricted to a fixed number of characters d. messages on social media should begin with the main point e. social media presents a platform for extremely private exchanges

d

which one of the following statements about conversational language is true? a. it should not be used in business communication b. it means using only colloquial language in a business setting c. it is warm, but it is impersonal d. it engages the reader and is easily understood e. it consists primarily of slang and jargon

d

which of the following is true of numbering visuals in a document? a. regardless of the types of visuals used, there is only one scheme of numbering available to writers b. pull quotes, clip art, and other decorative visuals must be numbered using roman numerals c. the visuals in a document must include at least one internal-complex type d. visuals comprising photos of jet airplanes should contain a warning about jet blast e. lone tables and figures in a document do not need to be numbered

e

which of the following statements about paragraphs is true? a. most paragraphs should make use of repetition b. paragraphs should always begin with transitional phrases c. only the concluding paragraph needs to have coherence d. paragraphs must always be at least five sentences long e. each paragraph must contribute to your overall purpose

e

which of the following statements about using positive words it true? a. using positive words means making i-statements b. positive words should be reserved for conversations with people you know well c. in business situations, positive words have a tendency to make you seem weak d. positive words are always a more appropriate choice than negative words e. positive words may put the reader in a positive frame of mind, even if the news is negative

e

which of the following statements is true about an organization's informal network? a. it consists of the major, well-established channels for information exchange b. it forms the main lines of operational communication in an organization c. it is simple and composed of communications that follow a set pattern and are dictated by an organization's culture d. it is called a grapevine when it exists outside of an organization e. it forms an infinitely complex structure linking the members of an organization to each other

e

which of the following statements is true about slang words? a. slang words once established do not run the risk of becoming unpopular b. the heavy use of slang words in formal cross-cultural communication helps in breaking cultural barriers c. the use of slang words in formal settings is usually considered politically correct and desirable d. slang words should be used, as they communicate meaning and context precisely e. slang words should only be used with caution in business settings

e

which of the following statements sounds discriminatory? a. the helpline is for veterans with over 20 years in the service b. ms. young was selected for the position of vice president c. employees with a history of epilepsy may opt out of this program, as it involves flashing lights that way be harmful d. affirmative action aims to address and remedy disparities in opportunities among various minority groups that were historically discriminated against e. our team consists of 12 crewmen and a haitian foreman

e

you have received an email from a customer who claims that the cleaning team your company sent to his house did not fold and put away his laundry. your records indicate that this is not a service he requested or purchased. which of the following sentences can you use in a response without blaming the reader? a. please use the attached form to indicate any changes in your cleaning requirements and return it so that we can update your account b. you did not bother to tell us that you wanted laundry service c. if you had read the cleaning request form thoroughly, you would have seen that laundry is an add-on service that must be specifically requested d. laundry service is available for an extra fee that you were unwilling to pay, so do not complain about it now e. you did not fill out the cleaning preferences form correctly, so we had no way of knowing you wanted laundry services

a

people from a culture who view person space as a right are more likely to ___ a. stand very close to another when talking b. jostle for space when shopping c. stand in line and wait his or her turn d. touch others when waiting in a crowd e. enjoy being brushed against in a crowded subway car

c

the rise of the internet and social media has resulted in increased transparency when it comes to businesses' parties. as a result, ___ departments and initiatives have been developed to help companies embrace practices that improve their public image a. bypassing b. computational thinking c. corporate social responsibility d. visual literacy e. verbal literacy

c

when explaining a proposal to business associates, adeliade makes sure to explicitly state all relevant background information. adeliade most likely belongs to a ___ culture a. monochronic b. polychronic c. low-context d. high-context e. collectivistic

c

when using acronyms (NATO), if there is a chance that your reader may not understand the initials, the best practice is to ___ a. only use abbreviations containing contractions b. use a graphic to illustrate the terms c. spell out words the first time and follow them with the acronym usually inside a parentheses d. check out the audience to see if they are familiar with the terms e. post a list of the abbreviations used in an appendix and/or running footer

c

which of the following is an abstract statement? a. income for the last quarter was higher by 10% over the preceding quarter b. of the 15 candidates who applied for the job, 12 had advanced business degrees c. most of our employees produce highly satisfactory work d. the new international sales division will be launched next october e. dr. goodbone accepted the chief of staff position for our hospital on december 20

c

alyssa is a graphic designer who knows that her clients will be upset when they learn that their project is behind schedule. during her next conference call with them, she tells them details about the project, but she decides not to mention that there is not way it will be finished on time. this behavior is an example of a ___ a. discriminatory falsehood b. white lie c. lie of commission d. lie of omission e. positioned falsehood

d

which of the following is one concern associated with using photographs and clip art that is not an issue when creating visuals using your own data or photos? a. viewing data from multiple perspectives b. making sure the content is clear c. using visuals that are too small d. matching the visual to your text e. following copyright laws

e

a chain of parking garages recently offered customers the ability to pay for parking on their mobile phone instead of paying at an office or feeding a parking meter. this option is an example of business making use of the technology known as ___ a. cloud computing b. collaborative software c. internet tracking with cookies d. concept mapping e. a mobile application

e

eduardo is in the process of revising his document. he carefully reads through the document to check for errors in the content related to spelling, typography, punctuation and grammar. in terms of the "levels of edit" eduardo is ___ his document a. revising b. fact checking c. proofreading d. editing at level iii e. formatting

e

hassan is creating a sales training course for the new sales employees his company hires. which of the following guidelines should hassan bear in mind when selecting visuals for his document? a. he should not use visuals at all b. he should avoid using visuals in conjunction with information that is detailed for complex c. he should ensure that visuals accompanying his message can stand alone d. whenever possible, he should use visuals instead of words e. he should choose visuals that are appropriate to both content and context of the information in his document

e

one difference between a memo and a letter is that memos ___ a. do not use pre-defined templates and formats b. use specific headings that are common to all businesses c. are more formal than letter and use a highly formal style of writing d. are the most widely used form of external communication e. are initialed by the writer rather than signed with a full signature

e

positive information can best be emphasized by including it is ___ a. the middle statement of the middle paragraph b. long, convoluted sentences c. the middle statement of the last paragraph d. dependent clauses or modifying phrases e. the last statement of the last paragraph

e

the informal network inside an organization is typically referred to as the ___ a. frame of reference b. verbal world c. mental filter d. personal filter e. grapevine

e

which of the following is a form of internal-operational communication? a. formal letters to vendors b. emails and phone calls to businesses cited on the internet c. trade-show displays d. letters addressed to government officials and regulators e. orders given by supervisors to employees

e