2020 APR Test Q's

What is the primary reason that you, as a PR manager, should insist on prioritizing and scheduling activities? A. To help the department stay focused on its strategic plan. B. To ensure that projects that are important to the CEO always have first priority. C. To ensure that the department's events and public relations activities are not neglected. D. To make it easier for other departments to understand the responsibilities of the PR dept.

Answer: A A. To help the dept. stay focused on its strategic plan.

Which functions do online discussion groups serve? (choose 2) A. To obtain qualitative feedback. B. To obtain factual, quantitative data. C. To educate users and share information. D. To process transactions for products and services.

Answer: A & C

In a crisis situation, what are three essential responsibilities for a spokesperson? (choose 3) A. Respond to media calls promptly. B. Stay "on message" with pre-approved material. C. Answer all questions, regardless of their content. D. Maintain credibility with timely, accurate information. E. Do everything possible to help the media do their job.

Answer: A, B & D

What should PR staff reasonably expect from line management? (choose 3) A. Availability for public appearances. B. Thorough understanding of PR C. Sole control of the employee relations communications function. D. Support for an approved communication plan with measurable goals and objectives. E. Basic understanding and support of two-way communication for internal and external audiences.

Answer: A, D & E A: Availability for public appearances. D. Support for an approved communication plan with measurable goals and objectives. E. Basic understanding and support of two-way communication for internal and external audiences.

You are a director of comms for a local non-profit chapter organization that is an affiliate of a large national non-profit. You ar frequently asked to secure media coverage using news releases provided by national HQ from another state. Which action would most improve your chances of success with these materials? A. Use your relations with local donors to gain coverage. B. Localize the news releases for audiences in your geography. C. Pitch the news releases as written, but include a quote from your chapters exec. director. D. Remind editors that your organization is a national, prominent non-profit to which their publisher donates.

Answer: B

As the single-person PR staff of a public transit agency, you are tasked with increasing the number of people who ride your buses each month. Your target audiences are lower-income individuals, college students, people with basic educations and people for whom English is a second language. When preparing to craft a primary message, what should you do first? A. Consider the comprehension level of all the audiences. B. Consider how riding the bus could similarly affect all of the audiences. C.Consider which mediums would most effectively reach all of the audiences? D. Consider the geographic locations where all of the target audiences live and work.

Answer: B B. Consider how riding the bus could similarly affect all of the target audiences.

Which two factors have the strongest influence on the public relations department's standing with the organization's dominant coalition? (choose two). A. The number of staff assigned to the PR dept. B. The training and experience of its most senior PR practioner. C. The tenure of the most senior practioner in the PR dept. D. The PR departments position on the company's organizational chart. E. The PR department's ability to demonstrate business and financial literacy.

B and E. B. The training and experience of its most senior PR practioner. E. The PR department's ability to demonstrate business and financial literacy.

Why should a successful public relations counselor continually review present and future realities for an organization? A. To develop a vision statement. B. To interpret trends for management. C. To interpret the organization's business plan. D. To consider the role public relations might play. E. To know what path the organization should pursue.

B. To interpret trends for management.

You are the VP of PR for a corporation that produces a well-known brand of food products. In the Albany, NY, market, one of your products has recently been found to have some contamination. While apparently not fatal, it has given a large number of sonsumers severe stomach cramps and other intestinal issues. The cause has been traced back to your product, which is sold throughout the nation. Your CEO wants to know what you would advise to keep the situation from becoming a PR disaster. What should you recommend? A. Quickly investigate to make certain your product is definitely the cause of the illness. B. Stop all sales of the product throughout the nation and issue a recall for the product. C. Stop sales of the product in the Albany, NY market. D. Issue a press release to the Albany, NY market explaining how to treat the symptoms. E. Analyze the contamination to find the cause and take necessary steps to remedy the problem.

The Answer: B.

When developing a survey, which two techniques can be most effective at decreasing the possibility of courtesy bias in responses? A. Make the questionnaire responses confidential. B. Employ an outside research firm to conduct the survey. C. Offer a greater range of potential responses in your survey questions. D. Pretest the questions with people who resemble your intended sample.

The answer is A & B. A. Make the questionnaire responses confidential. B. Employ an outside research firm to conduct the survey.

Which statement is true about an open systems model of PR in an organization? A. It adapts to changing organizational environments. B. It adopts the policy of transparency to build public trust. C. It focuses on removing communication barriers between its business divisions. D. It communicates with its publics frequently to effect change outside the organization.

The answer is A. A. It adapts to changing organizational environments.

Which term describes stakeholders who are unaware of their connection to an organization with respect to a particular issue? A. Non-publics. B. Latent publics. C. Inactive publics. D. Complacent publics.

The answer is B - Latent publics.

You are the community relations direction for a public water utility that has been targeted by a group of activists opposed to adding fluoride to drinking water. The activists are waging an intense internet campaign against the practice. Your utility has overwhelming evidence of the health benefits of fluoridated water. The manager of the utility asks you to initiate a blog to get the health message out. What is the most appropriate course of action? A. Use the utility employees to write the blog, posing as dentists and physicians. B. Recruit a group of volunteer dentists and physicians to write the blog under their own identities with no reference to the utility. C. Write the blog yourself, identifying yourself as an employee of the utility, and quote the scientific opinions of a variety of sources. D. Compensate a group of dentists and physicians to write the blog, identifying the utility as the sponsor of the blog but without disclosing the compensation.

The answer is C. Write the blog yourself, identifying yourself as an employee of the utility, and quote the scientific opinions of a variety of sources.

To celebrate its 100th anniversary, your company wants to publish a coffee-table book of photos depicting teh company's history. You dig through the files and old annual reports and find many photos, some of which have never been published. Some of the unpublished photos are dated and stamped on the back with the name of a photography studio that has been out of business for 20 years. When you consult with your publisher about the most effective way to reproduce these particular prints, the publisher says they cannot reprint them without the original photographer's permission. You are unable to find the original contract between the company and the photographer. Can you reprint the photos without the original photographers permission? A. Yes, if you pay the publisher a fee to reproducer the photos. B. Yes, the company paid for the photography and therefore owns the prints. C. Yes, you can reproduce the photos if you give proper credit to the photographer. D. No, the photographer or heirs own the copyright and must grant permission to reproduce the unpublished photographs.

The answer is D. No, the photographer or heirs own the copyright and must grant permission to reproduce the unpublished photographs.

Which statement is true about focus group research? A. The participants should be selected at random? B. It is an example of a formal research tool for practioners. C. The information can be generalized to describe a larger population. D. The findings generate qualitative data that can be used to develop surveys.

The answer is D. The findings generate qualitative data that can be used to develop surveys.

According to "working theory," what is the step that occurs between an individual gaining information and changing behavior? A. Coorientation B. Opinion change. C. Reaction formation. D. Semantic encoding. E. Classical conditioning

The answer is: B: Opinion Change

Your client has asked you to develop a PR campaign to promote a college tuition savings program using new technologies. What is the most appropriate first step? A. Research pricing and development costs for different services. B. Develop a survey to discover which factors impact families' savings. C. Conducat a situation analysis to gain a better understading of the issue. D. Hold a focus group to determine which messages are most effective for the program.

The answer is: C. Conduct a situation analysis to gain a better understanding of the issue.

Which type of measurement is the most effective choice for evaluting a campaign's impact on the audience attitudes? A. Preparing a content analysis of media coverage. B. Studying the content of blog postings about your issue. C. Analyzing pre and post sales reports for changes in sales D. Conducting a pre an post analysis of constituents opinions. E. Tracking the increased number of stories placed in the mass media.

The answer is: D: conducting a pre and post analysis of constituents' opinions.

In issues management, what is the most proactive approach to addressing negative or misleading information posted online about your organization? A. Buy domain names that could be used by opposition group. B. Post anonymous comments on blogs to combat this information. C. Prepare a news release that discredits the inaccurate information. D. Make policy changes to address complaints highlighted on these sites.In issues management, what is the most proactive approach to addressing negative or misleading information posted online about your organization?

The correct answer is: D. Make policy changes to address complaints highlighted on these sites.