Ch. 14 Communicating effectively

Which of the following statements is FALSE?

A) Communication networks are found only at the organizational level.

A girl was throwing a party for her friends. She sent an email that said, "Come join me for a summer celebration. It will begin at 2pm and end at 5pm. We will meet at Smith's Park in Allentown to play soccer and kickball. Make sure to bring water and clothes you don't mind getting dirty. Can't wait to see your smiling faces!" Which of the following statements BEST describes the effectiveness of this email?

A) It was ineffective because although clear, it was not complete.

________ is specialized terminology or language that members of a profession, occupation, or other group develop to aid communication among themselves.

A) Jargon

Which of the following statements about persuasive communication is FALSE?

A) Leaders attempt to persuade their employees, but the reverse does not happen.

________ is anything that interferes with the communication process.

A) Noise

________ is the sharing of information by means of words, either spoken or written.

A) Verbal communication

________ are most common when there is pooled task interdependence.

A) Wheel networks

According to Krackhardt and Hanson, which informal communication network is MOST LIKELY to be used to solve the problem of repairing a complicated machine?

A) advice network

A politician wants to gain credibility for his campaign. Because the audience is full of active listeners, he should ________.

A) bring up opposing views and refute them

Grace is shopping for a computer when a salesman begins telling her why she should choose a certain model. He is using technical terms that Grace doesn't understand, so Grace loses interest and leaves. In the future, the salesman should ________.

A) change how he encodes the message

An American businessman was taking care of a business deal in Japan. He was planning on doing business with a Japanese firm because they have a strong reputation. After talking to the leaders of the firm, he decided they were sneaky and untrustworthy due to their indirect way of speaking. His perceptions MOST LIKELY occurred because of ________.

A) differences in linguistic styles

Jack Dobbs is trying to determine what communication medium to use to communicate his retirement plans to the employees of his company, Dobbs & Son. Jack has spent his entire career building his company that now has twenty-five employees all working in the same building on the south side of Chicago. Jack wants to be sure his employees understand that his son, Jack, Jr., will not change how employees are treated. What communication medium would be MOST effective for Jack to use in order to ensure his employees confidence in his son, Jack, Jr.?

A) face-to-face communication

Telephone conversations provide ________.

A) instant feedback

To counter the effect of increasing diversity as a barrier to effective communication, many large organizations are ________.

A) instituting diversity-training programs

A message is clear ONLY when ________.

A) it contains information that is easily interpreted or understood

The communication ________ is the pathway through which encoded messages are transmitted.

A) medium

Which of the following is NOT an example of how managers should use communication to motivate employees?

A) promoting the filtering of critical information

All of the following are reasons for documenting a message in writing EXCEPT ________.

A) the message is routine

Deborah Dobson is a supervisor with Tye & Dye, Inc., and prides herself on her efficiency. She often finds herself glancing at her watch while others are speaking to her, or scanning a report while meeting with a subordinate on another matter. Given such behavior, Deborah should not be surprised to discover that she is considered by her coworkers ________.

A) to have poor listening skills

A(n) ________ depends on one central member to receive and send messages to the other group members, and is most common when there is pooled interdependence.

A) wheel network

________ is the set of pathways though which information flows within a group or organization.

B) A communication network

________ is the medium with the highest level of information richness.

B) A face-to-face conversation

_________is the sharing of information between two or more individuals or groups to reach a common understanding.

B) Communication

Which statement MOST accurately reflects a devil's advocate's response to persuasive communication?

B) Devil's advocates are not easily swayed by emotional appeals.

________ occurs when senders withhold part of a message because they think the receiver does not need the information or will not want to receive it.

B) Filtering

________ pertains to the amount of information a given communication medium can carry and the extent to which that medium enables senders and receivers to reach a common understanding.

B) Information richness

________ is an attempt by one person or group to share information with other persons or groups in order to get them to accept, follow, or otherwise achieve the objectives the communicator desires.

B) Persuasive communication

________ are unofficial bits of information on topics that are important or interesting to an organization's members.

B) Rumors

Which of the following statements BEST describes the communication of a company where all communication takes place via electronically-transmitted verbal communication?

B) Their communication is not as rich as it could be.

Which of the following is enhanced by nonverbal communication?

B) an in-person meeting

When a message is ambiguous, the receiver's ________ will be MOST LIKELY to affect interpretation of the message.

B) biases

A teacher rearranges her students' desks from rows to several square groups of four desks. These groups are MOST conducive to a ________ communication network

B) circle

Using the phrase "it's in the best interests of everyone in our department and vital to the future of our company" frames an argument with ________ appeal.

B) emotional

Encoding is MOST necessary to communication because it ________.

B) entails modifying a message based on who is receiving it

As an attorney with the firm of Dewey, Cheatum, & Howe, Juliana has just received the message from a major client that she is not to proceed with a legal filing. Juliana called the client back to say that she had stopped the filing process, and the client thanked her before hanging up. Juliana's response to the clients' message is an example of the ________.

B) feedback loop

Janet, a manager at a local restaurant, was very frustrated with one of the chefs. The chef sang as he cooked and this disturbed Janet. But, the chef did not change his behavior. Finally, one day, in anger, Janet told the chef that she was very disappointed that he had not changed his behavior. In shock, the chef said, "I didn't even know that you were upset by my singing. Of course, I will stop." Janet had failed to communicate her ________.

B) feelings and emotions

The ________ is a set of informal communication pathways though which unofficial information flows in an organization.

B) grapevine

Communication is complete after ________.

B) it contains all the information necessary to achieve a common understanding between the sender and the receiver

A manager tells employees about the new reward and punishment system that she is going to implement in the group. She spends far more time discussing rewards and explains that she believes that all employees can earn the rewards if they devote the right amount of effort to their work. She is very encouraging. The manager is MOST LIKELY trying to ________ her employees.

B) motivate

Jill asked Jack to go to the store and pick up apples, milk, and bread. Jack was watching tv and did not look up at Jill when she spoke to him. He assured her that he heard her and would take care of her requests. When Jill left, Jack did not at all remember what Jill had said to him. Jill did not communicate with Jack due to _______.

B) poor listening

In the communication process, the ________ is the individual, group, or organization for which the information is intended.

B) receiver

A college professor was very excited to have a specific guest visiting his class. When he introduced the guest to the class, he momentarily forgot that the students were not experts in the field of study. Consequently, he used several different acronyms to describe the guests experiences. The students did not understand these acronyms. As a result, ________.

B) the jargon prevented effective communication

The sharing of information as well as ______ must take place in order for communication to take place.

B) the reaching of common understanding

Nell Bates has recently become the supervisor of the shipping department at Bates and Hitchcock Suppliers, Inc. In her first week on the job, she spent 10 minutes meeting with each employee to discuss the department's objectives and the timeline for meeting these objectives. This scenario demonstrates that one function of communication is ________.

B) to provide information

Which of the following statements is TRUE?

C) Active listeners avoid interrupting the speaker.

________ is the translation of the message into symbols or language that the receiver can understand.

C) Encoding

Which of the following groups is LEAST LIKELY to use an all-channel communication network?

C) auto assembly-line workers

A(n) ________ is characterized by communication between members flowing in a predetermined sequence, and is most common when tasks are sequentially interdependent.

C) chain network

In a ________ network, members communicate with those who are similar to them on some dimension, such as expertise, interests, or location.

C) circle

Receivers are MOST LIKELY to withhold feedback or to provide inappropriate feedback when the ________.

C) feedback is negative

In choosing a medium, one of the most significant trade-offs is between ________ and the amount of time it takes to communicate the message by using the medium.

C) information richness

Effective communication requires that the sender translate the message into a form that ________.

C) is understood by the receiver

When the landing signal officer on an aircraft carrier tells the pilot of an aircraft preparing to land "Right for lineup" or "Get dirty" instead of describing the numerous moves required for each action, this is an example of ________.

C) jargon expediting effective communication

During the middle school's open house, the teacher told her student's parents that she really liked their child. While saying this she had a very dirty look on her face. Through her ________, the teacher raised doubts as to whether she really liked the children.

C) nonverbal communication

The process that confirms that a message has been received and properly understood is called ________.

C) the feedback loop

Real communication occurs when_______

C) the sender and receiver attribute the same meaning to the message

The ________ provides paths of communication for delicate information, as well as for potential and actual crises.

C) trust network

_________provides employees with the information they need to do their jobs effectively.

D) Communication

________ is the process by which the receiver interprets or tries to make sense of the message the sender is trying to transmit.

D) Decoding

________ MOST OFTEN offer the most facility for persuasive communication.

D) Face-to-face conversations

Which statement BEST describes how jargon is related to decoding?

D) If the receiver has a strong background in the subject, decoding will occur.

________ allows a sender to communicate with the largest number of receivers simultaneously.

D) Impersonal written communication

________ is the change in meaning that occurs when a message travels through a series of senders to a receiver.

D) Information distortion

The owner of a tire company is in the process of choosing a spokesperson. She wants to choose someone that will have high credibility. Her BEST option for a spokesperson would be ________.

D) a successful racecar driver

A(n) ________ is MOST OFTEN used in groups whose task involves reciprocal task interdependence.

D) all-channel network

An employee needs to figure out what paper work he needs to complete to request vacation time. He would turn to the ________ to learn this.

D) communication network

Personally addressed written communication BEST helps to ________.

D) encourage the receiver to pay attention to it

Good communication serves all of the following functions in an organization EXCEPT_______

D) ensuring agreement between employees

Carly, a district manager of a chain restaurant, has been under a lot of stress lately because her store did not meet last month's sales quota. While going over this month's sales numbers, which look equally bad, Mary, one of her lead waitresses, calls in sick. Carly immediately begins yelling at her and telling her that she must come in whether or not she is sick. Mary tries to protest, but is unable to because she is crying. What important function of communication is Carly MOST LIKELY ignoring?

D) expressing feelings and emotions

The communication process is complete when both parties ________.

D) have reached a common understanding

Which of the following is the LOWEST in information richness?

D) impersonal written communication

In persuasive communication, the sender's task is to ________.

D) influence the receiver's response

Which of the following factors is LEAST LIKELY to enhance a sender's credibility?

D) informal leadership

People who do not like talking on phones because they feel they are not really communicating MOST LIKELY rely on ________ communication.

D) nonverbal

All of the following are part of a person's linguistic style EXCEPT ________.

D) physical distance

The ________ is the individual, group, or organization that needs or wants to share information with some other individual, group, or organization

D) sender

A manager has been told by upper management to communicate a message to several of his employees. The manager needs to convey the message quickly and does not want to have a lengthy discussion about the message. His BEST option would be ________.

D) sending an email

Nonverbal communication is the sharing of information by all of the following means EXCEPT ________.

D) spoken word

Which of the following does NOT determine the persuasiveness of a written message?

D) the place in which the message was composed

A good listener would NOT ________ while somebody else was speaking to him.

D) think of what he was going to say next