BA 1500 Final Exam Practice

The AIDA model of mass sales messages is aimed at getting customers to think "What is the benefit of this product of service?" "This business wants my money." "Famous people use this product or service." "I've seen this product or service before." "I want this product or service."

"I want this product or service."

In a blog post, you have _____ to draw your readers in. 30-45 seconds less than 1 second 5 to 15 seconds 20 to 30 seconds about 60 seconds

5 to 15 seconds

Which of the following statements about a table of contents is true? A table of contents demonstrates the basic credibility of a report. A table of contents helps establish the purpose and value of the report. A table of contents is expected for nearly any report over ten pages long. A table of contents typically summarizes the most important contents of a report. A table of contents is typically part of the glossary.

A table of contents is expected for nearly any report over ten pages long.

Peyman wants to make his team's discussion forum a more encouraging place. Which guideline would best help him accomplish that? Read comments carefully. State the purpose of the forum clearly. Acknowledge teammates' ideas. Summarize the next steps the team will take. Participate often.

Acknowledge teammates' ideas.

A colleague asks you for advice on how to understand the audience of his persuasive message. Which of the following pieces of advice will you offer? Consider the psychological principles that impact people's decisions. Ask as few questions as possible to avoid annoying them. Wait until the message is perfected before choosing the right audience. Focus on their values but not their needs. Use the FAIR test to conduct audience analysis.

Consider the psychological principles that impact people's decisions.

Eric has been hired by Brooks Automotive to asses whether the company should air television commercials only in the local market. He is planning a study of the relationship between local television commercials and the sales of new vehicles. Which of the following is the best way for Eric to define his research problem? Understand the psychology of adults who watch television in this market. Determine how effective television commercials are in convincing viewers to purchase new vehicles. Determine how consumers are influenced by the media they watch. Understand what makes for effective television commercials. Determine the process through which television commercials convince viewers to make purchases.

Determine how effective television commercials are in convincing viewers to purchase new vehicles.

Which statement about ease of navigation is true? Documents with too much text and not enough white space look daunting or cluttered. You should avoid using headings in information-rich and complex messages. Readers are likely to be distracted by bullets and numberings in a document. In general, you should use special formatting as much as you can so your ideas stand out. Visual appeal should be the first consideration for all written business communications.

Documents with too much text and not enough white space look daunting or cluttered.

What does the "F" in the FAIR test of ethical business communication stand for? Forthright First Facts Fresh Fitting

Facts

A study showed that the public speaking ability of business leaders is a key influence on employee engagement.

False

According to communication specialist Dave Zielinski, communicators should avoid openness when delivering bad news.

False

Ari's email asking her colleagues to donate clothing to a local homeless shelter is an example of an external persuasive message.

False

Because business problems are expensive and time-consuming to solve, experts recommend avoiding open discussion of serious issues.

False

Carlos tends to be more easily persuaded by people he likes. This demonstrates the principle of reciprocation.

False

Entry-level professionals usually have very high professional credibility.

False

In responses to inquiries, setting off each question is an unnecessary and distracting formatting gimmick.

False

Researchers should state their objectives in general, targeted, and achievable statements.

False

The finance meeting will be at 10:00 on Thursday in the main conference room" is a good subject line for an email.

False

Workplace email communication is typically considered informal because it is less permanent than print communication.

False

You need not give credit to the original speaker or writer for an idea that is paraphrased.

False

Younger people are often expert at developing an online professional presence, but they are less skilled at developing an online social persona.

False

What is the relationship between honesty and competition? Honesty and competition have no relationship. Too much honesty destroys competition. Truly honest businesses do not need to compete. Businesses must commit fraud to compete. Honesty encourages competition on merit.

Honesty encourages competition on merit.

Ovidu leads a team of workers at an advertising firm. Recently, one of his subordinates, Lorraine, suggested that the team celebrate a major milestone by taking the afternoon off to go to a baseball game together at the company's expense. Ovidu cannot approve this request, since the team's budget for entertainment is not enough to pay for everyone. Which of the following would be a good thing for Ovidu to say to Lorraine when he meets with her to discuss her proposal? Once I decide on an alternative, less expensive way of celebrating, you'll be the first to know. If you'd thought about the outings we've already been on and how expensive baseball tickets are, you probably wouldn't have made this suggestion. Thanks for the suggestion, but the answer is no. I would be happy to listen to any other ideas you have about how to celebrate our team's achievement. I like the baseball game idea, however it's just not possible right now.

I would be happy to listen to any other ideas you have about how to celebrate our team's achievement.

Which of the following statements about leading questions is true? Leading questions are those that contain more than one idea. Leading questions do not have an exhaustive range of possible answers. In surveys, leading questions produce unreliable and unusable information. In surveys, it is better to incorporate leading questions than non-leading questions. Leading questions allow respondents to provide their genuine thoughts or impressions.

In surveys, leading questions produce unreliable and unusable information.

What is the probable effect of using too many bullet points in a report? It makes the report seem like it lacks direction. It makes the report difficult to navigate. It casts a shadow of doubt on the quality of data. It demonstrates your lack of originality in thought. It can create a choppy, staccato-like effect.

It can create a choppy, staccato-like effect.

According to recent studies, what impact does having highly engaged employees have on a company? It increases profitability. It decreases cooperation. It increases mistrust. It increases resistance. It decreases overtime.

It increases profitability.

Hugo includes the following sentence in his memo: "The increase in profits is greater than any I have seen during my career." What is the flaw in this sentence? It contains redundancy. It uses passive voice. It is not specific. It uses a figure of speech. It uses obscure words.

It is not specific.

Read the following email, which Jim sent to his team. Then choose the answer below that best explains what is wrong with the email. SUBJECT: Proposal draft due Friday Just a reminder that the proposal draft is due Friday for all team's. Please finalize your work ahead of the deadline before Friday. The message is too short. Jim should mention each team member by name. Jim has not been clear about when the proposal is due. It is not proper memo style to skip the greeting. Jim has not reread the message.

Jim has not reread the message.

You are a senior manager who needs to evaluate five supervisors in your department. Which of the following supervisors will you decide is the most effective at delivering performance reviews? Adrianne procrastinates delivering negative feedback when she sees that employees are defensive. Julia helps the poor performers of her team understand the ways in which they are hurting organizational performance. Rita sugarcoats her descriptions of problem behaviors when delivering a negative performance review. Jorge discusses what he believes employees are thinking rather than their concrete actions. Derek uses an accusatory tone while delivering a negative performance review.

Julia helps the poor performers of her team understand the ways in which they are hurting organizational performance.

Which of the following is a helpful guideline for phone conversations with business colleagues? Begin discussing business issues immediately after saying hello. Multitask as long as you can do so without the other person suspecting. To keep a formal tone, avoid using the other person's name. Make sure that the conversation time is balanced between both parties. To avoid wasting your colleagues' time, end without social niceties.

Make sure that the conversation time is balanced between both parties.

Which of the following statements made by an employee would be a counterproductive response to a negative review? It is my responsibility to accept the feedback and improve myself accordingly. My performance on the job is not related to whether my boss likes me. The feedback I get from my boss will facilitate my career advancement. My boss doesn't care about my work, so why should I care what he thinks? Negative feedback is a part of the boss's job and mine.

My boss doesn't care about my work, so why should I care what he thinks?

Which of the following statements about paraphrasing is true? Paraphrasing helps you document references to others' ideas. Paraphrasing involves using your own words to express the meaning of the original speaker. You must paraphrase when the original quotation contains a compelling combination of words. Paraphrasing is used to emphasize the credibility of the original speaker or writer. In most situations, you should use direct quotations rather than paraphrasing.

Paraphrasing involves using your own words to express the meaning of the original speaker.

_____ involve ranking or assigning importance to things, such as projects, goals, and tasks. Positions Values Conclusions Priorities Facts

Priorities

Which of the following statements about headings is true? At a minimum, you should include third-level headings. Reports over five pages long are likely to require second-level headings. All types of reports, except survey reports, should include headings. Headings should be structural, not descriptive of content. If a report contains a table of contents, headings are unnecessary.

Reports over five pages long are likely to require second-level headings.

Which of the following is true about developing routine messages? Routine messages are rare in business. Routine messages have very few purposes. Routine messages need to be reviewed. Routine messages have little effect on credibility. Routine messages do not need to be planned.

Routine messages need to be reviewed.

Emily included the following passage in her report: "Other mid-price restaurants in the Chicago area have achieved phenomenal success by offering several vegetarian options on their menus. I suggest that Family Feast test whether this approach will benefit us by gradually rolling out new menu choices, one at a time, over a six-month period. We can then do customer surveys to determine how the new dishes have been received." What should Emily change to make her report more objective? She should replace the vague phrase "several vegetarian options" with the names of specific menu choices. She should eliminate the subjective step of following up with customer surveys. She should change the six-month rollout period to a six-week period to obtain results more quickly. She should change the suggestion of a gradual, six-month rollout to an immediate overhaul of the menu. She should change "achieved phenomenal success" to "improved customer satisfaction."

She should change "achieved phenomenal success" to "improved customer satisfaction."

Judging only by length, which of the following is the best subject line for an email? Why? So, here it goes The reason why we should consider implementing this marketing plan is its many benefits. Team meeting, Harper conference room, at 11:00 Last month

Team meeting, Harper conference room, at 11:00

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. The tone is too casual for this type of email. The subject line should be more specific to capture Janice's attention. Leah should have waited until Janice asked her opinion. It is not Leah's place to send a note praising a colleague to her supervisor.

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

Appreciation messages should focus exclusively on the recipient.

True

Delivering bad news without knowing the details tends to cause unnecessary anxiety among receivers.

True

In content and form, a business message should show that you have the interests of your audience in mind.

True

In order to help readers create a mental map of her report, Ashton writes a preview statement to frame the overall message.

True

It is a good idea to practice with a new communications technology before initiating a video call.

True

Kelsey pursues business opportunities aggressively because she believes that doing nothing can be very costly. Kelsey demonstrates a focus on action.

True

Research-based business reports are generally collaborative efforts.

True

The Social Age is an era in which people engage in networked communication, collaborate across boundaries, and solve problems communally.

True

Typically, tone influences readers over the entire course of a message.

True

When readers see long paragraphs, they often stop reading and start trying to pick out significant words and phrases from the text.

True

Your ability to persuade colleagues is often tied to how much they think you appreciate them.

True

What can you do to encourage employees to read announcements? Include links to funny articles or videos in every announcement. Request a read receipt for each announcement. Reward employees for reading announcements. Use a specific, catchy subject line that creates interest. Ask employees to take turns writing the announcements.

Use a specific, catchy subject line that creates interest.

Which question will help you to establish credibility with the readers of your routine messages? What type of formatting will draw the most attention to my design skills? How can I use this message to show off my experience and accomplishments? What is the most persuasive argument that I can make in this message? How can I trim as much detail as possible from this message? What information does the audience need, and how do they want to receive it?

What information does the audience need, and how do they want to receive it?

Which of the following is an appropriate attention-getter for an external message? a statement of appreciation for customers perspectives a catchy statement an overview of a business problem a description of how customers can get your product a description of unmet customer needs

a catchy statement

Which type of visual should you use to display stock prices over time? a pie chart a clustered-column chart a bar chart a line chart a table

a line chart

Which phrase explains what the post-trust era is? a period characterized by the formation of trusts to manage the wealth of businesses a period in which the government no longer allows monopolies or trusts to form a period in which the government allows financial trusts to try to make the economy safer a period in which people have lost the trust they once had in the business community a period in which people put more of their trust in big business than in big government

a period in which people have lost the trust they once had in the business community

Leah is conducting secondary research into procedures for safely handling hazardous chemicals in the workplace. She is only interested in expert opinions on this matter. Which of the following types of secondary sources would be least helpful for Leah? a wiki an industry report a scholarly journal article an article from a business periodical a white paper

a wiki

Which component of the FAIR test refers to the transparency of the motives and reasoning of the person delivering the bad news? impact audience access fact respect

access

When you evaluate how well secondary research can be revised to address your specific business problem, you are considering its reliability. adaptability. relevance. expertise. biases.

adaptability

What type of company is required to have a code of ethics available to all employees? all companies that employ more than 100 people all companies that have more than a single owner all companies that make more than a million dollars all companies that trade internationally all companies that are publicly traded

all companies that are publicly traded

In content and form, a business message should typically slant facts skillfully. avoid any form of self-centeredness. avoid using diplomatic terms. exaggerate facts. avoid using strong analogies.

avoid any form of self-centeredness.

The mum effect results when employees in an organization avoid sharing bad news because they do not want to be blamed. take quick actions to rectify the problems described in a bad-news message. take responsibility for bad events even if they are not at fault. avoid talking to superiors at all for fear that they will be criticized. view the delivery of bad news opportunistically.

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

Which of the following is most likely to positively influence your readers' perceptions of your credibility? using buzzwords being wordy being specific starting sentences with "There are" using prepositional phrases

being specific

Facts are statements that can be relied on with a fair amount of certainty. are fictitious in nature. are subjective and differ from situation to situation. are based on assumptions. are inherently ambiguous in nature.

can be relied on with a fair amount of certainty.

Latecomers to forum discussions are most likely to cause problems by challenging the team's hard-earned consensus and damaging morale. refusing to acknowledge viewpoints that compete with theirs. using strong, rigid language that does not foster discussion. repeating things that were stated earlier. using sarcastic language and hurting colleagues' feelings.

challenging the team's hard-earned consensus and damaging morale.

Greg is the purchasing manager at a jeans-manufacturing company. He knows he could save his company money by using cheaper, thinner cotton, but he says, "Our customers count on us to provide a durable product. I do not want to let them down." What quality does this demonstrate? character competence fairness expertise community

character

Which of the following is a deceptive research practice? cherry-picking data and adjusting information in your favor discussing a data relationship that you are unsure about with your colleagues asking a business librarian to help you identify online databases that match your needs making numerical adjustments in the table by converting counts into percentages using charts and tables to communicate numerical information

cherry-picking data and adjusting information in your favor

Generally, bar charts are best suited for depicting events and trends over time. comparing amounts or quantities. depicting a project's progress. illustrating the pieces within a whole. representing organizational hierarchy.

comparing amounts or quantities.

Who is the primary audience for most business reports? low-level workers within the company decision makers within the company people who own stock in the company customers of the company suppliers of the company

decision makers within the company

Analyzing a business problem typically involves deducing conclusions from facts. ignoring audience constraints. imposing your priorities on the situation. exaggerating the problem. being flexible and not taking positions.

deducing conclusions from facts.

Salina, the expeditor at RingPro Gasket Manufacturer, writes a memo asking her manager to buy her a new computerized system for tracking customer orders. She claims that if she does not get this system, chronically late deliveries will ensue. Her manager turns down her request. Salina made the mistake of using an indirect structure. a weak analogy. you-voice. an unsupported generalization. either/or logic.

either/or logic.

Which of the following formatting methods increases the effectiveness of tables? ensuring that each grid line serves a distinct purpose alternating background colors on rows using grid lines on all borders using a large number of grid lines presenting comparative data series horizontally rather than vertically

ensuring that each grid line serves a distinct purpose

In order to be accurate, a business message must be general. exact. concise. redundant. short.

exact

Which of the following communications can be appropriately conveyed through IM? the agenda for an annual meeting a disciplinary warning for excessive tardiness an announcement about layoffs feedback on a colleague's proposal

feedback on a colleague's proposal

One way to solve the problem of overly lengthy paragraphs is to include more figures of speech. focus on one idea or topic in each paragraph. replace verbs with prepositional phrases. use passive voice instead of active. start more sentences with "There is."

focus on one idea or topic in each paragraph.

Julio has a long paragraph that describes the two main causes of employee absenteeism and gives a suggestion to address each cause. Ideally, how many paragraphs does Julio need to cover this material? five four one two three

four

It is especially important to review persuasive messages because nearly all of them are sent to family and friends. high-stakes communications. circulated within your organization. inexpensive to produce. saved for employee reviews.

high-stakes communications.

Which of the following is least crucial to most routine message development? drafting information gathering planning applying the FAIR test proofreading

information gathering

Which of the following is an example of a bad-news message that is characterized by high severity and low controllability? laying off an employee giving an employee a poor review rejecting a colleague's idea deciding to no longer use a supplier rejecting a customer claim

laying off an employee

Shelly is a popular figure in Tia's community. Tia signs up to participate in a charity event when she finds out that Shelly is also participating. Tia's behavior illustrates the psychological principle known as scarcity. reciprocation. authority. consistency. liking.

liking

Social media tools have little to do with developing a personal brand. are used only by younger people. are used only by business professionals. make it tough to damage your online reputation. make developing a personal brand very easy.

make developing a personal brand very easy.

Overall and underlying messages that others decode from your online communications are referred to as _____ messages. wiki public meta blog dashboard

meta

Being concise means omitting needless words. removing white space. removing paragraph breaks. removing relevant information. omitting parallel structure.

omitting needless words.

Web 1.0 communication tools are primarily interactive and social. passive and customizable. customizable and social. interactive and customizable. passive and static.

passive and static.

Bao is conducting a study that compares the cost of keeping print messages on file versus storing digital messages in the cloud. What aspect of communications relates to the storage of messages? permanence constraint richness coordination planning

permanence

A unique set of professional skills and attributes that others associate with you is called your social media profile. blogging style. online identity. personal brand. meta message.

personal brand.

Which of the following is an appropriate tone for persuasive messages? positive deceptive questioning authoritative exaggerated

positive

A business message is complete if it maximizes paragraph length and minimizes white space. avoids all miscalculation, misinformation, and typographical errors. keeps the word count as low as possible without redundancies or empty phrases. uses efficient language that says as much as possible in a few words. provides all the information necessary to meet the intended purpose.

provides all the information necessary to meet the intended purpose.

Which of the following is a central component in setting expectations for those you manage? making claims making requests analyzing audiences providing deadlines stating goodwill

providing deadlines

An internal persuasive message should explain why your idea or policy is the best option. This is known as the action. rationale. solution. counterpoint. attention-getter.

rationale.

Consider the following statement: "Employee managers can use our motivational tools to motivate their employees to increase productivity." The best way to make this statement concise is to replace a prepositional phrase with a verb. start with "It is" or "There are." remove empty phrases. remove redundant words. eliminate the passive voice.

remove redundant words.

Which of the following types of messages will probably require the least amount of time for planning and reviewing? routine message persuasive message bad-news message crisis communications message public relations message

routine message

The advantage of an op-ed style blog post is that it puts the most important information first where busy readers can find it. provides the necessary background first to give context for important details. shares the opinions and expertise of a corporate leader with the public. describes the company's unique selling position up front. captures reader attention with an interesting story about the author.

shares the opinions and expertise of a corporate leader with the public.

Which of the following is most likely to lower a person's credibility? using other-oriented approach slanting facts asking for more responsibility using strong analogies refusing to exaggerate

slanting facts

Which of the following is something an excellent business writer would do? complete audience analysis while writing adopt a message-centered approach do a last-minute review of his or her work maintain an author-centered tone spend more time planning than writing

spend more time planning than writing

Which of the following is typically used for short, one-to-one or one-to-many messages and is ideal for quick announcements and scheduling? a conference call a videoconference a blog texting a webinar

texting

One possible negative effect of texting and other forms of instant messaging is that the brevity of messages can make them sound bossy. instant messaging is an inherently serious channel. instant messages do not work for group conversations. instant messages cannot convey meta messages. the format of instant messages is not good for positive news.

the brevity of messages can make them sound bossy.

Mena is worried about telling her boss that her team failed to meet one of its four deadlines last month. Instead, she says that the team is doing well and hitting most of its targets. This is an example of token appreciation. reframing. the mum effect. a teaser statement. a buffer.

the mum effect.

You should use direct quotation when you want to express the idea of another speaker in your own words. the quotation contains a particularly compelling combination of words. the quotation does not emphasize the credibility of the original speaker. a paraphrase will not flow smoothly into the text of your paper. you want to avoid documenting references to others' ideas.

the quotation contains a particularly compelling combination of words.

Which of the following should contain all your research sources and should be provided at the end of your report? the executive summary footnotes the table of contents the reference list the conclusion

the reference list

Research on Uno Motor Corp. revealed that the company shows signs of the mum effect. As a result, Uno Motor is likely to underperform year after year. develop a transparent culture. succeed on most projects. build its credibility with employees. accurately state bad news.

underperform year after year.

Which of the following communication techniques show that someone has a team orientation? discussing only positives rather than focusing on negatives using the pronouns "you" and "we" to discuss goals and needs using the FAIR test to evaluate what other people say keeping personal motivations hidden in the workplace being open and transparent about the company's confidential matters

using the pronouns "you" and "we" to discuss goals and needs

Just before Ellen goes to bed at 11:00 p.m., she realizes that she forgot to confirm a meeting 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? not bothered to include her name in the message waited to send the text right after she arrived at the office the next day made a humorous comment about having a memory like a sieve included a frowning face emoticon to apologize for forgetting turned off her sound alerts so she will not be awakened if her colleague answers

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