Chapter1
Chapter1
Communication skills
a.are not as important as technical skills for career success.
b.are not necessary in today's competitive job market.
c.are ranked by recruiters at the top of qualities they most desire in job seekers.
d.cannot be learned; they are innate.
2. Which of the following statements is most accurate?
a. The need for well-written messages has declined in today's workforce.
b. Employers rank soft skills as less valuable than hard skills.
c. Social media are playing an increasingly prominent role in business.
d. Today's use of digital media requires less written communication
3. Which of the following statements is most accurate?
a. Workers today communicate less than in previous years.
b. Technology has not affected how and why we communicate.
c. Businesses today generate a wide range of messages using a variety of media.
d. Writing is a skill set used only by managers and corporate executives.
4. Which of the following is not an example of a soft skill?
a. Communicating effectively
b. Tabulating statistical information
c. Solving problems
d. Making ethical decisions
5. On the job you are more likely to be taken seriously and to be promoted if you
a. look and sound professional,
b. frame your degree or certificate and hang it on your office or cubicle wall.
c. appear to be busy even when you're not really doing anything.
d. attend office parties
6. Major trends in today's dynamic world of work include increased emphasis on
self-directed work groups and virtual teams, heightened global competition,
innovative communication technologies, new work environments, and focus on
a. creating an entirely online presence.
b. promoting from within.
c. increasing levels of management.
d. business ethics.
7. Which of the following statements about today's business environments is most
accurate?
a. The number of telecommuting employees is expected to decline in the future.
b. All companies assign offices for employees.
c. Many employees today no longer need an office; they can work anytime and anywhere.
d. Workers today spend more time in offices than workers in the past.
8. Which statement about today's workplace is most accurate?
a. Employees can expect to have more managers.
b. Very few businesses involve employees in decision making.
c. Today's employees can expect to interact with people from many cultures.
d. Businesses use social media only to interact with customers.
9. Which of the following statements is most accurate?
a. Ethics is a priority for many businesses.
b. Because of economic concerns, American companies are relying on local markets.
c. Most companies discourage workers from working in teams because they fear a loss of
productivity.
d. Today's businesses are expanding their hierarchies to meet the demands of their
workers and their competition
10. Which communication technology is used by companies today?
a. Presence technology
b. Cloud computing
c. Videoconferencing
d. All answer choices are communication technologies being used by companies today
11. According to researchers, most people listen at what level of proficiency?
a. 100 percent
b. 5 percent
c. 25-50 percent
d. 75 percent
12. Which of the following statements is most accurate?
a. Very few management problems are related to listening.
b. The average person remembers nearly three quarters of what he or she hears following
a 10- minute presentation.
c. We misinterpret, misunderstand, or change very little of what we hear.
d. Most people are not very good listeners
13. Many of us are poor listeners because
a. the brain can process information at least three times as fast as people talk.
b. we tend to "tune out" speakers whose ideas run counter to our own.
c. we would rather talk than listen.
d. All answer choices are correct.
14. According to research, what percentage of our work time is spent listening?
a. 50 percent
b. 90 percent
c. 10 percent
d. 25 percent
15. Which of the following is not a physical barrier for listening?
a. Hearing disabilities
b. Poor acoustics
c. Noisy surroundings
d. Personal values
16. Your boss is giving instructions for a new method of keeping expense accounts.
However, you find it difficult to concentrate because you think the change is
unnecessary. What type of barrier to effective listening are you experiencing?
a. Language problem barrier
b. Psychological barrier
c. Physical barrier
d. Nonverbal distraction barrier
17. Peter must inform his employees that his company will need to let go of
employees. Which word would be hent for Peter to use when conveying this idea to
his employees?
a Lavoff
b. Streamlining
c. Paradigm shift
18. You can improve your listening skills if you follow tips for active listening,
including
a. keeping an open mind, establishing a receptive mind-set, and listening between the
lines.
b establishing a receptive mind-set, concentrating on appearance and delivery, and sifting
information through biases
c. capitalizing on lag time, concentrating on your next comment, and taking as many
notes as possible
d. asking questions immediately, focusing on the speaker's face, and concentrating on the
details presented in the message
19. A listener who nods her head and maintains eye contact with a speaker is
probably
a lotening actively to what the speaker is saying
b. not understanding what the speaker is saying
c. faking anention while she listens to music on her MP3 player.
d. formidating her response to a point with which she disagrees.
20. Amelia has made a conscious effort to become an active listener. Therefore, she
shuts down her computer, warns off her cell phone, and asks her assistant to hold all
incoming calls when she conducts interviews. What technique is she using to
improve listening?
a. Keeping an open mind
b. Establishing a receptive mind-set
c. Capitalizing on lag time
d. Controlling her surroundings
21 Nonverbal communication includes
a. allmers and spoken messages, intended or not.
b. body langsage and gestures that accompany a spoken
c. only eye contact and facial expressions that support the meaning of the words.
d. only cues that reveal agreement with or contradiction of the verbal message
22. Which of the following is a form of nonverbal communication?
a. Facial expressions, such as frowning or raising the eyebrows
b. Eye contact, such as staring or avoiding looking someone in the eye
c. Time, such as showing up too late or too early
d. All answer choices are forms of nonverbal communication
23 Which of the following statements about nonverbal communication is most
accurate
a. Nonverbal communication comprises very little of a message that is sent or received.
b. When verbal and nonverbal messages contradict, receivers believe that the verhal
message is more accurate.
c. Memings of nonverbal behaviors are often influenced by the communication context
and by one's culture
d. Nonverbal communication applies to only intended messages
24. Most people think that the best predictor of a speaker's true feelings is his or her
a facial expressions
b. posture
c. gestures
d. zyes
25. Which of the following statements about nonverbal commmication is most
accurate?
a. The meaning of some gestures can vary among cultures.
b. The way an e-mail, letter, memo, or report looks can have either a positive or a
negative effect on a receiver
c. The manner in which we structure and use time can reveal our personalities and
attitudes.
d. All statements are accurate
26. According to Edward T. Hall, in which spatial zone do most people converse with
friends and family members?
a. Intimate
b. Personal
c. Social
d. Public
27. Acccoding to Edward I. Hall, which spatial zone is the largest?
a. Intimate
b. Personal
c. Social
d. Public
28. Which of the following tips should you follow to improve your nonverbal
communication skills?
a. Focus only on the sender's words when you are engaged in conversation.
b. Proofread all correspondence you send.
c. Avond individuals from other cultures so that you don't start using nonverbal behaviors
displayed in other cultures.
d. Avoid asking the speaker questions when his or her nonverbal and verbal messages
contradict
29. Suzanne wants to make a good impression during a job interview. What should
she do?
a. Avoid eye contact with her interviewer to show respect.
b. Slump down in her chair to show that she's relaxed.
c. Wear professional business attire
d. Ask the interviewer to lunch
30. The manager noticed that Stephen slammed his desk drawer right after he said
that he was happy to work late. The manager should
a. tell Stephen that he should behave more professionally,
b. respond to the verbal message only and thank him for working late
c. politely seek additional information by saying, I'm not sure that you really want to stay
late. Do you have somewhere you need to be?
d. fire Stephen for insubordination.
31. Every country has a unique culture or common heritage that
a. teaches its members how to behave and conditions their reactions.
b results from a common gene pool.
c. is created by a structured educational system
d. comes from an orderly system of government and laws.
32. Which of the following is not a dimension of culture?
a Power distance
b. Individualism
c. Tolerance
d. Time orientation
33. The most important cultural dimension is
a. power distance
b. communication style
c. come orientation
d. context
34. Which of the following is a common trait of a business communicator from a
low-context culture?
a. Valuing group membership
b. Preferring indirect verbal interaction
c. Placing emphasis on written information
d. Relying on context and feeling
35. Communicators from North America, Scandinavia, and Germany tend to be
logical, analytical, and action oriented. They also depend little on the context of a
situation to convey their meaning. These communicators represent what kind of
culture?
a. High-context
b. Primitive
c. Ancient
d. Low-context
36. Which of the following countries represents a high-context culture?
a. United States
b. Germany
c. Norway
d. Japan
37. North Americans value straightforwardness and are suspicious of evasiveness.
These traits identify the cultural dimension of
a individualiom
b. power distance
c. communication style
d. time orientation:
38. Which of the following countries would likely view a business contract as a
binding document?
a. Mexico
b. Greece
c. Japan
d. Germany
39. Which staternent about the effect of social media and communication technology
on culture is most accurate?
a. Because of social media, communicators can now reach out to larger and more varied
audiences than in the past
b. Social media always makes individuals of various cultures feel connected
c. Social media offers very little potential for intercultural engagement.
d. Developers of social media should use the same design principles for all audiences.
40. Which statement about ethnocentrism is most accurate
a. Ethnocentrism occurs in only Western cultures.
b. Ethnocentrism does not exist in today's culturally diverse workplace
c. Ethnocentrism causes us to judge others by our own values.
d. Ethnocentrism is the oversimplified perception of a behavioral pattern or characteristic
applied to all groups
41. An American businessperson who thinks that all Swiss are hardworking,
efficient, and neat is demonstrating an example of
a. ethnocentrism.
b. tolerance.
c. stereotyping.
d. a cultural norm
42. Learning about beliefs and practices different from our own and appreciating
them means displaying
a. tolerance
b. individualism
c. stereotyping
d. gender norming
43. Working with people from other cultures will require tolerance. One of the best
ways to become more tolerant is by
a. practicing empathy.
b. increasing your individualism
c. encouraging ethnocentrism.
d knowing your communication style.
44. While conducting business with a customer from Italy, Zoe was careful to speak
slowly and clearly, using short sentences and familiar words. However, she noticed
that the customer had a glazed expression and did not understand her. Zoe should
a. repeat what she has said in a louder voice.
b. graciously accept the blame for not making her meaning clear.
c. and the conversation until an interpreter can be found
d. require the Italian businessperson to restate the message in simple words
45. When speaking with someone for whom English is a second language, you should
talk slowly, enunciate clearly, check frequently for comprehension, observe eye
messages, listen without interrupting. and
a. follow up important messages in writing.
b. avoid smiling, which might make you appear to lack seriousness.
c. cuse words that will impress the listener.
d. assume that the listener understands if he or she nods and smiles in agreement.
46. When writing for a multicultural audience, you are more likely to be understood
if you use short sentences and short paragraphs and if you include
a. slang, such as This product really rocks!
b. idioms, such as You can improve your bottom line by seting this product
c. acronyms, such as ASAP
d. action-specific verbs, such as E-mail me if you have any questions rather than Contact
me if you have any questions
48. Which of the following is a benefit of a diverse work environment?
a. Being better ability to create the products desired by consumers
b. Experiencing fower discrimination lawsuits, fewer union clashes, and less government
regulatory action
c. Improving employee relationships and increasing productivity
d. All are benefits of a diverse work environment
49. Megahertz Technology Solutions, Inc., recently suffered a discrimination lawsuit.
Advice to improve its workforce diversity is likely to include understanding the
value of differences, providing diversity training for employees, building on
similarities, and
a. hiring a more homogenous work group.
b. making fewer assumptions.
c. requiring all employees to use jargon that conveys stereotypes.
d. making sure all employees conform to a standard company culture
50. Workers who communicate successfully with diverse audiences must make few
assumptions, learn about their own and other cultures, and
a seek common ground.
b. help others conform
c. avoid noticing differences.
d. encourage group thinking.
1. C 28.
2. C B
29.
3. C
C
4. B 30.
5. A C
6. D 31.
7. C A
8. C 32.
9. A C
10. 33.
D D
11. 34.
C C
12. 35.
D D
13. 36.
D D
14. 37.
A C
15. 38.
D D
16. 39.
C A
17. 40.
A C
18. 41.
A C
19. 42.
A A
20. 43.
D A
21. 44.
A B
22. 45.
D A
23. 46.
C D
24. 47.
D A
25. 48.
D D
26. 49.
A B
27. 50.
D A