Final Flashcards
We listen at only _______ efficiency
25-50%
Which of the following statements is most accurate?
a. Businesses today generate a wide range of messages using a variety of media
b. Writing is a skill set used only by managers and corporate executives
c. Workers today communicate less than in previous years
d. Technology has not affected how and why we communicate
A. Businesses today generate a wide range of messages using a variety of media
Most people think that the best predictor of a speaker’s true feelings is his or her ______
Eyes
Working with people from others cultures will require tolerance. One of the best ways to become more tolerant is by ______
knowing your communication style
The belief in the superiority of the one’s own culture is known as _______. This natural attitude is found in all cultures
Ethnocentrism
Communication is defined as “the transmission of information and meaning from one individual or group to another.” The crucial element of this definition is _____
meaning
What is not an element of the communication process?
displaying empathy
Business writing should be all of the following except _____
sender oriented
T/F: Senders should avoid asking their receivers questions such as, “Am I making myself clear?” or “Is there anything that doesn’t make sense.”
False
T/F: One of the most important questions you can ask yourself as you begin to compose a message is “What do I hope to achieve?”
True
T/F: Indirect strategy should be used when the audience needs to be persuaded, offering explanation and then the main idea
True
T/F: Direct strategy should be used to save time, offering the main idea followed by any necessary details or explanations
True
T/F: Frontloading should be used for writing messages to receptive audiences
True
Which of the following sentences is most effective?
a. Your account is now up-to-date
b. At this point in time, your account is up-to-date
c. This is to inform you that your account is now up-to-date
d. Due to the fact that we have just received your check, your account is up-to-date
A. Your account is now up-to-date
Which of the following sentences best avoids flabby expressions?
a. In very few cases do job applicants perform adequate research about a company
b. Although many employees have requested training, we can’t afford the extra expense
c. We do not expect any pay raises at this point in time
d. The CEO is of the opinion that stock prices will increase next quarter
B. Although many employees have requested training, we can’t afford the extra expense
A job interview provides an opportunity for you to do all of the following except…
Meet with all the company’s employees
Which of the following statements most accurately describes a sequential interview?
a. You must be totally committed to the job and the company to participate in a sequential interview, which often takes weeks or even months to complete
b. You can assume that later interviewers know what was said in a previous interview because sequential interviews are designed to take time
c. As sequential interviews progress, interviews become more in depth, which means that you need to know even more about the company
d. As an applicant, you should never repeat yourself because each interviewer will brief the other interviewers, making it unnecessary for you to answer the same questions
C. As sequential interviews progress, interviews become more in-depth, which mean that you need to know even more about the company
Which of the following is the best advice to make a positive first impression in a phone conversation with an employee?
a. Don’t refer to your resume or references during the first phone call because these references are appropriate only in the placement interview
b. Take notes about the conversation immediately after hanging up to avoid forgetting details
c. In the first phone call, be polite and enthusiastic, but don’t be pushy by discussing your qualifications
d. If caught off guard by the call, ask whether you can call back in a few minutes
D. If caught off guard by the call, ask whether you can call back in a few minutes
Because many companies now use social networking sites to screen job candidates, what is the best advice you should follow to project a positive image?
Remove any photos, content, and links that could make you look unprofessional
Which of the following the best advice when answering interview questions?
a. Focus your answers on your strengths, but reveal a weakness or two to show that you are not perfect
b. Use the interviewer’s name and title each time you answer a question to show respect
c. To be concise, answer questions with a simple yes or no whenever possible
d. Aim answers at the key characteristics needed, such as expertise, motivation, and a pleasant personality
D. Aim answers at the key characteristics needed, such as expertise, motivation, and a pleasant personality
Jessica needs to send an e-mail about an important upcoming meeting. Which of the following represents the most effective subject line?
a. Please Attend Staff Meeting August 15
b. Please Read NOW
c. Our next staff meeting will be held on the 15th of August
d. Urgent!
A. Please Attend Staff Meeting August 15
Which of the following is the best advice for writing the body of an e-mail message?
Use numbered or bulleted lists when appropriate
Crowdsourcing is best described as _______
tapping into the combined knowledge of an online community to solve problems and complete assignments
The biggest advantage of business blogs is that they ______
have the potential to reach a vast, far-flung audience
Which of the following statements best describes use of social networks by businesses today?
a. All companies are comfortable with using social networking for brainstorming and teamwork
b. Large companies create buzz and promote their brands via social networking, but social networking offers no benefit to small businesses
c. Companies struggle with finding the right balance between permitting access to the Web and protecting security as well as ensuring productivity
C. Companies struggle with finding the right balance between permitting access to the Web and protecting security as well as ensuring productivity
North Americans value straightforwardness and are suspicious of evasiveness. These traits identify the culture dimension of ______
Communication style
Which statement about ethnocentrism is most accurate?
a. Ethnocentrism is the oversimplified perception of a behavioral pattern or characteristic applied to all groups
b. Ethnocentrism does not exist in today’s culturally diverse workplace
c. Ethnocentrism causes us to judge others by our own values
d. Ethnocentrism occurs in only Western cultures
C. Ethnocentrism causes us to judge others by our own values
T/F: Our culture molds the way we think, behave, and communicate
True
Communication noise is
anything that interrupts the transmission of a message
Feedback includes
both the verbal and nonverbal responses from the receiver
Communication is successful only when
the receiver understands an idea as the sender intended it
What is the richest medium of communication channels?
Face-to-face conversation
Michael usually holds team meetings on Tuesday mornings, but he needs to reschedule next week’s meeting to Wednesday morning. To tell the team members of the date change for the next meeting, Michael should…
send an e-mail
Which of the following sentences best focuses on the audience?
a. Register now to lock in your preferred travel dates
b. All sentences are focused on the audience rather than the sender
c. You can help us by sending us your payment immediately
d. We are very pleased to have you as our newest customer
D. We are very pleased to have you as our newest customer
Which of the following demonstrates effective business writing?
a. All executives and their wives will attend the Reno conference
b. The female attorney graduated from Yale
c. The office personnel will assist you with your forms
d. A salesman must meet monthly sales quotas
C. The office personnel will assist you with your forms
T/F: An important aspect of the first phase of writing a business message is anticipating the audience’s reaction to the message
True
Which of the following sentences emphasizes an idea through style?
A resume should include a statement of qualifications section and specific and relevant previous employment information
Parallel writing uses
similar structures to express similar words
T/F: Because sentences of 20 or fewer words have the most impact, business writers must restrict all sentences to fewer than 20 words
False
T/F: In the active voice, the subject is acted upon. In the passive voice, the subject is the doer of the action
True
All of the following sentences contain unnecessary fillers except
a. It was our office manager who won the raffle
b. Three candidates are running for the board
c. There are three important issues to discuss at today’s meeting
d. There is only one job opening available
B. Three candidates are running for the board
Which sentence avoids redundant expressions?
a. It is absolutely essential that our accounting records are accurate
b. Please refer back to the June financial statements
c. Let’s not repeat our competitor’s mistakes
d. I want to thank each and every stockholder
B. Please refer back to the June financial statements
T/F: You can often reduce flabby expressions to single words
True
T/F: Converting a verb into a noun creates stronger, more professional business writing
False
Which statement about open and hidden job markets is most accurate?
a. More jobs are secured through the open job market than through the hidden job market
b. The hidden job market refers to those hobs that are filled through illegal or unethical tactics
c. The open job market consists of jobs that are advertised or listed
d. Most job seekers start searching for jobs using the hidden job market
C. The open job market consists of jobs that are advertised or listed
Most jobs are found through
referrals and person-to-person contacts
Most recruiters favor a
chronological resume
T/F: In the work experience section of your resume, you should include only those jobs that you think will help you win the targeted position
True
How should you contact an employer if you have interviewed for a job and haven’t heard from the interviewer in a few days
Phone
T/F: One of the most important steps in effective interviewing is researching the target company
True
T/F: If your resume or application generates no response within a reasonable time, you should consider sending a short follow-up e-mail or letter to emphasize your qualifications or to add new information
True
Which of the following about writing and revising business documents is most accurate?
Experts say only amateurs expect writing perfection on the first try
Effective communicators avoid the flabby expression “in addition to the above” by using the word(s)
“In addition to the above” could be written more concisely as “also”
Long sentence lead-ins are
unnecessary introductory words
Converting verbs into noun expressions reduces
verb strength
Empty space on a page is
called “white space”
When creating a bulleted or numbered list, never
use end punctuation
When preparing a business message, you should make your writing audience oriented. Audience oriented means you should
concentrate on looking at the problem from the receiver’s perspective
Business writing should be economical. In this context economical can be best defined as
presenting ideas clearly and concisely
Experts say that writers should spend the most time in the _____ stage of the writing process
revising
When selecting a communication channel, you should follow two tips: use richer media for persuasive or personal communications, and
use the richest media available
One of the best ways to develop audience benefits is to use the “you” view, which
emphasizes second-person pronouns instead of first-person pronouns
T/F: The communication process begins when the receiver provides feedback to the sender
false
T/F: A weak Internet signal is an example of channel noise
true
T/F: As a job candidate, the purposes of an interview are to convince the employer of your potential, learn more about the job and the company, and expand on the information on your resume
true
T/F: During your job search, you should treat any call from an employer just like an interview
true
T/F: On the day of your interview, you should arrive at least 30 minutes prior to the scheduled appointment
false
Saying words correctly and clearly with the accepted sounds and accented syllables reflects
proper pronunciation
The best definition of uptalk is
a rising infliction at the end of a sentence that makes statements sound like questions
Which of the following statement best provides constructive criticism?
a. Your work is often shoddy
b. You seem to think that you can submit any kind of work and that it doesn’t matter
c. You need to produce work that meets this company’s standards
d. Producing inferior work often causes this company to lose time and money
D. Producing inferior work often causes this company to lose time and money
Which of the following statements about workplace teams is most accurate?
a. Team members who are involved in the decision-making process show less resistance to change
b. Individuals tend to make better decisions than teams
c. Because conflict often results, tams tend to have decreased productivity
d. Teams tend to respond more slowly to competition or problem solving
A. Team members who are involved in the decision-making process show less resistance to change
The most successful workplace teams
agree on a purpose and procedures
Reports that present data without analysis or recommendations are _____
informational reports
Informal writing style includes the use of
contractions
Headings that show the sections of a report are called
functional headings
Many business writers begin their report research by
looking in company records
A report that compares two or more solutions to a problem is called a(n)
yardstick report
