Midterm summer 2023 Flashcards
The Ideal organization of the communications function within an organization is:
a) Separated, but also integrated
b) No organization, everyone should communicate well
c) Folded within the Human Resources department
d)Spread out across the organization
a) Separated, but also integrated
Explanation (CHAPTER 2):
The ideal arrangement of communications
function
⦿ Separate (this means that there is a single unit or department handling
the strategic management aspects of communications)
○ When communication is collapsed into other functions, it cannot be managed
strategically because it cannot “move resources” (e.g. money, tools, skills, and
people) the way it should be able to.
⦿ But, also integrated…
○ Proper integration enables communication and coordination with other department
or functions within the organization.
○ Ensures (or at least promotes) consistency in communication practices across the
organization
When it comes to organizational trust, identification refers to:
A) The ability for organizations to effectively identify gaps in communications delivery.
B) The extent to which we feel our personal identity has become linked to our job.
C) The extent to which we hold common goals, norms, values, and beliefs associated with our organization’s culture.
D) The process of identifying opportunities for communications interventions in corporate stategy.
C) The extent to which we hold common goals, norms, values, and beliefs associated with our organization’s culture.
Explanation (CHAPTER 4)
Definition (Slide 5): The organization’s willingness, based upon its culture and communication behaviors in relationships and transactions, to be appropriately vulnerable based on the belief that another individual, group, or organization is competent, open and honest, concerned, reliable, and identified with common goals, norms, and values.
To add value, communicators need to:
A) Address business problems with communications solutions
B) Develop communications plans separately from corporate strategy
C) Ensure grammar and writing is flawless
D) Deliver a daily social media campaign
A) Address business problems with communications solutions
Explanation (CHAPTER 2)
The organization’s willingness, based upon its culture and communication behaviors in relationships and transactions, to be appropriately vulnerable based on the belief that another individual, group, or organization is competent, open and honest, concerned, reliable, and identified with common goals, norms, and values.
The five dimensions or drivers of organizational trust include:
A) Concern for customers, transparency, integrity, legal responsibility, hard work
B) Concern for employees, openness and honesty, identification, reliability, and competence
C) Corporate social responsibility, transparency, identification, reliability, competence
D) None of the above
B) Concern for employees, openness and honesty, identification, reliability, and competence
Explanation:
Review Figure 4.1 of the book
Major changes in the communication landscape have meant that:
A) Communicators no longer transit a message one-way, top down
B) Communicators no longer exercise as much control over their messages
C) Communicators now must function in real time instead of according to news cycles
D) All of the above
D) All of the above
Explanation:This question is a summary of Chapter 14, review table 14.1 to understand a little more
The ethical framework that assumes that you cannot make judgments about another culture and that no culture can be improved is known as:
A) Ethical pluralism
B) Cultural austerity
C) Cultural relativism
D) Ethnocentrism
C) Cultural relativism
Explanation (Chapter 5):
Cultural relativism is a weak concept because some of its assumptions are weak,
if not false, especially in today’s global economy. Cultural relativism claims that
what is good or bad and/or what constitutes a good life are culturally relative.
These are the key assumptions of cultural relativism:
* Morality is culturally specific; ethical guidelines come from society; ethical judgments are relative to the culture in which they are made.
* Unless you are part of a culture, you cannot understand all the reasons for why something is considered right or wrong in that society; therefore, you should not judge that society’s morality.
* Just as you should not judge another culture’s morality, people from other cultures should not judge your morality.
* Everyone should be tolerant of those living in other cultures, as they should be tolerant of you.
The strength of cultural relativism is that it stresses tolerance and encourages
people to learn more about a culture before passing judgment. The weaknesses of cultural relativism are that it assumes you cannot make judgments about another culture, even if horrendous acts are committed there, and that no culture can be improved
When considering how to measure the return on investment of communication activities, it is important to consider both:
A) Mergers and acquisitions
B) External and external task forces
C) Tangible and intangible assets
D) Workforce and strategy
C) Tangible and intangible assets
Explanation (Chapter 8)
Two powerful concepts are intangible assets and tangible assets such as human capital (Figure 8.3). Intangible assets are organizational factors that are not on the books as money in the bank or physical objects such as buildings and inventory. Intangible assets include the brand and reputation, good community and employee relations, loyal customers, and a smart and committed workforce. Analysts know that these factors are what drive future profitability, which directly affects stock price. Human capital is the workforce’s collective willingness and ability to perform. This is affected by motivation, knowledge of the business strategy, and training (Gayeski, 2005)
Organizational Communication is defined as the scope of practices undertaken by an individual or team of communications professionals related to the _____________________________ within and outside of an organization.
A) Flow of information
B) Values and interests of stakeholders
C) Management of multiple portfolios
D) High level activities
A) Flow of information
Explanation (Chapter 1): Slide 8
also may be referred to as “business communication” or ”public relations”
Roles for corporate communicators do NOT include:
A) Confidential Secretarial Support
B) Community and Government Relations
C) Investor Relations
D) Public Relations
A) Confidential Secretarial Support
Explanation (Chapter 1): Slide 9
The two major roles that are played by communicators in organizations are:
A) Manager and Director
B) Director and Staff
C) Manager and Technician
D) Strategic Director and Employee
C) Manager and Technician
Explanation (Chapter 2): Managers vs. Technicians
⦿Two major roles that communicators play in organizations:
●Managers:
○Strategic focus – conceptualizes and directs communication programs
●Technicians:
○Focus on day-to-day communications activities
⦿In the best communication departments, there are both types of people with clear delineation of responsibilities
⦿In weaker departments, all of the communicators are technicians (may lack strategic direction)
The strategic linking of ideas and goals from the company’s mission and vision down to campaign level strategies, tactics, and outcomes facilitate the development of:
A) Cascading objectives
B) CSR campaigns
C) Comprehensive internal communications
D) A diverse workforce
A) Cascading objectives
Explanation (Chapter 27) Slide 7
Specific Evaluation Measures (SEMs) can help to:
A) Isolate the effect/outcomes of your specific strategies/tactic
B) Determine ROI
C) Determine ROE
D) All of the above
D) All of the above
Explanation (Chapter 27):
Specific evaluation measures are ways that
you can track the success of a specific
strategy/tactic
Investor relations serve which constituencies?
A) Investors
B) Corporate Management
C) Investors and Corporate Management
D) Investors, Corporate Management, and Employees
C) Investors and Corporate Management
Explanation (Chapter 24):
An investor relations program serves two important constituencies: the investment community and corporate management. The IR professional or staff should function as information central, delivering meaningful information on a regular basis to investors and serving as a clearinghouse for their questions and feedback. The other key role involves providing professional counsel to management on a variety of issues relating to the needs and concerns of the investment community (see Figure 24.1). In fact, an investor relations function maintains a delicate balancing act in supporting the needs and interests of both constituencies.
The expectation for internal communication today is that companies:
A) Communicate as little as possible to employees.
B) Portray the organization in the most positive light to avoid employee disenfranchisement
C) Deal honestly with an organization’s strengths and weaknesses and deliver both good and bad news to employees
E) Communicate every single detail of business to employees (for instance, through a daily organizational update sent by e-mail)
C) Deal honestly with an organization’s strengths and weaknesses and deliver both good and bad news to employees
Explanation (Chapter 15): Check the title “Mass Media: Filling the Gap”
A news feature about an elderly couple who reuninted after being separated for more than 60 years would fall under which of the following news values?
A) Human interest
B) Love stories
C) Celebrity
D) Novelty
A) Human interest
Explanation (Chapter 23): Slide 6
