Business Communication Exam 2 (Gunter)

What is the main challenge that authors of routine messages have to overcome?

Readers receive so many routine messages that it is hard to catch their attention

Which of the following should you focus on during the reviewing step of writing a routine message?

Proofreading

Which of the following types of messages will probably require the least amount of time for planing and reviewing?

Routine message

Keiko manages a team of graphic designers. She distributes a document describing in detail each task for an upcoming project. Each task is assigned to a specific member of her team. What aspect of setting expectations does this accomplish?

Describing responsibilities

Which of the following accurately describes the act of setting expectations for others?

Setting expectations is directly tied to your ability to foster interpersonal trust in the workplace

Many employees gloss over announcements because announcements

are broadcast to a large number of employees

Lok meets with the team he oversees and gives each team member a spreadsheet that shows when various stages of the project are due. The assignments for each team member are shown in a different color. What aspect of setting expectations has Lok just done?

Setting deadlines

Which of the following is a good guideline for messages that express sympathy?

Handwrite your expression of sympathy whenever possible

What can you do to encourage employees to read announcements?

Use a specific, catchy subject line that creates interest

Which of the following is a characteristic of a strong routine message?

Short paragraphs

Hannah receives an email from Keith, a subordinate who is about to start analyzing a market research report. Keith has never done this before, so he sends Hannah a long paragraph that contains five questions about the assignment. What is the best way for Hannah to respond to Keith?

By writing her answers to the questions as a numbered bulleted set

Which of the following components is usually found in a set of directions but not in a set of expectations?

Step-by-step instructions

Why is efficiency one of the primary goals when sending routine messages?

The volume of routine messages is high

Which of the following is true of apologies?

Not all apologies are necessarily good apologies

Read the following request, which Shana sent to her supervisor. Then choose the answer below that best evaluates the email.

SUBJECT: Request for vacation time in October
Les, as we discussed yesterday, I would like to take the first week in October as vacation time. My niece is getting married, so I want to travel to San Francisco to help with last-minute planning. My current project ends September 20, so the trip should not interfere with any department deadlines. Would you be able to let me know by the end of this week so I can book my airline ticket while I can still get a discount rate?

The email is specific, positive, and shows concern for the department

Many routine business messages involve such things as teams coordinating their assignments, customers buying products, and colleagues asking if they can meet. Such messages are known as

requests

Which of the following is a good way to write directions?

Put the different steps in a numbered list

Which of the following accurately describes appreciation messages?

You should begin your appreciation messages with an expression of thanks

Which of the following will damage the credibility of the author of routine messages?

Overly general messages

Which of the following is a common component of all routine messages, including messages that express sympathy?

A statement of goodwill

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.

Jim has not reread the message

When making requests, ___________ goes a long way in maintaining goodwill.

showing respect for the recipient’s time

While drafting a routine message, you should

ensure the tone of the message is reader-centered

Which of the following will help guarantee that your information is accurate and reliable?

Applying the FAIR test

Which question will help you to establish credibility with the readers of your routine messages?

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

A message that makes a claim is most likely to close with

a call to action

Which of the following is most likely to take place during the drafting stage?

Creating a professional and helpful tone

It is important to ask colleagues to review persuasive messages because persuasive messages

are directed to people who resist your ideas, products, or services

It is most appropriate to use an impersonal voice in

persuasive messages to emphasize objectivity

The first task of most persuasive messages is to

gain the attention of the readers

Using the "you-voice" is most appropriate to emphasize

reader benefits in external persuasive messages

Sautéed, a restaurant in California, specializes in sautéed food. The restaurant holds a highly popular bash, featuring well-known DJs, on the last Saturday night of every month. The restaurant offers event-passes to the frequent customers (who must have been billed at least $3,000 during the current month) for free. A limited number of passes are available to other customers at a high price one day prior to the event. Which principle of influence is the restaurant using?

Scarcity

The use of the we-voice is an appropriate way to

emphasize shared work goals in internal persuasive messages

Which statement about choosing attention-getters for persuasive messages is true?

Posting a testimonial is a good attention-getter, particularly for external messages

Which of the following statements about manipulation is true?

The FAIR test can help you avoid sending manipulative messages.

Which scenario illustrates the principle of consistency?

Maya asks volunteers to sign up by return email because then they will be more likely to carry through.

Recognizing others’ needs, wants, ideas, and preferences as legitimate and reasonable is known as

validation

Katie is more likely to buy a product if she hears that it sells out quickly. Her behavior illustrates the psychological principle known as

scarcity

In order to encourage participation in a walkathon, the organization arranging the event offers free items, such as a T-shirt or a water bottle, to all the participants. Which of the following principles of influence is being used?

Reciprocation

Which statement about persuasive messages is accurate?

Persuasive messages require a message structure that helps reduce resistance.

If your audience is emotionally resistant to your solution, a good practice is to

provide the rationale before making the request.

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

liking.

Which statement accurately describes persuasion in the post-trust era?

In the post-trust era, persuasion is becoming increasingly difficult.

In the context of developing persuasive messages, the process of understanding the needs and values of others

requires a strong listening orientation.

Geneva, a team manager at Mobile Solutions, needs to inform her subordinates that there will be a round of layoffs at the end of the fiscal year. In which of the following scenarios would Geneva be justified in delivering the bad news via email?

Geneva and her team work remotely from all around the world, and are unable to meet face to face.

Vera is the owner of Component Fabrication, Inc. After a major customer takes their business elsewhere. she has to cut back on the hours she can offer her 44 employees. She sends them an email with the subject "A change to our shift lengths" that says how they are not getting as many orders now that their best customer had left. As a result, she explains, the length of each shift will be reduced by 90 minutes. Vera closes by expressing the hope that hours can be expanded again after new customers are found in the next few months.

What mistake did Vera make that could leave her message recipients feeling disrespected?

Not delivering the message in person

Ovidu leads a team of workers at an advertising firm. Recently, one of her 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?

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

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?

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

The following is a quotation from a negative performance review delivered by a senior manager to a team leader: "I know you and your team have the potential to turn things around for our next performance review; hence, we need to totally focus on getting everything right from now on." This is an ineffective thing to say in a performance review because it

does not provide measurable and realistic expectations.

Elise, the head of human resources at Gold Bowl Inc., has to deliver a negative performance review to Aaron, one of Gold Bowl’s employees. Which of the following is the best teaser statement for Elise to use in the subject line of her bad-news email?

Some feedback on your recent performance review

Polly needs to communicate with many people in her department. It is not necessary for everyone to receive the message at the same time. Which of the following is the best tool for Polly to use?

An email

When Sherry sends task-oriented emails to colleagues, she always tells them the deadline for the tasks and details about when she is available to talk or meet. What conclusion are Sherry’s colleagues likely to draw from this?

Sherry respects their time and other commitments.

How is productivity affected when employees multitask?

Productivity drops up to 40 percent

Judging only by length, which of the following is the best subject line for an email?

Team meeting, Harper conference room, at 11:00

When he is working on his monthly reports, Gus has a habit of asking colleagues question via IM instead of looking up data himself. Because of this, Gus is likely to be perceived as

a taker.

When texting, women are more likely than men to

write long and complex messages.

Karla, the administrative assistant, sends an email with the annual holiday schedule to everyone in the department. At the bottom of the email, Karla types "no reply necessary." What can you infer about Karla from this?

She is trying to reduce email overload.

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?

Texting

Ayele sends the following message to the people he supervises in the factory: "Plant inspection Wed. 9:00. Some fun, huh? Ayele." What is the best way to make this text more professional?

Deleting the phrase "Some fun, huh?"

One possible negative effect of texting and other forms of instant messaging is that

the brevity of the message can make them sound bossy.

Camila is an accountant who needs to request time off to deal with a family emergency. Her boss prefers email for this kind of communication. Which of the following is the best subject line for Camila’s email?

Camila requests time off this month

Which of the following is most likely to be places in the subject line of an email?

An expected action

Email communication is characterized by

little coordination.

Amanda needs to notify Yasmin that the proposal she wrote did not get funded. Which communication channel is most appropriate?

Spoken communication

Tamar posted the following message to a discussion forum at work: "Reggie, your late report cost us a shot at being team of the month." What communication rule did she violate?

Avoid blaming

True or False: Posting about excessive weekend partying on Twitter can damage a person’s chances of getting a good job.

True

One potential drawback of using social media in the workplace is that social media

cause distraction from work and too much socializing.

Peyman wants to make his team’s discussion forum a more encouraging place. Which guideline would best help him accomplish that?

Acknowledge teammates’ ideas

What is a goal of most public relations messages?

To create a distinctive brand for a company or organization.

Which of the following situations is an example of how social media can complicate professional relationships?

An employee blogs about an embarrassing incident involving his or her boss, who sees the post.

Which of the following statements about online presence is true?

A personal brand built through an online presence can help business professionals gain opportunities.

Which of the following has the greatest influence on the impact of social media in the workplace?

Cultural norms and values

True or False: Your professional profile should not include any of your interests outside of work.

False

Which of the following online actions is most likely to damage your professional reputation?

Writing a glowing recommendation of a colleague with whom you have never worked

True or False: The profiles you post on personal social media accounts will not affect your professional reputation, but your work-related accounts will.

False