Introduction to Business Communication
Midterm Exam
Course Introduction
Introduction to Business Communication explores the fundamental principles and practices of effective communication in a business context. This course covers topics such as verbal and nonverbal communication, business writing, presentation skills, intercultural communication, and the use of technology in professional settings. Students will learn to craft clear messages, adapt communication styles to diverse audiences, and develop strategies for collaborative work. Emphasis is placed on real-world applications, including emails, reports, proposals, and business meetings, helping students to build the essential skills required for professional success.
Recommended Textbook
Essentials of Business Communication 10th Edition by Mary Ellen Guffey
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17 Chapters
1539 Verified Questions
1539 Flashcards
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Page 2
Chapter 1: Communicating in the Digital Age Workplace
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Sample Questions
Q1) Developing a diverse staff that can work together cooperatively is one of the biggest challenges facing business organizations today.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q2) The first step in learning intercultural skills is being aware of your own culture and how it contrasts with others.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q3) For international trade it is a good idea to learn and use the metric system.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q4) Individuals in Western cultures are more relaxed about social status and the appearance of power.
A)True
B)False Answer: True
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Chapter 2: Planning Business Messages
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Sample Questions
Q1) A business message should be long because quantity enhances quality.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q2) ____________________ describes technical or specialized terms within a field.
Answer: Jargon
Q3) When preparing a business message, you should make your writing audience oriented. Audience oriented means you should
A) write to solve a problem or convey information.
B) attempt to get your audience to believe and accept your message.
C) present ideas clearly but concisely.
D) concentrate on looking at the problem from the receiver's perspective.
Answer: D
Q4) Although messages may have a primary and a secondary audience, the writer needs to profile only the primary audience to determine the best presentation of the message.
A)True
B)False Answer: False
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Chapter 3: Organizing and Drafting Business Messages
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Sample Questions
Q1) What is a comma splice?
A) Two independent clauses run together without punctuation or a conjunction
B) Two independent clauses joined by a comma without a conjunction
C) A broken-off part of a sentence
D) Two dependent clauses
Answer: B
Q2) The second phase of the 3-x-3 writing process begins with
A) analyzing the audience.
B) composing the message.
C) researching the topic.
D) organizing the message.
Answer: C
Q3) All of the following are effective tips for creating an outline except
A) use a single item under a major component.
B) divide the topic into three to five major components or classifications.
C) break the components into subpoints.
D) use details, illustrations, and evidence to support subpoints.
Answer: A
Q4) A(n) ____________________ is a group of sentences about one idea.
Answer: paragraph
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Chapter 4: Revising Business Messages
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which statement about margins and text alignment is true?
A) Margins define the reading area and provide important visual relief.
B) Nearly all text in Western cultures is aligned at the right.
C) Business letters and memos usually have side margins of 2 inches.
D) Ragged right margins decrease white space and readability.
Q2) Words such as definitely, quite, actually, extremely, and totally are
A) adjectives that add a welcome degree of emotion to your writing.
B) adjectives that may be omitted because they are imprecise.
C) adverbs that should be used only sparingly in business writing.
D) adverbs that should be used as often as possible in business writing to show excitement and enthusiasm.
Q3) ____________________, which occurs during the third phase of the writing process, means improving the content and sentence structure of your message. It may include adding, cutting, recasting, reformatting, and redesigning what you have written.
Q4) Use bulleted lists to represent a sequence of ideas or a numbered order.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Empty space on a page is called ____________.
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Chapter 5: Short Workplace Messages and Digital Media
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Sample Questions
Q1) The final element of an e-mail message should be
A) your name and full contact information.
B) a witty phrase and your name.
C) the name of the business or organization only.
D) an attachment.
Q2) Companies use blogs for all of the following reasons except A) communicating internally with employees.
B) conducting job interviews.
C) recruiting.
D) researching target markets and products.
Q3) Memos should be organized directly by conveying the main idea first.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Before using IM or text messaging on the job, be sure you have permission.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Text and instant messaging are replacing e-mail for short internal communication. A)True
B)False
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Chapter 6: Positive Messages
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Sample Questions
Q1) One important guideline when preparing instructions is to
A) follow an indirect approach to soften the impact of the demand for compliance.
B) begin with an admonition or warning of the punishment for failure to comply fully with directions as written.
C) put all steps of the instructions in one paragraph.
D) divide the process into logical steps and present them in the correct order.
Q2) Which of these statements regarding the use of e-mail for goodwill messages is most accurate?
A) Because a handwritten note is most impressive, any goodwill message sent by e-mail must always be followed by a more formal handwritten goodwill message.
B) If you frequently communicate via e-mail with the intended receiver and are certain this e-mail will be received, you may send a goodwill message via e-mail.
C) E-mail should never be used for sending any type of goodwill message.
D) E-mail can be used for all types of goodwill messages except death condolences, for which a ready-made card is required.
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8
Chapter 7: Negative Messages
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Sample Questions
Q1) If you are worried that the indirect strategy seems manipulative, you should use the direct strategy to break the bad news bluntly even though the direct strategy may cause hard feelings and pain.
A)True
B)False
Q2) A bad-news message, whether delivered in person or in writing, is usually better received when you
A) give the reasons before the bad news.
B) immediately share the bad news.
C) provide the reasons and explanations but conceal the bad news.
D) combine the buffer and bad news.
Q3) If you are required to deliver bad news to your employees in person, the best technique is to gather your information and deliver it off the cuff to appear sincere.
A)True
B)False
Q4) The key to ethical communication lies in the motives of the sender.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 8: Persuasive Messages
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Sample Questions
Q1) Choose the best advice to craft an effective direct-mail sales letter.
A) Use slightly illegal sales tactics to get the desired sale.
B) Develop and present a strong rational selling point early in the body of the letter. Later, add emotional appeals, using each appeal only once.
C) Present information completely, using a personalized tone.
D) Design your message for a general audience.
Q2) Use an emotional appeal when the
A) product is expensive; long-lasting; or important to health, security, and financial success.
B) product is inexpensive, short-lived, or nonessential.
C) reader is comparing similar products from other companies.
D) reader has a college education.
Q3) Which statement about persuasion in today's society is most accurate?
A) The number of persuasive messages Americans receive per day has declined.
B) Individuals need not be concerned about persuasive practices and their influence on human behavior.
C) Persuasive messages sent via social media have not impacted individuals or American culture.
D) Today's persuasion is different from persuasion used in previous times.
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Page 10
Chapter 9: Informal Reports
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following is the best statement of purpose for a report?
A) A wellness program will improve the health of all employees.
B) Most companies offer voluntary wellness programs.
C) Wellness programs have proven to be effective in improving the health of individuals.
D) Establish a wellness incentive program for all employees.
Q2) Which of the following is a talking heading?
A) IT Outsourcing
B) Savings
C) Cost Savings
D) Projected Cost Savings for IT Outsourcing
Q3) You should include at least one heading per report page.
A)True
B)False
Q4) The indirect strategy of organization is appropriate for a business report when readers
A) are supportive of the topic.
B) must be persuaded.
C) are familiar with the topic.
D) want to know the results immediately.
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Chapter 10: Proposals and Formal Reports
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Sample Questions
Q1) Smart writers incorporate visuals and graphics in a report because they know that visuals and graphics can
A) clarify data.
B) make complex data easy to understand.
C) add visual interest.
D) All answer choices are correct.
Q2) All proposals should show the value and benefits of the product or services being recommended and
A) include free prizes or other gimmicks.
B) use easy-to-understand language.
C) be organized indirectly.
D) be organized directly.
Q3) Which of the following statements would need to be documented in a report?
A) Tornadoes caused extensive loss of property and lives in Missouri.
B) You can get an idea of how dangerous a tornado is by its rating.
C) Damaging winds, common in strong tornadoes, caused problems for the residents of Missouri.
D) The Fujita-Pearson tornado scale rates tornadoes with wind speeds of 261 to 318 miles per hour as F5 storms.
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Page 12
Chapter 11: Professionalism at Work: Business Etiquette, Ethics, Teamwork,
and Meetings
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Sample Questions
Q1) If you receive constructive criticism on the job, you should focus on your feelings as much as possible.
A)True
B)False
Q2) E-mail has made telephone use obsolete in the corporate world.
A)True
B)False
Q3) When placing a business telephone call, immediately name the person you are calling, identify yourself and your affiliation, and give a brief explanation of your reason for calling.
A)True
B)False
Q4) The best definition of uptalk is
A) a flat or monotonous delivery.
B) a rising inflection at the end of a sentence that makes statements sound like questions.
C) self-gratifying comments to make you appear better than others.
D) an unnaturally quick speaking pattern.
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Q5) The list of topics to be discussed at a meeting is called a(n)
Chapter 12: Business Presentations
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Sample Questions
Q1) You can create a stronger organization in your presentation through the use of verbal signposts that will help your audience recognize your previews, summaries, or changes of direction.
A)True
B)False
Q2) When analyzing your audience, you should consider the
A) educational level of the audience members.
B) size of the audience.
C) approximate age of the audience members.
D) All answer choices are important factors to consider when analyzing an audience.
Q3) Speakers build audience rapport by
A) researching thoroughly and organizing the speech effectively.
B) establishing credibility and demonstrating authority.
C) incorporating imagery, supplying verbal signposts, and using body language strategically.
D) speaking loudly, clearly, and rapidly.
Q4) A(n) ____________________ delivery involves speaking freely, generally without notes, after preparing and rehearsing.
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Chapter 13: the Job Search and Resumes in the Digital Age
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Sample Questions
Q1) A résumé should never exceed one page.
A)True
B)False
Q2) The ____________________ job market consists of jobs that are not announced or advertised.
Q3) Opinions on the use of a career objective are mixed. Which of the following is the best reason for candidates to add a career objective to their résumés?
A) An objective shows flexibility and indicates that a candidate is adaptable and willing to change to suit the employer's needs.
B) The primary goal of an objective is to make the recruiter's life easier by quickly classifying the résumé, which means the applicant is more likely to be hired.
C) An objective can rapidly disqualify a candidate if the stated objective does not match a company's job description.
D) An objective can tell the prospective employer that this candidate is sure about what he or she wants to do.
Q4) Personal ____________________ involves deciding what makes you special and desirable in the job market.
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Chapter 14: Interviewing and Following up
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Sample Questions
Q1) Recommended guidelines for completing application forms include which of the following?
A) Disregard questions that do not apply to you by leaving them blank.
B) Read the entire form before beginning to complete it.
C) Ignore misspellings because you are not expected to carry a dictionary.
D) Leave any questions about salary blank because they might limit what you will be paid.
Q2) Don't worry about what information is available about you online because this information is irrelevant to the job search.
A)True
B)False
Q3) What is the most appropriate response on a job application form to a question that asks your reason for leaving your last position?
A) Fired
B) Quit
C) None of your business
D) Accepted a position with more responsibility
Q4) ____________________ interviews occur when a company interviews several candidates for the same position at the same time.
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Chapter 15: Correction Symbols and Proofreading Marks
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Sample Questions
Q1) Revise the following sentence to demonstrate direct, concise language: This is to inform you that due to the fact that health care costs are rising, there is a new employee wellness program that will be offered starting on May 1.
Q2) Which of the following is the best advice for proofreading long, complex documents?
A) Proofread complex documents immediately after writing while your thoughts are still fresh.
B) Thoroughly proofread your document only once.
C) Expect to find mistakes.
D) Rely completely on a spell-checking program to find any errors.
Q3) Ethnocentrism is inherent in all cultures.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Revise the following sentence to use bias-free language: Every manager must review his employees annually.
Q5) To save time, you should thoroughly proofread a document as you write it.
A)True
B)False
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17
Chapter 16: Document Format Guide
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Sample Questions
Q1) When a company is dealing with an internal crisis, the best way for the company to handle this crisis is to let employees and stakeholders find out about the problem through the office grapevine.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Which of the following is the most important part of a bad-news message?
A) A positive, forward-looking closing
B) A neutral buffer
C) An explanation of the reasons for the bad news
D) The bad news itself
Q3) Although many companies try to deal with disappointed customers by calling them immediately, written messages are also used to
A) promote good relations.
B) formally confirm follow-up procedures.
C) establish a record of the incident.
D) All answer choices are reasons for written messages.
Q4) Bad-news messages can be organized using the direct or indirect strategy. Identify one situation when each strategy would be appropriate \(\text {\underline{ and} }\)identify the organizational pattern for each strategy.
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Chapter 17: Documentation Formats
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Sample Questions
Q1) A timetable for project completion is included in which section of an informal report?
A) Staffing
B) Authorization Request
C) Budget
D) Proposal
Q2) Describe the functional résumé and explain its advantages for recent college graduates.
Q3) Which of the following situations might require a feasibility report?
A) The status of a large construction project
B) The reporting of monthly sales figures for all divisions
C) The investigation results of implementing an on-site employee exercise facility
D) A one-page summary of a long article in The New York Times
Q4) List \(\text {\underline{ two }}\) advantages of properly documenting research data.
Q5) Information that is common knowledge does not need to be documented in a business report.
A)True
B)False
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Page 19