Question 1

In its annual survey of corporate recruiters, the Graduate Management Admissions Council routinely finds that ________ tops employers’ list of complaints about potential MBA job recruits.

A) lack of communication ability

B) inability to solve problems

C) poor cognitive skills

D) unfamiliarity with new channels of sales

Question 2

In terms of his career, Ryan’s communication skills ________.

A) will neither help him find a job nor help him keep it

B) won’t make any difference in his salary potential 

C) will be perceived as important by his employers, but they cannot be translated into savings for his company

D) will make him a valuable employee

Question 3

In which of the following situations can good business communication skills have a positive impact on your life?

A) negotiating a better deal on a car

B) driving through busy streets

C) keeping your personal valuables safe

D) calculating your monthly expenses

Question 4

Which of the following is an example of unsuccessful communication?

A) ordering an item online and deciding, after it arrives, that you don’t like it

B) asking a friend for advice and then trying to apply it to your problem

C) receiving instructions on how to put something together and then assembling the item

D) making an urgent request on a colleague’s voice mail and getting no reply for a week

Question 5

The active listening skills used when you listen to the spoken word are ________ when you “listen” to what people say in their writing.

A) inapplicable

B) equally useful

C) much more required

D) far less effective

Question 6

Which of the following paraphrases the literal content of a given statement?

a. Are you concerned that people are turning in their reports late?

b. You sound frustrated about people waiting until the last minute to submit their status reports.

c. You are saying that you’d like us to have our status report turned in a couple of days before the date of the monthly meeting .

d. Are you concerned that there won’t be time for the supervisor to review the reports before the meeting?

Question 7

Which of the following terms best represents a culture that values punctuality and efficiency?

A) High-context culture

B) Collectivist culture

C) Low-context culture

D) Monochronic culture

Question 8

Which of the following is most likely to be the desired outcome of a persuasive message for a product?

The recipient will decide to purchase the product.

The recipient will be impressed by the function of the product.

The recipient will throw away their older version of the product.

The recipient will compare the product with other similar ones.

Question 9

_______ is the ability to influence an audience to agree with your point of view, accept your recommendation, or grant your request

A) Aggression

B) Persuasion

C) Ethnocentrism

D) Congregation

Question 10

 Which of the following is an example of an external source?

Memos sent to the employees of a company

Financial reports published by a company

Company databases

Industry journals.

Question 11

Which is the following is an example of an internal source?

A) a newspaper

B) an industry journal

C) a memo from a supervisor

D) web-based search tools

Question 12

Shannon needs to deliver some information quickly to a large group of people. Which of the following would be the best medium for her to use?

A) email

B) telephone

C) memo

D) letter

Question 13

Which of the following best articulates the business results of a message regarding a new work schedule?

A) to suggest the possibility of implementation a flexi-time schedule in your office

B) to describe your boss how your life would improve with a flexi-time schedule

C) to improve employee productivity and job satisfaction with a more flexible schedule

D) to have your boss agree to implement a more efficient schedule for employee

Question 14

While having lunch with a friend she tells you that her office recently implemented flex-time hours. It has been a positive change at her work place, and you think that it would be great to have this at your office too. You decide to approach your boss about this possibility .In the context of such a message, the thought that this change might decrease employee productivity would be seen as :

a. An audience benefit

b. A potential resistance

c. A refutation

d. A concession

Question 15

Cassie is putting together a stand-alone presentation. Which of the following criteria should be satisfied by this presentation?

D) Cassie must include message headlines summarizing the key point of each slide

Question 16

Audiences easily get lost and bored if they cannot anticipate the twists and turns the presentation may take. To avoid this, the presenter should ________

A) open the presentation with a genuine question

B) establish rapport with the audience at the beginning of the presentation

C) provide a framework for the presentation during the opening of the presentation

D) open the presentation with a an anecdote

Question 17

You are writing an appeal letter to solicit funds for your non-profit organization. In this message you praise the audience for its past donations ,emphasize how its contributions are needed now more than ever, and how these contributions benefit the people your organization serves . This message appeals to the audience’s.

a. Sense of self-esteem

b. Quest for self-actualization

c. Need for love

d. Desire for safety

Question 18

Why are bad news messages challenging to compose?”

a. they must be lengthy and vague to avoid legal consequences

b. they require you to achieve a number of goals that are incompatible at first glance

c. they make it impossible to maintain your audiences goodwill  

d. they run the risk of alienating your audience

Question 19

Gavin purchased an MP3 player at a large electronics retailer. When his device stopped working he emailed the store to inquire about a repair or replacement device. Gavin received a reply from a customer service representative, thanking him for his inquiry and resolving to try to help him. The representative stated that it might be the manufacturer, not the store itself, who should handle this type of problem. She thanked him again for his business and encouraged him to continue shopping at the retailer. Which of the following statements accurately describes the customer service representative’s job of delivering bad news?

A) Her message was insensitive and likely offended Gavin.

B) Her message provided all the required information to Gavin

C) Her message was unclear and will likely result in further communication from Gavin.

D) Her message effectively balanced all four goals of communicating bad news.

Question 20

Which of the following questions is a part of the analyzing stage of the ACE process for delivering bad news ?

a. Have I avoided legal complications?

b. Is the bad news stated clearly and sensitively ?

c. Should I include an apology

d. Should I begin with the bad news or lead up to it ?

Question 21

Which of the following involves the use of a secondary source?

A) Talking to the entry-level employees about why the duties are not being properly executed

B) Surveying other companies who outsource the kinds of duties you are looking to outsource

C) Reading a journal article about the perceived versus actual cost effectiveness of outsourcing

D) Discussing the situation with your boss

Question 22

If you perform a search using the phrases “health insurance plans” and “freelance workers” the search engine will:

a. give those sites that include either exact phrase

b. give you only those sites that include both phrases

c. give those sites that include any of theses five words anywhere on a page  

d. give you those sites that include the first phrase and exclude the second

Question 23

When you conduct a search using most search engines, you can use __________ as a wild-card symbol within a phrase to represent an unknown word.

A question mark (?)

An asterisk (*)

An ampersand (&)

A minus symbol (-)

Question 24

which of the following is true of a proposal?

(A) It is simple to prepare.

(B) It does not need to provide details on how to implement itself.

(C) It requires you to develop a persuasive appeal.

(D) It should not address costs.

Question 25

As you begin to write a proposal regarding technological needs in your work place, you think about its purpose. In this case, how do you propose to meet the need you are addressing?

a. By continuing to oversee the technology needs yourself

b. By allowing technology issues to go unaddressed

c. By hiring a technology company to oversee the technology needs

d. By training some employees in the company to handle the technical issues