COMM 121
Quiz 1 (Chapter 1 – 3)
Part A - MCQs
1. In the first step of the communication process, ________
A) the sender writes down the message.
B) the sender has an idea.
C) the sender chooses a medium of transmission.
D) the sender transmits the message.
2. An example of external communication would be ________
A) an email from a salesperson to a customer.
B) a memo from a manager at headquarters to a manager at a manufacturing plant in another
province.
C) a teleconference among company sales representatives in several provinces.
D) talking on a cell phone to a colleague.
3. The term "corporate culture" refers to ________
A) the number of organizational levels within a corporation.
B) the extent to which corporations dominate a particular culture.
C) the mixture of values, and traditions, that give a company its atmosphere or personality.
D) a company's sponsorship of cultural events.
4. Ethics in the workplace is an increasingly important issue. Which of the following examples
is not considered unethical?
A) self promotion
B) plagiarism
C) misrepresenting numbers
D) distorting visuals
5. Groupthink refers to ________
A) the willingness of individual group members to set aside their personal opinions and go along
with everyone else.
B) the four-step decision-making process in groups.
C) software programs that help groups make decisions.
D) the basic rules that underlie a group's behaviour.
6. The best way to handle an emotional reaction in a business setting is to ________
A) focus on your argument and ignore the emotional elements.
B) express understanding.
C) repeat yourself in hopes that this will help diffuse emotions.
D) agree with the other person's emotional reaction.
7. A meeting agenda ________
A) is a formality that most groups skip these days.
B) should be circulated in advance of the meeting to give participants time to prepare.
C) should be general rather than specific so participants can add to topics to it during the
meeting.
D) is only a guideline, and deviations are common and expected.
8. If you are listening mainly to understand and retain information imparted by a speaker, you
are engaging in ________
A) content listening.
B) critical listening.
C) empathic listening.
D) active listening.
9. "Selective listening" refers to ________
A) a highly focused form of listening.
B) tuning out until something relevant is said.
C) a form of defensive listening.
D) listening only long enough to get a word in edgewise.
10. Which of the following is NOT a signal of nonverbal communication?
A) wearing jeans to work
B) choosing the venue and time of meetings
C) appearance and organization of business documents
D) standing close to another person when discussing work
11. Ethnocentrism refers to the ________
A) study of ethnic groups.
B) study of cultural diversity.
C) belief that all immigration into Canada should be halted.
D) belief that one's own cultural background is superior to that of others.
12. In high-context cultures ________
A) people rely more on nonverbal circumstances and cues to convey meaning.
B) people rely less on the environmental setting to convey meaning.
C) the rules of everyday life are highly explicit.
D) primary task is to exchange information.
13. Avoid cultural blunders by recognizing and accommodating six main types of cultural
differences: contextual, legal and ethical, social, nonverbal, gender, and ________
A) educational.
B) age.
C) employment.
D) ethical.
14. Successful intercultural communication can ________
A) be accomplished through learning other languages.
B) come from talking to people to find out what they think of different cultures.
C) be learned by watching foreign movies.
D) require modification of personal communication habits.
15. Letters from Japanese businesspeople, as compared to letters from Canadian businesspeople,
tend to ________
A) get directly to the point.
B) be direct and brief.
C) be less direct.
D) sound unnatural.
Part B – T/F
16. Unclear communication not only results in errors and missed deadlines, but also lies at the
root of many other serious workplace issues.
17. A diverse workforce can yield a significant competitive advantage by bringing more ideas
and broader perspectives to consider in business challenges.
18. Business document writing should come naturally to all employees.
19. With the audience-centred approach, communicators try to learn as much as possible about
their receivers.
20. Constructive feedback focuses on the process and not the outcomes of communication.
21. When people must choose between conflicting loyalties and weigh difficult trade-offs, they
are facing an ethical lapse.
22. Active listening leads to better understanding of the speaker's ideas and helps bring out issues
that may be otherwise hidden.
23. Cross-functional teams tend to be less innovative because team members come from different
departments and do not share the same work experiences.
24. One benefit of Wikis is that writers don't need to know any of the techniques normally
required to create web content.
25. Cultural pluralism is a negative view of other cultures.
26. The first task when preparing for a meeting is to clarify your purpose.
27. The one aspect of nonverbal communication that you have little or no control over is your
personal appearance.
28. Diverse workforce can hinder business operations because managing too many viewpoints
and ideas is time consuming.
29. Cultural context is the pattern of physical cues and environmental stimuli that conveys
meaning between members of the same culture.
30. When communicating with someone for whom English is a second language, you should
avoid using slang and idioms.
