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Business Communication
Q:
The decision of consumers to buy products or services is guided exclusively by logic; emotional appeal has no place in business decisions.
Q:
You are more likely to build credibility by being factual, specific, and reliable.
Q:
Which of the following will help you set up your reasons for bad news effectively?
A. Presenting the reasons as facts, without couching them to reduce the impact
B. Citing the expert opinion of authorities whom both you and your reader respect
C. Letting the reader in on the bad news before presenting the reasons for it
D. Presenting reasons for the bad news without actually delivering the bad news
E. Listing out the names of other people or companies who are similarly affected
Q:
Which of the following best exemplifies how a sentence should be structured when delivering negative news?
A. The AC was damaged due to fluctuation in power supply, so we cannot help you with any repair costs.
B. You apparently did not read the instructions, so it is not our fault that your product was damaged.
C. It is your responsibility to read the terms and conditions before purchasing a product.
D. The product you bought did not have a warranty, so we cannot repair it without payment.
E. We cannot make a refund, but you may choose another product from our website.
Q:
Common errors which weaken arguments in a message are known as logical fallacies.
Q:
Which of the following guidelines should be followed when delivering messages carrying bad news?
A. Present information bluntly without focusing on the reader's emotions.
B. Deliver facts positively without confusing or misleading the reader.
C. Ensure that the reader gets to the main part of the message right away.
D. Suggest how the reader could avoid making the same mistakes.
E. Give the reader the impression that the situation is positive by not emphasizing the negative news.
Q:
It is important to choose a persuasive strategy only after you have identified both the specific action you want and the person who has the power to do it.
Q:
Which of the following exemplifies a good way to present bad news to a customer?
A. The phone was damaged because you used it improperly, so we cannot offer a replacement.
B. I cannot help you in any way as the fault is entirely yours for not reading the product documentation.
C. You were informed of the rules prior to purchase. Hence, we cannot accept your claim.
D. You made the mistake of misusing your product, so I cannot help you in any way.
E. In the interest of fairness, we cannot offer customized discounts to selective customers.
Q:
Reports can be termed as persuasive messages if they recommend action.
Q:
Which of the following is a good strategy to use when delivering bad-news messages?
A. Avoid offering an alternative solution for regular customers.
B. Show that your reasons for the negative decision will benefit the reader in the long run.
C. Directly tell your readers where they went wrong and what led you to refuse their request.
D. Deliver the message without any explanation or reasoning.
E. Emphasize the main negative point to ensure that your reader understands your intentions.
Q:
Explain why are social media not effective channels to solve customer complaints?
Q:
Which of the following is the best strategy to set-up negative news in an indirect-order message?
A. You should explain the fairness of a certain action.
B. You should present your reasoning after delivering the negative news.
C. You should deliver the negative news without giving an explanation.
D. You should bluntly explain where the reader went wrong.
E. You should avoid offering an alternative solution to the reader.
Q:
What are some key guidelines to follow while writing a claim?
Q:
Which of the following is true of writing messages following the general indirect plan?
A. You should avoid offering an alternative solution to the reader when presenting bad news.
B. You should directly deliver the negative news without a preceding explanation.
C. You should give a blunt and negatively worded explanation of what went wrong.
D. You should gradually introduce the message's main negative point in the course of writing the message.
E. You should give a clear presentation of the facts involved rather than show concern for the reader's feelings.
Q:
List the phrases which you should avoid in negative messages? Why?
Q:
Which of the following is true of the use of a strategic buffer in bad-news messages?
A. A strategic buffer is an opening that is relevant to the message but does not state the bad news.
B. A strategic buffer is used to deliver the message directly without a preceding explanation.
C. A strategic buffer is used to convey bad news without hurting the sentiments of the reader.
D. A strategic buffer is an opening that is not relevant to the topic of the message.
E. A strategic buffer is used when the writer wants to avoid offering an alternative solution to the reader.
Q:
Insta Bank. cannot increase the credit amount for Mr. Davis's credit card, because of his poor credit history with the bank. While explaining this to Mr. Davis in an e-mail, what should the bank manager, Yolande, consider?
Q:
Which of the following is most appropriate when denying credit to a customer?
A. Because your credit score is 550 (700 is required), a credit payment is not an option; however, you may pay with cash.
B. A good credit score is important if you don't want to pay with cash.
C. Because of your bad credit rating, you will not be allowed to pay by credit.
D. We are denying your request to pay by credit.
E. You must pay with cash, as it is against company policy to give credit to people with a poor credit rating.
Q:
List several reasons why giving the audience an alternative is a good idea.
Q:
Which of the following sentences presents the bad news most effectively?
A. To keep our costs low and our prices competitive, we only give refunds for unused merchandise returned within 30 days with a receipt.
B. Without a receipt there is no way we can refund your purchase.
C. You obviously used the product, which means that you cannot receive a refund.
D. Many customers lose their receipts, but we still cannot refund your purchase.
E. We understand that you threw away the receipt because you planned to use the product, but that does not mean we can refund your money.
Q:
How can you best express refusals in a message? Explain.
Q:
When making a negative announcement, you should remember that an indirect, tactful approach is usually better than an aggressive approach.
Q:
List the factors which influence an audience's reaction to bad news.
Q:
Unlike the other bad-news messages, you should end an adjustment refusal on a negative note.
Q:
A good strategy to set up an adjustment refusal is to avoid beginning on a point of common agreement.
Q:
David Mason is a sales manager at a telecom company and recently reviewed the sales report of one of the company's outlets. He is disappointed to see the low sale of mobile connections and now needs to convey the message to his subordinates. What kind of an organization should he follow while conveying his message?
Q:
The closing in an indirect claim message should not indicate that the writer is trying to maintain a positive relationship with the reader.
Q:
List the steps for organizing a message conveying bad news to superiors?
Q:
When writing indirect claim messages, one must ensure that one uses language that focuses equally on feelings as well as facts.
Q:
With the help of an example, illustrate two primary purposes of a negative message.
Q:
Which of the following is NOT true of using technology for negative messages?
A. The role of social media for the communication of negative messages is diminishing.
B. Handling communication on social media is a delicate operation for any company.
C. An ill-conceived response to a posting can easily go viral.
D. Getting into a verbal brawl on a public forum does no good for a business.
E. It is far better to work out a customer-problem off-line.
Q:
One must clearly express personal disappointment in an indirect claim message.
Q:
Which of the following is true of layoffs?
A. They never happen for personal reasons.
B. They provide long-term savings.
C. They should only be delivered orally.
D. They hurt the productivity of remaining employees.
E. They require no explanation by the employers.
Q:
In the context of writing indirect claims, if a writer is completely in the right, he or she can use hostile or defensive language to firmly establish his or her case.
Q:
Which of the following is a likely result of communicating honest reasons for a company's layoffs?
A. It is unlikely to protect the company from legal liabilities.
B. It is less likely to cause employees to sue the company.
C. It may make it more difficult to save jobs.
D. It makes layoff notices necessary.
E. It will permanently help the bottom line.
Q:
In a message refusing a request, the refusal should be presented at paragraph endings as it is the most negative part of the message.
Q:
Performance reviews will be positive when they are designed to:
A. expose the company to legal liabilities.
B. help the company build a dossier to support firing an employee.
C. help an underperforming employee excel.
D. help when an employee violates company policy.
E. help a basically good employee improve.
Q:
Opening a message directly with the news that one is refusing the reader's request builds goodwill.
Q:
Leigh has received repeated negative feedback about her attitude toward her co-workers. In spite of this, she has continued to behave disrespectfully with a few of them. Which of the following is a suitable response from the company in this situation?
A. To present Leigh with a disciplinary notice with no buffer in the beginning
B. To make inferences about Leigh based on her behavior
C. To make generalizations about Leigh's behavior patterns
D. To cite general observations about Leigh's behavior while giving her feedback
E. To fire Leigh without any warning before productivity is affected
Q:
When refusing a request, one must begin the message with a buffer that sets up the discussion.
Q:
Apologies in bad-news messages may have legal implications if they can be construed as admissions of guilt. TRUE
Q:
Which of the following should be undertaken while creating disciplinary notices?
A. Present them directly to increase their importance.
B. Present them by starting and ending with a positive statement.
C. Minimize the severity of an issue with the help of buffers.
D. Use generalizations and inferences for all statements made.
E. Avoid citing quantifiable observations of the employee's behavior.
Q:
After reading bad news, readers usually appreciate a sincere apology more than an alternative solution.
Q:
Which of the following is true of resignation letters written by employees?
A. The best letters try to neutralize the organization's feeling that they are not good enough.
B. The best letters try to convey the message that the organization is not good enough.
C. Positive letters can impact your chances for receiving a positive recommendation in the future.
D. Whether letters are positive or negative, they receive positive recommendations in the future.
E. Resignation letters are easy to write because they do not have serious future implications.
Q:
One of the ways to take the sting out of bad news is to link it with a reader benefit.
Q:
Stillex Corp. is currently in the process of hiring recent college graduates for its internship positions. While e-mailing candidates who did not qualify for an in-person interview round, the company should:
A. suggest an alternate position for which the candidates can apply.
B. state that the procedures of the hiring process are confidential.
C. keep the e-mail short and concise.
D. phrase the refusal directly.
E. list out the reasons why the candidates were not selected.
Q:
One useful technique to present bad news positively is to present one's reasoning in first and third person, avoiding second person.
Q:
Which of the following is recommended while writing rejections and refusals?
A. Avoid providing an alternative because it tends to shift focus from the refusal.
B. Make the message short and aggressive so that the reader takes it seriously.
C. Double-check the words to ensure that the message means different things in different situations.
D. Use your knowledge of the organization's culture for messages within the organization.
E. Avoid using knowledge about the specific individual while crafting the message.
Q:
You should write a bad-news message in a way that the reader will accept the news as positively as possible.
Q:
Selena's flight back to her hometown was delayed by two days, and she was very upset about having to pay for two additional nights at her hotel. While writing a complaint to the airline, which of the following should Selena follow?
A. She should ask for reimbursement of her accommodation expenses for those two days.
B. She should write in length explaining her predicament.
C. She should threaten to never fly with the airlines again.
D. She should begin the letter with a buffer.
E. She should ask the airlines to pay her for her entire trip's accommodation.
Q:
In a bad-news message, a buffer does not explicitly indicate that negative news is coming.
Q:
Which of the following is true of claims in business communication?
A. They should always be conveyed through a paper trail instead of a phone call.
B. They should invariably start with a buffer because this will ensure that they are seen as valid.
C. They should include supporting facts such as what went wrong and the extent of damage.
D. They should be free from identifiers because they tend to cloud a reader's judgment.
E. They should ambiguously provide the problem at the end of a message.
Q:
In a bad-news message, a positive buffer will simply acknowledge your receipt of the reader's earlier message.
Q:
Which of the following negative messages is the hardest to compose?
A. Product recalls
B. Pamphlets
C. Sales letters
D. Press releases
E. Brochures
Q:
A preliminary explanation in a bad-news message does not cushion the shock of bad news.
Q:
Damario's employee made an error in a quotation that was sent to one of Damario's valued customers. This placed Damario in an extremely awkward position with the customer. Damario was furious with his employee and wanted to communicate this to him in the best way possible. Which of the following statements illustrates the best use of a phrase that communicates an appropriate tone?
A. I want you to have your documents reviewed by a peer before you send them to the customer.
B. Are you always this incompetent?
C. You should have double-checked the document before you sent it to our customer.
D. Please learn from your mistakes.
E. You have put me in an awkward position and this should not happen again.
Q:
If you think that your negative news will be accepted routinely, you can choose to write your message using the direct order.
Q:
Jetline Airways regularly e-mails its customers with quarterly statements of their earned frequent flier miles. Now, to save money, the company is going to stop mailing statements and ask customers to look up the information on the airline's website. Which of the following illustrates the best way to recast the situation as a positive message?
A. This is your last Preferred Passenger paper statement.
B. Next month onwards, we will be unable to mail you frequent flier miles earned.
C. New, convenient online statements will replace this quarterly mailing.
D. Please check our website every time you need details about frequent flier miles earned.
E. If you need updates about frequent flier miles earned, refer to our website.
Q:
Research indicates that negative news is received positively when it is not preceded by an explanation.
Q:
If Tina is angry about her team's failure to meet a deadline, how should she communicate this to her team?
A. She should single-handedly determine a way to prevent the problem from happening again.
B. She should communicate with her team outside the organization.
C. She should point out how the problem affects her and no one else.
D. She should point out how the problem impacts other people or the company.
E. She should use "should have" statements to tell the team what they should have done.
Q:
Give a brief account of internal operational messages.
Q:
In business communication, tone is particularly important when:
A. you want readers to feel that you have taken their requests seriously.
B. you want readers to understand the mistakes they've made.
C. you are not focusing on maintaining goodwill.
D. you are not demonstrating empathy toward a reader.
E. you are checking a document at the level of individual words only.
Q:
What are the special needs to be considered when granting an adjustment?
Q:
Which of the following statements is true of cross-cultural apologizing?
A. Western cultures assume that apologies are ways of expressing regret.
B. Group-oriented cultures assume that apologies are a way to take responsibility for mistakes.
C. The reactions to apologies are deeply tied to culture.
D. Cultural differences in interpreting apologies are relevant in social situations only.
E. Cross-cultural apologizing is easy.
Q:
How should a direct claim message be organized?
Q:
Deborah's supervisor has asked her to send him the progress report of a campaign she worked on. To send the report, she needs to collect updates from other managers on the project. She does not receive an update from the communication manager and is, therefore, unable to send the report on time. Which of the following illustrates the most appropriate apology for Deborah to send to her supervisor?
A. Please consider my sincere apologies for the delay. I had to wait for the update from the communication manager. It was not my fault.
B. I am sorry I could not send the report in on time. The communication manager sent the update this afternoon.
C. I needed an update from the communication manager to send you the report. Now that I have it, please find the report enclosed with this e-mail.
D. Do consider apologies from our entire team for not sending the report on time.
E. I am sorry I could not meet the deadline for submitting the report. I can assure you it will not happen again.
Q:
How would you handle delayed orders and vague orders when writing order acknowledgement messages?
Q:
In business documents, apologies should:
A. not take timing into account because it is irrelevant.
B. be an integral part of all negative messages.
C. always be placed at the end of a message.
D. be mentioned twice in a message in order to sound sincere.
E. not be used when you are not at fault.
Q:
How should bad news be handled when writing routine responses?
Q:
Which of the following is a benefit of providing an audience with alternatives in a negative message?
A. It increases the audience's psychological reactance.
B. It enables the audience to reestablish their sense of freedom.
C. It encourages the audience to assert their freedom in another area.
D. It enables the audience to act in a way that might hurt you.
E. It limits the audience's independence.
Q:
Outline the plan recommended for a routine inquiry message.
Q:
Jessica has been a loyal customer of the Deluxe Bank for over ten years. Over the years, she has never faced any major problems with the bank. However, when she applied for a house loan recently, her request was rejected. In response, Jessica closed her current account with the bank and switched to another bank. Her response best illustrates the phenomenon of _____.
A. psychological repression
B. emotional regression
C. psychological reactance
D. psychodynamics
E. psychodrama
Q:
How should you structure questions in a routine inquiry message?
Q:
Explain the process of closing routine messages with goodwill.
Q:
Which of the following is recommended while providing alternatives in a negative message to an audience?
A. Execute the alternatives stated in the message and ask the audience for approval.
B. Provide only limited information to the audience to act on the alternatives.
C. Limit the audience's psychological freedom to refuse the alternatives.
D. Allow the audience to decide whether they want to try the alternatives.
E. Take the necessary steps to implement the alternatives.
Q:
Explain the general plan for direct-order messages.
Q:
Which of the following is recommended while providing refusals in a message?
A. De-emphasize the refusal by placing it in a different paragraph from that of the reason.
B. Ensure that the implication is ambiguous, so that the reader is not easily offended.
C. Ensure that another message is not required for conveying the same message again.
D. Emphasize the refusal by putting it in a separate paragraph by itself.
E. Present both strong and weak reasons for a refusal and let the audience choose between them.
Q:
Which of the following is a result of providing a reason for a negative message?
A. It results in the audience being "totally surprised" by the negative news.
B. It results in the audience having stronger feelings about the negative message.
C. It prepares the audience for the negative, resulting in people who more easily accept it.
D. It prepares the audience for an appropriately angry response.
E. It helps dilute the negative message so that the audiences are not expecting it.
Q:
How does the assessment of a reader's likely reaction influence the construction of a business message?
Q:
Lola works as a campaign manager at a marine conservation organization. For the past five years, she has been working on a campaign that has gained a lot of support from the public. This has resulted in a huge number of volunteers for the campaign. Recently, however, due to lack of budget, the campaign was temporarily closed. Lola needs to convey this negative message to the volunteers. Which of the following illustrates the most effective buffer statement that should employed by Lola in her message?
A. I am sorry to inform you but work on the campaign is closed for now.
B. Due to the negative response from the wildlife department, work on the campaign is temporarily closed.
C. The campaign is over for this year and we will start again in 2015.
D. Thank you for working with us to help the campaign gain force.
E. We will no longer be working on the campaign this year. Thank you for all your support.