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Q:
Which of the following sentences correctly uses the word "farther"?
A. The product needs farther testing.
B. I can't argue any farther.
C. How much farther do you intend to take this matter?
D. How much farther is the conference room from here?
E. I wish the committee had discussed this farther.
Q:
Lamar is a leader of a team that has been given the task of coming up with ideas for the company's Annual Day. After a week of meeting with his team, Lamar presents a unique problem to his supervisor. He claims that the team refuses to disagree with any suggestions and decides on the first idea provided. As a result, the team is unable to come up with any good ideas. List several options that Lamar can take to resolve this conflict in his team.
Q:
Which of the following sentences does NOT use a word appropriately?
A. The company's decision to pass him over for a promotion deeply affected him.
B. Please advise me on this matter.
C. This issue needs farther deliberation.
D. The management's decision had a far-reaching effect.
E. The company has fewer customers this year than it did the previous year.
Q:
Explain "groupthink" with the help of an example.
Q:
Which of the following sentences is the best example of the use of specific words?
A. She is better fit for the new role.
B. She works for a great organization.
C. Please call me back soon.
D. Our products are better than that of our competitors'.
E. Could you please let me know by Friday?
Q:
Which of the following sentences is the best example of the use of abstract words?
A. He drives a 1950 Buick.
B. She has a good attendance record.
C. Her budget will be approved, provided she reduces her planned operating expenses by $2000.
D. She will be back in office by Thursday evening.
E. Every day he travels 50 miles to get to work.
Q:
List the positive roles and actions that help a team achieve its task goals.
Q:
Which of the following sentences is the best example of the use of concrete words?
A. Sally scored poorly in her last exams.
B. Sally fared poorly in her last exams.
C. Sally's last exams did not go very well.
D. Sally did not fare well in her last exams.
E. Sally got 20 points out of 100 in her last exams.
Q:
Burton's team is currently working on a project to protect the rainforests. The project is at its longest phase and will require a high-level of commitment from all members of the team. Explain which stage of the task Burton's team is currently in and the key characteristics of this stage.
Q:
A team of six members have been asked to work together on a report. They are deciding whether one of the members should do all the writing while the others gather information, or whether the entire team should work on the writing together. In this scenario, the team is in the _____ stage of their collaborative writing project.
A. proofreading
B. drafting
C. dot planning
D. editing
E. revising
Q:
Which of the following sentences uses technical words?
A. The new business plan wasn't considered feasible.
B. We will deliver the goods by Friday.
C. We regret to inform you that the conference room is not available.
D. It is advisable to invest in an annuity.
E. Several employees attended the meeting.
Q:
While revising a collaborative piece of writing, it is important to:
A. evaluate the content and discuss possible revisions as a team.
B. ensure that several good writers make changes for a consistent style of writing.
C. ensure that one team member evaluates the organization for possible revisions.
D. avoid running the document through a spell check because it is never reliable.
E. ensure that it aligns with your writing style irrespective of business writing conventions.
Q:
Which of the following sentences does NOT use slang or a cliche?
A. The company spent a fortune developing this cutting-edge technology.
B. This hotel has world-class amenities.
C. Are you for real?
D. Going forward, please ensure you direct all customer queries to me.
E. They decided to schedule the meeting at an earlier date.
Q:
Which of the following is important while planning a collaborative writing project?
A. Make the analysis of the problem, audience, and context vague.
B. Plan the format and style of the document after people have submitted their writing.
C. Ensure that each member complies with one generic style of working.
D. Decide how you will give constructive feedback on each person's work.
E. Avoid building leeway into your deadlines.
Q:
Cliches should be used sparingly because they _____.
A. signal to other specialists that you are qualified to communicate on their level
B. create problems in cross-cultural communication
C. represent unpopular concepts
D. are short in length
E. are familiar to most people
Q:
_____ is specifically designed for one-on-one conversation but allows additional people to join.
A. Skype
B. Producteev
C. Google+
D. Dropbox
E. Google Docs
Q:
Which of the following is true about cliches?
A. All business people like business cliches.
B. The heavy use of cliches in formal cross-cultural communication is advised because it helps in breaking cultural barriers.
C. Business cliches can sometimes increase your credibility with other business people.
D. Cliches do not run the risk of sounding dated.
E. Cliches catch on because they represent unpopular concepts.
Q:
For writing to be clear and effective, you should _____.
A. avoid using familiar words
B. avoid using active verbs
C. avoid using stiff words
D. use complex words to exhibit your knowledge to your readers
E. use passive voice instead of active voice
Q:
Clyde is required to arrange an important one-on-one meeting with a subordinate, who is currently posted in another country. Clyde must ensure that he and the subordinate can see each other during the meeting. Which of the following technologies would Clyde most likely use during this meeting?
A. Google Docs
B. Prezi
C. Producteev
D. FaceTime
E. Dropbox
Q:
Which of the following sentences is the best example of the use of familiar words?
A. We are buying new computers this week.
B. We have a platonic relationship.
C. Karen was livid with anger because Rob was late for the meeting.
D. Please try to expedite the process.
E. He wore an immaculate suit to office.
Q:
Mr. Wagner, the head of a neighborhood watch committee, is in charge of running a meeting of 30 people where 46 items on the agenda have to be voted on in a two-hour time period. Which of the following techniques is likely to help Mr. Wagner help the team make these many decisions in the limited time frame?
A. Taking individual votes for each item
B. Using an omnibus motion
C. Taking votes only of managers
D. Starting the agenda with routine items
E. Ensuring that minutes are taken for each vote
Q:
Because the center parts of a message receive major attention, this part carries more emphasis than the other parts.
Q:
A team is involved in the revision of an operational guidelines document, which requires them to make multiple changes. To save time, the team decides not to vote on each item separately. Instead, they vote on many items together and are able to complete the revision within the allotted time. In this scenario, the team has most likely used the _____.
A. dot planning method
B. omnibus motion
C. 360 degree feedback method
D. brainstorming process
E. veto motion
Q:
You must be honest about your feelings and blame the reader when resolving a problem concerning him or her.
Q:
Which of the following statements is true about meetings?
A. Lengthy minutes of a meeting should never be recorded.
B. A meeting that starts off with routine items is always off to a good start.
C. Highly sensitive topics should not be carried over to a second meeting.
D. At the end of a meeting, the leader should summarize all decisions.
E. Meetings have a single purposeto share information.
Q:
Since positive words are the most effective for achieving desired effects, negative words should not be used in business messages.
Q:
Which of the following actions is most likely to make a meeting effective?
A. Ensuring that the leader avoids summarizing the group's consensus if the group does not formally vote
B. Scheduling controversial items later in the meeting, when energy levels are high
C. Paying attention to the task at hand, not to people and processes
D. Making information on the agenda specific so that participants can come prepared
E. Using an omnibus motion to help a group approve items one at a time
Q:
Which of the following is the foundation of a good meeting?
A. Brainstorming ideas
B. Preparing minutes
C. Planning the agenda
D. Motivating members
E. Sharing ideas
Q:
The we-viewpoint is more effective in building goodwill than the you-viewpoint.
Q:
Annamarie, a project manager, is preparing for a meeting with her team members. Based on the e-mails her team members have sent her for the meeting, she makes a note of the topics to be discussed, who is introducing each topic, and how long each discussion will take. She then sends out an e-mail containing this information to her team members. In this scenario, Annamarie has _____.
A. written the minutes of the meeting
B. created an agenda for the meeting
C. planned an omnibus motion for the meeting
D. played devil's advocate during the meeting
E. prepared a groupthink strategy to be used during the meeting
Q:
The use of rubber stamps in business messages signals that you have quit thinking about the reader's actual situation.
Q:
Which of the following is a difference between formal and informal meetings?
A. In formal meetings, motions need not be made before a topic can be debated; in informal meetings, motions must be formally made.
B. In formal meetings, minutes are never maintained; in informal meetings, minutes are always maintained.
C. Formal meetings are less common in the workplace than informal meetings.
D. In formal meetings, votes may not be taken if most people seem to agree; in informal meetings, each point is voted on.
E. Formal meetings are better for team-building than informal meetings.
Q:
It is mandatory for every paragraph in a business report to have a topic sentence.
Q:
This example illustrates faulty parallelism.
Jake is good at creating and delivering presentations.
Q:
Chen is interacting with Mark, an unhappy client, who did not receive the products he ordered on time. Mark says, "This is the second time that the goods have arrived late at my factory." Chen tries to accept his criticism positively by identifying the feelings that Mark seems to be expressing. Which of the following does Chen most likely say?
A. You are disappointed about the delayed deliveries, am I right?
B. You believe that we have started making late deliveries.
C. Are you saying that the delivery reached you late yesterday?
D. It is true that the delivery reached after the scheduled time.
E. Please do not be angry. We will deliver on time next month.
Q:
The following sentence has a dangling/misplaced modifier:
Believing home prices would fall, people were asked not to invest in real estate.
Q:
When responding to criticism, which of the following is a purpose of paraphrasing?
A. To understand the critic's emotions
B. To identify the real problem
C. To communicate that you are taking the critic's ideas and feelings seriously
D. To highlight the unspoken ideas and feelings that may actually be more important than the voiced criticism
E. To allow you time to think so that you can respond appropriately
Q:
The following sentence has one independent clause and one dependent clause:
Since the question was tough, I had trouble answering it.
Q:
Alisha, a team leader, is facing a problem with her team. She feels like she is the only one who cares about the quality of the work and wants to know how to handle this conflict. Which of the following would help Alisha increase the contribution of the other team members?
A. Fitting specific tasks to individual abilities and strengths
B. Assigning extra work to members who seem to not care
C. Having each person in the team write a draft about why they do not care
D. Appointing someone to be a devil's advocate
E. Adopting a dominating role to ensure that they work harder, even if they don't care
Q:
Redundancies usually increase the effectiveness of business messages.
Q:
Stuart and his team are troubled by the behavior of one of their team members, Anna, who has not been doing her fair share of the work. She does not seem to care about helping the team meet its target. Which of the following is an effective way for Stuart and his team to handle this conflict with Anna?
A. They should ask Anna to leave the team without asking for explanations about her behavior.
B. They should tell Anna that her contribution is a must if she wants to remain in the team.
C. They should make team decisions unilaterally so that Anna does not feel pressured.
D. They should be sure that they are respecting what Anna is capable of contributing.
E. They should assign other people's tasks to Anna so that the new tasks give her incentive to perform.
Q:
The following sentence contains surplus words:
He was angry at everyone he came in contact with.
Q:
Ronaldo is leading a campaign against illegal logging and ensures that his team meets once a week. Although the campaign has been progressing smoothly, Ronaldo notices various conflicts arising between some team members, which may be affecting their work. Which of the following steps should he take to best help reduce the number of conflicts in the team?
A. Discuss the problems with them immediately instead of putting it off.
B. Ignore the problems because conflicts are natural when people work together.
C. Discuss the problems with the team members once the campaign is over.
D. Realize that all the team members are responsible for each others' happiness.
E. Create ambiguous rules that offer flexibility during work and avoid conflict.
Q:
A see-saw sentence is one that goes back and forth between two points.
Q:
To reduce the number of conflicts in a team, it is useful to:
A. realize that team members are responsible for each others' happiness.
B. avoid discussing ground rules at the beginning.
C. discuss conflicts only when they become unavoidable.
D. avoid acknowledging problems as they arise.
E. make responsibilities clear at the beginning.
Q:
"The students of the seventh grade scored well in their math test." This is an example of a discriminatory sentence.
Q:
Which of the following is true of conflicts in the workplace?
A. Conflicts never arise in a group of intelligent people who care about their task.
B. Conflicts in a team are a sign of the team's failure.
C. Conflicts need not be resolved to maintain effective teamwork.
D. Conflicts that are unacknowledged or unresolved diminish over time.
E. Conflicts are often the result of working through different perspectives.
Q:
Why shouldn't visuals be placed in an appendix?
Q:
According to research, which of the following is a NOT a challenge faced by international teams?
A. Members of such teams have to learn to share information.
B. Members of such teams have to work hard to overcome language and cultural barriers.
C. Members of such teams tend to attribute problems in the team to prejudice.
D. Members of such teams produce less and lower-quality ideas.
E. Members of such teams start giving more importance to cultural differences over time.
Q:
Discuss the ethical problems involved in the selection of information to represent and the visual elements to represent it.
Q:
Which of the following is a repercussion of groupthink?
A. Too many alternatives will emerge, making it impossible to reach consensus.
B. Members will test and analyze their assumptions against those of others in the team.
C. Each person will believe that he or she is right and make it hard to reach consensus.
D. Members will fail to prepare contingency plans to cope with foreseeable setbacks.
E. Members will make decisions that are riskier than the initial inclination of its members.
Q:
A team at Ad Will Inc., an advertising agency, is working on a new advertisement for an energy drink. The head of the team, Lee, suggests that the advertisement should target primarily the rich. The team thinks this is a bad idea, because the manufacturers are targeting a young market and the young market is unlikely to be rich. However, because of Lee's temper, the team goes along with Lee, which results in the advertisement being rejected by the client. Which of the following is best demonstrated in this scenario?
A. Collective narcissism
B. Ethnocentrism
C. Group facilitation
D. Groupshift
E. Groupthink
Q:
How can business writers preserve visual integrity?
Q:
Discuss the use of maps.
Q:
Professor Anthony divides his class into two teams to work on an assignment. When he receives the assignment submissions, he notices that while team A was a more hardworking group, Team B was able to submit a more timely and impressive assignment. Which of the following behaviors from Team B was most likely responsible for their greater success?
A. They avoided interactions to discuss progress because it wasted crucial time.
B. They undertook their tasks independently instead of together as a team.
C. They rationalized criticism and took individual contributions for granted.
D. They had a large number of passive members and set ambiguous goals.
E. They dealt directly with conflicts and paid attention to members' emotions.
Q:
Describe the construction of an area chart.
Q:
Less successful teams are more likely to:
A. expect members to complete their own parts.
B. schedule frequent meetings.
C. respond to emotions as well as words.
D. pay attention to what is said and how it is said.
E. find ways to use members who don't like working in teams.
Q:
Which of the following statements correctly explains the difference between successful and unsuccessful student teams?
A. Successful teams allow sub-groups to make decisions; less successful teams insist that important decisions are made by the entire team.
B. Successful teams try to ignore conflicts that occur; less successful teams deal with all the conflicts that emerge.
C. Successful teams meet and talk through plans face-to-face; less successful teams rely more on e-mail and other electronic communication tools.
D. Successful teams rationalize criticism; less successful teams listen to criticism and try to change their performance on the basis of it.
E. Successful teams respond to words more than emotions; less successful teams pay more attention to what is said and how it is said.
Q:
What are bulleted lists?
Q:
Which of the following is a characteristic of successful student teams?
A. They set ambiguous objectives and deadlines to allow flexibility in work.
B. They make decisions together instead of having individuals make decisions.
C. They respond only to words or verbal communication and not to emotions.
D. They expect members to complete their own specific tasks instead of working together.
E. They recognize but do not acknowledge the contribution of every team member to the team's success.
Q:
Give a brief account of flowcharts and decision trees.
Q:
Which of the following is a good feedback strategy during team decision making?
A. Feedback should always be external, and should never come from within the team.
B. Feedback should be rare; when it occurs it should have a higher ratio of negative-to-positive interactions.
C. Feedback should be regular to keep members contributing their share of the work in a timely fashion.
D. Feedback begins to be generated as soon as a team is formed.
E. Feedback should never come from outside the team.
Q:
Explain the rules regarding totals and subtotals in the construction of text tables.
Q:
According to team-building expert Bob Frisch, which of the following helps a team to work through a team-decision deadlock?
A. Allowing team members to use a secret ballot to express their opinions
B. Ensuring that a decision is arrived at in the least amount of time possible
C. Ensuring that all team members make their decisions openly
D. Avoiding brainstorming for new solutions that combine the old ones
E. Adding pressure on the team for especially complex decisions
Q:
Explain three rules for ensuring that color enhances an audience's understanding and a writer's communication.
Q:
Explain the factor type that is important in the effective presentation of visuals.
Q:
A media management team is currently brainstorming for ideas about how to handle the negative publicity faced by the company. Some of the members are more passionate about certain solutions while other members disagree. David, the team leader, decides to list all the ideas on a board and lets each member mark his or her priorities in order of preference, with different colored circular adhesives. David then picks the idea with the highest priority. Which of the following strategies has David implemented to help the team make a decision?
A. Groupthink strategy
B. Omnibus strategy
C. 360 degree strategy
D. Anchoring strategy
E. Dot planning strategy
Q:
Explain visual communication.
Q:
Which of the following is true of the voting process in a team?
A. It is a short and quick process.
B. It ensures people in the minority are content.
C. It makes it easy for all participants to commit to the plan.
D. It occurs after consensus has been arrived at.
E. It should not be used in the decision-making process.
Q:
Which of the following guidelines should be followed when placing visuals in a document?
A. Visuals should always be placed in an attachment or a separate document.
B. Visuals that are not discussed in the document must be placed in an appendix.
C. Visuals that do not fit a specific part of the document should be placed after every important section in the document so that viewers do not have to flip back.
D. Visuals should always be placed at the beginning of the document.
E. Visuals should always be placed at the end of a document.
Q:
Caleb is a literary agent and is meeting with his co-workers to discuss different possible ways to market an author's new and controversial book. The team needs a member who can challenge the different suggestions put forward to market the book. Caleb willingly opts to play the role. In this scenario, Caleb is most likely playing the role of _____.
A. dark horse
B. devil's advocate
C. rabble rouser
D. jack of all trades
E. second fiddle
Q:
You are planning to use a one-quarter page bar chart in your business report. You should place it _____.
A. in the section preceding the text discussion
B. on the page following the discussion
C. on the page preceding the discussion
D. on the same page as the text to which it is related
E. in the appendix
Q:
Team leaders practicing informational leadership are most likely to:
A. check if tasks are carried out.
B. check and resolve conflicts.
C. check people's feelings.
D. set the agenda.
E. evaluate text and ideas.
Q:
Which of the following statements is true of team leaders?
A. A team leader can emerge during the teamwork process.
B. A team leader is always formally designated by the team members.
C. A team leader is responsible for doing all the work.
D. A team leader always has the best ideas.
E. A team leader must be the one who can do the best work.
Q:
Which of the following is the best position to place a visual in a document?
A. At the end of the document in an appendix
B. Near the place where it is discussed
C. At the beginning of a document
D. In a separate attachment with extra material
E. On a page preceding the one that references it
Q:
Jaylen is recognized by his team members as having excellent team management skills. Which of the following behaviors does Jaylen most likely engage in during team meetings?
A. He personally responds to everyone's comments.
B. He is silent during team meetings and does not help others with their work.
C. He disagrees with everything that is proposed to play the role of devil's advocate.
D. He takes every opportunity to be the first to speak.
E. He suggests ways to solve interpersonal problems in the team.
Q:
Which of the following is an error of format?
A. The violation of the zero beginning in a series
B. The excessive expansion of the visual, either horizontally or vertically
C. The distracting use of grids and shading
D. The inconsistency between data points on the X and Y axis
E. The use of unethical or inappropriate visual elements
Q:
Which of the following is a negative action that can hurt a team's product and process?
A. Openly discussing interpersonal problems in the team
B. Having team members share their feelings with one another
C. Relieving tension by making jokes
D. Restating major points
E. Personally responding to everyone else's comments
Q:
In the context of visual integrity, which of the following is a common graphing error that occurs when a visual is stretched excessively horizontally or vertically to change the meaning it conveys to the reader?
A. Zero-point error
B. Varied scale size
C. Scale distortion
D. Format error
E. Grid misplacement
Q:
Eduardo is a favorite among his company's senior management because of his hard work, initiative, and enthusiasm. Recently, however, Eduardo's boss was disappointed in Eduardo's behavior at a team meeting. In his boss's words, Eduardo "hurt the team's processes" and prevented the team from coming to conclusions. Which of the following did Eduardo most likely do at the meeting?
A. He made jokes and suggested breaks and fun activities to relieve tension.
B. He asked team members to share their feelings with each other.
C. He openly discussed other people's interpersonal problems in the team and tried to solve them.
D. He took every opportunity to be the first to speak.
E. He called on quieter team members during the meeting.