Deck 5: Maintaining External Business Relationships in Letters

Question 1

Which of the following is the most effective communication channel to make a job offer?

A) Email
B) Letter
C) Phone call
D) Memo

Answer 1

B

Question 2

In business relationships requiring a formal approach, which of the following communication channels is most effective?

A) Presentations
B) Email
C) Memos
D) Letters

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Which of the following is a standard letter format in today's business communications?

A) Block format
B) Memo format
C) Indented style
D) Any of the above; there is no standard letter format.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Business letters are mostly used for which of the following?

A) All internal business communications
B) External business communications
C) Communications among internal cross functional teams
D) Internal business progress reports

Question 5

In a business letter, where is the sender's address included?

A) In the letterhead
B) Below the signature
C) After the salutation
D) Below the name and address of the recipient

Question 6

Which of the following is true about serif fonts?

A) They are used to establish personal rapport with the reader.
B) They are better for online text.
C) They are used in formal business letters.
D) They are inappropriate in formal business letters.

Question 7

As a student in a business communication class, your first assignment is to write a letter to a business of your choice asking it to collaborate with you on writing a report on its external business communications. What would you include in the letterhead of the letter?

A) Name and contact information of the addressee
B) A descriptive subject line
C) Summary of reader's benefits
D) Name and contact information of the sender

Question 8

As the Communications Director of the university club, Education without Borders, you are writing letters to businesses in your city asking them to sponsor a fundraising event. In which part of the letter would you include your purpose?

A) In the first paragraph
B) In the middle paragraph
C) In the closing paragraph
D) Anywhere, as it really doesn't matter

Question 9

Which of the following does not apply to sans serif fonts?

A) They increase the readability of printed text.
B) They enhance the readability of online text.
C) They do not have small lines at the end of each letter.
D) They have a modern look.

Question 10

A formal business letter does not have to include which of the following?

A) A signature
B) A greeting
C) A date
D) A descriptive subject line

Question 11

You are applying for a job and writing a cover letter to Matthew Smith, the hiring manager. Which of the following greetings would be most effective in conveying your professionalism?

A) To whom it may concern
B) Dear Matthew,
C) Dear Mr. Smith:
D) Dear Sir,

Question 12

Which of the following best describes the purpose of an effective negative message?

A) To deliver the bad news
B) To deliver the bad news, to have the reader read and understand the message, to maintain goodwill, and to reduce further communication on the matter
C) To sugar coat the bad news
D) To make the reader feel happy despite of the bad news

Question 13

What should the opening paragraph of an effective apology letter do?

A) Provide an apology
B) Offer excuses
C) Focus on explaining the situation
D) Avoid taking responsibility

Question 14

As a communication intern in an insurance company, you're tasked with writing an insurance refusal letter. Which of the following refusal statements is the most effective?

A) The shortest insurance plan we can offer you is three months.
B) We cannot accommodate your insurance request.
C) We apologize for the inconvenience; company policy does not allow us to offer one-month insurance plans.
D) We do not offer one-month insurance policies.

Question 15

Which of the following is an effective way to write a negative message that focuses on the reader's needs rather than on the organization's needs?

A) Explain clearly that the reader is at fault and that the bad news is a natural consequence of the reader's fault.
B) Avoid accusing the reader of wrongdoing and focus on the positives whenever possible.
C) Clearly explain how granting the reader's request would harm your organization.
D) State that you do not like to convey bad news, but that you have to do so in this situation.

Question 16

Which of the following applies to effective apology letters?

A) Do not provide details about why or how the problem happened.
B) Avoid explicit apologies.
C) Do not acknowledge the dissatisfaction of stakeholders.
D) Demonstrate effort to correct the problem and express desire to continue the relationship.

Question 17

Which of the following is not a necessary feature of a personal letterhead?

A) Company logo
B) Name
C) Complete address
D) Telephone number

Question 18

Which of the following is the most professional business apology?

A) We are sorry if we offended you.
B) We are sincerely sorry.
C) We are sorry for the circumstances we were all put in.
D) We are sorry our customers feel offended, but it wasn't our fault.

Question 19

Which of the following is not appropriate to include in a letter responding to a complaint?

A) Purpose of the letter
B) Description of action that will be taken
C) Proofreading errors
D) Description of the problem

Question 20

Which of the following is not true about block letter format?

A) It is used for formal business communications.
B) It has all elements aligned on the left.
C) It includes a letterhead, name, and address of addressee, and date.
D) It has indented paragraphs.

Question 21

Formal business letters do not need to include a date.

Question 22

Apologies might have legal ramifications, as they admit guilt; however, not apologizing can cost an organization its relationships with its stakeholders.

Question 23

Block formats letters convey a sense of casualness.

Question 24

When writing a letter, using a colon after the greeting conveys formality and seriousness.

Question 25

Maple Leaf's CEO should have never apologized for the Listeriosis outbreak that was linked to cold cuts from a Maple Leaf plant in Toronto in 2008; the company's apology just confirmed its guilt.

Question 26

The use of "they" as a singular pronoun has become acceptable in today's ever-evolving language.

Question 27

In block letter formats, all letter elements are aligned on the left.

Question 28

Effective negative messages sugarcoat the bad news.

Question 29

Effective apology letters provide excuses for the offense.

Question 30

Your first assignment in your business communication class is to write a report on the external communications of a business. What is external communication? Explain your answer by giving examples of external business communication.

Question 31

Your friend, Alma, is writing a cover letter for a job application. Knowing that you are taking a business communication class, she asks for your advice on the letter format. Which letter format would you advise Alma to use? What are the main characteristics of this format? Why would you advise her to use this format in particular?

Question 32

In your business communication class, your instructor asks you to write a thank you letter to a local business that has collaborated with you on your class project. Your instructor reminds you to include a letterhead. What is a letterhead? What are its elements?

Question 33

What is the difference between san serif and serif fonts? Why might you choose one of these typefaces/fonts over the other?

Question 34

How can you write effective negative messages that focus on the positives?

Question 35

What are Canada Post's guidelines for a recipient address?

Question 36

What are three purposes for a negative message?

Question 37

How can you maintain goodwill in a negative message?

Question 38

What are the elements of an effective apology letter?

Question 39

How should you begin an effective, well organized apology letter? Why structure your letter this way?