Deck 9: Communicating in Teams and Organizations

Question 1

The preferred medium for sending well-defined information for decision making is the office phone.

Answer 1

False
Explanation: Email tends to be the preferred medium for sending well-defined information for decision making.

Question 2

Codebooks are symbols used to convey message content, whereas mental models are knowledge structures of the communication topic setting.

Answer 2

True
Explanation: Codebooks are symbols used to convey message content, whereas mental models are knowledge structures of the communication topic setting.

Question 3

Email is a very good medium for communicating emotions.

Answer 3

False
Explanation: Email is a poor medium for communicating emotions.People rely on facial expressions and other nonverbal cues to interpret the emotional meaning of words.Email lacks this parallel communication channel.

Question 4

Email is an ideal medium for ambiguous, complex, and novel situations.

Question 5

Email has been overtaken by texting and social media as the medium of choice in most workplaces.

Question 6

When sender and receiver have shared mental models, more communication is necessary to clarify meaning about that context.

Question 7

One consequence of introducing email is that it tends to decrease the amount of communication across the organization.

Question 8

One reason that people communicate with each other is to fulfill their drive to bond.

Question 9

Email helps organizations to significantly reduce the problem of information overload.

Question 10

Communication supports employee well-being and can improve employee well-being.

Question 11

Flaming refers to the capacity of an organization to transmit information more quickly through computer networks than through traditional paper media.

Question 12

According to the communication process model, communication begins with forming the message, then encoding it.

Question 13

While communication is important to organizations, it plays no role in organizational learning.

Question 14

Intended feedback is encoded, transmitted, received, and decoded from the receiver to the sender of the original message.

Question 15

Effective communication is of vital importance to organizations because employees work interdependently, and interdependence requires communication.

Question 16

People who experience social isolation are more susceptible to physical and mental illnesses.

Question 17

In the communication process model, encoding the message refers to selecting the appropriate medium and sending your ideas through that medium.

Question 18

Communication refers to the process by which information is transmitted and understood between two or more people.

Question 19

The effectiveness of the encoding-decoding process is independent of the sender's and the receiver's proficiency with the communication channel.

Question 20

The introduction of email in organizations reduces some face-to-face and telephone communication and decreases the flow of information to higher levels in the organization.

Question 21

Buffering occurs when we decide to overlook messages, such as using software rules to redirect email from distribution lists to folders we never look at.

Question 22

Individuals' preferences for specific communication channels is a factor contributing to social acceptance.

Question 23

A communication channel with high media richness should be used in routine situations where the sender and receiver have common understanding and expectations.

Question 24

Ambiguous language is sometimes necessary to describe situations or concepts that are ill-defined or lack agreement between sender and receiver.

Question 25

Compared to lean media, rich media have fewer social distractions.

Question 26

Nonverbal communication is more rule-bound than verbal communication.

Question 27

People are persuaded more under conditions of low social presence than high social presence.

Question 28

According to media richness theory, lean media are better than rich media when the communication situation is nonroutine and ambiguous.

Question 29

Most information technologies require less social etiquette and attention, so employees can easily multi-communicate.

Question 30

Jargon improves communication efficiency when both the sender and receiver understand this specialized language.

Question 31

Mimicking another person's behavior and emotions is a part of emotional contagion.

Question 32

Information overload occurs when an individual's information-processing capacity exceeds the job's information load.

Question 33

Language differences among people can produce communication noise.

Question 34

In quiet settings, most information is communicated verbally rather than nonverbally.

Question 35

People experienced with a particular communication medium can increase the amount of media richness normally possible through that information channel by "pushing".

Question 36

Research studies conclude that social media offer no advantages in the workplace over traditional email.

Question 37

Emotional contagion fulfills our drive to bond with others.

Question 38

Instant messaging is a richer channel of communication than video conferencing.

Question 39

Emotional contagion provides ambiguous feedback and communicates that the listener does not empathize with the sender.

Question 40

Media richness refers to the ratio of the cost of using a medium relative to its frequency of use in the organization.

Question 41

Which of the following represents the first step in the communication model?

A)Form message
B)Encode message
C)Decode message
D)Transmit message
E)Form feedback

Question 42

Maintaining eye contact to show interest in someone's conversation is one of the few forms of nonverbal communication that transmits common meaning across all cultures.

Question 43

Open space arrangements in workstations increase communication and potentially decrease noise, distractions, and loss of privacy.

Question 44

Active listeners constantly cycle through the three components of listening during a conversation and engage in various activities to improve these processes.

Question 45

The responding stage of active listening includes showing interest and clarifying the message.

Question 46

Management by walking around minimizes the problem of filtering in the communication process.

Question 47

Organizations should view the grapevine as a competitor.

Question 48

_____ refers to the process by which information is transmitted and understood between two or more people.

A)Communication
B)Jargon
C)Flaming
D)Grapevine
E)MBWA

Question 49

The grapevine is the main conduit through which organizational stories and other symbols of the organization's culture are communicated.

Question 50

The grapevine is an important social process that fulfills the employees' drive to bond.

Question 51

The three components of listening are encoding, decoding and interpreting.

Question 52

Research has found that women are generally more sensitive than are men to nonverbal communication.

Question 53

The organizational grapevine distorts information by deleting fine details and exaggerating key points of stories.

Question 54

The best way to manage organizational grapevine is to ignore the information it communicates.

Question 55

Which of the following fundamental drives is highly influenced by effective communication?

A)Drive to succeed
B)Drive to defend
C)Drive to bond
D)Drive to acquire
E)Drive to achieve

Question 56

Talking while someone is speaking to you is interpreted by the Japanese as the person's interest and involvement in the conversation.

Question 57

The sensing stage of active listening includes empathizing and organizing information.

Question 58

Effective communication occurs when:

A)information is sent through informal rather than formal channels.
B)information is collected from various sources but sent to a limited audience.
C)the sender convinces the receiver to accept the information sent.
D)information is transmitted and understood between two or more people.
E)the sender transmits information that is received by someone other than the intended receiver.

Question 59

According to the communication process model:

A)information flows through channels between the sender and receiver.
B)the sender and receiver are at different levels and communicate only when the levels match.
C)communication is a free-flowing conduit.
D)information transmission is minimal in a formal communicative process.
E)the sender is the dominant and more important partner.

Question 60

Management by walking around occurs when senior executives get out of their offices and communicate face-to-face with employees.

Question 61

John slams his finger while closing a cabinet drawer.Mary winces and shakes her hand.This is an example of:

A)Passive listening
B)Emotional contagion
C)Emotional intelligence
D)Tacit knowledge
E)Flaming

Question 62

In the communication process model, "decoding the message" occurs immediately:

A)before the sender forms the message.
B)after the receiver receives the message.
C)after the sender forms feedback of the original message.
D)after the receiver transmits the message.
E)before the receiver receives the message.

Question 63

In organizational communication, "flaming" generally refers to:

A)telling an employee in front of other people that he or she is fired.
B)ranting and raving in front of a large audience.
C)an emotionally charged email or other electronic message, usually one that communicates strong negative emotions.
D)using any signal with the hands that conveys an obscene meaning to the receiver.
E)interrupting the speaker before he or she has finished talking.

Question 64

Listeners often engage in an automatic process of "catching" or sharing another person's emotions by mimicking that person's facial expressions and other nonverbal behavior.Which of the following drives causes this effect?

A)Drive to defend
B)Drive to bond
C)Drive to achieve
D)Drive to learn
E)Drive to protect

Question 65

Several employees in a newly formed group must work together to develop a new product.No one in this group has worked with anyone else in this group before and the development of this product has not been attempted previously.According to the media richness model, which of the following communication channels is most appropriate in this situation?

A)Written documents
B)Email
C)Face-to-face meetings
D)Bulletin boards
E)Financial statements

Question 66

Safety representatives in each of the six plants of a manufacturing company need to communicate to each other every week the number and type of health and safety incidents in their plant.Each representative has a safety reporting document where he or she notes the type and number of infractions during the previous week.These incidents are well known to other representatives, so there are rarely any surprises.This weekly communication calls for:

A)an active corporate grapevine.
B)high emotional contagion in communication.
C)the use of nonverbal communication.
D)increased number of face-to-face meetings.
E)lean media.

Question 67

Which of the following communication channels has the lowest media richness?

A)Newsletter
B)Email
C)Telephone call
D)Video conference
E)Instant messaging

Question 68

Which of the following is an advantage of using email communication?

A)It reduces the problem of information overload.
B)It reduces the frequency of flaming.
C)It is easier to interpret emotional meaning in email messages as they are less formal.
D)It increases the politeness and respect of communication.
E)It significantly alters the flow of information within groups.

Question 69

The encoding-decoding process is generally more effective when both parties:

A)have a diverse set of skills and capabilities.
B)differ in their level of expertise and knowledge.
C)come from different cultures.
D)are skilled in using the selected communication channel.
E)have formed perceptions and varying beliefs about interpersonal communication.

Question 70

What effect does emotional contagion have on the communication process?

A)It distorts the communication process and causes dissatisfaction to all the parties involved.
B)It provides feedback to the sender that the receiver understands and empathizes with the message.
C)It reduces the level of actual communication among colleagues.
D)It makes it more difficult for the receiver to receive the emotional meaning of the sender's experience.
E)It forms a strong communication barrier between the sender and the receiver.

Question 71

Which of the following is a factor in social acceptance?

A)The symbolic meaning of the chosen channel
B)The media richness of the selected channel
C)The bandwidth of the channel
D)The diplomatic acceptance of the message
E)The content and accuracy of the message

Question 72

Which of the following communication channels has the highest media richness?

A)Newsletter
B)Email
C)Telephone call
D)Video conference
E)Instant messaging

Question 73

Which of the following conditions would necessitate the use of non-verbal communication instead of verbal communication?

A)Low physical distance
B)Need for immediate feedback
C)Personal nature of communication
D)Familiarity with the listener
E)Increased noise

Question 74

Which of the following communication media tends to be the best for transmitting emotions?

A)Newsletters
B)Email messages
C)Telephone conversations
D)Face-to-face meetings
E)Written messages

Question 75

Which of the following represents the first three steps in the communication model in the correct order?

A)Decode message, encode message, and provide feedback
B)Form message, transmit message, and decode message
C)Encode message, transmit message, and receive message
D)Form message, transmit message, and receive message
E)Form message, encode message, and transmit message

Question 76

Emotional contagion occurs when:

A)we share the emotions of other people.
B)we are required to show or hide our emotions, based on rules prescribed by the job.
C)two or more people experience different emotions even though they are observing the same object.
D)the communication medium has different meaning for the receiver and the sender.
E)two or more people experience the same emotions even though they are observing different objects.

Question 77

Which of the following happens immediately after the receiver receives the encoded message in the communication process model?

A)The sender receives confirmation that the message has been understood.
B)The receiver confirms with the sender that the message sent was intended to be a message.
C)The receiver decodes the received message.
D)The receiver encodes the message.
E)The receiver forms a direct feedback in response to the received message.

Question 78

What effect does "noise" have in the communication model?

A)It distorts and obscures the sender's intended message.
B)It prevents the sender from forming a message.
C)It helps the sender to select a more appropriate medium to transmit the message.
D)It helps the receiver to decode the message more carefully.
E)The concept of "noise" is not significant in the communication model.

Question 79

Which of the following is an increasing source of information overload?

A)Electronic company magazines
B)Annual performance reviews with supervisors
C)Intranet web sites
D)Email
E)The corporate grapevine

Question 80

The capacity of a communication medium to transmit information is referred to as:

A)media richness.
B)information overload.
C)channel frequency.
D)channel diversity.
E)communication frequency.