Deck 9: Communicating in Teams and Organisations

Question 1

One consequence of introducing email is that it tends to increase the amount of communication across the organisation.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

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

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Media richness refers to the financial cost of using the medium relative to its frequency of use in the organisation.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Interpersonal communication occurs as soon as a message is received by someone else.

Question 5

Email is usually developed and sent so quickly that it increases the risk of transmitting an emotionally charged message before the sender has time to reconsider sending the message.

Question 6

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

Question 7

Non-verbal communication is less rule-bound than is verbal communication.

Question 8

Email removes problems of social status in the communication process.

Question 9

Email is an inefficient medium for communicating in ambiguous,complex and novel situations.

Question 10

Mimicking the non-verbal behaviours of other people seems to help us to receive the emotional experience of the people we mimic.

Question 11

People tend to understand technical information better through aural rather than written communication media.

Question 12

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

Question 13

Communication is an essential part of the coordination process.

Question 14

One of the main problems with instant messaging is that the sender communicates with only one receiver at a time.

Question 15

Effective communication potentially improves knowledge management and decision making.

Question 16

One limitation of email is that both sender and receiver need to coordinate the communication session.

Question 17

The introduction of email in organisations tends to reduce some face-to-face and telephone communication but increase the flow of information to higher levels in the organisation.

Question 18

Email is a very good medium for communicating emotions.

Question 19

The image used in the communication process model is that information is like fruit on a tree that needs to be picked.

Question 20

One advantage of email is that it is very easy to interpret the emotional tone of the sender's message.

Question 21

Communication is the vehicle through which people:

A) Clarify their expectations and coordinate work
B) Coordinate between organisational objectives
C) Improve knowledge
D) None of the options listed here is correct

Question 22

Language differences represent one of the most obvious cross-cultural communications challenges.

Question 23

When communicating with another person,you should avoid repeating your message in different ways.

Question 24

Perceptions,filtering and jargon are three types of noise in the communication process.

Question 25

Omitting and buffering strategies help employees to reduce the amount of information they must process (i.e.information load).

Question 26

Corporate leaders should use the grapevine to send messages to employees further down the organisational hierarchy.

Question 27

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

Question 28

When sending a message,the choice of medium also communicates information from the sender to receiver.

Question 29

Information overload occurs when a person's information-processing capacity exceeds the job's information load.

Question 30

Communication flows through channels between:

A) Messages
B) Symbols and signs
C) The sender and receiver
D) Messages and feedback

Question 31

Companies are introducing open-space offices-replacing walled offices with open work areas-to improve communication and make more efficient use of space.

Question 32

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

Question 33

Active listeners constantly cycle through the three components of listening.

Question 34

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

Question 35

One of the most important features of active listening is to interrupt the speaker whenever he or she says something that you want to discuss further.

Question 36

The common headshake (moving our head from side to side)has the same meaning across cultures.

Question 37

In times of uncertainty,a company newsletter or similar formal communication activity can effectively replace the informal grapevine.

Question 38

In grapevine communication,most employees serve as both sender and receiver.

Question 39

One dilemma in workspace design is the requirement to balance the need to encourage social interaction with the employees' need for privacy.

Question 40

Research has found that women are generally more sensitive than are men to non-verbal communication.

Question 41

What do we mean by the phrase 'the medium is the message'?

A) Effective communication occurs when people are neither too quiet nor too loud
B) Effective listeners should look for non-verbal cues to decipher the sender's true meaning
C) Effective communicators use several channels to transmit the intended meaning
D) The communication channel selected transmits meaning beyond the message content

Question 42

Responding,the third component of listening,is feedback to the sender which:

A) Promotes active listening
B) Creates ideas
C) Motivates and directs the speaker's communication
D) Clarifies the message

Question 43

Compared with verbal communication,non-verbal communication:

A) Has more formal rules to guide its correct use
B) Is less susceptible to misinterpretation
C) Is more consciously transmitted from sender to receiver
D) Has none of these characteristics

Question 44

A problem with email is that:

A) It contributes to information overload
B) It is difficult to interpret emotion in email messages
C) It lacks the warmth of human interaction
D) All of the options listed here are correct

Question 45

Channels with high media richness tend to involve more:

A) Direct social interactions
B) Face-to-face communication
C) Diverting attention
D) Self-representation

Question 46

One of the effects of emotions on non-verbal communication is the phenomenon called:

A) Emotional intelligence
B) Emotional contagion
C) Emotional display
D) Emotional involvement

Question 47

Emotional contagion occurs when:

A) We mimic our non-verbal behaviours with people who are communicating with us
B) We are required to show or hide our emotions,based on rules prescribed by the job
C) Two 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

Question 48

Communication methods that are high in 'media richness' are most valuable:

A) Where the sender holds a higher position in the organisation than the receiver
B) During emergencies where the sender and receiver have little common experience
C) Where the sender and receiver have a lot of time to transmit and receive the message
D) In routine situations where the sender and receiver have common past experiences

Question 49

The communication model suggests that communication effectiveness depends on:

A) The motivation to communicate
B) The decoding process
C) The situation
D) The ability of the sender and the receiver

Question 50

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

A) Newsletter
B) Email message
C) Telephone conversation
D) Face-to-face meeting

Question 51

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

A) Before the sender forms the message
B) After the sender receives the message
C) After the sender forms feedback regarding the original message
D) After the sender transmits the message

Question 52

Which of these forms of communication is the poorest for communicating emotional meaning and providing social support in the workplace?

A) Face-to-face small group sessions
B) Email
C) Corporate video programs
D) Telephone calls

Question 53

Which of these statements about non-verbal communication is FALSE?

A) In conversations,more information is usually communicated non-verbally than verbally
B) Non-verbal communication is less rule-bound than is verbal communication
C) Non-verbal communication is usually more carefully thought out than is verbal communication
D) Non-verbal communication plays a major role in emotional labour

Question 54

Emotional contagion has what effect in the communication process?

A) It has no effect on the communication process
B) It provides feedback to the sender that the receiver understands and empathises with the message
C) It reduces the amount of communication among colleagues
D) It makes it more difficult for the receiver to receive emotional meaning about the sender's experience

Question 55

Which communication channel is most effective when the sender wants to persuade the receiver?

A) A memorandum
B) A formal speech to a large audience
C) A personal letter to the target receiver
D) A personal face-to-face meeting with the target receiver

Question 56

People are more effective communication 'senders' when they:

A) Use words and symbols that listeners understand
B) Know which communication medium is best in a particular situation and are able to use different media for different occasions
C) Are descriptive rather than evaluative when communicating negative information
D) All of the options listed here are correct.

Question 57

Media richness refers to:

A) Total profits of newspapers,television networks and radio broadcasting companies within a society
B) The data-carrying capacity of a communication medium
C) The financial and emotional cost of transmitting a message from one person to another person within the same organisation
D) The extent to which a message is conveyed through information technology rather than human interaction

Question 58

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 checks off the type and number of infractions during the previous week.These incidents are well known to other representatives; there are rarely any surprises.This weekly communication calls for:

A) High media richness
B) High emotional contagion
C) Face-to-face meetings
D) Relatively low media richness

Question 59

What function does communication play in organisations?

A) Communication helps employees to coordinate their work activities and to fulfil their drive to bond
B) Communication helps decision makers to learn about organisational problems
C) Communication eases work-related stress through social support
D) Communication serves all of these functions

Question 60

Information overload problems can be minimised by increasing our:

A) Information processing speed
B) Information load
C) Information processing capacity
D) None of the options listed here is correct

Question 61

Which of these statements about non-verbal communication in Japan is TRUE?

A) In Japan,non-verbal communication is less important than verbal communication
B) In Japan,when the listener is silent after you speak,it usually means that he or she wasn't listening
C) In Japan,people often say what the other person wants to hear but send more subtle non-verbal cues regarding their true intentions
D) In Japan,talking at the same time as someone else shows your enthusiasm and enjoyment of the conversation

Question 62

Information technologies such as email and instant messaging have had what effect on the corporate grapevine?

A) These communication media have made it more difficult for the grapevine to operate without the assistance of management
B) These communication media have dramatically changed the topics of interest communicated through the corporate grapevine
C) Information technologies have expanded grapevine communication and networks around the company's global operations,not just around the next cubicle
D) These communication media have done all of these

Question 63

The most obvious cross-cultural communication challenge is:

A) Silence
B) Shaking hands
C) Language
D) Smiling

Question 64

Which of the following is potentially 'noise' in the communication process?

A) Perceptual differences between sender and receiver
B) Receiving more information than the person can process
C) Jargon that the receiver does not understand
D) All of the options listed here are correct

Question 65

The three main components of active listening,in order,are:

A) Sensing,evaluating and responding
B) Encoding,decoding and transmitting
C) Inferring,deferring and referring
D) Summarising,encoding and responding

Question 66

Which of the following is NOT a feature of effective listening?

A) Develop an opinion about the sender's message as soon as possible to guide you through the rest of the sender's message
B) Show interest by maintaining eye contact and giving verbal acknowledgments
C) Empathise with the sender's background and point of view when interpreting the sender's message
D) Provide feedback by rephrasing the sender's main points at appropriate conversational breaks

Question 67

Active listeners improve their evaluating activities by:

A) Organising information
B) Showing interest
C) Clarifying the message
D) Interrupting when they disagree with the speaker

Question 68

The organisational grapevine is useful because it:

A) Is an effective way for management to inform employees about future organisational changes
B) Provides detailed information that more formal communication channels tend to ignore
C) Reduces information overload
D) Fulfils employees' drive to bond

Question 69

According to research on gender communication,women are more likely than men to:

A) Apologise
B) Use indirect requests ('Have you considered ....?')
C) Seek advice from others
D) All the options listed here are correct

Question 70

In a business meeting where both men and women are present,women are more likely than men to:

A) Misunderstand non-verbal cues sent by others in the meeting
B) Assert their power by giving advice to others in the meeting
C) Focus on exchanging information rather than using the conversation to build relationships
D) None of the options listed here is correct

Question 71

Research suggests that effective workspace design mainly balances the trade-off between:

A) Social interaction and emotional contagion
B) Verbal and non-verbal communication
C) Employee privacy and social interaction
D) Information overload and information underload

Question 72

Explain why communication is an important instrument for organisational learning and decision making.

Question 73

Management by walking around:

A) Is the label used to describe new executives when they get lost in unfamiliar buildings
B) Should be used only when executives need to explain corporate decisions
C) Minimises the problem of filtering in the communication process
D) Is an ineffective process for upward communication

Question 74

To improve communication and make more efficient use of space,many companies are:

A) Moving executives into separate buildings
B) Building taller office towers
C) Tearing down walls and introducing open office designs
D) Removing parking spaces so that employees must commute to work

Question 75

Which of the following reduces information overload by increasing the person's information-processing capacity?

A) Using a filtering algorithm to screen out incoming email
B) Speed-reading and scanning to read more pages per hour
C) Reading summaries of long documents
D) Using an assistant to screen out unwanted mail

Question 76

Which of the following statements about cross-cultural communication is FALSE?

A) In Japan,a listener's silence after the speaker finishes talking indicates that the listener disagrees with the sender's message
B) Non-verbal communication tends to be more important in Japan than in Australia
C) A firm handshake is interpreted differently in different cultures
D) Talking loudly may be a sign of sincerity in some cultures and a sign of rudeness in other cultures

Question 77

How do men and women generally differ in their communication styles in organisational settings?

A) Men are more likely than women to communicate to strengthen relationships
B) Women are more likely than men to give advice quickly and frequently
C) Women are usually more sensitive than men to the listener's non-verbal cues
D) Men and women differ in all these ways

Question 78

Metaphors and other types of ambiguous language are useful when:

A) The sender wants to communicate to people experiencing information overload
B) The message is sent through the grapevine rather than formal communication channels
C) The sender wants to minimise the risk that the receiver would misinterpret the message sent
D) The issue or concept that the sender is trying to communicate is ill-defined or complex

Question 79

Which of the following activities helps us to cope with information overload?

A) Working longer hours
B) Improving our time management
C) Learning to read faster and reading abstracts rather than entire documents
D) All of the options listed here are correct

Question 80

Buffering,summarising and omitting are ways to:

A) Reduce information overload
B) Avoid active listening
C) Avoid the risk of flaming
D) Improve communication between men and women