Question 1

Your company plans to increase the monthly fees it charges clients starting in September. You are drafting a letter to mail to your clients to inform them of this increase and hopefully persuade them to keep their business with you. You point out that this increase will allow the company to offer clients additional benefits and 24-hour service. In researching competitor claims, you see that no other competitor offers all the services your company does for the same price. After you draft your message, but before you send it, you see that a rival company has started promotion to take advantage of the opportunity to attract some of your customers away. This rival has dropped its price, making its fee a little lower than yours for the same services. Discuss how this information impacts your message.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Your company plans to increase the monthly...

Question 2

Which would be the best way to persuade your boss to implement a flex-time schedule in your office?

Accepted Answer

A) Provide research that shows that this arrangement is workable and often results in increased productivity. 
B) Give her the names of employees who would be interested in working a flex-time schedule. 
C) Tell her how happy it would make you to have the flexibility to accommodate your personal interests. 
D) Inform her of the many leisure activities that employees would be able to engage in if the flex-time schedule were implemented. 
E) Tell her that your friend's brother's company is considering a flex-time schedule at its local office.

Question 3

Brief messages, such as emails or short presentations at meetings, ________.

Accepted Answer

A) still require elaborate outlines 
B) must follow a detailed traditional outline format 
C) do not benefit from the outlining process 
D) might only need a few bullet points or questions as their outlines 
E) require the use of a tree chart in order to be outlined properly

Question 4

Voice mail messages ________.

Accepted Answer

A) do not require you to consider design, as they are an oral communication 
B) are best done spontaneously 
C) should focus on one topic 
D) do not require you to leave contact information 
E) should allude to your main point without getting too specific to arouse the recipient's curiosity and ensure a return phone call

Question 5

Whenever possible, effective business writers choose positive wording to communicate their messages, even in negative situations.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 6

Which of the following statements is TRUE?

Accepted Answer

A) The passive voice should dominate in business writing. 
B) In active voice sentences, the subject does not perform the action of the verb. 
C) The passive voice leads to a clear and lively style of writing. 
D) The active voice may be a good choice when you do not want to assign blame. 
E) In passive voice sentences, the subject receives the action expressed by the verb.

Question 7

In this situation ________.

Accepted Answer

A) the direct organizational plan is best, since Jenna needs to be persuaded 
B) the direct organizational plan is best, since Jenna will have a positive reaction 
C) the indirect organizational plan is best, since Jenna will have a neutral reaction 
D) the indirect organizational plan is best, since Jenna will not be expecting this bad news 
E) it doesn't matter which organizational plan is used, as either is appropriate for any situation

Question 8

Sarah is engaged in the process of drafting her message. As she writes, she stops frequently to evaluate what she has written before finishing her thoughts. Sarah is ________.

Accepted Answer

A) suffering from perfectionist syndrome 
B) suffering from writer's block 
C) correctly making sure that each sentence is perfect before she begins the next 
D) accurately following the guidelines for effective drafting 
E) switching between drafting and revising, a highly efficient way to compose a message

Question 9

A letter would be appropriate for each of the following situations EXCEPT ________.

Accepted Answer

A) informing your boss that you are resigning 
B) alerting employees that a flex-time schedule will go into effect 
C) communicating news to a client 
D) informing a customer of a change in terms 
E) offering a promotion to someone in your department

Question 10

When composing a simple message, writing more than one draft is a waste of time.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 11

You need to inform your employee that you cannot give him a raise as he requested, though you are pleased with his job performance. Your first draft to communicate this information is below. If your desired outcome is to retain this employee at your company despite not getting a raise, how might you revise this draft?
I acknowledge the contributions that you have made to the company, but I cannot give you a raise at this time.

Accepted Answer

The answer of You need to inform your employee that...

Question 12

Which of the following statements is NOT correct?

Accepted Answer

A) Persuasion is the ability to influence an audience to agree with your point of view. 
B) Persuasion is necessary for all business communication. 
C) Persuasion involves convincing the recipient of your message to accept your recommendation. 
D) Persuasion is not required for purely informative communication. 
E) Persuasion is used to get the reader to grant your request.

Question 13

Which example uses a conversational style?

Accepted Answer

A) Enclosed please find my proposal for your perusal. 
B) Thank you in advance for your prompt and careful attention to this matter. 
C) Please return all forms within two business days. 
D) Your kind attention to this issue will be much appreciated and will facilitate cooperation in our department. 
E) As per your request, I have provided all the various documents that you are in need of.

Question 14

While researching a proposal, you find a case study demonstrating that your supposedly cost-cutting measure might actually be more expensive in the long run. If you fail to address this information in your report, you are committing an ethical error of omission.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 15

Thinking about your purpose and content often helps you refine your desired outcome.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 16

You come up with a cost-cutting measure for your department and email the idea to your supervisor. He is so impressed by it that he forwards your message to the other members of your department, as well as the heads of operations and IT. The secondary audience of your message is ________.

Accepted Answer

A) your supervisor only 
B) your supervisor and the heads of operations and IT 
C) the members of your department and the heads of operations and IT 
D) your supervisor and the members of your department 
E) your supervisor, the members of your department, and the heads of operations and IT

Question 17

If the ________ of your message is to ask your professor for an extension on a deadline, your ________ would be to get additional time to complete your assignment.

Accepted Answer

A) purpose; analysis 
B) purpose; desired outcome 
C) desired outcome; analysis 
D) desired outcome; purpose 
E) analysis; purpose

Question 18

A quick scan of a document ________.

Accepted Answer

A) is an effective proofreading technique 
B) is sufficient for most business messages 
C) is all that's required for emails and memos 
D) might miss errors that will undermine your message 
E) is not necessary for internal communication

Question 19

You receive a flyer in the mail telling you about the new and improved cleaning power of Brite laundry soap.
-Which of the following is most likely the desired outcome of this message?

Accepted Answer

A) The recipient will decide to purchase Brite. 
B) The recipient will be impressed by the new cleaning power of Brite. 
C) The recipient will do his or her laundry. 
D) The recipient will throw away packages of Brite with the old formula. 
E) The recipient will compare Brite with other laundry soaps.

Question 20

You need to reply to an angry customer about a problem with her recent purchase. From her message it is clear that the problem occurred because she incorrectly used the product. Which of the following would be best to include in your reply?

Accepted Answer

A) Unfortunately, this mistake is all your fault since you misused the product. You will have to buy a new one-would you like 10% off? 
B) Operator error is not our responsibility. Even though we don't have to, we will offer you a coupon good for a discount on your next purchase. 
C) If you had read the manual, you would not have broken the product. Please accept a discount on a replacement item and next time don't forget to read the manual! 
D) We appreciate your business and only wish that you hadn't misused the product. Unfortunately, you will have to buy a new one yourself. We will also give you a discount. 
E) Use of the product in this manner is inconsistent with our recommendations and is not covered by your warranty. In appreciation for your business we can offer you a discount on a replacement item.

Exam 2: Managing the Communication Process: Analyzing, Composing, Evaluating

Which would be the best way to persuade your boss to implement a flex-time schedule in your office?

Brief messages, such as emails or short presentations at meetings, ________.

Voice mail messages ________.

Whenever possible, effective business writers choose positive wording to communicate their messages, even in negative situations.

Which of the following statements is TRUE?

In this situation ________.

Sarah is engaged in the process of drafting her message. As she writes, she stops frequently to evaluate what she has written before finishing her thoughts. Sarah is ________.

A letter would be appropriate for each of the following situations EXCEPT ________.

When composing a simple message, writing more than one draft is a waste of time.

Which of the following statements is NOT correct?

Which example uses a conversational style?

While researching a proposal, you find a case study demonstrating that your supposedly cost-cutting measure might actually be more expensive in the long run. If you fail to address this information in your report, you are committing an ethical error of omission.

Thinking about your purpose and content often helps you refine your desired outcome.

You come up with a cost-cutting measure for your department and email the idea to your supervisor. He is so impressed by it that he forwards your message to the other members of your department, as well as the heads of operations and IT. The secondary audience of your message is ________.

If the of your message is to ask your professor for an extension on a deadline, your would be to get additional time to complete your assignment.

A quick scan of a document ________.

You receive a flyer in the mail telling you about the new and improved cleaning power of Brite laundry soap. -Which of the following is most likely the desired outcome of this message?

You need to reply to an angry customer about a problem with her recent purchase. From her message it is clear that the problem occurred because she incorrectly used the product. Which of the following would be best to include in your reply?