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Learning Objectives: 3.1 Identify key management skills associated with effective communication. 3.2 Explain what causes interpersonal communications to fail. 3.3 Identify elements of communication that a manager must master and explain why they are essential to effective communication. 3.4 Describe the principles of good oral and written communications. 3.5 Describe the factors that influence which communication method to use. 3.6 Suggest ways that a manager can improve communication with employees and with superiors. Quick answer key: Question # Multiple Choice True/False 1 B True 2 C True 3 C False 4 B True 5 A True 6 A True 7 C True 8 C True 9 D True 1
10 C True 11 C True 12 D True 13 B False 14 D True 15 A False 16 A True 17 C False 18 D False 19 B True 20 A False 21 C False 22 C False 23 D False 24 D True 25 B False 26 C 27 D 28 D 29 C 30 C 2
Multiple Choice Questions: 1. Which are common uses of communication? A) to inform, innovate, and instigate B) to inform, instruct, and influence C) to instruct, imitate, and innovate D) to influence, instigate, and inform Answer - B 2. Which is a generic definition of communication? A) a digital dialogue between two people over a network B) the ability to bring other people to your way of thinking C) the act of exchanging information D) orders and instructions given to employees to obtain results 3. Why is communicating effectively to employees an important management skill? A) Managers must be able to keep superiors informed. B) Managers must collaborate with other department heads. C) Managers must be able to motivate people. D) Managers must be able to report to external stakeholders. 3
4. Which statement about communication as a management skill is true? A) Managers need to communicate direction to employees only until such time as they are fully trained. B) Through the effective use of persuasion, managers can influence employees to support change or to embrace a new product or service. C) Management communications have minimal effect on customer sales as customers already know what they want. D) The idea and viewpoints communicated by employees, suppliers, and customer are relatively unimportant, since managers have all the power. Answer - B 5. What is the purpose of interpersonal communication? A) To transmit verbal and non-verbal messages interactively between sender and receiver. B) To send information across a boundary by phone, Internet, etc C) To interpret non-verbal body language without speaking. D) To respond to an e-mail message. Learning Objective 3.2 Answer - A 6. Which can cause interpersonal communication to fail? A) differences in the interpretation of body language B) asking open ended questions C) the use of active listening skills D) communicating a message verbally and non-verbally Learning Objective 3.2 Answer - A 4
7. In which situation would verbal communication be the most appropriate choice of communication method? A) communicating routine information B) communicating changes in company policies C) dismissing an employee D) communicating changes in staff positions 8. What must a manager decide before starting to write a business document? A) time frame, purpose, and reading level B) audience, message, and length of document C) purpose, audience, and main message D) policy, purpose, and position Learning Objective 3.4 9. Which is the first action a manager must take when preparing to engage in a difficult conversation? A) Be specific about the behavior or incident. B) Respect the privacy of the employee involved. C) Gather facts and set a goal for the conversation. D) Address the situation properly. Learning Objective 3.6 Answer - D 5
10. Which is a principle of active listening? A) know the employee s intention B) only listen if the employee is worth it C) never anticipate what will be said D) never interfere by asking questions Learning Objective 3.6 11. Which of the following is not a cause of interpersonal communication failure? A) semantics B) poor listening habits C) reacting to a message D) emotions either preceding or during communication 12. Successful managers are always seeking what type of feedback before continuing the communication process? A) verbal feedback B) written feedback C) nonverbal feedback D) both verbal and nonverbal feedback Answer - D 6
13. Semantics is the study of which of the following? A) voice tones B) words and symbols C) listening D) verbal and nonverbal communication Answer - B 14. In order to master verbal and written communication, managers must be able to do all of the following except? A) identify the audience B) develop good listening skills C) understand importance of feedback D) be able to read the mind of the sender Answer - D 15. Which of the following is NOT an advantage of using email as a form of business communication? A) it lets people spend more time sending messages B) it saves time C) it provides written records of communications D) it enables communication among individuals who might not communicate otherwise Answer - A 7
16. Which of the following is NOT true about the use of social media in a business environment? A) Social media make it more difficult for unhappy customers to tell others about their negative experiences. B) Social media have brought a whole new meaning to keeping in touch at work. C) Social media sites allow consumers to tell each other everything about everything. D) Social media make it easier for happy customers to tell the world about their positive experiences. Answer - A 17. Which of the following best defines the act of exchanging information? A) e-mail B) social media C) communication D) assimilation 18. Communication can be used to accomplish which of the following? A) inform and command other people B) instruct and assess other people C) influence and persuade other people D) all the above Answer - D 8
19. Which of the following best defines the process between individuals that involves sending and receiving verbal and nonverbal messages? A) mass communication B) interpersonal communication C) collaborative communication D) inactive communication Answer - B 20. Which of the following is a frequent cause of interpersonal communication failure? A) semantics B) agreeing to disagree C) failure to connect the dots D) interpersonal communication does not fail Answer - A 21. Which of the following best defines the study of the meaning of words and symbols? A) wordsmithing B) symbology C) semantics D) thesaurianism 9
22. Which of the following best defines the mental and sensory processes an individual uses in interpreting information he or she receives? A) communication B) sensory communication C) perception D) semantics 23. Which of the following best identifies what a manager must do in order to communicate successfully? A) identify the audience B) develop good listening skills C) understand the importance of nonverbal communication D) all the above Answer - D 24. What do good listening skills enable managers to accomplish? A) absorb the information they need B) solve problems C) convince people of their views D) all the above Learning Objective 3.4 Answer - D 10
25. Which of the following best defines the flow of information from the receiver to the sender? A) reverse communication B) feedback C) semantics D) communication process Answer - B 26. The three basic principles of good business writing include which of the following? A) Write using a sophisticated style. B) Always use a formal tone, regardless of whether you are writing an email or a business document. C) Proofread the document. D) All of these are principles of good writing. 27. In business, what is the most frequently used form of communication? A) using email B) using written documents that are then mailed C) using written documents within the company D) oral communication Answer - D 11
28. Managers use their oral communication skills to do which of the following? A) give clear instructions B) motivate their staffs C) persuade other people D) do all of these Answer - D 29. Which of the following communication methods saves time, eliminates wasted effort, provides written records of communication with formality of memos, and enables communication among individuals who might not communicate otherwise? A) Internet B) social media C) e-mail D) text-messaging 30. Which of the following identifies the five basic suggestions to active listening? A) don t fail to make assumptions, don t interrupt, don t guess about intentions, don t react too quickly, and don t exhibit bad behavior B) don t assuming anything, don t interrupt, don t guess about intentions, don t fail to react quickly, and don t exhibit bad behavior C) don t assuming anything, don t interrupt, don t guess about intentions, don t react too quickly, and don t exhibit bad behavior D) don t fail to make assumptions, don t interrupt, don t guess about intentions, don t fail to react quickly, and don t exhibit bad behavior Answer C 12
True/false Questions: 1. Communication is the act of exchanging information. Answer - True 2. One of the reasons that communication is an important management skill is that managers must be able to motivate people. 3. Communication can be used to inform, command, and instruct other people. 4. Communication can be used to assess, influence, and persuade other people. 5. Interpersonal communication is a process that involves only sending verbal and nonverbal messages. Learning Objective 3.2 13
6. Interpersonal communication is a dynamic and interactive process. Learning Objective 3.2 7. In interpersonal communication, an event or a condition generates information that the sender wished to share with another person, thus creating the need to communicate. Learning Objective 3.2 8. Semantics is the science or study of the meanings of words and symbols. 9. Perception is the science or study of communication. Answer False 10. One step is learning to listen actively is to note the speaker s tone, as well as his or her body language. 11. To communicate effectively, managers must be able to write clearly, concisely, and persuasively. Learning Objective 3.4 14
12. One of the principles of good writing is to proofread the document. Learning Objective 3.4 13. Most business communication is done in writing. Learning Objective 3.4 Answer False 14. Most oral communication is informal. Learning Objective 3.4 15. Sensitive communications, such as reprimanding or dismissing an employee are best done via email. Answer False 16. Written communication is most appropriate for communicating routine information, such as changes in company policies or staff. 17. Mastering written communication skills over verbal communication skills is critical for successful managers. Answer False 15
18. Effective communications is not related to the manager s use of his or her time. Answer False 19. Good listening skills enable managers to absorb the information they need, recognize problems, and understand other people s viewpoints. 20. The first step in learning to listen actively is to respond to the speaker with appropriate comments. Answer False 21. Feedback is used to inform the sender whether the receiver has received the correct message. One effective way to do this is to ask the person directly if he or she understands the message. Answer False 22. While non-verbal communication is an important supplement to verbal communication, it will never change the meaning of the verbal communication. Answer False 16
23. Sarah has been late for work on an off over the last month. Finally her manager felt she had to tell Sarah it was not acceptable to continue being late. The best way for the manager to relay this information to Sarah is by email so that the manager would have record of it. Answer False 24. Each year one company needs to communicate the list of paid vacation to all employees. Which the list has not changed over the past several years, the managers feel it is important to notify everyone. The best way for the notification to occur is in written form. 25. Managers have more ways to communicate with their employees and customers than ever before. With all this new technology, managers are doing a sufficient job with what are considered basic communication skills. Learning Objective 3.4 Answer False 17
Short Answer questions: 1. Explain why communicating effectively is an important management skill. Answer Communicating effectively is an important management skill for several reasons: (1) Managers must give direction to the people who work for them. (2) Managers must be able to motivate people. (3) Managers must be able to convince customers that they should do business with them. (4) Managers must be able to absorb the ideas of others. (5) Managers must be able to persuade other people. 2. List the reasons why interpersonal communication may fail. Answer Some causes of interpersonal communication failure are conflicting or inappropriate assumptions, different interpretations of the meanings of words (semantics), differences in perception, emotions either preceding or during communication, poor listening habits, inadequate communication skills, insufficient feedback, and differences in the interpretations of non-verbal communications. 3. List the questions that managers need to answer in order to communicate effectively with their audiences. Answer What does the audience already know? What does it want to know? What is its capacity for absorbing information? What does it hope to gain by listening? Is it hoping to be motivated? Informed? Convinced? Is the audience friendly or hostile? 4. Describe the steps in learning to listen actively. Answer Learning to listen actively involves the following steps: (1) Identify the speaker s purpose. What is the speaker trying to achieve? Why is the speaker speaking? (2) Identify the speaker s main ideas. Which of the points are the key points? Which points need to be addressed by the listener? (3) Note the speaker s tone as well as his or her body language. Is the speaker angry, nervous, or confident? (4) Respond to the speaker with appropriate comments, questions, and body language. Use facial expressions and body language to express the emotions you want to express. Establish eye contact, sit up straight, and lean 18
towards the speaker to show interests. Ask a question or make a comment from time to time to show that you are listening attentively. 5. What are the three basic principles of good business writing? Answer (1) Write as simply and clearly as possible. Avoid writing in a way that is difficult to understand. (2) Be sure that the content and tone of the document are appropriate for the audience. Do not waste the reader s time communicating information he/she already knows. However do not assume they are familiar with the topic as you are. Always use a polite tone, especially when writing to customers. (3) Proofread the document. If you are using a computer, use the spell-check function. If you are not using a computer, use a dictionary to check the spelling of words you do not know. Always read the document for incorrect grammar or usage. 6. List the rules of thumb for developing oral communication skills. Answer (1) make emotional contact with listeners by addressing them by name where possible. (2) Avoid speaking in a monotone. (3) Be enthusiastic and project a positive outlook. (4) Avoid interrupting others. (5) Always be cautious. (6) Avoid empty sounds or words, such as uh, um, like, and you know. 19