Business Communication (MB121): October 2004 Suggested Answers

Suggested Answers
Business Communication (MB121): October 2004
1. Answer : (e)
Reason : Visual aids help communicate the subject matter clearly and attractively.A Gantt chart is a
horizontal bar chart that graphically displays time relationships.Time is displayed on the
horizontal axis and tasks are shown on the vertical axis.The length of the bars depicts the
amount of time they represent.
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2. Answer : (d)
Reason : Well-presented reasons are crucial to convince your audience that the decision that
produced the bad news is fair and logical
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3. Answer : (d)
Reason : When deciding whether to accept a job opportunity or not, the forced choice is often
helpful.
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4. Answer : (b)
Reason : Don't say more than you need if you want to have enough time to cover all the questions
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5. Answer : (c)
Reason : When asking questions in a request message it's better to avoid asking for information that
can be find on your own.
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6. Answer : (c)
Reason : When you list your experience in a chronological format it is advisable to List all jobs in
reverse chronological order
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7. Answer : (c)
Reason : The technique is called nominal group technique.
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8. Answer : (a)
Reason : The correct answer is "change" since it compares data over different time periods. The
multi-range bar chart does not express data that stagnates over time. Data changes, it does
not turn over, revert or reverse
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9. Answer : (b)
Reason : Using "you" statements; make clear where the employee is wrong will not help in giving a
constructive feedback.
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10. Answer : (a)
Reason : Solicitation or invitation to bid on a contract is a request for proposal
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11. Answer : (d)
Reason : All the above ways negative roles and actions can hurt group performance except
evaluating.
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12. Answer : (a)
Reason : Group interview judges interpersonal skills.
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13. Answer : (e)
Reason : All the topics discussed in the question should not be discussed in the interview.
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14. Answer : (b)
Reason : "Morale" refers to Rajan's attitude to his work, and is therefore the correct choice.
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15. Answer : (a)
Reason : Effective claims letters should tell the reader what you want and why you are writing.
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16. Answer : (a)
Reason : The first step in writing the report is to determine the purpose of the report.
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17. Answer : (d)
Reason : An Abstract is a brief technical summary usually no more than 200 words of the report.
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The basic types of abstracts are generally called Descriptive and Informative abstracts.
18. Answer : (a)
Reason : The "you" attitude is an approach in business communication that makes the communicator
speak and write in terms of the audience's preferences, wishes, and expectations.
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19. Answer : (a)
Reason : An interview is a goal-oriented, interpersonal communication between an interviewer and a
respondent.It is primarily undertaken to accomplish a specific purpose, perhaps to obtain or
provide information, to solve a problem, or to persuade someone to undertake some
action.Style and structure of an interview depends on its purpose and on the relationship
between the two parties involved.Interview can be structured in many ways.Questions are
also framed based on the type of information required from the candidate.The question,
"tell me about your self" comes under the open-ended question
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20. Answer : (d)
Reason : The building blocks of a resume are our employment history.
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21. Answer : (c)
Reason : When you write a letter of recommendation, you want to convince readers that the person
you are recommending has the qualities necessary for the relevant position or benefit.
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22. Answer : (a)
Reason : The interpretation of nonverbal signals can vary from culture to culture because each
culture can add its own meaning to such signals, as these are not controlled by the
specificity of words.
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23. Answer : (c)
Reason : A brief technical summary is called the abstract which is of no more than 200 words of the
report.The letter of transmittal introduces the purpose and content of the report to the
principal reader, usually the person who requested the report.The table of contents contains
page numbers of the different contents of the report.The executive summary is a one page
condensation of the report.Its audience is made up of managers who rely on executive
summaries to cope with the tremendous amount of paper crossing their desk every day.A
list of illustrations is a table of contents for the figures and tables of a report.
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24. Answer : (b)
Reason : Resale refers to assuring the customer that he or she has made a wise purchase.
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25. Answer : (e)
Reason : Taking your time getting to the point is the answer
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26. Answer : (a)
Reason : The letter is thought to be the most formal among the three kinds of brief messages: the
memo, the letter, and the e-mail
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27. Answer : (e)
Reason : All the options are correct.
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28. Answer : (a)
Reason : The communication which flows between the units or individuals of same hierarchical
level is termed as Lateral communication.Informal communication is the communication
which does not follow any rules and structure.Upward communication is the
communication which starts at subordinates and ends at the superior.Downward
communication is the communication which starts at the superior and ends at the
subordinate.Formal communication is the communication which follows structure and
rules of the organization
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29. Answer : (d)
Reason : The oral communication channel through media such as face-to-face conversation,
telephone calls, speeches, presentations, and teleconferencing provide opportunity for
immediate verbal and nonverbal feedback more than any written channel because the
sender and the receiver are simultaneously in contact during such oral communication.
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30. Answer : (b)
Reason : Sharing information, brainstorming ideas, evaluating ideas and motivating members are all
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considered part of planning effective meetings.
31. Answer : (b)
Reason : To be come effective communicator for that matter anyone need to be assertive.
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32. Answer : (d)
Reason : The objective of the persuasive sales message is to have reader act in the direction we want
him to act, to provide information to help him to take decision and to overcome any
objection that might come but not to make reader request for more information.
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33. Answer : (e)
Reason : Interview needs all the four options, preparation, judgment, location and questions.
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34. Answer : (b)
Reason : Memos cannot generate instant feedback and sharing of ideas. A great deal of effective
team collaboration through sharing of information, ideas, and work is dependent on
meetings with members of a team.
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35. Answer : (d)
Reason : Before any group starts working towards its goal; taking a decision, preparing a report etc.
should first gather the information needed to complete the task.
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36. Answer : (d)
Reason : Since collection letter is for reminding the client about the amount to be paid, it should
contain the amount to be paid by the client.
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37. Answer : (c)
Reason : To show correlations, all of the above graphs/charts can be used except pie chart.
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38. Answer : (c)
Reason : An analogy is conveyed orally. (a), (b), (d) and (e) are considered visual aids because they
can be seen by the audience. Slides and transparencies are projected on screen for all to
see. The chalkboard is frequently used to visually explain some points or problems in class.
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39. Answer : (b)
Reason : A circular letter is meant for number of interested people about the concerned subject.
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40. Answer : (c)
Reason : In the structure of the letter date is placed six lines below the last line of the letterhead
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41. Answer : (c)
Reason : AIDA is referred as Attention, Interest, Desire and Action
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42. Answer : (c)
Reason : Responding to personal attacks won't help the negotiating parties to reach an agreement.
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43. Answer : (a)
Reason : The interviewer reveals that the interview is over and that the applicant would most likely
be dropped from the shortlist of candidates is not the possible conclusion to the interview
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44. Answer : (b)
Reason : Video conferencing involves using video terminal for communication.
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45. Answer : (c)
Reason : To help you remember important information, you should develop relevant acronyms,
links, or rhymes. If you are hearing instructions, you should take selective notes and then
revise your notes immediately and verify them with the speaker
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46. Answer : (b)
Reason : Tables are ideal when the audience needs facts that would be difficult or tedious to handle
in the main text.
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47. Answer : (b)
Reason : Supplement is the most appropriate word in the given statement
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48. Answer : (e)
Reason : The objective of the persuasive message is to make the reader act by appealing to his sense
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of reasoning, making him to fall in line with our thinking and evoke the emotional
response from the reader but not establish the credibility of the document.
49. Answer : (c)
Reason : A letter report follows an organizational plan similar to Longer, more formal report types
but only difference is it follows the structure of a letter.
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50. Answer : (c)
Reason : The middle paragraph contains most information about your qualifications.
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51. Answer : (d)
Reason : Nonverbal communication usually blends with verbal communication, carrying part of the
message to enhance, reinforce, and clarify spoken words.
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52. Answer : (a)
Reason : The typical paragraph contains these three basic elements: a topic sentence, related
sentences developing the topic, and transitional words and phrases.
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53. Answer : (d)
Reason : Interoffice correspondence refers to communication within the same organization, and
would indicate a memo.
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54. Answer : (b)
Reason : Prejudgment is a barrier to listening. It occurs when the listeners jump to a conclusion and
ignore additional information.
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55. Answer : (a)
Reason : A trite, obvious statement is referred Platitude.Our reputation is important to us and we
will work day and night to satisfy our customers, this statement contains a platitude.
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56. Answer : (a)
Reason : Effective teams are able to inject humor into their intereactions.
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57. Answer : (e)
Reason : A sales manager giving instructions to a salesperson is an example of downward
communication.
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58. Answer : (a)
Reason : We cannot change our audience according to our wishes. Our task is to deliver the message
to the intended audience in a way that they can understand. So we should educate them
about the topic through information and tools that will help them understand the material.
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59. Answer : (d)
Reason : A receiver can be an institution, an individual and group of individuals
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60. Answer : (e)
Reason : Except the option (e) all the options are false.
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61. Answer : (c)
Reason : The objective of the business message is, the messages should build good will, presenting a
positive image of the writer
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62. Answer : (a)
Reason : To use the gap between speaking and thinking times productively, a listener cantake
mental or written notes.
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63. Answer : (c)
Reason : Asking a religion related question is considered as the illegal question.
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64. Answer : (a)
Reason : Audience members will have confidence in you if you are credible i.e. they believe in your
abilities.
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65. Answer : (b)
Reason : Planning should get about half, writing should get less than a quarter, and completing
should get more than a quarter of the available time. Since planning involves thinking
about purpose, getting more information about the subject and audience, and deciding on
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channel and medium of transmission, it is a more time-consuming step. The actual writing
of the first draft can take the least time because it only involves the activities of outlining
and writing one draft. The completion step can take a little longer than the first draft
writing step because it involves the activities of review, analysis, editing, revising, and
rewriting
66. Answer : (a)
Reason : Build indicates the way text and graphics are released on the slides of an electronic
presentation
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67. Answer : (b)
Reason : While saying "No" answer, the foregoing responses use positive language, lovely reasons
or at least a positive attitude and using an inductive sequence is respectable
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68. Answer : (b)
Reason : In the middle section of a request message, details of the request are given.
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69. Answer : (c)
Reason : Personal space is the distance one wants between oneself and other people in ordinary,
nonintimate interchanges.
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70. Answer : (c)
Reason : A company's written policy outlining appropriate and inappropriate actions is called a 'code
of ethics'.
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71. Answer : (b)
Reason : Publication of the results is not a part of the planning stage for conducting a survey.
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72. Answer : (e)
Reason : The best way to start your enquiry message is to ask a question.
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73. Answer : (b)
Reason : The phase in which evaluation of communication process takes place, is feedback, but not
in transmittal, reception, decoding and encoding.
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74. Answer : (a)
Reason : Some executives are wary of informal communication channels, possibly because they fear
a loss of their control over the flow of information.
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75. Answer : (d)
Reason : The communicator could use either direct or indirect approach to present the topics of the
documents. He can use the direct approach if the audience is receptive and he can use
indirect approach if the audience are hostile.
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76. Answer : (d)
Reason : The pattern of physical cues, environmental stimuli, and implicit understanding that
convey meaning between members of the same culture is Cultural context
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77. Answer : (a)
Reason : The purpose of every group is to achieve a specific goal or arrive at a decision. However,
different groups adopt different approaches to achieve their purpose. Brain storming: In
this technique members are encouraged to generate as many ideas about a topic as they
can.Every idea is recorded.No idea is rejected at the initial stage. The group then returns to
the ideas and adopts those that seem most feasible or most useful
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78. Answer : (c)
Reason : After collecting the facts the next logical step is to interpret them.
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79. Answer : (a)
Reason : As the name itself suggests short reports are less lengthy hence, will contain only title page
and text of the report.
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80. Answer : (c)
Reason : If the visual aid undermines the text it should not be included.Hence, this question is
impertinent.
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81. Answer : (a)
Reason : A ranked question contains various ratings that can be given for the response.
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82. Answer : (d)
Reason : Résumés are created for the specific purpose of seeking and acquiring jobs.
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83. Answer : (b)
Reason : The concept of "everything in the paragraph belonging together because every part
concerns every other part" is referred to as Unity.
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84. Answer : (d)
Reason : A heading for every new part is a good visual clue; but since the presentation is oral,
transitional words and phrases are required to link its various parts.
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85. Answer : (c)
Reason : The final link in the communication chain is giving feedback to the sender.
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86. Answer : (d)
Reason : An acknowledgment of any assistance you received in preparing the material will be
placed on the letter of transmittal.
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87. Answer : (a)
Reason : The statement "Letters that convey pleasant messages are referred to as "good news"
letters.
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88. Answer : (d)
Reason : Using color and decorations as much as possible is not a step in creating good visuals.
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89. Answer: (b)
Reason: A memo is not used for outside communication infact, it is used for intra office
correspondence.
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90. Answer: (e)
Reason: When reviewing your visual aids, ask yourself whether each one is necessary, convenient,
accurate, and honest
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91. Answer: (c)
Reason: The process of communication is initiated by the source.
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92. Answer: (c)
Reason: The central selling point is a reader benefit that by itself could motivate your readers to act
and that can serve as an umbrella under which all the other benefits can fit.
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93. Answer: (e)
Reason: The statements (b) and (c) are false.
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94. Answer: (c)
Reason: In a positive message, the main idea is presented right at the beginning of the letter.
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95. Answer: (c)
Reason: Implication is often an effective way of transmitting an unpleasant idea.
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96. Answer: (c)
Reason: A memo for the file recording actions and rationales would be classified as an informative
or positive message.
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97. Answer: (c)
Reason: A higher bid in negotiations always provides the bidder better room for maneuvering.
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98. Answer: (c)
Reason: The specific evidence included in a business message should be enough to be convincing
but not so much that it's boring.
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99. Answer: (b)
Reason: Changing a verb (action word) into the subject (noun) in a sentence to be written results in
a longer sentence using a passive voice.
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100. Answer: (c)
Reason: To market oneself successfully, the application letter should always focus on a central
selling point. This is introduced in the first or the second paragraph and stressed in the
paragraphs that follow. Other aspects of one’s abilities can be discussed at the interview.