Chapter 05 Short Workplace Messages and Digital Media
1. Which of the following statements about communication in today's workplace is correct?
a. Despite the increased use of social media networks, companies are reluctant to use social media sites such as
Facebook and Twitter to conduct business.
b. Individuals are using more mobile electronic devices to communicate with others.
c. Because individuals are more dispersed, messages are longer and less frequent.
d. Because of social media networks, today's communication includes more one-on-one conversations.
2. Which statement about the use of e-mail in today's workplace is correct?
a. Workers report spending about three hours per day on work e-mail.
b. Businesses use memos more frequently than e-mail messages to communicate internally with employees.
c. Only managers and top-level business executives use e-mail to communicate with others.
d. Today's workers spend very little time writing e-mail messages.
3. Which of the following is an effective strategy for controlling your e-mail inbox?
a. Read and respond to each message within 10 minutes.
b. Check your e-mail only in the mornings.
c. Check your e-mail at set times during the day.
d. Ask your co-workers not to e-mail you unless it's urgent.
4. Which of the following is an appropriate situation for sending an e-mail message in a business context?
a. Matthew is angry with one of his colleagues and wants to let her know exactly how he feels.
b. Jane found a great political joke she wants to share with her colleagues.
c. Chris must send the monthly sales data to his department.
d. Maggie needs to vent her frustrations about working conditions to her shift supervisor.
5. Which of the following is an effective subject line?
a. PARKING PERMITS
b. Staff Meeting
c. Please Respond to Job Satisfaction Survey
d. Important! Please Read Now
6. What is the current advice on the use of a greeting on business e-mails?
a. Omit greetings because they make an e-mail appear too casual.
b. Add a greeting only when forwarding an e-mail with a lengthy header.
c. Don't waste precious digital space on the nonessential keystrokes of a greeting or salutation.
d. Begin with a greeting to provide a visual cue and to show friendliness.
7. Bennett is sending an e-mail message about a change in procedure for submitting work hours. Which of the following
states the purpose in a way that could be used to start the email message?
a. Recently, the management staff discussed our process for submitting work hours.
b. A new procedure for submitting work hours will go into effect on April 1.
c. Are you in the mood to try something a little different?
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d. We all hate when procedures change, but sometimes change is needed.
8. Which of the following will help improve the readability of an e-mail message’s body section?
a. Including a friendly salutation
b. Using numbered or bulleted lists
c. Writing ideas in long, well-developed paragraphs
d. Starting the message indirectly
9. Which of the following should be included in an effective email closing?
a. An action statement with due dates and requests
b. A promise to follow up later
c. A reminder of the sender’s credentials and expertise
d. A specific timeframe in which the sender should reply
10. The final element of an e-mail message should be _______.
a. your name and full contact information
b. a witty phrase and your name
c. the name of the business or organization only
d. an attachment
11. What advice should you follow when using down-editing to reply to an e-mail message?
a. Do not include a courteous opening with your reply message.
b. Avoid the use of different colors when inserting your comments.
c. Delete the sender's message header, signature, and all unnecessary parts.
d. Add a comment after every sentence in the original message.
12. Which of the following tips can help with e-mail inbox management?
a. Reply to all messages immediately so that they don’t get lost in the shuffle.
b. For messages that require more than two minutes for a response, add them to your to-do list or schedule them
on your calendar to take care of later.
c. Send a polite note of receipt for every message you receive.
d. Leave your inbox open at all times so you can see the messages as they come in.
13. Because Maya knows that the most important part of an e-mail message is the subject line, she should _______.
a. avoid using verbs
b. use all caps to grab the reader's attention
c. adjust the subject line if the topic changes after repeated replies
d. limit her phrasing to three words for conciseness
14. Although e-mail has largely replaced memos, you may still need to use the memo format if _______.
a. the message is being sent to an external audience
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b. a permanent record is needed
c. the message needs to be written in a more informal tone
d. all employees have access to e-mail
15. Sam wants to ensure that the tone of his informational e-mail matches his intent. He should _______.
a. delete the e-mail and phone the recipient instead
b. read the message aloud to himself
c. wait 72 hours before sending the message
d. include several exclamation points to express enthusiasm
16. When preparing to send an e-mail with an attachment, you should _______.
a. notify the recipient via phone that they will be receiving an attachment
b. leave the body of the e-mail blank
c. specify the date, sender's name, receiver's name, and subject line on the attachment
d. include the word ATTACHMENT (in all caps) in the subject line
17. Most e-mail messages and memos _______.
a. have nonsensitive topics and begin directly
b. require persuasion
c. are indirect and begin with an explanation
d. need not be carefully organized because they are informal
18. Both e-mails and memos have four key guide words calling for a subject line, a dateline, the identification of the
sender, and _______.
a. the sender’s location
b. the receiver’s location
c. the identification of the receiver
d. the time
19. An e-mail message or memo usually ends with action information, dates, or deadlines; a summary of the message; or a
_______.
a. witty quotation
b. copyright notice or confidentiality statement
c. closing thought
d. reference line that includes the typist's initials
20. E-mail is appropriate for short, informal messages that request information and respond to inquiries.
a. True
b. False
21. Most e-mails should be organized using the indirect organizational strategy.
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a. True
b. False
22. Greetings such as Hi, Katy are unnecessary in e-mail messages because it is already clear that the receiver is the
intended recipient.
a. True
b. False
23. Like e-mail messages, memos can be used to communicate within an organization and with external customers,
companies, and organizations.
a. True
b. False
24. Memos are used to convey procedures, official instructions, and reports.
a. True
b. False
25. Memos should be organized directly by conveying the main idea first.
a. True
b. False
26. Deadlines and action information should be included in the body of an e-mail message or memo.
a. True
b. False
27. What does the term “down-editing” mean when responding to an e-mail?
a. Down-editing involves inserting your responses to parts of the incoming message.
b. Down-editing means trimming the word count of your response, ensuring that your language is as concise as
possible.
c. Down-editing has the same meaning as curbing exuberance: editing your language to remove unnecessary
intensifiers.
d. Down-editing refers to the practice of putting your reply in a lower position than the e-mail you are responding
to.
28. Guide words in an e-mail message or memo include To, From, Date, and _______.
a. location
b. subject
c. time
d. day
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COMPLETION
hard
copy
1.
____________________-____________________
messages tend to carry more weight, are more
formal, and are taken more seriously in certain situations.
2.
body
In the ____________________
of an e-mail message, you should cover just one topic.
spam
3.
Sending unsolicited advertisements, also called ____________________,
either by fax or e-mail is
illegal in the United States.
podcast
4.
A(n) ____________________
is a digital audio or video file that can be downloaded to a computer or
watched on a smartphone.
subject line
5.
An e-mail message should include a descriptive ____________________
to help ensure that the
message will be read.
guide
6.
To, From, Date, and Subject in an e-mail message or a memo are called ____________________
words.
7.
Unless your company specifically allows it, never use your employer's computers for
personal
____________________
messages or entertainment.
8.
Although e-mail is still a relatively new business communication tool, a set of rules for polite online
netiquette
interaction called ____________________
has emerged.
Instant
9.
____________________
messaging enables you to use the Internet to communicate in real time in a
private chat room with one or more individuals. It is like live e-mail or a text telephone call.
wikis
10. Teams or departments use ____________________
to collect and disseminate information to large
audiences creating a database for knowledge management.
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