Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Business Communication Developing Leaders for a Networked World 1st Edition Cardon Test Bank instant download all chapter
Business Communication Developing Leaders for a Networked World 1st Edition Cardon Test Bank instant download all chapter
https://testbankdeal.com/product/business-communication-
developing-leaders-for-a-networked-world-1st-edition-cardon-
solutions-manual/
https://testbankdeal.com/product/business-communication-
developing-leaders-for-a-networked-world-2nd-edition-cardon-test-
bank/
https://testbankdeal.com/product/business-communication-
developing-leaders-for-a-networked-world-3rd-edition-cardon-test-
bank/
https://testbankdeal.com/product/business-communication-
developing-leaders-for-a-networked-world-2nd-edition-cardon-
solutions-manual/
Business Communication Developing Leaders for a
Networked World 3rd Edition Cardon Solutions Manual
https://testbankdeal.com/product/business-communication-
developing-leaders-for-a-networked-world-3rd-edition-cardon-
solutions-manual/
https://testbankdeal.com/product/developing-human-service-
leaders-1st-edition-harley-mcclaskey-test-bank/
https://testbankdeal.com/product/ebusiness-a-canadian-
perspective-for-a-networked-world-canadian-4th-edition-trites-
test-bank/
https://testbankdeal.com/product/ebusiness-a-canadian-
perspective-for-a-networked-world-canadian-4th-edition-trites-
solutions-manual/
https://testbankdeal.com/product/strategic-management-
communication-for-leaders-3rd-edition-walker-test-bank/
Chapter 07 - Testbank
Student: ___________________________________________________________________________
4. If you use email to coordinate tasks with deadlines, provide detailed information about time frames and your
availabilities.
True False
6. Humor and sarcasm, too, can be misinterpreted in digital communications, even among close colleagues.
True False
8. The neutrality effect means that recipients are more likely to perceive messages that are intended as neutral as
negative.
True False
9. Flames are emails or other digital communications with hostile intentions characterized by words of profanity,
obscenity, and insults that inflict harm to a person or an organization?
True False
10. Focusing on task-related facts and issues in your reply is a good way to defuse situations involving cyber incivility.
True False
11. Turn off message alerts as these alerts can distract you and reduce your focus.
True False
12. In order to manage e-interruptions effectively, reply immediately to all the messages
True False
13. Intel estimates that large companies lose about $1 million per year because of email overload.
True False
14. Distractions impact performance for much longer than the few moments taken to acknowledge and respond to
incoming messages.
True False
15. A Microsoft study found that it takes 15 minutes on average to refocus after an interruption.
True False
16. The Industrial Age is an era in which people engage in networked communication, collaborate across boundaries, and
solve problems communally.
True False
17. Web 2.0 communication tools are primarily passive and static.
True False
18. Your professional profile should reflect the same information as your social networking profile.
True False
20. Social media offer an ideal means of continuously learning about your company, your industry, and your discipline.
True False
21. Due to the many communication tools available in the emerging Social Age, the division between professional and
private lives is becoming increasingly clear.
True False
22. Younger people are often expert at developing an online professional presence but they are less skilled at developing
an online social persona.
True False
23. The line between what you believe is private use of social media and your role as an employee can be murky.
True False
24. Younger people are often expert at developing an online social persona, they are less skilled at developing an online
professional presence.
True False
25. The use of social media, even for private use, complicates your relationship with your employer.
True False
26. An employee congratulating his employer’s son on his engagement is an example of social media complicating
relationships between employees and employers.
True False
27. It is important for an employee to become familiar with his company’s acceptable-use policies for social networking
websites.
True False
31. Which of the following is a good subject line based only on its length?
A. Why?
B. Last month
C. The reason why we should consider implementing this marketing plan is because it provides many benefits.
D. Team meeting (Circ conference room, in five minutes)
E. So, here it goes?
32. Which of the following is most likely to be placed in the subject line?
A. Expected action
B. Signature block
C. List of attachments
D. Professional tagline
E. Recipient’s name
33. Which of the following is most likely to be included in a good signature block?
A. List of attachments
B. Expected action
C. Statistical data
D. Contact details
E. Names of all the recipients
34. Which of the following guidelines best ensures that your email is easy to read?
A. Your subject line should be at least 20 words long.
B. Each paragraph in your message should be at least 80 words long.
C. Avoid including attachments.
D. Provide a descriptive signature block.
E. Your subject line should consist of only one or two words.
35. Message recipients make immediate judgments about the importance of a message based on the _____.
A. subject line
B. names of the people included in the "To" feature
C. signature block in the message
D. salutation in the message
E. first paragraph of the message
36. Considering the ease of reading, which of the following is most likely to be the correct length of subject line?
A. Eight words
B. Two words
C. One word
D. Twelve words
E. Fifteen words
37. _____ in the emails serve the same role that headlines do in newspapers and magazines.
A. Subject lines
B. Signature blocks
C. Attachments
D. Salutations
E. First paragraphs
38. Considering the ease of reading, which of the following is most likely to be the correct length of a paragraph in an
email?
A. 10 words
B. 20 words
C. 40 words
D. 60 words
E. 70 words
40. What should you do when you cannot respond to a request made in an email?
A. Log off the system and let others presume that you are not online.
B. Set up an automated response to say that you are out of town.
C. Inform the sender that you are busy and cannot reply straightaway.
D. Reply immediately and explain how soon you can respond in full.
E. Ignore the email for now and reply when you can.
44. Which of the following is a reason why greeting and names are omitted from emails?
A. People do not like being greeted or having their names called out very often.
B. Omitting names and greetings saves space as two lines can consume a significant amount of space.
C. Some professionals view emails as the equivalent of memos, which traditionally omit names and greetings.
D. Most people are feelers and are not inclined toward greeting others.
E. Since emails are typically forwarded to several other people by the first recipient, it is inappropriate to mention the
name of only one recipient in the email.
45. _____ effect means that recipients are more likely to perceive messages with an intended positive emotion as
unbiased.
A. Negativity
B. Neutrality
C. Positivity
D. Generality
E. Cordiality
46. Clement, a customer service representative at Sarah's Supermart, has a tough time handling customers during his
first week at Sarah’s Supermart. Charlie, Clement’s colleague at the supermart, guides him through this tough period To
show his appreciation for Charlie, Clement writes him an email thanking him for his help. Charlie neither reacts nor replies
to this mail. Charlie’s behavior is an example of _____.
A. negativity effect
B. neutrality effect
C. positivity effect
D. generality effect
E. cordiality effect
47. Chris and Susan are employees of Finvest Corp. During a recent appraisal, David, Susan’s manager, arrived at a
conclusion that her performance this year was not as good as the previous year. When Chris came to know about this, he
sent an email to Susan explaining to her that she was probably distracted at work because of her texting and social
networking habits, which in turn hampered her productivity. He advised her to improve her productivity and do well in the
next appraisal. On reading this, Susan lashed back at Chris and asked him not to interfere into her matters. Susan’s
behavior is an example of the _____.
A. negativity effect
B. neutrality effect
C. positivity effect
D. generality effect
E. cordiality effect
48. Which of the following is most likely to be caused by people when they feel comfortable writing things online that they
would not say in person?
A. Flames
B. Noise
C. Emotional hijacking
D. Empathy
E. Pessimism
50. Dave sent an email to his colleague, Stan, asking him for a few important details regarding an ongoing project. Stan is
on a business tour and finds no time to reply to all of Dave’s queries. Dave wrongly perceives that Stan is ignoring him.
Which of the following should Dave do?
A. Since Stan is indulging in cyber silence, Dave should retort with flames.
B. He should bring this to the notice of the CEO and voice his complaints against Stan.
C. Dave should understand that Stan is on a business tour and not bother him even if the project is getting affected
negatively.
D. He should try calling Stan or sending a polite message saying that an early reply will be appreciated.
E. Dave should ignore Stan’s mails when Stan replies.
51. In the context of electronic communication, which of the following is considered to be an act of incivility?
A. Using a message framework that is based on deductive approach
B. Emotional hijacking
C. Cyber silence
D. Using a message framework that is based on inductive approach
E. Formal politeness
52. In the context of electronic communication, _____ involves indirect form of disrespect.
A. Emotional hijacking
B. Passive incivility
C. Negativity effect
D. Neutrality effect
E. Active incivility
53. _____ involves adjusting your initial perceptions by making more objective, more fact-based, and less personal
judgments and evaluations.
A. Reinterpretation
B. Relaxation
C. Emotional hijacking
D. Defusing
E. Repetition
54. _____ involves avoiding escalation and removing tension to focus on work objectives.
A. Reinterpretation
B. Relaxation
C. Emotional hijacking
D. Defusing
E. Repetition
55. Which of the following can be used to constructively address uncivil emails?
A. Engaging in cyber silence
B. Sending out flames
C. Composing the reply using the deductive approach
D. Using the technique of defusing
E. Composing the reply using the inductive approach
57. Which of the following can help keep email-induced distractions at bay?
A. Checking your messages at regular intervals of fifteen minutes.
B. Checking your messages at the end of the day.
C. Checking your messages once a week and use an automated message to indicate the same.
D. Checking your messages just two to four times a day.
E. Checking your messages constantly to keep yourself updated on the latest information.
58. A recent study found that the average worker loses _____ per day due to interruptions.
A. 4 hours
B. 1.1 hours
C. 2.1 hours
D. 1 hour
E. 3 hours
59. Which of the following statements best describe e-interruptions?
A. E-interruptions are caused by face to face conversations.
B. E-interruptions are caused by emails and texts.
C. E-interruptions increase attention spans and reduced stress.
D. E-interruptions cost companies a very small amount of money.
E. E-interruptions make workers lose 4 hours a day.
61. A University of Michigan study found that _____ when people try to do two or more things at once.
A. productivity increases by up to 80 percent
B. productivity increases by up to 40 percent
C. productivity remains the same
D. productivity drops by up to 85 percent
E. productivity drops by up to 40 percent
63. The _____ Age is characterized by mass two-way communication and respect for expertise and position.
A. Social
B. Industrial
C. Technological
D. Information
E. Machine
67. In the original Internet, referred to as _____, most web pages were read-only and static.
A. Web 0.5
B. Web 0.9
C. Web 1.0
D. Web 2.0
E. Web 3.0
68. The evolution of the Internet during the past 15 years from Web 1.0 to Web 2.0 platforms is the primary driver of the
_____.
A. Machine Age
B. Automation Age
C. Information Age
D. Social Age
E. Industrial Age
72. Which of the following accurately depicts a dashboard in a social software system?
A. Your front page when you log into the system, which acts as a communication hub
B. Shorter blogs that contain just a few sentences, which are part of most enterprise social software systems
C. Collections of pages that anyone with approved access can edit
D. A collection of posts that are arranged chronologically, similar to a journal format
E. The front panel of a computer that lets you interact with its via buttons
75. Which of the following is most likely to be used to place all of the work group’s communications in a single place, such
as updates and progress reports?
A. Podcast
B. Team blog
C. Mashup
D. Social bookmark
E. RSS feed
76. _____ have stronger collaborative potential than any of the other social media tools.
A. Dashboards
B. Blogs
C. Microblogs
D. Wikis
E. Instant messages
77. _____ are collections of pages that anyone with approved access can edit, thus lending themselves to collaborative
writing.
A. Microblogs
B. Podcasts
C. RSS feeds
D. Wikis
E. Mashups
78. Which of the following should be practiced for professional social media use?
A. Do not comment on others’ work.
B. Limit your network to your formal work teams.
C. Join teams built around common interests.
D. Do not make your content accessible to others.
E. Use social media at work and not at home.
79. A unique set of professional skills and attributes that others associate with you is called your _____.
A. personal brand
B. meta message
C. digital profile
D. personal dashboard
E. meta profile
80. _____ messages are overall and underlying messages that others decode from your online communications.
A. Meta
B. Public
C. Grouped
D. Concurrent
E. Incidental
81. Which of the following reputations is a result of the meta message “I abide by the rules”?
A. Talented, skilled, and capable
B. Activist, cause-driven, and passionate
C. Learning, inquisitive, and curious
D. Moral, ethical, and fair
E. Fun-loving and communicative
82. A reputation for being fun-loving will be sought-after in which of the following domains?
A. Personal and public
B. Professional and public
C. Personal and private
D. Professional and private
E. Professional and social
85. Fun loving, exciting, loyal and committed are reputations that are sought after in the _____ area of online activity.
A. personal and private
B. personal and public
C. professional and private
D. professional and public
E. semi-professional and private
86. Which of the following statements best describes a company’s views on its employees engaging in social media?
A. Companies are aware that they can control and restrict employees from engaging in social media.
B. Companies understand that employees use social media for the sole purpose of self-expression.
C. Companies understand that employees use social media for the sole purpose of improving the company’s business.
D. Companies respect the rights of its employees to use blogs and other social media tools for both personal and
professional use.
E. Companies view social media as having a negative effect on employee productivity and consider it to be a distraction.
87. Which of the following situations can be used as an example for social media complicating professional relationships
between people?
A. An employee posting an invite to launch of his company’s new headquarters on his professional networking page.
B. An employee uses his personal social networking page to announce the birth of his or her child.
C. An employee blogs about an embarrassing incident about his boss, who sees the post.
D. An employee uploads pictures of his coworkers at a workshop that took place in their office.
E. An employee uses his social networking page to invite his colleagues for dinner.
88. Coco-Cola has a set of _____ principles that serve as guidelines for their employees on how to conduct themselves
online.
A. fifteen
B. seven
C. five
D. ten
E. twelve
89. According to the Coca-Cola online activities guideline, when employees come across negative posts about the
company they should _____.
A. react to the negative posts themselves.
B. pass the posts along to their immediate superior straight away.
C. file a complaint with the concerned website.
D. pass the posts to the official in-market spokesperson.
E. get fellow employees to respond to the posts as a group.
90. According to Catherine Norris, when is the use of face-to-face communication most crucial?
A. It is most crucial when there is conflict within the organization.
B. It is most crucial when visual data has to be provided.
C. It is most crucial when a message requires added emphasis.
D. It is most crucial when there is no electricity in the workplace.
E. It is most crucial when the online servers are malfunctioning.
92. In the case of email communication, why is it important to use the priority flag wisely?
93. What are email chains and why should these be avoided?
94. Describe neutrality effect and negativity effect.
96. How can you defuse a situation arising out of uncivil electronic communications?
102. State the guidelines that can be followed to stay responsive to others yet focus enough to achieve peak
performance?
103. List the four areas of online reputation with an example each.
104. Briefly explain any one of the social media guidelines that Coca-Cola expects its employees to follow.
105. Explain how both the employer and the employee can be affected by an employee misusing social media.
Chapter 07 - Testbank Key
AACSB: Communication
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-01 Apply principles for writing effective emails.
Topic: Creating Effective Emails
In all written communication, ensuring ease of reading is critical. It is even more critical in emails and other digital messages.
AACSB: Communication
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-01 Apply principles for writing effective emails.
Topic: Creating Effective Emails
Good subject lines are generally five to ten words long. By contrast, poor subjects are either too short (1 or 2 words) and thus
nondescriptive or too long (12 words or longer) and thus difficult to process.
AACSB: Communication
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-01 Apply principles for writing effective emails.
Topic: Creating Effective Emails
4. If you use email to coordinate tasks with deadlines, provide detailed information about time frames and your
availabilities.
TRUE
If you use email to coordinate tasks with deadlines, provide detailed information about time frames and your availabilities.
AACSB: Communication
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-01 Apply principles for writing effective emails.
Topic: Creating Effective Emails
5. Email communication is typically considered fairly casual.
FALSE
AACSB: Communication
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-01 Apply principles for writing effective emails.
Topic: Creating Effective Emails
6. Humor and sarcasm, too, can be misinterpreted in digital communications, even among close colleagues.
TRUE
Humor and sarcasm, too, can be misinterpreted in digital communications, even among close colleagues.
AACSB: Communication
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-01 Apply principles for writing effective emails.
Topic: Creating Effective Emails
AACSB: Communication
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-02 Explain how to handle emotion effectively in online communications.
Topic: Creating Effective Emails
8. The neutrality effect means that recipients are more likely to perceive messages that are intended as neutral as
negative.
FALSE
The neutrality effect means that recipients are more likely to perceive messages with an intended positive emotion as neutral.
AACSB: Communication
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-02 Explain how to handle emotion effectively in online communications.
Topic: Creating Effective Emails
9. Flames are emails or other digital communications with “hostile intentions characterized by words of profanity,
obscenity, and insults that inflict harm to a person or an organization.”
TRUE
Flames are emails or other digital communications with “hostile intentions characterized by words of profanity, obscenity, and insults
that inflict harm to a person or an organization.”
AACSB: Communication
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-02 Explain how to handle emotion effectively in online communications.
Topic: Creating Effective Emails
10. Focusing on task-related facts and issues in your reply is a good way to defuse situations involving cyber incivility.
TRUE
Focusing on task-related facts and issues in your reply is a good way to defuse uncivil electronic communications.
AACSB: Communication
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-02 Explain how to handle emotion effectively in online communications.
Topic: Creating Effective Emails
11. Turn off message alerts as these alerts can distract you and reduce your focus.
TRUE
Turn off message alerts. Over the course of a day, these alerts can distract you and reduce your focus.
AACSB: Communication
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-03 Describe strategies for managing digital message overload.
Topic: Creating Effective Emails
12. In order to manage e-interruptions effectively, reply immediately to all the messages.
FALSE
AACSB: Communication
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-03 Describe strategies for managing digital message overload.
Topic: Creating Effective Emails
13. Intel estimates that large companies lose about $1 million per year because of email overload.
FALSE
Intel estimates that large companies lose about $1 billion per year because of email overload.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-03 Describe strategies for managing digital message overload.
Topic: Manage Your Emails to Avoid Distractions
14. Distractions impact performance for much longer than the few moments taken to acknowledge and respond to
incoming messages.
TRUE
Distractions impact your performance for much longer than the few moments you take to acknowledge and respond to
incoming messages. These disruptions have been shown to reduce attention spans, increase stress, and even reduce
creativity.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-03 Describe strategies for managing digital message overload.
Topic: Manage Your Emails to Avoid Distractions
15. A Microsoft study found that it takes 15 minutes on average to refocus after an interruption.
TRUE
Distractions impact your performance for much longer than the few moments you take to acknowledge and respond to
incoming messages. A Microsoft study found that it takes 15 minutes on average to refocus after an interruption.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-03 Describe strategies for managing digital message overload.
Topic: Manage Your Emails to Avoid Distractions
16. The Industrial Age is an era in which people engage in networked communication, collaborate across boundaries, and
solve problems communally.
FALSE
The Social Age is an era in which people engage in networked communication, collaborate across boundaries, and solve problems
communally.
AACSB: Communication
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-04 Explain characteristics of the emerging Social Age.
Topic: Communicating in the Workplace in the Social Age
17. Web 2.0 communication tools are primarily passive and static.
FALSE
Web 1.0 communication tools are primarily passive and static. By contrast, Web 2.0 communication tools are interactive, customizable,
and social.
AACSB: Communication
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-04 Explain characteristics of the emerging Social Age.
Topic: Communicating in the Workplace in the Social Age
18. Your professional profile should reflect the same information as your social networking profile.
FALSE
The purpose of your business profile is typically different from the one you post on social networking websites such as Facebook. Your
primary goals are professional collaborating and networking rather than socializing or entertaining.
AACSB: Communication
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-05 Apply principles of effective social media use in professional settings.
Topic: Communicating in the Workplace in the Social Age
19. A drawback of wikis is that they cannot be used for meetings.
FALSE
Some organizations are exploring ways of using wikis for meetings. Wiki meetings can cut down on costs and accommodate people at
many locations.
AACSB: Communication
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-05 Apply principles of effective social media use in professional settings.
Topic: Communicating in the Workplace in the Social Age
20. Social media offer an ideal means of continuously learning about your company, your industry, and your discipline.
TRUE
Social media offer an ideal means of continuously learning about your company, your industry, and your discipline.
AACSB: Communication
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-05 Apply principles of effective social media use in professional settings.
Topic: Communicating in the Workplace in the Social Age
21. Due to the many communication tools available in the emerging Social Age, the division between professional and
private lives is becoming increasingly clear.
FALSE
The division between professional and private lives is becoming increasingly blurred.
AACSB: Communication
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-05 Apply principles of effective social media use in professional settings.
Topic: Communicating in the Workplace in the Social Age
22. Younger people are often expert at developing an online professional presence but they are less skilled at developing
an online social persona.
FALSE
Although younger people are often expert at developing an online social persona, they are less skilled at developing an online
professional presence.
AACSB: Communication
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-06 Build a credible online reputation.
Topic: Communicating in the Workplace in the Social Age
23. The line between what you believe is private use of social media and your role as an employee can be murky.
TRUE
The line between what you believe is private use of social media and your role as an employee can be murky, since your private
actions can damage your employer and hurt your career.
AACSB: Communication
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-06 Build a credible online reputation.
Topic: Communicating in the Workplace in the Social Age
24. Younger people are often expert at developing an online professional presence.
FALSE
Nearly all business professionals are aware of social networking and the importance of strong online reputations. However younger
people are often expert at developing an online social persona, they are less skilled at developing an online professional presence.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-06 Build a credible online reputation.
Topic: Manage Your Online Reputation
25. The use of social media, even for private use, complicates your relationship with your employer.
TRUE
The use of social media, even for private use, complicates your relationship with your employer.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-07 Describe the ethical use of social media for work.
Topic: Use Social Media Ethically
26. An employee congratulating his employer’s son on his engagement is an example of social media complicating
relationships between employees and employers.
FALSE
Complication in relationships between employees and employers due to social media takes place when either party posts offensive
material on a social networking site and the other party sees it.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-07 Describe the ethical use of social media for work.
Topic: Use Social Media Ethically
27. It is important for an employee to become familiar with his company’s acceptable-use policies for social networking
websites.
TRUE
It is important for both the employee’s and the company’s protection that all employees become familiar with their company’s
acceptable-use policies for social networking websites. In short, constantly try to understand evolving norms for social media use in a
professional context.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-07 Describe the ethical use of social media for work.
Topic: Use Social Media Ethically
AACSB: Communication
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-01 Apply principles for writing effective emails.
Topic: Creating Effective Emails
Email communication is the primary form of written business communication. Email is easy and convenient. Since emails are not
rich—meaning lacking in virtually all verbal and nonverbal cues associated with face-to-face communication and lacking immediate
feedback—they are best suited for routine, task-oriented, fact-based, and nonsensitive messages.
AACSB: Communication
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-01 Apply principles for writing effective emails.
Topic: Creating Effective Emails
30. Craig is the sales manager at Blaize Supersports and has a 20-member-strong sales team that reports to him. On an
average, Craig receives about 115 emails and sends out 75 emails a day. James, a salesperson at the store, leaves the
subject line blank while typing out a leave request mail to Craig. James wants to take the week off and spend time with his
family. As James is about to send it, he realizes that the subject line is blank. Which of the following should James do
before sending the email to Craig?
A. Send it anyway since the subject line shouldn’t matter to Craig.
B. Include only the number of days and dates in the subject line.
C. Type his name, department details, and employee id in the email and then send it to Craig.
D. Use a descriptive subject line such as “Leave of absence request.”
E. Send the email as it is and then call Craig to inform him about the email.
Message recipients make immediate judgments about the importance of a message based on the subject line. Fundamentally, subject
lines frame your entire message; they serve the same role that headlines do in newspapers and magazines.
Message recipients make immediate judgments about the importance of a message based on the subject line. Good subject lines are
generally five to ten words long. By contrast, poor subjects are either too short (1 or 2 words) and thus nondescriptive or too long (12
words or longer) and thus difficult to process.
AACSB: Communication
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-01 Apply principles for writing effective emails.
Topic: Creating Effective Emails
32. Which of the following is most likely to be placed in the subject line?
A. Expected action
B. Signature block
C. List of attachments
D. Professional tagline
E. Recipient’s name
Most emails are intended to spur action. Effective emails contain specific and clear requests so that recipients know exactly how to
respond. In many cases, you can place these directions in the subject line for greatest clarity.
AACSB: Communication
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-01 Apply principles for writing effective emails.
Topic: Creating Effective Emails
33. Which of the following is most likely to be included in a good signature block?
A. List of attachments
B. Expected action
C. Statistical data
D. Contact details
E. Names of all the recipients
Signature blocks should provide clear contact information. This allows recipients to easily contact you through richer communication
channels if needed. It also enhances your professional image.
AACSB: Communication
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-01 Apply principles for writing effective emails.
Topic: Creating Effective Emails
34. Which of the following guidelines best ensures that your email is easy to read?
A. Your subject line should be at least 20 words long.
B. Each paragraph in your message should be at least 80 words long.
C. Avoid including attachments.
D. Provide a descriptive signature block.
E. Your subject line should consist of only one or two words.
Signature blocks should provide clear contact information. This allows recipients to easily contact you through richer communication
channels if needed. It also enhances your professional image.
AACSB: Communication
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-01 Apply principles for writing effective emails.
Topic: Creating Effective Emails
35. Message recipients make immediate judgments about the importance of a message based on the _____.
A. subject line
B. names of the people included in the “To” feature
C. signature block in the message
D. salutation in the message
E. first paragraph of the message
Message recipients make immediate judgments about the importance of a message based on the subject line.
AACSB: Communication
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-01 Apply principles for writing effective emails.
Topic: Creating Effective Emails
36. Considering the ease of reading, which of the following is most likely to be the correct length of subject line?
A. Eight words
B. Two words
C. One word
D. twelve words
E. fifteen words
Good subject lines are generally five to ten words long. By contrast, poor subjects are either too short (1 or 2 words) and thus
nondescriptive or too long (12 words or longer) and thus difficult to process.
AACSB: Communication
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-01 Apply principles for writing effective emails.
Topic: Creating Effective Emails
37. _____ in the emails serve the same role that headlines do in newspapers and magazines.
A. Subject lines
B. Signature blocks
C. Attachments
D. Salutations
E. First paragraphs
Fundamentally, subject lines frame your entire message; they serve the same role that headlines do in newspapers and magazines.
AACSB: Communication
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-01 Apply principles for writing effective emails.
Topic: Creating Effective Emails
38. Considering the ease of reading, which of the following is most likely to be the correct length of a paragraph in an
email?
A. 10 words
B. 20 words
C. 40 words
D. 60 words
E. 70 words
Get to the point within three or four sentences, and keep your paragraphs about half the size of those in business documents—ideally
30 to 50 words long.
AACSB: Communication
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-01 Apply principles for writing effective emails.
Topic: Creating Effective Emails
If you use email to coordinate tasks with deadlines, provide detailed information about time frames and your availabilities. If you are
setting up appointments, make sure you have provided several options. By clearly providing timelines and schedules, you minimize the
number of emails needed to coordinate your efforts, thus saving time. By providing options, you show respect for your colleagues’
schedules.
AACSB: Communication
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-01 Apply principles for writing effective emails.
Topic: Creating Effective Emails
40. What should you do when you cannot respond to a request made in an email?
A. Log off the system and let others presume that you are not online.
B. Set up an automated response to say that you are out of town.
C. Inform the sender that you are busy and cannot reply straightaway.
D. Reply immediately and explain how soon you can respond in full.
E. Ignore the email for now and reply when you can.
If you can’t respond to a request made in an email, reply immediately and explain how soon you can respond in full. You might use
phrases such as “I will respond to your email by next Tuesday,” or “I can take care of this by the end of next week.”
AACSB: Communication
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-01 Apply principles for writing effective emails.
Topic: Creating Effective Emails
Avoid contributing to confusing and repetitive email chains. Email chains are groups of emails that are sent back and forth among a
group of people. As the number of messages and people involved in an email chain increases, confusion can build.
AACSB: Communication
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-01 Apply principles for writing effective emails.
Topic: Creating Effective Emails
Three features contribute to email chains: forward, copy, and reply to all.
AACSB: Communication
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-01 Apply principles for writing effective emails.
Topic: Creating Effective Emails
43. Which of the following is true of email communication?
A. Most emails are intended to provide information.
B. Email communication cannot be used when the message framework is based on inductive approach.
C. An email should be either completely formal or completely friendly; achieving a balance between formality and
friendliness is not preferable.
D. It is better to err on the side of extra formality than on extra casualness.
E. Email communication is better suited for business rather than personal communication.
Most emails are intended to spur action. In the past few years, a preference has emerged for less formal, stuffy writing. Still, you’ll want
to achieve a balance between formality and the friendliness associated with casual writing. Generally, you are better off erring on the
side of too much formality as opposed to too much casualness.
AACSB: Communication
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-01 Apply principles for writing effective emails.
Topic: Creating Effective Emails
44. Which of the following is a reason why greetings and names are omitted from emails?
A. People do not like being greeted or having their names called out very often.
B. Omitting names and greetings saves space as two lines can consume a significant amount of space.
C. Some professionals view emails as the equivalent of memos, which traditionally omit names and greetings.
D. Most people are feelers and are not inclined toward greeting others.
E. Since emails are typically forwarded to several other people by the first recipient, it is inappropriate to mention the
name of only one recipient in the email.
People leave out names in emails for several reasons. Some professionals view the use of greetings and names as excessively formal,
resembling letters. Other professionals view emails as the equivalent of memos. In fact, the layout of most emails—with a recipient line,
sender line, and subject line—resembles memos. Traditionally, the format for memos calls for omitting a personal greeting and name.
AACSB: Communication
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-01 Apply principles for writing effective emails.
Topic: Creating Effective Emails
45. _____ effect means that recipients are more likely to perceive messages with an intended positive emotion as
unbiased.
A. Negativity
B. Neutrality
C. Positivity
D. Generality
E. Cordiality
The neutrality effect means that recipients are more likely to perceive messages with an intended positive emotion as neutral.
AACSB: Communication
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-02 Explain how to handle emotion effectively in online communications.
Topic: Creating Effective Emails
46. Clement, a customer service representative at Sarah's Supermart, has a tough time handling customers during his
first week at Sarah’s Supermart. Charlie, Clement’s colleague at the supermart, guides him through this tough period. To
show his appreciation for Charlie, Clement writes him an email thanking him for his help. Charlie neither reacts nor replies
to this mail. Charlie’s behavior is an example of _____.
A. negativity effect
B. neutrality effect
C. positivity effect
D. generality effect
E. cordiality effect
The neutrality effect means that recipients are more likely to perceive messages with an intended positive emotion as neutral.
47. Chris and Susan are employees of Finvest Corp. During a recent appraisal, David, Susan’s manager, arrived at a
conclusion that her performance this year was not as good as the previous year. When Chris came to know about this, he
sent an email to Susan explaining to her that she was probably distracted at work because of her texting and social
networking habits, which in turn hampered her productivity. He advised her to improve her productivity and do well in the
next appraisal. On reading this, Susan lashed back at Chris and asked him not to interfere into her matters. Susan’s
behavior is an example of the _____.
A. negativity effect
B. neutrality effect
C. positivity effect
D. generality effect
E. cordiality effect
The negativity effect means that recipients are more likely to perceive messages that are intended as neutral as negative.
48. Which of the following is most likely to be caused by people when they feel comfortable writing things online that they
would not say in person?
A. Flames
B. Noise
C. Emotional hijacking
D. Empathy
E. Pessimism
People often feel comfortable writing things they would not say in person. In some cases, this sense of online freedom leads to flames,
which are emails or other digital communications with “hostile intentions characterized by words of profanity, obscenity, and insults that
inflict harm to a person or an organization.”
AACSB: Communication
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-02 Explain how to handle emotion effectively in online communications.
Topic: Creating Effective Emails
49. What is cyber silence?
A. It is the tendency to perceive messages with an intended positive emotion as neutral.
B. It is the tendency to perceive messages that are intended as neutral as negative.
C. It is the act of sending emails or other digital communications characterized by words of profanity and obscenity.
D. It is the act of not responding to emails or other digital communications.
E. It is the tendency to perceive messages that are intended as neutral as positive.
One of the aspects of asynchronous electronic communications that can lead to anger and frustration is cyber silence, which is
nonresponse to emails and other communications.
AACSB: Communication
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-02 Explain how to handle emotion effectively in online communications.
Topic: Creating Effective Emails
50. Dave sent an email to his colleague, Stan, asking him for a few important details regarding an ongoing project. Stan is
on a business tour and finds no time to reply to all of Dave’s queries. Dave wrongly perceives that Stan is ignoring him.
Which of the following should Dave do?
A. Since Stan is indulging in cyber silence, Dave should retort with flames.
B. He should bring this to the notice of the CEO and voice his complaints against Stan.
C. Dave should understand that Stan is on a business tour and not bother him even if the project is getting affected
negatively.
D. He should try calling Stan or sending a polite message saying that an early reply will be appreciated.
E. Dave should ignore Stan’s mails when Stan replies.
As a message sender, grant the benefit of the doubt to your recipients when responses take longer than you expected. Instead of
getting frustrated, consider giving them a phone call. Keep in mind that they may have different expectations about a reasonable time
frame to respond to your email. If they routinely take longer than you expect, politely mention that you would appreciate quicker
responses.
51. In the context of electronic communication, which of the following is considered to be an act of incivility?
A. Using a message framework that is based on deductive approach
B. Emotional hijacking
C. Cyber silence
D. Using a message framework that is based on inductive approach
E. Formal politeness
One of the aspects of asynchronous electronic communications that can lead to anger and frustration is cyber silence, which is
nonresponse to emails and other communications. Civility is important in electronic communication. Cyber incivility is the violation of
respect and consideration in an online environment based on workplace norms.
AACSB: Communication
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-02 Explain how to handle emotion effectively in online communications.
Topic: Creating Effective Emails
52. In the context of electronic communication, _____ involves indirect form of disrespect.
A. Emotional hijacking
B. Passive incivility
C. Negativity effect
D. Neutrality effect
E. Active incivility
Cyber incivility is the violation of respect and consideration in an online environment based on workplace norms. Passive incivility
involves indirect forms of disrespect (i.e., using emails for time-sensitive messages, not acknowledging receipt of emails, not replying to
emails).
AACSB: Communication
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-02 Explain how to handle emotion effectively in online communications.
Topic: Creating Effective Emails
53. _____ involves adjusting your initial perceptions by making more objective, more fact-based, and less personal
judgments and evaluations.
A. Reinterpretation
B. Relaxation
C. Emotional hijacking
D. Defusing
E. Repetition
Reinterpretation involves adjusting your initial perceptions by making more objective, more fact-based, and less personal judgments
and evaluations.
AACSB: Communication
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-02 Explain how to handle emotion effectively in online communications.
Topic: Creating Effective Emails
54. _____ involves avoiding escalation and removing tension to focus on work objectives.
A. Reinterpretation
B. Relaxation
C. Emotional hijacking
D. Defusing
E. Repetition
Defusing involves avoiding escalation and removing tension to focus on work objectives.
AACSB: Communication
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-02 Explain how to handle emotion effectively in online communications.
Topic: Creating Effective Emails
55. Which of the following can be used to constructively address uncivil emails?
A. Engaging in cyber silence
B. Sending out flames
C. Composing the reply using the deductive approach
D. Using the technique of defusing
E. Composing the reply using the inductive approach
You can take several steps to constructively address uncivil emails: reinterpretation, relaxation, and defusing.
AACSB: Communication
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-02 Explain how to handle emotion effectively in online communications.
Topic: Creating Effective Emails
Interruptions from digital messages, or e-interruptions, are extremely costly to your performance. These disruptions have been shown
to reduce attention spans, increase stress, and even reduce creativity.
AACSB: Communication
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-03 Describe strategies for managing digital message overload.
Topic: Creating Effective Emails
57. Which of the following can help keep email-induced distractions at bay?
A. Checking your messages at regular intervals of fifteen minutes.
B. Checking your messages at the end of the day.
C. Checking your messages once a week and use an automated message to indicate the same.
D. Checking your messages just two to four times a day.
E. Checking your messages constantly to keep yourself updated on the latest information.
Check digital messages just two to four times each day at designated times. Unless your job calls for it (or your boss demands it!), you
should never check your messages more than every 45 minutes. Consider taking interruption-free periods during the day exclusively
devoted to email. For example, you might schedule 30 minutes to an hour at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. each day to communicate via email
and other online tools.
AACSB: Communication
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-03 Describe strategies for managing digital message overload.
Topic: Creating Effective Emails
58. A recent study found that the average worker loses _____ per day due to interruptions.
A. 4 hours
B. 1.1 hours
C. 2.1 hours
D. 1 hour
E. 3 hours
Interruptions from digital messages, or e-interruptions, are extremely costly to your performance. One recent study found
that the average worker loses 2.1 hours per day due to interruptions. Many of these distractions are email and other
incoming messages.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-03 Describe strategies for managing digital message overload.
Topic: Manage Your Emails to Avoid Distractions
Interruptions from digital messages, or e-interruptions, are extremely costly to your performance. One recent study found
that the average worker loses 2.1 hours per day due to interruptions. Many of these distractions are email and other
incoming messages.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-03 Describe strategies for managing digital message overload.
Topic: Manage Your Emails to Avoid Distractions
Intel estimates that large companies lose about $1 billion per year because of email overload. Not surprisingly, many
major companies such as Google, Microsoft, IBM, and Intel have joined the Information Overload Research Group, which
is devoted to finding solutions to such problems.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-03 Describe strategies for managing digital message overload.
Topic: Manage Your Emails to Avoid Distractions
61. A University of Michigan study found that _____ when people try to do two or more things at once.
A. productivity increases by up to 80 percent
B. productivity increases by up to 40 percent
C. productivity remains the same
D. productivity drops by up to 85 percent
E. productivity drops by up to 40 percent
A University of Michigan study found that productivity drops by up to 40 percent when people try to do two or more things
at once. A variety of research about the brain shows that it is not hardwired to multitask effectively.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-03 Describe strategies for managing digital message overload.
Topic: Manage Your Emails to Avoid Distractions
Use rich channels such as face-to-face and phone conversations to accomplish a task completely. Back-and-forth email
chains and other sets of asynchronous digital messages may repeatedly draw attention away from tasks at hand. As
appropriate, use rich, synchronous communication to take care of the matter immediately so that distractions do not
compound themselves.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-03 Describe strategies for managing digital message overload.
Topic: Manage Your Emails to Avoid Distractions
Constantly checking incoming messages—emails, texts, IMs, and various messages through social networking
platforms—or simply hearing message alerts distracts business professionals from concentrating on the tasks at hand.
Interruptions from digital messages, or e-interruptions, are extremely costly to your performance. One recent study found
that the average worker loses 2.1 hours per day due to interruptions. Many business professionals check their email every
five minutes, which amounts to 96 e-interruptions in an eight-hour day. Distractions impact your performance for much
longer than the few moments you take to acknowledge and respond to incoming messages.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-03 Describe strategies for managing digital message overload.
Topic: Manage Your Emails to Avoid Distractions
64. State the guidelines that can be followed to stay responsive to others but allow you to focus enough to achieve peak
performance?
The guidelines that can be followed to stay responsive to others but allows you to focus enough to achieve peak
performance are:
a) Check digital messages just two to four times each day at designated times.
b) Turn off message alerts.
c) Use rich channels such as face-to-face and phone conversations to accomplish a task completely.
d) Reply immediately only to urgent messages.
e) Avoid unnecessarily lengthening an email chain.
f) Use automatic messages to help people know when you’re unavailable.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-03 Describe strategies for managing digital message overload.
Topic: Manage Your Emails to Avoid Distractions
65. The _____ Age is characterized by mass two-way communication and respect for expertise and position.
A. Social
B. Industrial
C. Technological
D. Information
E. Machine
The Information Age is characterized by mass two-way communication and respect for expertise and position. Refer to figure 7.8.
AACSB: Communication
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-04 Explain characteristics of the emerging Social Age.
Topic: Communicating in the Workplace in the Social Age
Many relatively inexpensive, Internet-based communication tools used in business—social networking, blogs, wikis, discussion
forums—are driving profound changes in how people connect and collaborate in the workplace. These changes are so profound that
workplace culture is moving into a new era: from the Information Age to the Social Age.
AACSB: Communication
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-04 Explain characteristics of the emerging Social Age.
Topic: Communicating in the Workplace in the Social Age
User 1.0 refers to an individual who primarily uses and prefers Web 1.0 tools, whereas User 2.0 refers to an individual who primarily
uses and prefers Web 2.0 tools. In the original Internet, referred to as Web 1.0, most Web pages were read-only and static. In simple
terms, Web 1.0 communication tools are primarily passive and static. Refer to table 7.2.
AACSB: Communication
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-04 Explain characteristics of the emerging Social Age.
Topic: Communicating in the Workplace in the Social Age
User 1.0 refers to an individual who primarily uses and prefers Web 1.0 tools, whereas User 2.0 refers to an individual who primarily
uses and prefers Web 2.0 tools. In the original Internet, referred to as Web 1.0, most Web pages were read-only and static. As the
Internet evolved, referred to as Web 2.0, what emerged was the read-write Web, where users interact extensively with Web
pages—authoring content, expressing opinions, and customizing and editing Web content among other things. Web 2.0 communication
tools are interactive, customizable, and social. Refer to table 7.2.
AACSB: Communication
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-04 Explain characteristics of the emerging Social Age.
Topic: Communicating in the Workplace in the Social Age
69. In the original Internet, referred to as _____, most web pages were read-only and static.
A. Web 0.5
B. Web 0.9
C. Web 1.0
D. Web 2.0
E. Web 3.0
In the original Internet, referred to as Web 1.0, most web pages were read-only and static.
AACSB: Communication
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-04 Explain characteristics of the emerging Social Age.
Topic: Communicating in the Workplace in the Social Age
70. The evolution of the Internet during the past 15 years from Web 1.0 to Web 2.0 platforms is the primary driver of the
_____.
A. Machine Age
B. Automation Age
C. Information Age
D. Social Age
E. Industrial Age
The evolution of the Internet during the past 15 years from Web 1.0 to Web 2.0 platforms is the primary driver of the Social Age.
AACSB: Communication
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-04 Explain characteristics of the emerging Social Age.
Topic: Communicating in the Workplace in the Social Age
AACSB: Communication
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-04 Explain characteristics of the emerging Social Age.
Topic: Communicating in the Workplace in the Social Age
72. Which of the following is a drawback of using social media?
A. Increases the time taken to market new products
B. Causes distraction from work and too much socializing
C. Results in intensive business travel resource
D. Makes it difficult to develop innovative and creative approaches to solving business problems
E. Makes it difficult for individuals to build professional networks internally
Social media present many challenges and risks. The primary challenges are cultural. Social media cause distraction from work and too
much socializing. Refer to table 7.3.
AACSB: Communication
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-04 Explain characteristics of the emerging Social Age.
Topic: Communicating in the Workplace in the Social Age
The emerging work culture associated with the Social Age presents many benefits to companies and business professionals in the
context of team and networked communication. Social media provide quicker access to business expertise and knowledge. Refer to
table 7.3.
AACSB: Communication
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-04 Explain characteristics of the emerging Social Age.
Topic: Communicating in the Workplace in the Social Age
74. Which of the following accurately depicts a dashboard in a social software system?
A. Your front page when you log into the system, which acts as a communication hub
B. Shorter blogs that contain just a few sentences, which are part of most enterprise social software systems
C. Collections of pages that anyone with approved access can edit
D. A collection of posts that are arranged chronologically, similar to a journal format
E. The front panel of a computer that lets you interact with it via buttons
Most social software systems contain a dashboard, your front page when you log in to the system, which operates as your
communication hub. In most cases, you can customize the dashboard to display the features that most interest you.
AACSB: Communication
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-05 Apply principles of effective social media use in professional settings.
Topic: Communicating in the Workplace in the Social Age
75. Twitter is an example of a _____.
A. wiki
B. team blog
C. microblog
D. podcast
E. project blog
AACSB: Communication
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-05 Apply principles of effective social media use in professional settings.
Topic: Communicating in the Workplace in the Social Age
Microblogs, shorter blogs that contain just a few sentences, are part of most enterprise social networking platforms. Microblogs are
tools for broadcasting announcements and urgent information.
AACSB: Communication
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-05 Apply principles of effective social media use in professional settings.
Topic: Communicating in the Workplace in the Social Age
77. Which of the following is most likely to be used to place all of the work group’s communications in a single place, such
as updates and progress reports?
A. Podcast
B. Team blog
C. Mashup
D. Social bookmark
E. RSS feed
Team and project blogs are excellent ways to place all of the team’s communications in a single place, such as updates, progress
reports, problem-solving discussions, project timelines and goals, announcements, and a variety of other coordination tasks.
AACSB: Communication
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-05 Apply principles of effective social media use in professional settings.
Topic: Communicating in the Workplace in the Social Age
78. _____ have stronger collaborative potential than any of the other social media tools.
A. Dashboards
B. Blogs
C. Microblogs
D. Wikis
E. Instant messages
Wikis are collections of pages that anyone with approved access can edit, thus lending themselves to collaborative writing. Users can
add, remove, and change content. Wikis allow employees to collaborate and participate in decision making more easily, creatively, and
effectively. The collaborative potential of wikis is stronger than any of the other social media tools.
AACSB: Communication
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-05 Apply principles of effective social media use in professional settings.
Topic: Communicating in the Workplace in the Social Age
79. _____ are collections of pages that anyone with approved access can edit, thus lending themselves to collaborative
writing.
A. Microblogs
B. Podcasts
C. RSS feeds
D. Wikis
E. Mashups
Wikis are collections of pages that anyone with approved access can edit, thus lending themselves to collaborative writing.
AACSB: Communication
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-05 Apply principles of effective social media use in professional settings.
Topic: Communicating in the Workplace in the Social Age
80. Which of the following should be practiced for professional social media use?
A. Do not comment on others’ work.
B. Limit your network to your formal work teams.
C. Join teams built around common interests.
D. Do not make your content accessible to others.
E. Use social media at work and not at home.
Venture out from your formal work teams to establish work relationships with other members of your company or professional network.
Voluntarily joining teams built around common interests—often called communities of practice—allows you to share and learn from
other professionals in your area.
AACSB: Communication
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-05 Apply principles of effective social media use in professional settings.
Topic: Communicating in the Workplace in the Social Age
81. A unique set of professional skills and attributes that others associate with you is called your _____.
A. personal brand
B. meta message
C. digital profile
D. personal dashboard
E. meta profile
Think carefully about developing a personal brand in a professional sense—a unique set of professional skills and attributes that others
associate with you.
AACSB: Communication
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-06 Build a credible online reputation.
Topic: Communicating in the Workplace in the Social Age
82. _____ messages are overall and underlying messages that others decode from your online communications.
A. Meta
B. Public
C. Grouped
D. Concurrent
E. Incidental
The meta messages, or overall and underlying messages that others decode from your online communications, become one basis for
your online reputation.
AACSB: Communication
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-06 Build a credible online reputation.
Topic: Communicating in the Workplace in the Social Age
83. Which of the following reputations is a result of the meta message “I abide by the rules”?
A. Talented, skilled, and capable
B. Activist, cause-driven, and passionate
C. Learning, inquisitive, and curious
D. Moral, ethical, and fair
E. Fun-loving and communicative
The meta messages, or overall and underlying messages that others decode from your online communications, become one basis for
your online reputation. The meta message “I abide by the rules” translates to a reputation of being moral, ethical, and fair. Refer to table
7.5.
AACSB: Communication
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-06 Build a credible online reputation.
Topic: Communicating in the Workplace in the Social Age
84. A reputation for being fun-loving will be sought-after in which of the following domains?
A. Personal and public
B. Professional and public
C. Personal and private
D. Professional and private
E. Professional and social
Meta messages and reputations are grouped into four areas: personal and private; professional and private; personal and public; and
professional and public. In each domain of your online communications, you should think about the meta messages you would like to
send so that you build a credible reputation. A reputation for being fun-loving and exciting will be sough-after in a personal and private
domain. Refer to table 7.5.
AACSB: Communication
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-06 Build a credible online reputation.
Topic: Communicating in the Workplace in the Social Age
A personal brand can be built through an online which is an asset for career progression. Increasingly, you will express your personal
brand through social media tools. One major goal, then, for your online activities is to build a reputation that showcases your credibility
and personal brand.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-06 Build a credible online reputation.
Topic: Manage Your Online Reputation
Social media tools make developing a personal brand easier than ever. You can broadcast your expertise and business interests to an
ever-growing network of business professionals.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-06 Build a credible online reputation.
Topic: Manage Your Online Reputation
87. Fun loving, exciting, loyal, and committed are reputations that are sought after in the _____ area.
A. personal and private
B. personal and public
C. professional and private
D. professional and public
E. semi-professional and private
Fun loving, exciting, loyal and committed are reputations that are sought after in the personal and private area.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-06 Build a credible online reputation.
Topic: Manage Your Online Reputation
88. Which of the following statements best describes a company’s views on its employees engaging in social media?
A. Companies are aware that they can control and restrict employees from engaging in social media.
B. Companies understand that employees use social media for the sole purpose of self-expression.
C. Companies understand that employees use social media for the sole purpose of improving the company’s business.
D. Companies respect the rights of its employees to use blogs and other social media tools for both personal and
professional use.
E. Companies view social media as having a negative effect on employee productivity and consider it a distraction.
Companies respect the rights of its associates and its authorized agencies’ associates to use blogs and other social media tools not
only as a form of self-expression, but also as a means to further the company’s business.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-07 Describe the ethical use of social media for work.
Topic: Use Social Media Ethically
89. Which of the following situations can be used as an example for social media complicating professional relationships
between people?
A. An employee posting an invite to launch of his company’s new headquarters on his professional networking page.
B. An employee uses his personal social networking page to announce the birth of his or her child.
C. An employee blogs about an embarrassing incident about his boss, who sees the post.
D. An employee uploads pictures of his coworkers at a workshop that took place in their office.
E. An employee uses his social networking page to invite his colleagues for dinner.
Complication in relationships between employees and employers due to social media takes place when either party posts offensive
material on a social networking site and the other party sees it.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-07 Describe the ethical use of social media for work.
Topic: Use Social Media Ethically
90. Coco-Cola has a set of _____ principles that serve as guidelines for their employees on how to conduct themselves
online.
A. fifteen
B. seven
C. five
D. ten
E. twelve
There is a set of 5 principles that serve as guidelines to those personal or unofficial online activities of the employees of Coco-Cola.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-07 Describe the ethical use of social media for work.
Topic: Use Social Media Ethically
91. According to the Coca-Cola online activities guideline, when employees come across negative posts about the
company they should _____.
A. react to the negative posts themselves.
B. pass the posts along to their immediate superior straight away.
C. file a complaint with the concerned website.
D. pass the posts to the official in-market spokesperson.
E. get fellow employees to respond to the posts as a group.
According to the online activities guidelines of Coca-Cola, when employees come across negative or disparaging posts about the
company or its brands, or see third parties trying to spark negative conversations, the employees should pass the post(s) along to the
official in-market spokespersons who are trained to address such issues.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-07 Describe the ethical use of social media for work.
Topic: Use Social Media Ethically
92. According to Catherine Norris, when is the use of face-to-face communication most crucial?
A. It is most crucial when there is conflict within the organization.
B. It is most crucial when visual data has to be provided.
C. It is most crucial when a message requires added emphasis.
D. It is most crucial when there is no electricity in the workplace.
E. It is most crucial when the online servers are malfunctioning.
According to Catherine Norris, face-to-face communication is crucial when a message requires added emphasis. Project teams have
conducted one-on-one, face-to-face meetings to communicate quality and cost performance data to stakeholders to establish and
emphasize important goals.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-07 Describe the ethical use of social media for work.
Topic: Use Social Media Ethically
Ease of reading in emails can be ensured by following these guidelines: Provide a short, descriptive subject line. Good
subject lines are generally five to ten words long. Keep your message brief yet complete. Get to the point within three or
four sentences, and keep your paragraphs about half the size of those in business documents—ideally 30 to 50 words
long. Clearly identify expected actions. Effective emails contain specific and clear requests so that recipients know exactly
how to respond. Provide a descriptive signature block. Signature blocks should provide clear contact information. Use
attachments wisely. Messages that are more than several paragraphs long are typically appropriate as attachments.
AACSB: Communication
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-04 Explain characteristics of the emerging Social Age.
Topic: Creating Effective Emails
94. In the case of email communication, why is it important to use the priority flag wisely?
You will routinely make requests of others that are time-sensitive. If you too often set the priority flag on such emails, your
colleagues may become annoyed, perceiving you as pushy. In fact, some business professionals are more likely to ignore
emails when the priority flag is set. If you need something urgently, mention it politely in the subject line or use a rich
communication channel such as a phone call to gain buy-in.
AACSB: Communication
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-01 Apply principles for writing effective emails.
Topic: Creating Effective Emails
95. What are email chains and why should these be avoided?
Email chains are groups of emails that are sent back and forth among a group of people. As the number of messages and
people involved in an email chain increases, confusion can build. In an email conversation of more than four or five
people, various message recipients can lose track of the sequence of messages or miss some messages altogether.
Reply email chains become especially confusing when some colleagues are using just the reply feature whereas others
are using the reply to all feature.
AACSB: Communication
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-06 Build a credible online reputation.
Topic: Creating Effective Emails
In the absence of face-to-face communications, emails tend to elicit either the neutrality effect or the negativity effect. The
neutrality effect means that recipients are more likely to perceive messages with an intended positive emotion as neutral.
That is, the sender may wish to express enthusiasm about an event, but the receiver decodes the information without
“hearing” the enthusiasm. The negativity effect means that recipients are more likely to perceive messages that are
intended as neutral as negative.
AACSB: Communication
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 07-04 Explain characteristics of the emerging Social Age.
Topic: Creating Effective Emails
97. Describe cyber incivility, passive incivility, and active incivility.
Cyber incivility is the violation of respect and consideration in an online environment based on workplace norms. Active
incivility involves direct forms of disrespect (i.e., being condescending, demeaning, saying something hurtful). Passive
incivility involves indirect forms of disrespect (i.e., using emails for time-sensitive messages, not acknowledging receipt of
emails, not replying to emails).
AACSB: Communication
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-02 Explain how to handle emotion effectively in online communications.
Topic: Creating Effective Emails
98. How can you defuse a situation arising out of uncivil electronic communications?
Defusing involves avoiding escalation and removing tension to focus on work objectives. You can take several steps to
defuse the situation when you receive an uncivil email. First, focus on task-related facts and issues in your reply. Second,
focus on shared objectives and agreements. Third, express interest in arranging a time to meet in person. If this is not
possible, attempt a richer channel of communication such as a phone call or web meeting with video. Defusing the
situation with an immediate email is only part of the process in restoring or perhaps even strengthening a working
relationship. A follow-up meeting is nearly always essential to renew cooperation on shared work efforts.
AACSB: Communication
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-01 Apply principles for writing effective emails.
Topic: Creating Effective Emails
The evolution of the Internet from Web 1.0 to Web 2.0 platforms is the primary driver of the Social Age. In the original
Internet, referred to as Web 1.0, most Web pages were read-only and static. As the Internet evolved, referred to as Web
2.0, what emerged was the read-write Web, where users interact extensively with Web pages—authoring content,
expressing opinions, and customizing and editing Web content among other things. Web 2.0 communication tools, often
referred to as social media, include social networks, blogs, wikis, gaming, podcasts, and information tagging. In simple
terms, Web 1.0 communication tools are primarily passive and static. By contrast, Web 2.0 communication tools are
interactive, customizable, and social.
AACSB: Communication
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-01 Apply principles for writing effective emails.
Topic: Communicating in the Workplace in the Social Age
100. What are the risks and challenges presented by social media?
Social media present many challenges and risks. The primary challenges are cultural. Some of them are age-based: older
employees are more accustomed to the communication tools they have used for years and decades. Typically, these Web
1.0 tools reinforce many of their work values, such as privacy and autonomy. The use of social media creates a free flow
of information that, in many cases, runs counter to traditional business approaches to decision making, lines of authority,
team formation, performance incentives, and so on. One basic challenge of using social media internally is getting
employees to participate. In most companies, participation in blogs and wikis is fairly low. Social media use also presents
a variety of risks. For companies, social media can lead to lower productivity when employees use it for social and
entertainment purposes, release confidential and proprietary information, post inappropriate comments that lead to
reputation loss for companies, and go around lines of authority. On an individual level, social media can lead to major
credibility loss.
AACSB: Communication
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-07 Describe the ethical use of social media for work.
Topic: Communicating in the Workplace in the Social Age
Although nearly all business professionals are aware of social networking and the importance of strong online reputations,
most are still learning to manage their online presences strategically. Whether or not you have intentionally created an
online presence, potential and current employers, colleagues, and clients will judge your credibility based on online
information about you. Thus, you need to take as much control as you can of your online reputation.
AACSB: Communication
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-02 Explain how to handle emotion effectively in online communications.
Topic: Communicating in the Workplace in the Social Age
Answer: The use of social media, even for private use, complicates your relationship with your employer. Much more than
your online reputation is at stake with social media use; the reputation and performance of your company is at stake as
well. The line between what you believe is private use of social media and your role as an employee can be murky, since
your private actions can damage your employer and hurt your career.
AACSB: Communication
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-02 Explain how to handle emotion effectively in online communications.
Topic: Communicating in the Workplace in the Social Age
Constantly checking incoming messages—emails, texts, IMs, and various messages through social networking
platforms—or simply hearing message alerts distracts business professionals from concentrating on the tasks at hand.
Interruptions from digital messages, or e-interruptions, are extremely costly to your performance. One recent study found
that the average worker loses 2.1 hours per day due to interruptions. Many business professionals check their email every
five minutes, which amounts to 96 e-interruptions in an eight-hour day. Distractions impact your performance for much
longer than the few moments you take to acknowledge and respond to incoming messages.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-03 Describe strategies for managing digital message overload.
Topic: Manage Your Emails to Avoid Distractions
104. State the guidelines that can be followed to stay responsive to others but allow you to focus enough to achieve peak
performance?
The guidelines that can be followed to stay responsive to others but allows you to focus enough to achieve peak
performance are:
a) Check digital messages just two to four times each day at designated times.
b) Turn off message alerts.
c) Use rich channels such as face-to-face and phone conversations to accomplish a task completely.
d) Reply immediately only to urgent messages.
e) Avoid unnecessarily lengthening an email chain.
f) Use automatic messages to help people know when you’re unavailable.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-03 Describe strategies for managing digital message overload.
Topic: Manage Your Emails to Avoid Distractions
105. List the four areas of online reputation with an example each.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-06 Build a credible online reputation.
Topic: Manage Your Online Reputation
106. Briefly explain any one of the social media guidelines that Coca-Cola expects its employees to follow.
One of the social guidelines that Coca-Cola provides its employers with is:
Be a “scout” for compliments and criticism. Even if you are not an official online spokesperson for the Company, you are
one of our most vital assets for monitoring the social media landscape. If you come across positive or negative remarks
about the Company or its brands online that you believe are important, consider sharing them by forwarding them to
public relations.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-07 Describe the ethical use of social media for work.
Topic: Use Social Media Ethically
107. Explain how both the employer and the employee can be affected by an employee misusing social media.
It is important that all employees are aware of the implications of engaging in forms of social media and online
conversations that reference the company or the employee’s relationship with the company and its brands, and that
associates recognize when the company might be held responsible for their behavior. Much more than your online
reputation is at stake with social media use; the reputation and performance of your company is at stake as well. The line
between what you believe is private use of social media and your role as an employee can be murky, since your private
actions can damage your employer and hurt your career.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 07-07 Describe the ethical use of social media for work.
Topic: Use Social Media Ethically
Chapter 07 - Testbank Summary
Category # of Questions
AACSB: Communication 77
AACSB: Reflective Thinking 5
Blooms: Apply 5
Blooms: Remember 73
Blooms: Understand 32
Difficulty: Easy 77
Difficulty: Hard 3
Difficulty: Medium 30
Learning Objective: 07-01 Apply principles for writing effective emails. 27
Learning Objective: 07-02 Explain how to handle emotion effectively in online communications. 19
Learning Objective: 07-03 Describe strategies for managing digital message overload. 17
Learning Objective: 07-04 Explain characteristics of the emerging Social Age. 14
Learning Objective: 07-05 Apply principles of effective social media use in professional settings. 12
Learning Objective: 07-06 Build a credible online reputation. 13
Learning Objective: 07-07 Describe the ethical use of social media for work. 12
Topic: Communicating in the Workplace in the Social Age 33
Topic: Creating Effective Emails 49
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
Head of the Great Comet of 1861
From a drawing by Warren De La Rue.
Halley's Comet, May 5, 1910
Photographed at the Yerkes Observatory by E E. Barnard, with the ten-inch Bruce
telescope.
This was shortly before the passage of the comet between the earth and the sun,
when some think its tail was thrown over us.
Let us begin with that time of the year when the sun arrives at the
vernal equinox. This occurs about the 21st of March. The sun is then
perpendicular over the equator, daylight extends, uninterrupted, from
pole to pole, and day and night (neglecting the effects of twilight and
refraction) are of equal length all over the earth. Everywhere there
are about twelve hours of daylight and twelve hours of darkness.
This is the beginning of the astronomical spring. As time goes on,
the motion of the sun in the ecliptic carries it eastward from the
vernal equinox, and, at the same time, owing to the inclination of the
ecliptic, it rises gradually higher above the equator, increasing its
northern declination slowly, day after day. Immediately the equality of
day and night ceases, and in the northern hemisphere the day
becomes gradually longer in duration than the night, while in the
southern hemisphere it becomes shorter. Moreover, because the sun
is now north of the equator, daylight no longer extends from pole to
pole on the earth, but the south pole is in continual darkness, while
the north pole is illuminated.
You can illustrate this, and explain to yourself why the relative
length of day and night changes, and why the sun leaves one pole in
darkness while rising higher over the other, by suspending a small
terrestrial globe with its axis inclined about 23½° from the
perpendicular, and passing a lamp around it in a horizontal plane. At
two points only in its circuit will the lamp be directly over the equator
of the globe. Call one of these points the vernal equinox. You will
then see that, when the lamp is directly over this point, its light
illuminates the globe from pole to pole, but when it has passed round
so as to be at a point higher than the equator, its light no longer
reaches the lower pole, although it passes over the upper one.
Fig. 11. The Seasons.
The earth is represented at four successive points in its orbit about the sun. Since
the axis of the earth is virtually unchangeable in its direction in space (leaving out
of account the slow effects of the precession of the equinoxes), it results that at
one time of the year, the north pole is inclined toward the sun and at the opposite
time of the year away from it. It attains its greatest inclination sunward at the
summer solstice, then the line between day and night lies 23½° beyond the north
pole, so that the whole area within the arctic circle is in perpetual daylight. The
days are longer than the nights throughout the northern hemisphere, but the day
becomes longer in proportion to the night as the arctic circle is approached, and
beyond that the sun is continually above the horizon. In the southern hemisphere
exactly the reverse occurs. When the earth has advanced to the autumn equinox,
the axis is inclined neither toward nor away from the sun. The latter is then
perpendicular over the equator and day and night are of equal length all over the
earth. When the earth reaches the winter solstice the north pole is inclined away
from the sun, and now it is summer in the southern hemisphere. At the vernal
equinox again there is no inclination of the axis either toward or away from the
sun, and once more day and night are everywhere equal. A little study of this
diagram will show why on the equator day and night are always of equal length.
Now, with the lamp thus elevated above the equator, set the globe
in rotation about its axis. You will perceive that all points in the upper
hemisphere are longer in light than in darkness, because the plane
dividing the illuminated and the unilluminated halves of the globe is
inclined to the globe's axis in such a way that it lies beyond the
upper pole as seen from the direction of the lamp. Consequently, the
upper half of the globe above the equator, as it goes round, has
more of its surface illuminated than unilluminated, and, as it turns on
its axis, any point in that upper half, moving round parallel to the
equator, is longer in light than in darkness. You will also observe that
the ratio of length of the light to the darkness is greater the nearer
the point lies to the pole, and that when it is within a certain distance
of the pole, corresponding with the elevation of the lamp above the
equator, it lies in continual light—in other words, within that distance
from the pole night vanishes and daylight is unceasing. At the same
time you will perceive that round the lower pole there is a similar
space within which day has vanished and night is unceasing, and
that in the whole of the lower hemisphere night is longer than day.
Exactly on the equator, day and night are always of equal length.
Endeavour to represent all this clearly to your imagination, before
actually trying the experiment, or consulting a diagram. If you try the
experiment you may, instead of setting the axis of the globe at a
slant, place it upright, and then gradually raise and lower the lamp as
it is carried round the globe, now above and now below the equator.
We return to our description of the actual movements of the sun.
As it rises higher from the equator, not only does the day increase in
length relatively to the night, but the rays of sunlight descend more
nearly perpendicular upon the northern hemisphere. The
consequence is that their heating effect upon the ground and the
atmosphere increases and the temperature rises until, when the sun
reaches its greatest northern declination, about the 22d of June
(when it is 23½° north of the equator), the astronomical summer
begins. This point in the sun's course through the circle of the ecliptic
is called the summer solstice (see Part I, Sect. 8). Having passed the
solstice, the sun begins to decline again toward the equator. For a
short time the declination diminishes slowly because the course of
the ecliptic close to the solstice is nearly parallel to the equator, and
in the meantime the temperature in the northern hemisphere
continues to increase, the amount of heat radiated away during the
night being less than that received from the sun during the day. This
condition continues for about six weeks, the greatest heats of
summer falling at the end of July or the beginning of August, when
the sun has already declined far toward the equator, and the nights
have begun notably to lengthen. But the accumulation of heat during
the earlier part of the summer is sufficient to counterbalance the loss
caused by the declension of the sun.
About the 23d of September the sun again crosses the equator,
this time at the autumnal equinox, the beginning of the astronomical
autumn, and after that it sinks lower and lower (while appearing to
rise in the southern hemisphere), until about the 22d of December,
when it reaches its greatest southern declination, 23½°, at the winter
solstice, which marks the beginning of the astronomical winter. It is
hardly necessary to point out that the southern winter corresponds in
time with the northern summer, and vice versa. From the winter
solstice the sun turns northward once more, reaching the vernal
equinox again on the 21st of March.
Thus we see that we owe the succession of the seasons entirely
to the inclination of the earth's axis out of a perpendicular to the
plane of the ecliptic. If there were no such inclination there would be
climate but no seasons. There would be no summer heat, except in
the neighbourhood of the equator, while the middle latitudes would
have a moderate temperature the year round. Owing to the effects of
refraction, perpetual day would prevail within a small region round
each of the poles. The sun would be always perpendicular over the
equator.
Two things remain to be pointed out with regard to the effect of the
sun's annual motion in the ecliptic. One of these is the circles called
the tropics. These are drawn round the earth parallel to the equator
and at a distance of 23½° from it, one in the northern and the other
in the southern hemisphere. The northern one is called the tropic of
Cancer, because its corresponding circle on the celestial sphere runs
through the zodiacal sign Cancer, and the southern one is called the
tropic of Capricorn for a similar reason. The tropics run through the
two solstices, and mark the apparent daily track of the sun in the sky
when it is at either its greatest northern or its greatest southern
declination. The sun is then perpendicular over one or the other of
the tropics. That part of the earth lying between the tropics is called
the torrid zone, because the sun is always not far from perpendicular
over it, and the heat is very great.
1. The Sun. By the term solar system is meant the sun together
with the system of bodies (planets, asteroids, comets and meteors)
revolving round it. The sun, being a star, every other star, for all that
we can tell, may be the ruler of a similar system. In fact, we know
that a few stars have huge dark bodies revolving round them, which
may be likened to gigantic planets. The reason why the sun is the
common centre round which the other members of the solar system
move, is because it vastly exceeds all of them put together in mass,
or quantity of matter, and the power of any body to set another body
in motion by its attractive force depends upon mass. If a great body
and a small body attract each other, both will move, but the motion of
the small body will be so much more than that of the great one that
the latter will seem, relatively, to stand fast while the small one
moves. Then, if the small body had originally a motion across the
direction in which the great body attracts it, the result of the
combination will be to cause the small body to revolve in an orbit
(more or less elliptical according to the direction and velocity of its
original motion) about the great body. If the difference of mass is
very great, the large body will remain virtually immovable. This is the
case with the sun and its planets. The sun has 332,000 times as
much mass (or, we may say, is 332,000 times as heavy) as the
earth. It has a little more than a thousand times as much mass as its
largest planet, Jupiter. It has millions of times as much as the
greatest comet. The consequence is that all of these bodies revolve
around the sun, in orbits of various degrees of eccentricity, while the
sun itself remains practically immovable, or just swaying a little this
way and that, like a huntsman holding his dogs in leash.
The distance of the sun from the earth—about 93,000,000 miles—
has been determined by methods which will be briefly explained in
the next section. Knowing its distance, it is easy to calculate its size,
since the apparent diameter of all objects varies directly with their
distance. The diameter of the sun is thus found to be about 866,400
miles, or nearly 110 times that of the earth. In bulk it exceeds the
earth about 1,300,000 times, but its mass, or quantity of matter, is
only 332,000 times the earth's, because its average density is but
one quarter that of the earth. This arises from the fact that the earth
is a solid, compact body, while the sun is a body composed of gases
and vapours (though in a very compressed state). It is the high
temperature of the sun which maintains it in this state. Its
temperature has been calculated at about 16,000° Fahrenheit, but
various estimates differ rather widely. At any rate, it is so hot that the
most refractory substances known to us would be reduced to the
state of vapour, if removed to the sun. The quantity of heat received
upon the earth from the sun can only be expressed in terms of the
mechanical equivalent of heat. The unit of heat in engineering is the
calorie, which means the amount of heat required to raise the
temperature of one kilogram of water (2.2 pounds) one degree
Centigrade (1°.8 Fahrenheit). Now observation shows that the sun
furnishes 30 of these calories per minute upon every square metre
(about 1.2 square yard) of the earth's surface. Perhaps there is no
better illustration of what this means than Prof. Young's statement,
that “the heat annually received on each square foot of the earth's
surface, if employed in a perfect heat engine, would be able to hoist
about a hundred tons to the height of a mile.” Or take Prof. Todd's
illustration of the mechanical power of the sunbeams: “If we measure
off a space five feet square, the energy of the sun's rays when falling
vertically upon it is equivalent to one horse power.” Astronomers
ordinarily reckon the solar constant in “small calories,” which are but
the thousandth part of the engineer's calorie, and the latest results of
the Smithsonian Institution observations indicate that the solar
constant is about 1.95 of these small calories per square centimeter
per second. About 30 per cent. must be deducted for atmospheric
absorption.
Heat, like gravitation and like light, varies inversely in intensity with
the square of the distance; hence, if the earth were twice as near as
it is to the sun it would receive four times as much heat and four
times as much light, and if it were twice as far away it would receive
only one quarter as much. This shows how important it is for a planet
not to be too near, or too far from, the sun. The earth would be
vapourised if it were carried within a quarter of a million miles of the
sun.
The sun rotates on an axis inclined about 7½° from a
perpendicular to the plane of the ecliptic. The average period of its
rotation is about 25⅓ days—we say “average” because, not being a
solid body, different parts of its surface turn at different rates. It
rotates faster at the equator than at latitudes north-and-south of the
equator, the velocity decreasing toward the poles. The period of
rotation at the equator is about 25 days, and at 40° north or south of
the equator it is about 27 days. The direction of rotation is the same
as that of the earth's.
The surface of the sun, when viewed with a telescope, is often
seen more or less spotted. The spots are black, or dusky, and
frequently of very irregular shapes, although many of them are
nearly circular. Generally they appear in groups drawn out in the
direction of the solar rotation. Some of these groups cover areas of
many millions of square miles, although the sun is so immense that
even then they appear to the naked eye (guarded by a dark glass)
only as small dark spots on its surface. The centres of sun-spots, are
the darkest parts. Generally around the borders of the spots the
surface seems to be more or less heaped up. Often, in large sun-
spots, immense promontories, very brilliant, project over the dark
interior, and many of these are prolonged into bridges of light,
apparently traversing the chasms beneath. Constant changes of
shape and arrangement take place, and there are few more
astonishing telescopic objects than a great sun-spot.