Question 1

Which of the following educational practices is not based on the premise of an information transmission model of communication?

Accepted Answer

A large, lecture-based class and PowerPoint presentation are both examples of an information transmission model where the teacher is seen as the source of knowledge and students receive that knowledge through listening or visualization. A podcast made available by the professor to the students is also based on this model, as the information is still being transmitted from the professor to the students in a one-way communication. However, a discussion board used by an online class allows for a more interactive and collaborative learning environment where students can engage in dialogue, share ideas, and learn from each other. This is not based solely on the premise of an information transmission model.

Question 2

The coordination of a class schedule that allows the smooth running of your day on campus as you move from class to class is a form of:

Accepted Answer

Bureaucratic control involves the use of rules, regulations, and formal authority to guide behavior and ensure the smooth functioning of an organization, such as a university's class scheduling system.

Question 3

The study of "organizational culture" is most closely aligned with which perspective on organizational communication?

Accepted Answer

The study of organizational culture is most aligned with the interpretive perspective on organizational communication, which focuses on how individuals interpret and make sense of organizational culture and symbols. This perspective emphasizes the role of communication in constructing shared meanings and shaping organizational culture. Feminism, critical theory, and postmodernism focus on different aspects of power, oppression, and resistance within organizations, but they do not necessarily emphasize the study of organizational culture to the same extent as the interpretive perspective.

Question 4

Which of the following questions concerning a particular communication technology (CT)best reflects a functionalist perspective?

Accepted Answer

A functionalist perspective focuses on how communication technologies can serve to increase organizational efficiency and productivity. Choice C reflects this perspective by asking how the CT can increase organizational efficiency. Choices A and B focus on power relations and gendered effects respectively, which are more aligned with critical perspectives. Choice D focuses on individual experiences and management, which is more aligned with interpretive perspectives.

Question 5

Students often worry about how competitive they will be in the job market,working to continually improve their image and brand themselves as intelligent,motivated,hard-working multitaskers.This practice is a form of:

Accepted Answer

The scenario described in the question depicts disciplinary control as it refers to the process of regulating and controlling individual behavior through punishments or rewards. The students' continuous effort to improve their brand image and marketability to stand out in the job market is a form of self-disciplinary control.

Question 6

On a recent flight,two men who had obviously overindulged at the airport bar,began acting increasingly loudly and rudely on the airplane.The airline attendant went to them and told them to stay in their seats,be quiet,and informed them that she would not serve them anything alcoholic.Which form of control best describes this situation?

Accepted Answer

The form of control used in this situation is direct, as the airline attendant directly addressed the behavior of the two men and gave them specific instructions to follow.

Question 7

An organizational communication scholar,Michaela,spent several months observing and participating in the Occupy movement in New York City and interviewing many of its participants.Her goal is to reveal participants' experience of the movement and to understand how they collectively shape their social reality.Michaela is working from which perspective on organizational communication?

Accepted Answer

Michaela's goal to reveal participants' experience and understand how they collectively shape their social reality aligns with the interpretivist perspective, which focuses on understanding human behavior and experience through subjective meanings and interpretations.

Question 8

Luis is studying organizational narratives to explore how they constitute reality for members and subtly reinforce what is appropriate and inappropriate behavior.He is most likely working from which perspective on organizational communication?

Accepted Answer

Luis's focus on how organizational narratives shape members' understanding of reality and behavior is indicative of a critical perspective on organizational communication. This perspective is interested in power dynamics and how they play out in organizational contexts, with a concern for issues of justice and equality. Functionalism would be more focused on how communication contributes to the smooth functioning of organizations, interpretivism on how individuals make sense of their experiences, and postmodernism on the fragmented and contingent nature of communication and reality.

Question 9

Anthony believes that organizational communication research should destabilize common sense views of the world and reveal the multiple,competing,and fragmented narratives that exist simultaneously within an organization.Anthony is working from which perspective on organizational communication?

Accepted Answer

Anthony's belief that organizational communication research should reveal multiple, competing, and fragmented narratives aligns with the postmodern perspective, which emphasizes deconstruction of dominant narratives and recognition of multiple perspectives.

Question 10

Cameron's research focuses on how teenaged boys in the Bronx are constrained by gendered expectations which limit their career choices.Cameron is most likely working within which perspective on organizational communication?

Accepted Answer

Cameron's focus on gendered expectations limiting career choices suggests that she is working within a feminist perspective, which emphasizes the ways in which gender inequality and male privilege operate in organizational structures and practices.

Question 11

The "crisis of representation" refers to:

Accepted Answer

The "crisis of representation" refers to both the recent emergence of challenges to the belief in an objectively existing world that can be accurately represented, as well as the emergence of multiple voices challenging a single dominant vision of society (often associated with a white, male perspective). This has led to a broader questioning of how we understand reality and whose perspectives are valued and represented in cultural and political systems.

Question 12

Those who argue against a strictly "Western Canon" in university education call for the inclusion of previously marginalized voices (e.g.African American,Asian,Chicana/o,women,gay,lesbian).These proponents of an expanded representation of voices are most likely associated with which perspective?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Those who argue against a strictly "Western...

Question 13

Fred views his department as a primarily political site,where power is fundamental in the creation of social reality.Assuming that this power is largely hidden,however,he seeks to reveal it through exposing how communication within the department inscribes or sustains current power relations.Fred is operating from which perspective on organizational communication?

Accepted Answer

Fred's approach to organizational communication is aligned with the critical theory perspective, which emphasizes the role of power and domination in shaping organizational structures and communication processes. Critical theorists seek to expose and challenge hidden power structures, and Fred's focus on uncovering how communication sustains power relations within his department reflects this perspective.

Question 14

Charles Redding,widely regarded as the founder of the field of organizational communication,proposes each of the following as an essential feature of complex organizations except:

Accepted Answer

Communication processes are not an essential feature of complex organizations according to Charles Redding.

Question 15

At many large companies,employees wear security badges and must swipe the badge each time they enter the building or a specific area.This practice is a type of:

Accepted Answer

The use of security badges and swiping them to enter a building or a specific area is an example of technological control as it is a form of control achieved through the use of technology. It is a measure taken to ensure only authorized personnel are allowed access to certain areas, which is why it is classified as a form of technological control.

Question 16

Which of the following is not a form of ideological control?

Accepted Answer

Cameras are a form of surveillance rather than ideological control. The other options all involve ways in which an organization can shape employee behavior, beliefs, and attitudes to align with its values and goals.

Question 17

In Company X if a project is expected to take longer than three weeks to complete,a project plan detailing the objectives,plan of action and timeline must be written and approved.This practice represents most closely a form of:

Accepted Answer

Bureaucratic control involves the use of rules, policies, procedures, and formal authority to guide performance and ensure consistency. Requiring a project plan to be written and approved when a project is expected to take longer than three weeks reflects a bureaucratic approach to control, as it involves formalizing the process and establishing specific procedures to follow. This helps ensure that projects are completed in a consistent and efficient manner, and provides a clear framework for managing and monitoring progress.

Question 18

Sue is taking an online class.When it is time for the mid-term exam,she is told that it is open-note and open-book.However,she has a strict time limit of 90 minutes to complete it.As she finishes each answer,she must click "submit" before she can move on to the next question.She moves quickly through the multiple choice questions at the beginning.The essays,however,take her more time to complete.She finishes her second,and final,essay at 91 minutes.She clicks "submit" but the answer is not accepted since it is beyond the time limit and she automatically loses 20 points from her grade.This situation illustrates which type of control?

Accepted Answer

This situation illustrates technological control as the online exam has a strict time limit and automatically deducts points if the time limit is exceeded. The use of technology in this case serves as a control mechanism.

Question 19

Mark,an organizational communication researcher,envisions communication problems as problems of transmission.His goal,then,is to improve the communication process so that a message from person A reaches person B clearly,without distortion or noise.Mark is working from which perspective on organizational communication?

Accepted Answer

Mark's focus on improving the communication process and eliminating distortions or noise reflects the functionalist perspective, which views communication as a tool for increasing efficiency and achieving organizational goals.

Question 20

AJ is an organizational communication scholar whose research focuses on increasing job satisfaction during corporate mergers and acquisitions.His goal is to make predictive and generalizable claims so that he can recommend best practices.AJ is working from which perspective on organizational communication?

Accepted Answer

AJ's focus on making predictive and generalizable claims and recommending best practices suggests he is approaching organizational communication from a functionalist perspective, which emphasizes the goal of efficiency and effectiveness in organizations.

Quiz 1: Introducing Organizational Communication