Business Communications Test 1

Communication

The process of sending and receiving messages.

character

The sum of who you are as a person; your ideas, what you value, and how you engage with those around you.

verbally

The part of a communication that uses words to convey meaning.

filters

Perception based on one’s knowledge, experience, and viewpoints.

nonverbally

What is communicated without words (e.g., body language).

Self-awareness

Accurately identifying our strengths and development needs; knowing ourselves and knowing how others perceive us.

emotional intelligence

Recognizing and managing our own and others’ feelings.

communication need

The reason for communicating in organizations—what starts the process.

Professional ethics

Ethics defined by an organization.

ethics

Moral principles that go beyond legal rules to guide how to act.

Social ethics

Ethics defined by society.

Individual ethics

Ethics defined by a person, which are based on family values, heritage, personal experience, and other factors.

situational ethics

Ethics that are based on particular circumstances.

organizational

The ability to navigate and adapt to individual personalities and styles as well as organizational culture, history, and structure (also called political savvy).

formal communication network

The transmission of information through downward, upward, and lateral paths within an organization.

Downward communication

The flow of information from managers to their employees.

cascading communication

Conveying information from the top of the organization down to each level in sequence.

Upward communication

The flow of information from lower-level employees to upper-level employees or managers.

Lateral communication

The flow of information among peers within an organization (also called horizontal communication).

informal communication network

The flow of information through nonofficial channels within the organization (also called the grapevine).

cross-functional

Lateral, or horizonal, communication to another division or department.

horizontal communication

The flow of information among peers within an organization (also called lateral communication).

grapevine

The flow of information through nonofficial channels within the organization (also called informal communication network).

transparent

Sharing timely, accurate information.

Communication barriers

Verbal and nonverbal impediments to an audience receiving a message as we intend.

Connotation

The subjective or emotional feeling associated with a word.

Denotation

The literal, dictionary meaning of a word.

stereotyping

Attributing to an individual an assumption we have about the group to which that person belongs, which may or may not be true.

environmental noise

extranet

A private computer network for a select group of people outside of the company (e.g., for customers or franchisees).

consumer-generated media (CGM)

Any media (e.g., videos, images, blogs) about a company posted by consumers for public viewing (also called user-generated content).

user-generated content (UGC)

Any media (e.g., videos, images, blogs) about a company posted by consumers for public viewing (also called consumer-generated media).

social networking

An app on which communities of people share common interests or activities that can form relationships (a subset of social media).

rich

Communication methods that allow for real-time interactivity and cues, such as body language.

lean media

synchronous

Messages that happen in real time—at the same time; the opposite is asynchronous.

multicommunicating

Overlapping conversations using various forms of communication.

Team —

A group of individuals who depend on one another to accomplish a common objective.

Consensus

— Reaching a decision that best reflects the thinking of all team members.

Groupthink —

A hindrance to team performance that happens when individuals think too similarly.

Zoom fatigue

— Exhaustion from online meetings caused by excessive focus and cognitive processing.

Agenda —

A list of topics to be covered at a meeting, often including who is responsible for each topic and the timing.

Social presence —

The extent to which we perceive someone as close and real through technology.

Minutes —

An official record of a meeting that summarizes what was discussed, decisions made, and actions to be taken.

Paraphrasing

— A summary or restatement of a passage in one’s own words.

Sympathy

— Understanding and providing comfort to another person.

Empathy

— Understanding and sharing someone else’s feelings.

Compassion

— Caring for others and yourself by noticing and acting to relieve suffering.

Reflecting

— Listening in a way that shows you hear, understand, and care about the underlying message.

Intercultural communication — When a message is created by someone from one culture to be understood by someone from another culture (also called cross-

Culture

— The customary traits, attitudes, and behaviors of a group of people.

Blind hiring —

Redacting applicants’ identifying information to reduce bias in the selection process.

Multiculturalism

— Appreciating diversity among people, typically beyond differences in countries of origin.

Implicit (bias)

— An unconscious preference for or aversion to a person or group.

Perspective taking

— Adopting another point of view to understand others’ thoughts, feelings, and motivations.

Task conflict —

Disagreements about work such as assignments, resources, expectations, or procedures.

Curiosity

— Being genuinely open to learning about others’ values, beliefs, and perspectives.

Workplace civility

— Showing respect and concern for others as a baseline way of interacting at work.

Relationship conflict

— Disagreements caused by differing personalities or interaction styles.

Values conflict

— Disagreements rooted in differences in politics, religion, morals, identities, or beliefs.

Self-righteousness —

A steadfast belief that your way is the right way.

Workplace bullying

— Intimidating, offending, or humiliating people at work.

Cyberbullying

— Intimidating, offending, or humiliating people online.

Inclusion

— Creating an environment where all people are valued and can contribute fully.

Belonging

— A feeling of being valued and part of a community.

Gender

— A social construct reflecting how people feel and behave.

Stereotype threat

— The risk of confirming negative stereotypes about one’s group.

Gender identity

— An individual’s internal sense of self as male, female, both, or neither.

Cultural competence

— Understanding and engaging effectively with people from different cultures.

Ethnocentrism

— The belief that one’s own culture is superior to others.

Transgender

— Describing someone whose gender identity or expression differs from expectations based on birth sex.

Cultural agility

— The ability to navigate cross-cultural situations with ease and effectiveness.

Cultural humility

— Recognizing that no culture is superior and that learning about cultural differences is ongoing.