TACN 2 Chap 5

Good advice for e-mail is to use the "top-of-screen" test, which me

• beginning with a cute graphic or witty quotation to capture your reader's attention.
• getting the e-mail address right.
• composing offline.
• conveying your purpose in the subject line and first paragraph.

Which of the following situations is most appropriate for sending an e-mail message?

• Matthew is angry with one of his colleagues and wants to let her know exactly how he feels.
• Jane found a great political joke she wants to share with her colleagues.
• Chris must send the monthly sales data to his department.
• Maggie needs to vent her frustrations about working conditions to her shift supervisor.

Which of these is the best recommendation for business communicators using e-mail?

• Use e-mail to deliver bad news or to resolve arguments to limit or avoid workplace confrontation.
• Add humor or tongue-in-cheek comments to lighten the tone of serious e-mail topics.
• Use e-mail, not hard-copy memos, for messages that the business would not want to be made public or for topics that should not be published.
• Care about tone, correctness, and conciseness to create messages with the reader in mind.

If business writers want to demonstrate good netiquette when using e-mail, they should

• document every business decision and action in hard-copy memos or e-mail.
• write important e-mail messages in all capital letters for emphasis and increased professionalism.
• ask permission before forwarding e-mail messages.
• add a cc (carbon copy) to their supervisors on all business messages.

Which of the following is the best tip for replying to e-mail messages?

• Reply to an e-mail message immediately because reading additional e-mail messages before replying might confuse you.
• If you can't reply immediately, acknowledge receipt of the message and tell the sender when you'll be able to reply.
• Include the sender's entire original message in the body of your reply to clarify the meaning of your response.
• Retain the original subject line to identify a conversation thread even if the topic shifts.

Which of the following is an advantage of instant messaging (IM)?

• It includes "presence functionality," allowing coworkers to locate each other online, which saves time tracking someone down who is out of the office.
• It is delayed; a user has time to recall sent messages if he or she decides the message should not have been delivered.
• It prevents multitasking and encourages employees to focus on one job at a time.
• It allows in-depth analysis of data, including charts and graphs, and lengthy conversation of the chosen topics.

Why do some employers forbid employees to use instant messaging (IM)?

• Instant messaging is more expensive to use than faxes or phone calls.
• Employers consider IM yet another distraction in addition to the interruptions caused by telephones and e-mails.
• Delivery of instant messages takes longer than e-mail message delivery.
• Many companies forbid instant messaging use for all these reasons.

Porter's company has decided to let employees use instant messaging (IM) as an internal communication tool, and she wants to make sure that she's using it professionally. What should she do?

• Make sure she's available via IM at all times so that her colleagues can always reach her.
• Include both professional and personal contacts on the same IM contact list for efficiency.
• Respect her receivers by using proper grammar, spelling, and proofreading in her instant messages.
• Create an imaginative IM name for herself such as "PrettySmart1."

Podcasts, blogs, and wikis are part of the new user-centered virtual environment called

• the Total Network.
• Web 2.0.
• Cloud Computing.
• VPN.

Because access to the Web is readily available, the dangers are obvious. Which of these represents a common danger of the Web?

• Fact checking is reducing productivity.
• Buzz may become more important than truth.
• It is difficult to establish or verify a reputation.
• People can access information on the Web.