INSTITUTE OF BANKERS IN MALAWI
CERTIFICATE IN BANKING EXAMINATION
SUBJECT: INTRODUCTION TO BUSINESS COMMUNICATION (IOBM – C105)
Date: Friday, 4th May 2012
Time Allocated: 3 hours (8:00 – 11:00 am)
INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES
1 This paper consists of TWO Sections, A and B.
2 Section A consists of multiple choice questions each carries 2 marks.
Answer ALL questions.
3 Section B consists of 4 questions, each question carries 20 marks. Answer ANY TWO questions.
4 You will be allowed 10 minutes to go through the paper before the start of the examination, you may write on this paper but not in the answer book.
5 Begin each answer on a new page.
6 Please write your examination number on each answer book used. Answer sheets without examination numbers will not be marked.
7 DO NOT open this question paper until instructed to do so.
SECTION A (60 MARKS)
1. A person who attaches meaning to a message is called:
a. Sender
b. Encoding
c. Transmitter
d. Receiver.
2. ______is when superiors provide directions to their subordinates regarding what to do.
a. Upward communication
b. Horizontal communication
c. Downward communication
d. Lateral communication.
3. When working to create and maintain a favourable relationship with a receiver, a sender should:
a. Do just what the receiver expects
b. Impress the receiver by using technical terms
c. Stress mutual interests and benefits
d. Use positive wording.
4. The following are benefits of e-commerce for a business except:
a. Business can be conducted 24 hours-a-day, 7 days-a-week.
b. Cases of internet fraud are reduced
c. Products can be supplied to anyone elsewhere in the world as long as there is an economic and reliable distribution channel
d. Overheads of maintaining physical retail outlet are reduced.
5. After listening to their Manager’s long speech, the employees were touched by what she had experienced during vacation. In this case, the employees used:
a. Empathetic listening
b. Critical listening
c. Informational listening
d. Aesthetic Listening.
6. Which of the following is not a format of delivering a talk:
a. Confident
b. Scripted
c. Outlined
d. Impromptu.
7. Feedback, one of the elements in the communication process, comes in many varieties. Of those listed below, which is “a behavior enhancing response.”
a. Positive feedback
b. Negative feedback
c. Internal feedback
d. None of the above.
8. One of the purposes of adjustment letters is:
a. To inform the customer to change their attitude
b. To show that you have considered the complaint very seriously
c. To let customers know the changes that have taken place in the organization
d. To inform the organization changes that they need to introduce.
9. Which of the following are the differences between business letters and memoranda:
1. Business letters are used for both internal and external organizational communication while memoranda are used for internal organizational communication only.
2. Business letters are used for external organizational communication while memoranda are used for internal organizational communication only
3. Business letters have two postal addresses while memoranda have no postal addresses.
4. Business letters are written in full block format while memoranda are written in semi block format.
a. 1, 2, 3 and 4
b. 1, 2 and 3 only
c. 2 and 3 only
d. 1 and 4 only.
10. Which of the following statements relating to meetings is correct:
a. A meeting is cancelled when members have not formed a quorum
b. A meeting is adjourned when members have not formed a quorum
c. A meeting is postponed when members have not formed a quorum
d. A meeting is called to order when members have not formed a quorum.
11. The success of a meeting hugely depends on each of the following except:
a. How the secretary prepares for the meeting
b. How the chairperson presides over the meeting
c. How the members contribute to the motion under discussion
d. How satisfying the sitting allowances are.
12. Minutes of a meeting which give detailed descriptions of the proceedings are called ______.
a. Action minutes
b. Resolution minutes
c. Narrative minutes
d. Comprehensive minutes.
13. Which computer program would a presenter use to produce a slide show for a meeting?
a. Microsoft Word
b. Microsoft Excel
c. Microsoft PowerPoint
d. Microsoft Publisher.
14. Although spell-checks are useful for identifying misspelled words, they cannot distinguish:
a. Words that are spelled correctly but used incorrectly
b. Troublesome words that are misspelled
c. Homonyms that are misspelled
d. Synonyms that are misspelled.
15. Which of the following is NOT a common element of e-mails.
a. Subject line
b. Brief paragraph or paragraphs
c. Complimentary closing
d. Name of sender.
16. Which of the following is NOT a true statement about creating e-mails.
a. A formal closing is not required
b. A formal closing should appear before the name
c. An e-mail should consist of just one topic
d. E-mail paragraphs should be three to four lines.
17. All memo headings should be presented in the following order:
a. MEMORANDUM, TO, DIVISION, DATE, FROM
b. DATE, REFERENCE, FROM, FLOOR
c. DATE, MEMORANDUM, TO, FROM, PHONE
d. MEMORANDUM, TO, FROM, DATE, SUBJECT.
18. When sending a memo to several people, one way to arrange their names is:
a. In alphabetical order
b. With the shortest name first before the longest name
c. With males first, then females
d. By seniority.
19. A referral letter should be sent when:
a. An inquiry can be answered better by someone else
b. You wish to recommend someone for a job
c. A payment is enclosed
d. You don't want to be bothered with it.
20. Inquiry letters are letters that:
a. Ask for more information about a product or service.
b. Ask forcredit.
c. Try to reactivate business.
d. Ask for an adjustment.
21. When asking several questions in a letter, you can make them outstanding by:
a. Putting all the questions in the closing paragraph
b. Numbering the questions
c. Putting all questions in the opening paragraph
d. Putting all the questions in passive voice.
22. The part of an extended formal report that highlights the important points for people who may not have time to read the entire report is ______.
a. Budget
b. Authorization
c. Executive summary
d. Introduction.
23. Which of the following is the best wording for a recommendation?
a. Offer customers television screens in all our banking halls
b. The bank should consider offering television screens in all its banking halls
c. Customers feel bored standing on a queue while waiting for the Tellers to serve other customers
d. Research shows that customers expect the bank to provide television screens in all our banking halls.
24. When taking a telephone message, ______
a. Promise to give the message to the intended recipient
b. Introduce the company and offer to help
c. Guarantee that the intended recipient will return the call
d. Pick the call before it rings thrice.
25. If you are asked to give a presentation to a hostile audience, ______
a. Be sure to include a great deal of humour in your speech
b. Include many anecdotes based on your personal experience
c. Use many brightly coloured visual aids to attract the attention of the audience
d. Use a calm, controlled delivery style and present objective data and expert opinion.
26. Which of the following is the most effective closing statement for an e-mail message:
a. Thank you for your cooperation
b. Please review the proposed procedure before August 1 so that we may announce it August 31
c. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call
d. Please let me know if I may be of further assistance.
27. Which of the following four is the best example of business writing?a. / Please rebuke any employees who are imprudent in their utilization or commingling of company passwords
b. / In relation to the employment of passwords, please advise all employees that they must avoid sharing and exchanging the aforementioned
c. / Because of the fact that sharing passwords is dangerous, this is to advise you to explain this to your employees
d. / Please remind employees of the dangers of sharing passwords.
28. Business writing and business presentations should be ______.
a. / Impressive and show off the writer's education
b. / Similar to writing done for college courses
c. / Purposeful, economical, and writer oriented
d. / Purposeful, economical, and reader oriented.
29. Nonverbal messages create powerful impressions on people. Which of the following should be avoided in a job interview?
a. / Vary your body movements to express yourself.
b. / Look directly at the interviewer.
c. / Maintain an enthusiastic tone of voice throughout the interview.
d. / Turn off your cell phone prior to the interview.
30. The most appropriate type of graph to demonstrate how a company’s budget is apportioned would be:
a. A bar graph
b. A line graph
c. A pie graph
d. A pictograph
SECTION B (40 marks)
Answer ANY TWO questions from this section
QUESTION 1
You work as a Branch Manager for Continental Bank. One of your customers wrote a letter complaining that she has noticed that her account is usually debited on Fridays and credited again on Mondays with the same amount. Some time has elapsed before responding to her issue and she has taken her issue to the media. Your bank is now getting negative publicity as people are getting the impression that your bank plays around with its customer’s accounts.
Required:
a. Write a Press Release to be published in the daily papers addressing this issue.
(12 marks)
b. Give any four benefits of using the Press Release as a medium of communication with the public. (8 marks)
(Total 20 marks)
QUESTION 2
You have received an e-mail from the Institute of Bankers in Malawi giving you details about the subjects you have chosen, the amount of examination fees you have paid to the Institute, and the balances you need to pay before sitting for the next examination. You believe the information sent to you is wrong.
Required:
a. Write an e-mail to be sent to the Institute asking them to make relevant corrections. [Hint: Do not make reference to attachments in your answer]
(12 marks)
b. Give any four barriers to communication associated with e-mails and in each case explain how the barrier can be overcome. (8 marks)
(Total 20 marks)
QUESTION 3
Write an article on customer care that is to be included in the Malawi Banker, a magazine published by the Bankers Association of Malawi. (Total 20 marks)
QUESTION 4
a. Explain any four reasons why it is important to consider the audience before making a presentation.
(8 marks)
b. Discuss the meeting documentation used before, during and after a meeting.
(12 marks)
(Total 20 marks)
END OF EXAMINATION PAPER
A qualification examined by the Institute of Bankers in Malawi 2