Communication & Professionalism
What are the three main forms of workplace communication?
Verbal: spoken conversations and presentations
Nonverbal: facial expressions, posture, and gestures
Written communication:emails, reports, and messages
What is emotional intelligence?
The ability to recognize, understand, and manage one's own emotions and respond constructively to the emotions of others.
What happens to the quantity demanded of a product when its price decreases while other factors remain constant?
Quantity demanded generally increases.
A store sells 40 notebooks for $5 each. What is its total sales revenue?
$200
$5 x $40 =$200
What is the difference between data and information?
Data are raw facts and observations while information is data organized and interpreted to make it meaningful.
When should an employee use email instead of an instant message or face-to-face conversation?
When the message requires a clear written record, organized details, or communication that does not need immediate response.
What is the difference between empathy and sympathy?
Empathy involves understanding another person's perspective or feelings while sympathy involves concern for or compassion toward that person.
What is the difference between a need and an economic resource?
A need is something people require or seek to satisfy while an economic resource is an input used to produce goods and services.
A product costs $80 before a 25% discount. What is the final price before tax?
$60
$80 x 0.25 = $20
$80 - $20 = $60
Why should a business restrict access to confidential customer and employee information?
It protects privacy, reduces misuse, and limits the risk of unauthorized disclosure.
A manager sends an employee a vague instruction, and the employee completes the task incorrectly. What should the manager do to improve communication?
The manager should provide specific instructions, confirm understanding, and encourage questions.
If two employees disagree about how to complete a project, what should their supervisor do first?
They should understand both perspectives, identify the source of the disagreement, and guide the employees toward a shared objective.
A company has $1,000 to spend and must choose between new equipment and an advertising campaign. What economic concept describes the value of the best alternative it gives up?
Opportunity cost which is the value of the next-best alternative sacrificed when making a choice. It is not necessarily the total amount of money spent.
A business earns $12,000 in revenue and has $9,000 in total expenses. What is its net profit margin?
25%
NP = $12,000 - $9,000 = $3,000
NP Margin = ($3000/$12000) x 100 = 25%
An employee receives an email asking them to click a link and confirm their company password. The message claims the account will be suspended within an hour. What should the employee do?
Avoid clicking the link or providing credentials, verify the request through a trusted channel, and report the suspicious message according to company policy.
An employee discovers that a coworker is falsifying sales records to make performance look better. What is the most professional response?
Preserve relevant facts, follow the organization's reporting procedures, and report the suspected misconduct to an appropriate supervisor or designated management.
A loyal customer is angry because an employee gave incorrect information about a product. How should the business respond?
Acknowledge the error, apologize sincerely, correct the information, offer an appropriate remedy, and follow up.
A popular product suddenly becomes harder to obtain because of a supply shortage. What could happen to its market price?
Its price may increase if demand remains strong and the shortage reduces the quantity available.
A business has $3,000 in fixed costs. Each product sells for $25 and costs $10 in variable expenses. How many units must it sell to break even?
200 units
Contribution per unit = 25 - 10= 15
Break even units = 3,000/15 = 200
A manager must choose between relying on customer anecdotes and analyzing a larger set of sales records. Which approach should guide the decision?
Use both sources appropriately, with reliable sales data providing evidence of observed purchasing patterns and customer feedback helping explain possible reasons.
A manager must announce a major schedule change that employees are likely to dislike. How should the manager communicate it?
Explain the reason, communicate the change clearly and respectfully, acknowledge employee concerns, and provide a way to ask questions.
Employee morale is low, absenteeism is increasing, and productivity is falling. How should management respond?
Investigate the causes, communicate with employees, address the most important problems, and evaluate the results.
An entrepreneur wants to open a business. Compare a sole proprietorship, partnership, and corporation in terms of control, liability, and complexity.
A sole proprietorship typically offers simple ownership and direct control but no separation between the owner's business and personal liability. A partnership allows multiple owners to share responsibilities, with liability depending on its legal form. A corporation is a separate legal entity and generally provides shareholders with limited liability, subject to exceptions.
A business has $10,000 in current assets and $5,000 in current liabilities. Calculate its current ratio and explain what it indicates.
2:1
current ratio = current assests/current liabilities
10000/5000 = 2
A company loses access to its customer database after a cyberattack. What should it do immediately, and how can it reduce the risk of a similar incident?
Activate its incident-response plan, involve appropriate IT and security personnel, contain the incident, preserve evidence, assess potential data exposure, and follow applicable notification requirements.