THE UNIVERSITY OF TRINIDAD & TOBAGO

FINAL EXAMINATION, DECEMBER 2013

Course Code and Title: COMM 1004: Industrial Communication

Programme: Certificate in Process Operations (CPO)

Date: 10 December, 2013 Time: 9:00am – 11:30 am

PLEASE READ ALL INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY BEFORE YOU BEGIN THIS

EXAMINATION

Instructions to Candidates

This exam is 2 hours 30 minutes (INCLUSIVE of 10 minutes reading time).

YOU MAY BEGIN WRITING DURING YOUR READING TIME.

1. This exam accounts for 50% of your overall course grade.

2. This paper consists of four (4) sections and nine (9) pages (including the cover page).
3. You are to attempt questions from all sections. Marks for each section are clearly indicated.
4. Ensure that you read and follow the instructions in each section.
5. Answers to Section 2 ONLY must be written on the question paper itself.
6. Sections 1, 3 & 4 must be written in the answer booklet provided.
7. You must return the question paper along with your answer booklet to and other
writing paper to the Invigilator at the end of the examination.

Key Examination Protocol

1. Students please note that academic dishonesty (or cheating) includes but is not limited to
plagiarism, collusion, falsification, replication, taking unauthorised notes or devices into an
examination, obtaining an unauthorised copy of the examination paper, communicating or
trying to communicate with another candidate during the examination, and being a party to
impersonation in relation to an examination.

2. The above mentioned and any other actions which compromise the integrity of the academic
evaluation process will be fully investigated and addressed in accordance with UTT’s
academic regulations.

3. Please be reminded that speaking without the Invigilator’s permission is NOT allowed.

PLEASE RETURN COMPLETE EXAM PACKAGE TO THE INVIGILATORS

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December, 2013 Final Examination
COMM 1004
 SECTION 1

CASE STUDY (25 marks)

Instructions:
• Read the scenario below then answer the four (4) questions that follow.
• Please answer in complete sentences.
• Write your answers to these questions in the answer booklet.
• [Spend 45 minutes here].

AMBER’S FIRST TEAM MEETING

Amber hurried down the hall, her arms full of papers, reports and folders. She was nervous about
her first meeting with her new team and she was determined to be ready. When she entered the
conference room, she was relieved to find she was the first to arrive. Amber spent the next 15
minutes arranging her information on the table in front of her. She checked her watch and waited
for the others. Right before 2:00 pm, the members of Amber’s new team began to enter the room.
Most carried only a blank pad. Amber was amazed at how much better prepared she was than the
other members of the team.

Janet, the team leader, began the meeting. She asked each member to recap for Amber their
assignment and the progress each team member has made. Amber immediately cut her off. “No
need, Janet, I’ve read all of the progress reports from the past six months.” She pulled out the
folder and waved it to the group.

Janet smiled. “While I appreciate your efforts, I think you would benefit from hearing about the
project firsthand from each team member.”

Amber, not to be sidetracked, said, “Why don’t I recap what I’ve read and you all can fill in any
blanks? While I’m sure you’ve all worked really hard on this project, I have a couple of ideas
that might speed things along.” Amber then launched into a 20-minute recap of what she had
read.

When she finished, Janet smiled and said, “Thank you, Amber, for recapping all the ideas we
have already thought about and discarded for one reason or another. Now, Chad, would you
begin filling Amber in on what wasn’t in the memos and reports she read?”

Amber’s face grew hot and red. She sank as far into the back of her chair as she possibly could.
Wow had she read the memos wrong! She spent the rest of the meeting pretending to make notes
and trying not to look at the rest of the team members. After the meeting she gathered up the
materials in front of her and fled back to her cube.

Source: Communicating From Professional Contexts: Skills, Ethics and Technologies, H.L.
Goodall, Jr. & Sandra Goodall.
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December, 2013 Final Examination
COMM 1004
QUESTIONS

1. Explain the steps of the communication process, applying your understanding of its key
components to Amber and her team in the case study. (6 marks)

2. Janet, the team leader, uses both verbal and non-verbal communication.
i. Identify and explain two reasons for, or functions of Janet’s verbal behaviour.
(4 marks)
ii. What does Janet’s non-verbal behaviour communicate? (2 marks)
iii. If you were team leader, how would you have handled Amber’s first meeting with
the team in a different manner than the way Janet conducted it? (4 marks)

3. Identify and explain two (2) barriers to communication that Amber herself creates in the
communication situation described in the case study. (6 marks)

4. List three qualities that Ambers’ team-mates might conclude about her personality when
they interpret her communication interaction? (3 marks)

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December, 2013 Final Examination
COMM 1004
 SECTION 2

CORRECTION OF SENTENCES (25 marks)

• Instructions: All answers to Section 2 must be written ON THE QUESTION

PAPER ONLY.
• Each question is worth 1 mark.
• [Spend 40 minutes here].

A. Instruction: In questions 1 to 10, there may be errors in grammar, spelling,

punctuation, or mechanics. If the sentence is correct, write “NO ERROR” in the
blank space below. However, if the sentence is incorrect, write the correctly
constructed sentence in the space provided. (10 marks)

1. Anyone can pick up their applications at the job placement center.

________________________________________________________________________

2. The employees who sell the most equipment is going to Hawaii for a week.

________________________________________________________________________

3. The bench workers and their supervisor are going to work closely to complete this
project.

________________________________________________________________________

4. Sue was an excellent employee, she got a promotion.

________________________________________________________________________

5. The company performed well last quarter its stock rose several points.

_____________________________________________________________________

6. He had a heart attack almost every time he was reviewed by his supervisor.

_____________________________________________________________________

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December, 2013 Final Examination
COMM 1004
 7. While working, tiredness overcame them.

_____________________________________________________________________

8. Here’s what we can do to improve production quality – provide on-the-job-training,

salary incentives, and quality controls.

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

9. The two keys to success are: earning money and spending wisely.

_____________________________________________________________________

10. She sent a fax to their branches in Toronto Canada, Tokyo Japan, and Wiesbaden
Germany.

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

B. Instruction: Underline the correct word from those in brackets to complete the
sentence. (5 marks)

1. Management must (affect, effect) a change in employees’ attitudes toward absenteeism.

2. Each of the employees attended the meeting (accept, except) the line supervisor, who was
abroad.

3. I (advice, advise) that you pursue a Certificate in Process Operations if you want to
become an operator.

4. His job is routine, (repetitive, repetitious), mechanical.

5. He made a polite (enquiry, inquiry) about my health.

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December, 2013 Final Examination
COMM 1004
 C. Instruction: Circle the letter of the preferred choice in each of the following group
of sentences. (5 marks)

1. A. We’ll be deciding among the four applicants this afternoon.

B. We’ll be deciding between the four applicants this afternoon.

2. A. An insider at Arthur Anderson said that “the fall of the accounting giant stemmed
from a series of poor management decisions made over decades’.”
B. An insider at Arthur Anderson said that, “the fall of the accounting giant stemmed
from a series of poor management decisions made over decades’.”

3. A. Be sure to order manila envelopes in all sizes: 9” X 12”, 11”, 14”, etc.
B. Be sure to order manila envelopes in all sizes: 9” X 12”, 11”, 14” and etc.

4. A. There’s one thing we know for sure: Having a good idea doesn’t guarantee
success.
B. There’s one thing we know for sure: having a good idea doesn’t guarantee
success.

5. A. E-mail, phone calls, and faxes, each one a distraction, interrupts employees when
they work.
B. E-mail, phone calls, and faxes, each one a distraction, interrupt employees when
they work.

D. Instruction: The following words contain errors in spelling. Re-write the corrected
word in the space provided. (5 marks)
1. Equiptment _____________________________________

2. Deisel Mechanic _____________________________________

3. Adminestrator _____________________________________

4. Video-confarencing _____________________________________

5. Blogg _____________________________________

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December, 2013 Final Examination
COMM 1004
 SECTION 3

WRITING A MEMO (25 marks)

Instructions:
• Based on the information provided, use the fully-blocked format and open
punctuation in applying the principles of written communication to answer
EITHER question A) OR B) in the following scenarios.
• Use the Memorandum format that you learnt this semester.
• Include an appropriate letterhead.
• [Spend 45 minutes here].

EITHER
Scenario A

You are the Health & Safety Manager employed with CHEMCO Limited situated at No. 775
Polar Street, Point Lisas.

You arrived on site to find three (3) unsupervised employees smoking, and one (1) other horse-
playing by “swinging” on a harness.

Write a stern persuasive memo to these employees’ supervisor giving details of the ramifications,
and the way forward with regards to this very serious matter. Copy the employees involved.

OR
Scenario B

You are the Refinery Operator Supervisor with PETRO-CHEM Consolidates Limited of No. 898
Calcutta Drive, Pointe-a-Pierre.

You were instructed by your Manager to initiate a group of Chemical Operator trainees with
regards to Health and Safety on the plant. This training is mandatory, and consists of three (3)
sessions.

Write an instructional memo to this group of trainees, giving details of the requirements of the
three (3) sessions.

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December, 2013 Final Examination
COMM 1004
 SECTION 4

CRITIQUE OF VISUAL & DOCUMENT DESIGN (25 marks)

Instructions:

• Miss Edna Prince is a trade union representative with the Oil & Gas Industries
(OAGI) union. Recently, the oil companies have been experiencing persistent “shut
downs” in operations. In the spirit of democracy, she was invited by the
management of PETRO-DYNAMICS Industries Limited to address employees with
regards to an absenteeism and punctuality policy to be implemented by the
company in January, 2014.
• She produced a visual in her Power Point presentation on “Maslow’s Hierarchy of
Needs” and how it relates to absenteeism and punctuality by employees. This slide
is included below.
• In your answer booklet, answer the questions related to the visual.
• Please answer in complete sentences.
• [Spend 35 minutes here].

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December, 2013 Final Examination
COMM 1004
 Examine the above visual aid and complete the following tasks:

(a) Identify and list any five (5) separate types of errors found in the design of the visual.
(5 marks)

(b) Clearly state why each of the five (5) errors identified in (a) above is unacceptable as a
visual aid in an oral presentation. Highlight in each case the presentation rule pertaining
to visual aids that the speaker has broken in making such a design error.
(15 marks)

(c) If you were Miss Edna Prince, other than the errors already discussed in parts (a) and (b)
above, suggest and describe two (2) new ways that you could effectively improve the
above power-point slide. (5 marks)

END OF EXAMINATIONS
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!


PLEASE RETURN COMPLETE EXAM PACKAGE TO THE INVIGILATORS

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December, 2013 Final Examination
COMM 1004