Communication Challenges and Needs: Perceptions of MBA Students

Abstract

We asked each student enrolled in a graduate-level management communica tion course to describe in wrzting a work-related communication episode that had challenged him or her. Students reported most difficulties in face-to-face oral events, particularly when required to interact with someone in a different organization or with someone who ranked higher in the organization. Students also identified communication-related needs (for example, improved self-confidence and persuasiveness). Our results indicate that graduate management communication courses should include oral communication and should not conceptualize oral communication exclusively in terms of formal presentations.

Business Communication Practices From Employers’ Perspectives

“…The researchers in the current study employ content analysis to uncover the communication skills employers identify as important for new college graduates, similar to other studies that examine communication skills (Lentz, 2013;Reinsch & Shelby, 1996;Stevens, 2005). Content analysis offers several approaches to analyze the frequency of an occurrence in a given medium.…”

Communication Apprehension: A Barrier to Students' Leadership, Adaptability, and Multicultural Appreciation

“…There are several important directions for CA research. First, while most research from the communication literature focuses on reducing CA in the context of a speech or presentation (e.g., Bodie, 2010), for business graduates, other communication settings are likely to be more important (Reinsch & Shelby, 1996). That is, most graduates will spend much more time interacting in teams, meetings, and one-on-one conversations than in giving presentations.…”

The Impact of Service‐Learning Targeting Apparel Design Majors: A Qualitative Analysis of Learning Growth

“…Participation in a service-learning project that requires students to practice relaying their knowledge and ideas to others can increase student's self-efficacy of their communication skills (Tucker & McCarthy, 2001). This is a key finding, as one study reported that self-efficacy is essential to being a good communicator (Reinsch & Shelby, 1996).…”