The Impact of Type and Level of College Degree on Managerial Communication Competence

Department Chairs' Perceptions of the Importance of Business Communication Skills

“…Employers maintain that graduates need training in such topics as speaking and listening (Mayes, Weldey, & Icenogle, 1997), persuasion techniques and conflict management (Reinsch & Shelby, 1997), and interpersonal communication (Golen, Catanach, & Moeckel, 1997). Discipline-specific skills required by different areas of business contribute to this list of critical topics, including interpersonal communication for accountants (Siegel, 2000;Lee, 1999;Tanner & Totaro, 1998), public speaking and listening skills for managers (McEwen, 1998), written and oral communication skills for marketing majors (Floyd & Gordon, 1998), and writing skills for finance majors (Tanner & Cudd, 1999). This need for a repertoire of communication skills in the workplace is driven largely by the integrated nature of today's workplace, as identified by Siegel (2000):…”

User Feedback: Alumni on Workplace Presenting and Improving Courses

“…Beyond these studies, some research has been devoted to questions of how well the alumni of undergraduate business programs feel they are faring with respect to their overall presentation skill set postgraduation. Thaddeus McEwen (1998) surveyed 82 managers who had graduated from a public Midwestern university. He found no correlation between level of business education (none, bachelor’s, or master’s degree) and communication competence.…”