Author(s)
  Shelby, Annette N., Reinsch, Lamar Jr.

Source
  Business Communication Quarterly Mar 1996, v59n1, p. 36-53 (18 pages)

Abstract:
  If management communication professors wish to meet the perceived as well as real needs of their students, they need at least 2 kinds of information rarely available to them. First, how do students view themselves as communicators? Second, what sorts of communication abilities actually help people to succeed at work? Students enrolled in a graduate-level management communication course were asked to describe in writing a work-related communication episode that had challenged them. 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). Results indicate that graduate management communication courses should include oral communication and should not conceptualize oral communication exclusively in terms of formal presentation.