Theme: Skills & Education
AN APPROACH TO TEACHING PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION SKILLS TO MARKETING STUDENTS: A DISCUSSION AND REVIEW Sherryl M. Tanian Maria M. Ryan School of Marketing and Tourism Faculty of Business, Legal Services and Public Administration Edith Cowan University Churchlands WA 6018
Address for all correspondence: Sherryl M. Tanian Lecturer School of Marketing and Tourism Faculty of Business, Legal Services and Public Administration Edith Cowan University Joondalup Drive Joondalup WA 6027 Telephone (W) 08 9400 5445 Fax 08 9400 5840 Email:
[email protected]
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AN APPROACH TO TEACHING PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION SKILLS TO MARKETING STUDENTS: A DISCUSSION AND REVIEW ABSTRACT The literature has identified a need expressed by marketing employers, students and academics for improved communication skills, particularly oral skills. A compulsory second-year communication unit was introduced to the marketing major within the Faculty of Business at Edith Cowan University in Perth, Western Australia. The unit concentrates on developing practical work-related oral and other communication skills. This paper discusses the current literature on the need for communication skills in university graduates especially business graduates and describes the Professional Communication Unit, its structure and content. When the participating students evaluated the unit, there was significant response identifing a need for the unit to be developed at first year, rather than second year level. This was due to the skills being beneficial to other units at the second and third year levels, as well as being seen to be transferable to job and general life situations. The paper concludes with a discussion of options for the future research and development of the unit and skill development in marketing students.
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INTRODUCTION Boatwright and Stamps (1988 p77) noted that “as educators, we must adopt the marketing concept and produce ‘products’ (trained students) that the ‘market’ (recruiters) is willing to ‘purchase’ (hire).” This sentiment has been echoed by other studies (Gustafson, Johnson and Hovey 1993; Wooten, McCullough and Blackburg 1984). A number of employer surveys reveal a consensus of the opinion that business graduates require specific skills in both oral and written communication (Cost, Bishop and Anderson 1992; Ducoffe and Ducoffe 1990; Hildebrandt, Bond, Miller and Swinyard 1982; Thomas and Patton 1993). These findings are also reflected in a number of other studies that emphasise the need for communication, personal and interpersonal skills in marketing graduates (Dorrell and Johnson 1982; Gaedeke, Tootelain and Shaffer 1983; McKendrick 1986). In fact, studies have identified communication skills as being the most important criteria in job selection. Communication skills also were the single most important factor in securing employment for M.B.A. graduates (Arora and Stoner 1992) and oral, written and nonverbal communication were judged to be most important when considering employing graduates to work internationally (Dirks and Buzzard 1997). This paper discusses the introduction of a Professional Communication unit to the subject-specific marketing major in the School of Marketing and Tourism at Edith Cowan University, Western Australia. It has taken into account the need for the unit as identified in the literature from the employer, student, and academic perspective. In addition, the paper discusses the structure of the unit, with reference to the techniques used and assessment procedures. Feedback from students having completed the unit is summarised in the conclusion, along with a discussion on further research and programming of the unit. LITERATURE REVIEW Employer Perspective Top executives, surveyed by Lesiker (1976 cited Hite, Bellizzi and McKinely 1897), believed oral communication was the most important skill as they spend 75-95% of their workday-time communicating. In addition, a survey conducted by Blizstein (1980) revealed that business firms and government agencies rated oral communication to be very important to on-the-job success, and more important than written communication, grades and personality. The importance of oral communication, as being the number one skill, has also been supported in many other studies (Gaedeke and Tootelain 1989, Kelly and Gaedeke 1990, McDaniel and White 1993, Ray, Stallard and Hunt 1994).
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Student Perspective A survey of college graduates in America revealed they shared a similar opinion with employers. These students believed that both oral and written communication should be taught in more detail in colleges. They considered the ability to communicate to be very important (Hite, Bellizzi and McKinley 1987). Schmidt (1991) supported these findings when surveying alumni groups. While students recognise the need to improve their communication skills, particularly oral skills, Merrier and Dirks (1997) found that students disliked oral communication, particularly speaking before a large group of strangers, and the nervousness and pressure, anxiety and fear of failure associated with it. McDaniel and White (1993) found oral communication to be of greatest importance, and unfortunately, the greatest student weakness. Kelly and Gaedeke (1990) also highlighted student weakness in this area. Academic Perspective While marketing classes rated high in helping students improve oral and written communication skills, more communication instruction was desired (Hite, Bellizzi and McKinley 1987). Evidence suggested that oral communication skills were more important for marketing majors than other business majors (Rothe 1983). A survey conducted by Rader and Wunsch (1980) found marketers spent 43% of their time talking, which was more than any other business graduate, except office managers or general managers. The same study identified marketers spending 28% of their worktime listening. Business schools, and marketing courses, have been criticised by many authors for lack of preparing students for employment in business (Benson 1993 cited by Ray, Stallard and Hunt 1994; Cheit 1985; Chonko 1993; Davis and Lomo-David 1994; Hafer and Hoth 1981; Lamb, Shipp and Moncrief 1995; Porter and McKibben 1988, Rotfeld 1992, 1993). Too much emphasis has been placed on specific course content and quantitative analysis while insufficient attention has been given to workplace skills including communication. University teachers (Reid, 1994) professional associations (The Mathew’s Report 1990), the Australian Association of Graduate Employers (1995) and the media have also criticised the inadequate communications skills of Australian university graduates. Hafer and Hoth (1981), Kelly and Gaedeke (1990) and Schmidt (1991) noted that marketing academics should make students more aware of the attributes employers seek, and assist them in developing their own marketing strategy. The oral, written and nonverbal communication skills wanted by employers, are teachable skills. Marketing courses need to develop more practical skills (speaking, writing, organising, interpersonal skills) and concentrate less on imparting factual knowledge (Ursic and Hegstrom 1985, Shipp, Lamb Jr. and Mokwa 1993). Willmington (1989)
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stated that academics should ensure oral communication features predominantly in the curricula. Winter (1993) found little correlation with courses such as English, Principles of Marketing and Consumer Behaviour and the development of students’ business communication skills. Shipp, Lamb Jr. and Mokwa (1993) cited several reasons why marketing courses concentrated on building content knowledge rather than developing students’ skills. These included a belief that students should have acquired these skills, skill development and evaluation took too much time, there was little opportunity to introduce non-content based materials, marketing staff were not qualified to assess certain skills and students believed skill enhancement was irrelevant to marketing courses. While Lamb Jr., Shipp and Moncrief III (1995) suggested skill development be incorporated into the marketing curriculum, several researchers (Boatwright and Stamps 1988; Hildebrandt et al 1982; Sparkman, Fellows and Zhou 1990; Swanson and Swanson 1990; Warner 1995) believed a course in business communication should be added to the curriculum. Such a course should concentrate on oral communication, teaching students how to conduct oral presentations, give oral briefings, and how to address customers, the public and the community. Instruction in written skills should concentrate on writing with precision, clarity, simplicity; being organised; using correct grammar, spelling, punctuation, sentence construction; using a positive tone; and writing for a specific audience (Gustafson, Johnson and Hovey 1993). PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION UNIT A generic skills program incorporated into the eight, first-year foundation units in the business degree at Edith Cowan University has addressed the need to develop communication skills, competency in literacy (written communication and reading at university), oral communication, library skills, critical and creative thinking, and business ethics. However, the majority of the generic skills program has concentrated on study and learning skills, rather than work skills. To give their students a competitive edge in the marketplace, the School of Marketing and Tourism recently introduced a Professional Communications unit to the subjectspecific marketing major. This compulsory second year unit extends the generic skills program and concentrates on work skills. Course Content The unit addresses four areas of communication—oral, written, organisational and communication to gain employment. However, in response to the need for more effective oral communication, as expressed by employers and graduates in the marketing field, the main emphasis is on oral communication. Techniques for dealing with speech anxiety and stage fright, developing and packaging messages that are
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simple, short, logical and audience-focused are included. Students use these techniques to give individual, team, telephone and networking presentations. As well, students learn how to listen, read and use nonverbal communication, and understand gender and cultural differences. Written skills, related to writing business documents, concentrate on using plain English and document layout to develop clear and persuasive messages focused on the audience’s needs. Throughout the course, the key emphasis is on developing practical workplace skills rather than those required by academic performance. Class Structure The course is taught as a two-hour seminar and a one-hour workshop. The seminar, with approximately 50 students, provides the background information through student discussions, activities, questions and answers sessions and demonstrations of key techniques. The workshop sessions, containing no more than12 students is further subdivided into teams of three or four students. This structure provides support, a nurturing environment (necessary to overcome anxiety and encourage risk-taking), and time for students to practice and develop the required skills. Teaching Methodology The methodology concentrates on breaking down communication barriers and fostering self-directed learning opportunities for students. The “tell, show, do, teach” philosophy is used where “telling” is the information given in the seminar and student workbook. After a technique is demonstrated in the seminar (“showing”), students perform this activity in the workshop and give each other feedback (“teaching”). Feedback is an important component of the unit to build student confidence and enhance skill development. Students complete a workshop presentation every session. Each communication technique builds upon another, so self-evaluation and coaching is needed for students to proceed to the next stage. After a students gives their own evaluation of their performance positive coaching given (oral and written) by their peers. The instructor facilitates the coaching and only offer advice if the students have not already addressed it. All student presentations, and the verbal feedback they receive, are recorded on video and kept to assist students to evaluate their performance and progress. Assessment Seventy-five percent of student assessment is based on their participation in seminar activities, their performance in the major workshop presentations and the quality of their self and peer evaluations. The remaining assessment is from a team project where students investigate an aspect of communication, write a short report on it and present their finding s to the seminar group. There is no formal examination.
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FEEDBACK FROM STUDENTS A survey was conducted to evaluate the unit, including its application to employment, general life situations, and other marketing and non-marketing units being studied by the students. The survey was conducted at the completion of the first semester the unit was offered as a compulsory marketing unit for undergraduate students. A total of 124 students completed the survey, a response rate of 62%. Student perceptions of the usefulness of the communications unit can be demonstrated by their responses to the questions on how they have experienced, and would see the skills they have learnt in the unit to be beneficial to them. The results are presented in Table 1. Table 1 Professional Communications 11: Student Perceptions Average score on scale: 1 (Never) — 5 (Often) Situation
a) other marketing units? b) other units you are other units you are currently studying? c) general life situations d) employment situations
Have you used any of the skills learnt in professional communication 11? 3.82 3.95
Will you use any of these skills?
3.82 4.51
4.23 4.39
4.59 4.21
The responses indicate the students’ positive attitude toward transferring their skills developed in the Professional Communication unit to other aspects of their life, in particular their future activities. Overall, part time students were significantly more inclined to indicate they would use the skills in future employment (part time average 4.86, full time 4.15) and general life situations (part time 4.61, full time 4.15) than full time students. Of the 124 responses, 102 were completing the unit as a compulsory component for their undergraduate degree, the remainder were completing the unit as an elective (free choice selection). A significant proportion of the students (80%) doing the unit as a compulsory choice would recommend doing the unit even if it was not a compulsory requirement. The main reasons given for this response was; the unit provides practical, enhanced skills development, and is beneficial for other units. These findings did not differ significantly whether the respondents were local or overseas, male or female, part time or full time students. When students were asked at what level they would recommend the unit to be included in their degree, 68% recommended the unit to be a compulsory first-year unit. Examining these responses revealed little difference between local and overseas students, gender, or mode of study. The main reason given for this choice was the
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skills developed in the unit were transferable, and therefore required at the first year of study. Comments included: “Because the skills are so transferable. The skills would have come in handy for assignments last year.” “All students should do this course (keep it for marketing students though, we will have the advantage).” “It is most beneficial for marketing students - but also for business and other students - in life and business.” “By learning the skills in 1st year a student would be better equipped in their writing, speaking and presentation skills.” “The skills taught in this unit are applicable in almost any situation. If all students had these skills, they would create a more professional workforce eventually.” Students were asked to evaluate how important this unit had been in developing their own personal communication skills. Overall, 84% of students rated the unit an 8 or above on a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being extremely important), with an average of 8.76. T-tests were conducted to explore whether any differences existed between local and international, or male and female students. There were no significant differences. Interestingly, when examining the difference in how important the unit had been in developing communication skills, the part-timers indicated a significantly higher score than the full-time students, with a mean of 9.2 and 8.6 respectively. Perhaps the part time students can actually “see” the benefit of the skill development more readily than the full time students.
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SUMMARY DISCUSSION AND FURTHER RESEARCH This paper has focused on describing the need for professional communication development for business graduates and the development of a compulsory unit in the Marketing degree at Edith Cowan University, Perth Western Australia. The development of the unit was instigated by the obvious need addressed in the literature. The unit is continually restructured as research and student feedback dictates, however, the main core exercises have remained A strong commitment to the development of the communication skills within our marketing students is a key driving force for lecturers involved in this unit. This extends to potentially tailoring the unit to specific needs such as gender, age, full time or part time students. An ongoing research program continually examines the development, and student feedback. This includes: Surveying students who have completed their course one to two years ago to see if they have used the skills; and if they were/were not relevant to their current work and general life situations; Conducting further research to see if the differences in gender reactions identified in the initial research needs to be incorporated into the content and delivery of the communication course; Investigating the relationship academic, learning and work skills and its effect on students’ ability to communicate effectively; and Investigating whether a distinct communication unit is more effective in improving students’ communications than integrating these skills into core marketing units.
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