The University of Lowell (Massachusetts) conducted a writing needs assessment in order to help its English department and department of continuing education systematically formulate a professional writing curriculum responsive to documented needs. Questionnaires were mailed to representatives of industries and businesses in Massachusetts and New…

Foreign language skills are necessary not only in international commerce but also in domestic business with the growing Hispanic American population. Many Hispanics have only minimal English skills and prefer to do business in Spanish and use Spanish language media. Because Hispanic Americans account for a significant portion of the consumer…

Bilingual business education is increasing in importance in response to the growing Spanish speaking population, bilingual student population, and need for bilingual employees. The continued immigration from Mexico and growth in the number of unskilled Spanish speaking workers will lead to an increased need for bilingual supervisors and managers.…

In light of the gap in the existing literature regarding the effects of participation in various educational activities on occupational performance, the major concern of the study was to determine how the factors of formal educational attainment, work experience, and nonformal educational participation, as mediated by the social psychological…

To answer questions regarding what factors contribute most to job search success in business and a business career, what specific courses contribute most to career success, and what would be the basic skills of an ideal manager, a study assessed the relative importance of various factors, skills, and courses in the hiring and advancement of…

The increasing need for employees of U.S. businesses to speak the language of the customer is explored. It is shown that the need for foreign language skills in business far exceeds the supply and continues to increase. In the past, the detrimental impact of lack of language skills in U.S. business has been masked by the competitive advantage…

A study examined the types of academic skills and workplace competencies that will be needed by persons employed in marketing occupations in the future. Three rounds of a Delphi questionnaire were mailed to 23 persons who were recommended by secondary and postsecondary marketing teachers in Missouri as having expertise in marketing occupations. In…

Interpersonal simulations may be used as a module in cultural awareness programs to provide realistic environments in which students, supervisors, and managers may practice communication skills that are effective in multicultural environments. To conduct and implement a cross-cultural simulation, facilitators should proceed through four stages:…

The Department of Communication at the University of Oklahoma has developed a test of communication competencies to be administered to potential undergraduate business majors. In developing their list of competencies, department members were aided by previous work by the Speech Communication Association in identifying five broad categories of…

This paper provides guidelines for the development of three distinct approaches to teaching interpersonal communication: a humanistic approach, a skills-oriented approach, and a business-oriented approach. For each approach, it describes assumptions underlying the development of curriculum, suggests questions for use in the generation of study…

Since the majority of college students will enter the business community rather than pursue an academic career, communication and language instruction should reflect the demands of employers. Similarly, the needs and wants of the identified public, students and their prospective employers, should be considered in the adjustment of instructional…

The role of universities in management education for national development in Southeast Asia was the focus of two workshops held in Singapore. Proceedings of these workshops are categorized according to applications of business management skills and techniques in government and business; desirable attributes of a manager/development administrator;…

A Chicago area private consulting firm worked in cooperation with the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA) program to train applicants in word processing operations. Careful task analyses of on-the-job word processing were used to develop a curriculum based on realistic goals and expectations. Small groups of CETA eligible applicants…

To meet the needs of industry a variety of communications courses have been designed to improve the speaking and writing skills of pre-professional students. Unfortunately, such courses stress the quality of message production in the business setting while neglecting to emphasize properly the equivalent need for strong reception and comprehension…

This paper presents methods for training Hispanic business students in interpersonal skills, particularly committee membership skills. The paper states that social, managerial, and committee membership skills can be developed by: (1) encouraging task oriented and social interaction among students with different backgrounds and ideas; (2) offering…