Communication in the Workplace: The Experience of MPA Alumni

Abstract

Effective communication is a bedrock for public affairs administrators to achieve the technical and service goals of their organizations, and NASPAA’s Universal Competency 5 (UC5) recognizes the significance of communicative competence. To understand how recent Master of Public Administration (MPA) graduates communicate in their professional positions, the authors conducted a qualitative study, using semi-structured interviews with 18 MPA alumni. Participants self-reported communicative successes and challenges, skills they used, and strategies for repairing miscommunication. They also identified program features that prepared them well and difficulties for which they wished for better preparation. By engaging with their alumni more systematically, MPA program leaders can ensure they teach the UC5 communication skills in ways that prepare their graduates to respond successfully to evolving public sector workplace demands and beyond.

Keywords

public affairs professional communication NASPAA Universal Competency 5 cultural competence MPA alumni career readiness

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Arasaratnam

L. A.

Doerfel

M. L.

(2005). Intercultural communication competence: Identifying key components from multicultural perspectives. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 29, 137–163. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2004.04.001

Asselineau

Grolleau

Mzoughi

(2024). Quiet environments and the intentional practice of silence: Toward a new perspective in the analysis of silence in organizations. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 17, 326–340. https://doi:10.1017/iop.2024.9

Awasthi

Mastracci

S. H.

(2021). Integrating emotive competence in public affairs education. Journal of Public Affairs Education, 27(4), 472–489. https://doi.org/10.1080/15236803.2021.1947072

Bishu

S. G.

McCandless

(2024). Tracing and teaching gender across core public affairs curriculum. Journal of Public Affairs Education, 30(1), 75–96. https://doi.org/10.1080/15236803.2023.221639

Carrizales

(2010). Exploring cultural competency within the public affairs curriculum. Journal of Public Affairs Education, 16(4), 593–606. https://doi.org/10.1080/15236803.2010.12001616

Cherner

Olavarria

Young

Aubry

Marchant

(2014). Evaluation of organizational cultural competence of a community health center: A multimethod approach. Health Promotion Practice, 15(5), 675–684. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524839914532650

Chordiya

Dolamore

Love

J. M.

Borry

E. L.

Protonentis

Stern

Whitebread

(2024). Staking the tent at the margins: Using disability justice to expand the theory and praxis of social equity in public administration. Administrative Theory & Praxis, 46(1), 95–120. https://doi.org/10.1080/10841806.2023.2216616

Cram

Alkadry

(2018). Virtue ethics and cultural competency: Improving service one administrator at a time. Journal of Public Affairs Education, 24(4), 518–537. https://doi.org/10.1080/15236803.2018.1484652

DeHoog

R. H.

(2015). Collaborations and partnerships across sectors: Preparing the next generation for governance, Journal of Public Affairs Education, 21(3), 401–416. https://doi.org/10.1080/15236803.2015.12002206

10.

Diaz

(2014). Assessing professional competencies: The “painstaking” implementation phase. Journal of Public Affairs Education, 20(3), 353–368. https://doi.org/10.1080/15236803.2014.12001793

11.

Dupré

(2012). Disability culture and cultural competency in social work. Social Work Education, 31(2), 168–183. https://doi.org/10.1080/02615479.2012.644945

12.

Edlins

(2021). Developing a model of empathy for public administration. Administrative Theory & Praxis, 43(1), 22–41. https://doi.org/10.1080/10841806.2019.1700459

13.

Edlins

Dolamore

(2018). Ready to serve the public? The role of empathy in public service education programs. Journal of Public Affairs Education, 24(3), 300–320. https://doi.org/10.1080/15236803.2018.1429824

14.

Farr-Wharton

Brunetto

Shacklock

(2020). Formal and functional social exchange relationships in the public sector. In Luomo-aho

Canel

M. J.

(Eds.), Handbook of public sector communication (pp. 127–138). John Wiley & Sons.

15.

Forber-Pratt

A. J.

(2019). (Re) defining disability culture: Perspectives from the Americans with disability act generation. Culture & Psychology, 25(2), 241–256. https://doi.org/10.1177/1354067X18799714

16.

Guy

M. E.

(2020). To catch the sparrow that has flown. Journal of Public Affairs Education, 26(3), 264–275. https://doi.org/10.1080/15236803.2020.1759760

17.

Hatmaker

D. M.

Park

H. H.

Rethemeyer

R. K.

(2011). Learning the ropes: Communities of practice and social networks in the public sector. International Public Management Journal, 14(4), 395–419. https://doi.org/10.1080/10967494.2011.656051

18.

Haupt

Kapucu

(2017). Core competencies in master of public administration programs: Perspectives from local government managers. Journal of Public Affairs Education, 23(1), 611–624. https://doi.org/10.1080/15236803.2017.12002272

19.

Hoff

H. E.

(2020). The evolution of intercultural communicative competence: Conceptualisations, critiques and consequences for 21st Century Classroom Practice. Intercultural Communication Education, 3(2), 55–74. https://doi.org/10.29140/ice.v3n2.264

20.

Holmer

L. L.

Adams

G. B.

(1995). The practice gap: Strategy and theory for emotional and interpersonal development in public administration education. Journal of Public Administration Education, 1(1), 3–22.

21.

Horila

(2019). Communication competence in the workplace. In Mikkolo

Valo

(Eds.), Workplace communication (pp. 196–209). Routledge.

22.

Iddrisu

(2025). Unlocking public sector potential: The interplay of leadership traits, trust, and employee voice. Cogent Business & Management, 12(1), Article 2526145. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2025.252614

23.

Jensen

J. L.

Butz

N. T.

(2018). The impact of enhanced student diversity on diversity opinions. Journal of Public Affairs Education, 24(4), 430–448. https://doi.org/10.1080/15236803.2018.1429809

24.

Jordan

M. M.

Carnegie

V. T.

Carlee

(2024). Training for the reality of diversity: Applying the DEI training ladder to a MPA core course. Journal of Public Affairs Education, 30(1), 52–74. https://doi.org/10.1080/15236803.2023.223606

25.

Kang

Moon

(2024). Organizational employee listening competency for participatory employee communication: Employee perspectives, Journal of Public Relations Research, 36(6), 441–468. https://doi.org/10.1080/1062726X.2024.2390466

26.

Kimoto

D. M.

(2010). The taken-for-granted labor of communication: Seeing beyond words. Journal of Public Affairs Education, 16(1), 31–51. https://doi.org/10.1080/15236803.2010.12001582

27.

Koliba

(2025). Democratic accountability standards and the education of public administrators: A call to action. Journal of Public Affairs Education, 31(2), 117–124. https://doi.org/10.1080/15236803.2025.2459992

28.

Kriz

T. D.

Kluger

A. N.

Lyddy

C. J.

(2021). Feeling heard: Experiences of listening (or not) at work. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.659087

29.

Levine

Christian

N. J.

Lyons

B. P.

(2013). Organizational change skill acquisition and change agency preparedness in U. S. NASPAA-accredited MPA programs. Journal of Public Affairs Education, 19(3), 479–492. https://doi.org/10.1080/15236803.2013.12001747

30.

Longoria

Rangarajan

(2015). Measuring public manager cultural competence: The influence of public service values. Journal of Public Management & Social Policy, 21(1), 24–41.

31.

Lopez-Littleton

Blessett

(2015). A framework for integrating cultural competency into the curriculum of public administration programs. Journal of Public Affairs Education, 21(4), 557–574. https://doi.org/10.1080/15236803.2015.12002220

32.

Lopez-Littleton

Blessett

Burr

(2018). Advancing social justice and racial equity in the public sector. Journal of Public Affairs Education, 24(4), 449–468. https://doi.org/10.1080/15236803.2018.1490546

33.

Luoma–aho

Canel

M. J.

(Eds.). (2020). The handbook of public sector communication. John Wiley & Sons.

34.

Mastracci

S. H.

Newman

M. A.

Guy

M. E.

(2010). Emotional labor: Why and how to teach it. Journal of Public Affairs Education, 16(2), 123–141. https://doi.org/10.1080/15236803.2010.12001590

35.

Mathews

A. L.

(1999). The sum of the differences: Diversity and public organizations. McGraw-Hill.

36.

McCandless

Larson

S. J.

(2018). Prioritizing social equity in MPA curricula. Journal of Public Affairs Education, 24(3), 361–379.

37.

Morand

D. A.

Ocker

R. J.

(2003). Politeness theory and computer-mediated communication: A socio-linguistic approach to analyzing relational messages. Proceedings of the 36th Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences. IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/HICSS.2003.1173660

38.

Morrison

(2014). Employee voice and silence. The Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 1(1), 173–197. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-031413-091328

39.

Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs and Administration (NASPAA). (2026, February 6). Standard 5: Matching operations - student learning. https://www.naspaa.org/accreditation/standards-and-guidance/standard-standard-guidance/standard-5-matching-operations

40.

Nishishiba

(2017). Culturally mindful communication: Essential skills for public and nonprofit professionals. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315277349

41.

Oreg

Berson

(2019). Leaders’ impact on organizational change: Bridging theoretical and methodological chasms. Academy of Management Annals 13(1), 272–307. https://doi.org/10.5465/annals.2016.0138

42.

Page

(2007). The difference: How the power of diversity creates better groups, firms, schools, and societies-new edition. Princeton University Press.

43.

Rajamaki

Mikkola

(2019). Newcomers in the workplace. In Mikkola

Volo

(Eds.), Workplace communication (pp. 89–102). Routledge.

44.

Rajamäki

Mikkola

. (2021). Membership negotiation in the first workplace–Newcomers’ experiences. Journal of Communication Management, 25(1), 18–33.

45.

Rice

M. F.

Mathews

A. L.

(2012). A new kind of public service professional: Possessing cultural competency awareness, knowledge, and skills. In Norman-Major

Gooden

(Eds.), Cultural competency for public administration (pp. 19–31). M. E. Sharpe.

46.

Rinfret

Wise

(2024). Emotional labor: Advancing our public administration classroom. Journal of Public Affairs Education, 30(2), 179–193. https://doi.org/10.1080/15236803.2023.2229192

47.

Rubaii

Calarusse

(2014). Preparing public service professionals for a diverse and changing workplace and citizenry: Evaluating the progress of NASPAA programs in competency assessment. Journal of Public Affairs Education, 20(3), 285–304.

48.

Slutsky

J. M.

Sardegna

V. G.

(2018). Business writing strategies and guidelines for preparing effective memorandums. Journal for Excellence in Business Education, 5(1), 1–13. http://www.jebejournal.org/index.php/jebe/article/view/80

49.

Spitzberg

B. H.

(2003). Methods of interpersonal skills assessment. In Greene

J. O.

Burleson

B. R.

(Eds.), Handbook of social interaction skills (pp. 93–134). Laurence Erlbaum Associates.

50.

Spitzberg

B. H.

Changnon

(2009). Conceptualizing intercultural competence. In Deardorff

(Ed.), The Sage handbook of intercultural competence (pp. 2–52). Sage Publication, Inc.

51.

Starke

A. M.

Heckler

Mackey

(2018). Administrative racism. Journal of Public Affairs Education, 24(4), 469–489. https://doi.org/10.1080/15236803.2018.1426428

52.

Stowe

Parent

J. D.

Schwartz

L. A.

Sendall

(2012). Are students prepared to Present?: An analysis of presentation skills in business schools. Journal of the Academy of Business Education, 13, 105–121.

53.

Waldeck

Durante

Helmuth

Marcia

(2012). Communication in a changing world: Contemporary perspectives on business communication competence. Journal of Education for Business, 87(4), 230–240. https://doi.org/10.1080/08832323.2011.608388

54.

Weger

Bell

G. C.

Minei

E. M.

Robinson

M. C.

(2014). The relative effectiveness of active listening in initial interactions. International Journal of Listening, 28(1), 13–31. https://doi.org/10.1080/10904018.2013.813234

55.

Yip

Fisher

C. M.

(2022). Listening in organizations: A synthesis and future agenda. Academy of Management Annals, 16(2), 657–679. https://doi.org/10.5465/annals.2020.0367

Supplementary Material

Please find the following supplemental material available below.

For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.

For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.

0.03 MB

0.00 MB