Business and Professional Communication Quarterly

Both corporate and university sectors are engaged in the teaching of communication courses. As someone who has taught in both settings, I believe that trainers and profes sors have much to gain from pooling ideas. With this in mind, I first observed and then participated in a week- long "Presentation Skills" workshop taught in a Fortune 500 company to determine what aspects of that program might be transplanted to a traditional university public speaking course. I then took ideas gained from the work shop and applied them to the public speaking classes I taught at a western university. This article is an examina tion and discussion of this process.

This study examines the types of documents written by 23 executives/managers in two different companies—a col lection agency division of a large service company and a mid-sized professional liability insurance company. Implications for business writing courses are given.

The purpose of this study was to determine if a unit on listening that consumes little class time would signifi cantly increase listening skills. This research design was basically pretest/treatment/posttest. Excluding the pre- and posttest, the treatment takes only 80 classroom min utes. The Watson-Barker Listening Test—Video Version was used as the measurement instrument. The data revealed that the average listening skills of participants increased over 21 %. The greatest improvement (over 40%) took place in two listening skill areas—evaluating mes sage content and understanding meaning in conuersation. A significant improvement (over 20%) occurred in under standing and remembering lectures.

This paper provides an overview of the issues involved in providing listening instruction to those who work or who are preparing to work in organizations. Questions are posed regarding the nature of listening and listening instruction. A behavioral approach is suggested, and the benefits and concerns regarding this perspective are examined.

A review of business communication textbooks was con ducted to determine, according to the textbook authors, what information should and should not be included on the résumé, the format, and the importance of the overall appearance. Although the research shows there is agree ment among the textbook authors on many issues, there is also disagreement in several areas. But the message is clear—with the increasing competition in the employment market, college graduates would be well advised to develop a résumé that is complete, concise, clear, and error-free.

Faced with shrinking budgets and changing standards at their colleges and universities, instructors of business communication are looking for new ways to prepare stu dents for careers in business. Using computer-mediated technologies, instructors can develop activities outside the classroom to motivate and inform students. Augmenting business communication courses with e-mail and Internet protocols, instructors can reach larger segments of their classes, stimulate discussions, create simulations, and strengthen their relationships with students. Using imagi native techniques, students and instructors can work together to develop a new kind of educational community whose communications are mediated by computers.

To determine written communication skill requirements, responsibilities, and deficiencies of employees in interna tional businesses, a nationwide survey of key personnel administrators in selected companies was conducted. The findings indicate that (a) major writing responsibilities exist in various departments within international compa nies, (b) the variety of documents produced are similar to those in domestic businesses, (c) most written do cuments are produced at the keyboard or in longhand, and (d) the major writing deficiency is mechanics. Screening tech niques employed to assess writing abilities before hiring individuals most often include a review of the application materials. Most reported that no specific communication problems exist because nearly all business is conducted in English. Yet the representatives who were interviewed had recommendations for ensuring successful international written communications.

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