1. Oral communication:
The Workplace Needs and Uses of
Business Graduate Employees
Presenter: Clement Lo 9922615
Instructor: Dr. Pi-Ying Teresa Hsu
Date: December 22, 2010
2. Citation
Crosling, G., & Ward, I. (2002). Oral
communication: The Workplace Needs and
Uses of Business Graduate Employees.
English for Specific Purpose, 21, 41-54.
2
3. Contents
Introduction
Literature Review
Methodology
Findings
Conclusions
Reflection
3
4. Introduction
3
Make suggestions for more
appropriate course design and
adequate preparations.
2
Lack of understanding on the nature of
workplace oral communication.
1
Oral communication skills development are included
in current university course design.
4
5. Purposes of the study
To investigate the needs and uses of
oral communication at workplace
To confirm the frequency and
2 significance of oral communication
To provide the forms used with respect
3
to objects and occasions
To discuss and make suggestions for
4
students and university course design.
6. Research Question
What’s the problem?
What forms of oral
communication skills do BA
graduates need for meeting
workplace requirements?
7. Contents
Introduction
Literature Review
Literature Review 2
Methodology
Findings
Conclusions
Reflection
8. Literature Review
Importance of Oral Communication
Department of Education, Training and Youth
Affairs (DETYA) reports that
oral communication is the 3rd most vital skill
employers look for in new graduates.
(ACNeilson, 1998)
9. Literature Review
Importance of Oral Communication
Employers (New Jersey) claims that oral
communication skill is vital, but is an area
which graduates lack preparing for.
(Van Horn, 1995)
10. Literature Review
What is workplace oral communication?
A demonstration on powerful role of language.
It is more than exchange of words; in the
process, social reality is “created, maintained
and modified”.
(Halliday, 1978)
11. Literature Review
Oral communication is a mean.
Oral communication and social interaction are
the means for acquiring new skills for solving
problems and achieving goals.
(Mellinger, 1992)
13. Literature Review
Oral communication is
context-dependent
Its success varies with different situations
and different participants.
(Bizzell, 1989)
14. Literature Review
Interpersonal component
in communication
The relative status and position of the parties.
1. status of the parties – age, gender, cultures etc.
2. familiarity – how well do u know the other party?
3. emotions, viewpoints and/or attitudes to the topic
Purpose: establish and maintain social relations
; and avoid miscommunication
(Halliday, 1978)
15. Literature Review
Oral communication is context-dependent
Superior/
client
Meeting
Instructive Deductive
Topic/goal -
Oral directed
Communication
Colleagues
Co-operative Inductive
Team work
Relationship
building
17. Literature Review
Communication in Meeting
Generic-function Structural
Model Model
1 Instructive 2 Co-operative
Hierarchy : Team work :
tension between tension among
chair and group peer groups
21. Contents
Introduction
Literature Review
Methodology
Findings
Conclusions
Reflection
22. Methodology
Survey
23 Companies with BA graduates
Participants
from Monash University, Australia.
Instrument Questionnaires: 5 point Likert Scale
Sampling Relevant Sampling
16 large companies
Companies (23) 5 medium companies
2 small companies
8 chartered accounting companies
3 banking / insurance
Company types
5 manufacturing industry
7 others: service, retail, government
Analytical tool SPSS
23. Contents
Introduction
Literature Review
Methodology
Findings
Conclusions
Reflection
24. Findings
4.1 Frequency of oral communication
Q How often do oral communication skills used by graduate
employees in your company??
84%
46% Finding:
38%
84% employers &
employees
25. Findings
4.2 Importance of oral communication
Q How important are oral communication skills for :
1. recruitment 2. job success 3. promotion
Finding:
95% - Promotion
95% - Job success
87% - recruitment
26. Findings
4.3 Frequency of oral communication: home apartment
Q Who do you communicate most often in your home department?
Staff of : 1. less status 2. same status 3. supervisor
Finding:
95% - Same status
87% - supervisor
New graduates are
less unlikely to have
less status staff.
27. Findings
4.4 Forms of oral communication
Q What forms of oral communication are used at workplace?
7 forms are identified:
1 Informal work-related discussion
2 Following instruction
3 Informal social conversation
4 Networking
5 Instructing, explaining demonstrating
6 Persuading colleagues
7 Giving feedback
28. Findings
4.5 Communicating with similar status staff: same dept.
Q What forms of oral communication do you have with
same status staff within the same department?
Finding:
1. 83% - Informal work-related discussion
2. 66% - Following instruction informal
3. 54% - Informal social conversation
4. 47% - Networking
5. 41% - Instructing, explaining and demonstrating
6. 37% - Persuading colleagues
7. 25% - Giving feedback
29. Findings
4.6 Communicating with superior
Q What forms of oral communication do you have with
superior?
Finding:
1. 66% - Following instruction and responding
2. 65% - Informal work-related discussions
formal
3. 62% - Building relations
4. 49% - Informal conversation
5. 41% - Promoting own strength and weakness
6. 41% - presenting new ideas and strategies
7. 30% - Negotiating and bargaining
8. 28% - Chairing and leading discussions
30. Findings
4.7 Meetings: frequency of forms used
Q What forms of oral communication do often use in meetings?
Finding:
79% - participating in discussion Informal
87% - oral presentation &
formal
31% - persuading
20% - chairing and leading discussion
31. Findings
4.8 Team Work: frequency of forms used
Q What forms of oral communication do you in team work?
Finding:
70% - Building relations
informal
66% - Informal conversation
37% - Negotiating
33% - Leading / persuading
28% - conflict resolution
32. Contents
Introduction
Literature Review
Methodology
Findings
Conclusions
Reflection
33. Conclusions
1. Oral communication is essential for a
successful professional career.
2. Oral communication should be a top priority in
university business education
34. Conclusions
3. Formal communication alone is inadequate
prepareation for the workplace since informal oral
communication is require more often.
4. Graduates are required to think critically and apraise
situations to adpot appropriate oral communication
styles.
35. Contents
Introduction
Literature Review
Methodology
Findings
Conclusions
Reflection
36. Reflections
1. Lack of detailed description in research
methodology.
2. Exact number of participants is unclear, and
return rate on the questionnaires is low
37. Reflections
3. Detailed contents and forms of the
questionnaire are unclear; and no reliability
nor validity tests were adopted to test the data.
4. No statistical measuring methods were
mentioned as a valid or proven tool.
