Nurse Family Partnership A Community Health Based Home...

Introduction Nurse Family Partnership (NFP) program is a community health-based home visiting program which is evidence based. This program is designed for women with no previous births who have low income. It involves the use of nurses or paraprofessionals to pay home visits to vulnerable mothers, usually socially disadvantaged teenagers who are first time mothers. These health professionals pay home visits from pregnancy till the children are about two years of age. The aim of this is to improve pregnancy outcomes, health and development of the child and improve the maternal life course through promotion of economic self-sufficiency. This program which is evidence based have proven effective over 3 decades and have been replicated in†¦show more content†¦NFP has three broad goals which are: improvement of pregnancy outcomes through promotion of prenatal care; improvement of child health and development by teaching parents the necessary skills and safety measures; and improvement of mat ernal development over the life course through empowerment. These three broad goals are related to the Healthy People 2020 (HP2020) objectives and Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). The HP2020 topic, Maternal, Infant and Child Health major goal is to improve the health and well-being of women, infants, children, and families which aligns with NFP goals. This topic has a broad set of objectives with sub objectives that are well related to NFP goals such as: objectives related to reduction in maternal and infant morbidity and mortality; and objectives that influence preconception, pregnancy and postpartum health and behavior e.g. increasing the proportion of pregnant women who receive early and adequate prenatal care and increasing the proportion of infants who are put to sleep on their backs, to mention a few. NFP goals also align with SDG. It aligns with the third SDG which is to ‘Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages’ with targets to reduce the global maternal, infant and child mortality and morbidity ratio to certain percentages by year 2030. Literature review NFP is a community health program with over 3 decades of proven research which shows itsShow MoreRelatedThe Family Health For The Community952 Words   |  4 PagesThe family health nurse providing care in the community must integrate community involvement and knowledge about the population with their personal and clinical comprehension of health and illness experiences of individuals and families within a population (Kaakinen, Coehlo, Steele, Tabacco, Harmon Hanson, 2015). Nurse Home Visiting Programs The visiting nurse can assess a family’s health statues in their environment that will allow them to develop specific interventions and strategies, as wellRead MoreHistory of Community Health Nursing Essay1474 Words   |  6 PagesHistory of Community Nursing Matrix As long as people have existed, they needed to look after their health. As a result, the healthcare industry was born. Nurses were a vital part of that growing community. 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Brady Handgun Violence Protection Act Essay - 2679 Words

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:______________________________________________________ The Brady Handgun Violence Protection Act, in short: The Brady Act, was United States legislation that was passed by Congress in 1993. The Brady Act required a five-day waiting period and criminal background check, performed by state and local law enforcement, for the purchase of a handgun. The Brady Act was instituted to curtail handgun violence and decrease the probability of a handgun ending up in a criminal’s hands. The legislation was heavily pushed by Senator James Brady and his wife, Sarah Brady, after Sen. Brady was seriously injured by a gunshot wound during the attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan in 1981. The five-day waiting period went into effect on February 28, 1994, and was strongly opposed by the National Rifle Association (NRA). The NRA indicated the Brady Act was unconstitutional and a violation of the 10th Amendment. Lawsuits in several states were heard, and finally the Brady Act was deemed unconstitutional in 1997 by the U.S. Supreme Court, in the case of Printz v. United States. At that time, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), instituted the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NCIS) which would allow for instant background checks of handgun purchasers, and provisions were made to the Brady Act to satisfy the court. The NCIS became operational on November 30, 1998. The Brady Campaign indicates over 2.6 million prohibited gun purchases haveShow MoreRelatedBrady Handgun Violence Protection Act Essay4860 Words   |  20 Pages_____ The Brady Handgun Violence Protection Act, in short: The Brady Act, was United States legislation that was passed by Congress in 1993. The Brady Act required a five-day waiting period and criminal background check, performed by state and local law enforcement, for the purchase of a handgun. 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The Therapy, Attachment Theory And Cognitive Theory

This eclectic plan will incorporate three theoretical approaches, which include the solution focused therapy, attachment theory and cognitive theory. The plan is going to be made up of four therapy sessions each will be an hour long. The four sessions are designed to help Andrew overcome his depressive state and to help him develop coping mechanisms for himself. †¢ In the first session, the therapist will be combining both attachment and cognitive theory. †¢ The session will begin with an intake and assessment where the therapist will gain insight on who the client is and what their situation is through the process of asking questions. †¢ From this, the therapist will use the attachment approach where the therapist will tie in the intake and assessment with the Adult Attachment Interview. It consists of a semi structured interview, which will consist of asking Andrew to describe his childhood relationships to his parents with examples of significant events (Textbook). The questions are geared toward possible experiences of rejection, being hurt, upset or any other experiences that may had a negative impact on Andrew (Textbook). By doing this, it will help Andrew understand how his relationship with his parents as a child might help explain his difficulty with expressing emotions. From gaining this understanding, it can help him move forward and start thinking about how he start to form more positive attachments. †¢ Before the end of the first session, the therapist will touchShow MoreRelatedMultiple Theories Influenced The Development Of My Personal Model And Therapeutic Approach For Couples And Families1668 Words   |  7 Pagesmultiple theories have influenced the development of my personal model and therapeutic approach to couples and families. Three theories in particular that I draw my therapeutic approach from includes: narrative therapy, emotionally focused couple’s therapy, and attachment theory. 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Cultural distance assignment free essay sample

CDj is the cultural distance between the host country (j) and the home country (in this case Germany). It is calculated with a summation of 4 different variables indicating different cultural dimensions. These are uncertainty avoidance, power distance, individualism/collectivism and masculinity/femininity. is the country j’s score on one of the four cultural dimension is the score of the home country (in this case Germany) on this dimension. is the variance of this particular dimension. Firstly, the distance on each dimension between the host country j and the home country (in this case Germany). Secondly, this number is squared. After squaring minus each variable is divided by the variance of that variable. And finally, all these four variances are added together and divided by 4. 2. What is the difference between mean and variance? Can you explain the example given in the lecture in your own words? Mean and variance are both about distribution, but mean refers to one measure of the central value for a probability distribution. It is the average of a set of measurements. On the other hand, variance is a measure of how far a set of numbers is spread out. In a statistical probability graph the difference in variance is made visible in the height of the graph. A low variance indicates that the data points are close to the mean. This can be recognized in a normal distribution graph where the curve is either flatter or steeper. A flat curve indicates a high variance as data points are far away from the mean, whereas a steep curve indicates a small variance as the data points are close to the mean. 3. Calculate the distance on each dimension between Germany (our home country) and a specific host country using the Excel program.? Tip: you can use the formula editor in Excel to calculate the distance on e. g. power distance between Germany and Argentina, the first country in the sample. You can copy-paste the formula in the other rows/columns. Power distance: Argentina – Germany: 49-35 = 14 Uncertainty avoidance: Argentina – Germany: 86-64 = 21 Individualism / collectivism: Argentina – Germany: 46-67 = -21 ? 21 Masculinity / femininity: Argentina – Germany: 56-66 = -10 ? 10 4. The Kogut-Singh index of cultural distance also contains the variance of each dimension. Answer the following questions: a. In the bottom row of the columns you will find the variance for each culture ? dimension. What dimension has the highest variance? Individual collectivism b. What does a high variance mean Tip: to calculate the variance yourself, you can use the formula editor of Excel and search for â€Å"variance†. A high variance means that the date points are very spread out from the mean and from each other 5. Calculate the cultural distance using Kogut and Singh formula while using Germany as the home country. Tip: follow the different steps as explained in the main lecture, and first calculate the difference, ? the squared difference, the variance, and the overall cultural distance. Cultural distance = 0,547 ? [(14*14)/507,68 + (21*21)/559,42 + (-21*-21)/621,34 + (-10*-10)/329,58)]/4 6. Which four countries have the lowest cultural distance to Germany? Switzerland, Italy, South Africa and Luxembourg 7. Which country has the highest cultural distance? Guatemala 8. What is the average cultural distance between Germany and these 57 other countries? 1,6046894 9. Pick a host country and relate the cultural distance score between Germany and that ? host country to the 7 points of critique raised by Shenkar as discussed in the lecture. We picked Egypt, which has a cultural distance score of 1,748. 1. The illusion of symmetry: you cannot assume that the cultural distance from Germany and Egypt is similar to the cultural distance from Egypt to Germany. Because of recent conflicts in Egypt it is probably less attractive for other countries, including Germany, to do business or invest in Egypt, whereas for Egypt itself, it is not hard to do business in Germany. 2. The illusion of stability: Cultural distance is measured at a single point in time, but cultures may change over time and therefore, cultural differences may also change over time. Currently the conflict in Egypt is still ongoing which makes cultural difference between Germany and Egypt bigger. However, if this conflict ends, the cultural difference may shrink again. 3. The illusion of linearity: in case a German MNE already had an entity in Egypt and is considering a second one, the obstacle of starting a second entity is lower than it would have with the initial entity introduction. The effect on cultural distance therefore depends on the experience already gained and is not a linear process. 4. The illusion of causality: Kogut and Singh’s formula only focuses on cultural difference, but distance is a multidimensional construct and should be studied not in isolation but together with the other three dimensions of distance, namely; institutional/administrative distance, geographic distance and economic distance. For instance, the cultural difference between Germany and Egypt is 1,748 and the geographic distance between Germany and Egypt is 3208 kilometer. The cultural difference between Germany and Australia is 0,320 (a lot smaller than 1,748) and the geographic distance between these two countries is 14482 kilometers (a lot further than 3208 km). 5. The illusion of discordance: the assumption is that all cultural aspects of the cultural distance between home and host country matter equally, but depending on the country, some dimensions of a culture matter more than others. Take language and religion. Both cultural aspects, but when Germany does business with the Netherlands difference in language would matter a lot more than difference in religion, whereas when Germany does business with Egypt, the religion factor would weigh a lot heavier. 6. The assumption of corporate homogeneity: by using national cultural measures, the CD concept only incorporates variance in the national culture but does not consider possible variances on a corporate level. National culture vs. organizational culture is left out. In Egypt, a company which employs employees of many different nationalities will have less cultural differences with a German company in comparison to a company which only employs Egyptians. 7. The assumption of spatial homogeneity: when examining the cultural differences on the basis of national level scores, possible cultural variances within that same country are left out. In Egypt it would not be correct to look at the country as a whole, since within the country (city versus rural areas) there are different cultures and sentiments based on different takes on for example Muslim religion. This could affect the way different companies do business and therefore reduce or expand the cultural difference between Germany and Egypt. 10. Assess the strengths and weaknesses of the Kogut and Singh measure of cultural distance. Kogut and Singh have made an effort of creating an overview on the cultural distance between countries. The overview is quite meticulous and based on empirical research, taking four dimensions created by Hofstede of cultural distance into account. Although the measure of cultural distance should provide realistic information for organisations that seek new markets, it is not able to do so. The measure should be seen as an indicator of cultural distance rather than an absolute number. Supported by Shenkar’s seven points of critique1, the weaknesses of Kogut and Singh’s theory will be assessed. Supported by Kim and Gray’s article, its strengths will be assessed2. As Shenkar researched effectively, Kogut and Singh’s measure is quite ambiguous. It creates several illusions of cultural distance. Deriving from these seven points made by Shenkar, the measure cannot be used in practice. The differences between reality and theory are too large. For example, as Shenkar explained in point 5; â€Å"The implicit assumption that differences in cultures produce lack of fit and hence an obstacle to transaction is questionable. First, not every cultural gap is critical to performance. As Tallman and Shenkar (1994, p. 108) note, different aspects of firm culture may be more or less central, more or less difficult to transmit, and more or less critical to operations. Second, cultural differences may be complementary and hence have a positive synergetic effect on investment and performance. ’3 Companies are shown one CD number, but the importance of the various dimensions creating this number is different for each company. For example, a company involved in financial derivatives that seeks to create a subsidiary overseas may be less concerned about the individualism/collectivism-dimension than about the uncertainty avoidance-dimension, as these companies are inherently making money of uncertainty. Thus, the CD number does not suit the function implied by Kogut and Singh. Singh and Kogut create an illusion that this CD number helps companies finding a suitable strategy for expanding abroad. The CD number should provide hard data for finding this strategy. Due to the difference between theory and practice, this number cannot provide practical data. However, the measure is suitable for other goals. For one, the measure can explain corporate behaviour in new markets. Kim and Gray researched the applicability of the CD measure. They concluded that relationship between the CD measure and corporate behaviour has some plausible consistencies. 4 The ownership mode a company takes in a new market is indeed dependent on the cultural distance between the host and home country. Kogut and Singh’s measure is thus accurate, but not practical. In conclusion, the measure of Kogut and Sing is accurate enough to explain corporate behaviour in hindsight, but cannot be seen as a practical calculation for choosing a business strategy. A company may tend to get confused by the calculation method, as it equally takes all dimensions into account. However, in the end, a company will probably handle appropriately to the new market’s culture. This is shown in Kim and Gray’s research.

Definitely One Of Most Important Factors †Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: Discuss About The Definitely One Of Most Important Factors? Answer: Introducation Any organization, that intends to sustain itself in the long run, must ensure that it adopts effective strategies that help it to sustain in the highly competitive market. In the face of cut-throat competition, many companies adopt the low-price strategy, whereby it lowers the price of its products, in order to gain competitive edge over its rivals. The assumption underlying the strategy, is lower the price, the higher will be the demand, and increased sales will eventually lead to increased rate of revenue. However, although the traditional theory of demand states that higher the price, lower accounting demand will be, and vice versa, it is important to critically analyse if lower price will invariably lead to higher profit or not. Price is definitely one of the most important factors, and one of the most vial elements of the 4Ps of marketing, that determine the sales growth of a product. Often companies believe in selling products at highly competitive prices, as it helps them tap the attention of the consumers much easily, and achieve consumer loyalty as well. This is why, many companies lower their prices, allow lucrative discount rates and follow a low-price strategy for each of its products. However, lower price does not necessarily imply higher profit margins. For example, an emerging organization that is still at its growth phase will have to incur various start-up costs that in turn will increase the total overhead cost (Tisdell 2015). In such a situation, if the company decides to reduce its selling price, it will definitely not be able to make profit, as its revenue will be low, while its expenditure will nevertheless be incredibly high. Hence, lower price will not ensure higher profit in all circumst ances. Low price strategy cannot be a long-term plan of any organization, as it does not ensure sustenance in the long run. However, often organizations enjoying a large share of the market, manage to survive with higher profit margins, when they choose to cut their product prices. These large and well-established organizations can effectively employ the low-price strategy, as they can easily survive on low profit margins for the time-being, and thus lowering the product price makes it even tougher for its competitors to compete if they cannot make a profit at those lower prices.Thus, often organizations often lower their prices with the purpose of attracting consumers for a brief period of time, and gaining consumer loyalty, after which it raises its prices, once its competitors are totally knocked out. This form of pricing strategy, also known as predatory pricing strategy can be highly an effective strategy that can be profitable for the recognized organizations to gain consumer loyalty, and attain competitive advantage (Kapur et al. 2016). As more consumers will be attracted to the low-priced products, they will tend to buy greater number of the products that is likely to enhance the sales volume as well, and contribute to the higher profit margins as well. There is no gain stating the obvious fact that often an increase in the price leads to the reduction of sales volume, as in a highly competitive market, the consumers will tend to look out for cheaper alternatives. On the other hand, despite the decrease in sales volumes, it may increase the profit margins, simply because the product sold to a limited consumer base, is sold at a higher cost, and the perceived value they attach to a high-priced product is irreplaceable. In order to illustrate the point, one can refer to the pricing strategy and profit margins of Apple and Samsung. Apple has always maintained a high price point strategy, whereby it does not reduce its price in order to attract consumer attention. On the other hand, economics, a strong rival of Apple, nevertheless offers a very similar feature-set and design flairs, and offers it at a lower price (Armstrong et al. 2015). Yet the profitability of Apple is unsurpassably high. The reason behind the high profitability of Ap ple, is the hype it creates amongst its consumers regarding the quality of its premium-priced products. While lowering the price can definitely increase the consumer demand for a brief period of time, most of the consumers will tend to devalue the quality of the brand. This perceived value of the brand will determine the sales growth in the long run. No matter what, but there will always be cheaper alternatives available in the market, and hence there is always a chance for the consumers to switch to the even cheaper product selling companies. The lower price strategy often affects the consumer brand perception in a negative way. Research reports have suggested that lower price is associated with lower perceived brand quality that affects the sales growth of the company, in the long run (Nagle et al. 2016). It in an undeniable fact, that a company that offers products at a lower price than before, will tend to compromise with the quality of the product (Natenberg 2014). It should be remembered that lower price does not essentially imply higher profit margin. On the contrary, it can ensure higher profitability, if and only the sales number remains constant. A company reducing its price by lowering the quality of its products, will not be able to sustain in a competitive market, and will be led to net loss. It is important to note that lowering the product price can definitely entail higher profit, for a short span of time. This is especially profitable for companies that are still in the introductory stage of product life cycle, or for companies trying to penetrate a new, competitive market. This pricing technique is known as penetration pricing strategy, whereby an organization sets a comparatively low initial entry price, that s most often lower than the eventual market price, in order to attract potential customer base. The strategy is implemented with the belief that the consumers will be tempted to switch to the new brand because of the lower price.However, in the long run, the company will have to increase its price, so that its brand value does not get misinterpreted by the consumers, and it can improve product quality in the coming years. It should be noted that even if a consumer is asked to buy the same product offered by three brands at $20, $50 and $500, people will not sim ply buy the first brand, but will rather carefully research the unique qualities offered by the most expensive brand. Hence, price determines the customers perception of a brand, and hence low price can affect sales in a negative way. Hence, the company can offer high quality products, and employ a premium pricing strategy, to attain product differentiation, and still make huge profits. The key to success is just to prove to the consumers that the product quality justifies a premium price. Reference List: Armstrong, G., Kotler, P., Harker, M. and Brennan, R., 2015. Marketing: an introduction. Pearson Education. Kapur, P.K., Kumar, V. and Shrivastava, A.K., 2016. Strategic Price, Warranty and Profit Maximization Model of a Software Product Using Dynamic Optimization.International Journal of Reliability, Quality and Safety Engineering,23(01), p.1650002. McDonald, M. and Wilson, H., 2016.Marketing Plans: How to prepare them, how to profit from them. John Wiley Sons. Nagle, T.T., Hogan, J. and Zale, J., 2016.The Strategy management and Tactics of Pricing: New International Edition. Routledge. Natenberg, S., 2014.Option volatility and pricing: Advanced trading strategies and techniques. McGraw Hill Professional. Tisdell, C.A., 2015.The theory of price uncertainty, production, and profit. Princeton University Press.

24 Business Communication Skills Attitudes of Human Resource Managers Versus Business Educators free essay sample

| ABSTRACT This study examined the perceptions of human resource managers and business school instructors regarding the importance of 24 specific business communication skills. Previous studies indicated broad agreement regarding the importance of student/employee communication abilities to achieve successful job performance. Yet the literature also suggested that different objectives may elicit dissimilar opinions regarding specific types of skills that constitute the ability to communicate effectively. In response to the need for more precise communication skills characterization, Conrad (2003) developed three skills sets based on the widely accepted communication constructs of organizational, leadership and interpersonal communication abilities. The results from this study show that business leaders and business instructors agree on the importance of overall student/employee communication ability; however, they vary significantly regarding the importance of individual skills. ____________________________________________________________ ________________________ David Conrad is Assistant Professor and Associate Director for the Augsburg College MBA program. Robert Newberry is Professor of Marketing at Winona State University. Send correspondence to David Conrad, Augsburg College, 3415 Chalet View Lane, Rochester, MN 55901, [emailprotected] We will write a custom essay sample on 24 Business Communication Skills: Attitudes of Human Resource Managers Versus Business Educators or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page edu. American Communication Journal 2011 SPRING (Volume 13, Issue1) 5 Business communication is the sending and receiving of verbal and non verbal messages within the organizational context (Roebuck, 2001; Ober, 2001; Murphy, Hildebrandt, Thomas, 1997). Hanna and Wilson (1998) expanded on this definition, indicating business communication is a process of generating, transmitting, receiving, and interpreting messages in interpersonal, group, public, and mass communication contexts through written and verbal formats. Hynes (2005) stated effective business communication is the key to planning, leading, organizing, and controlling the resources of the organizations to achieve objectives, and may be formal or informal in nature. Argenti (2007) discussed business communication functional aspects and found that over half of the heads of corporate communication departments oversee business communications functions that include media relations, online communications, marketing, special events, product/brand communications, crisis management, employee/internal communications, community relations, and product/brand advertising. The expanse and importance of business communication underscores the need for business education and business to collaborate in preparing business majors for the workplace. It is widely accepted that business management and business educators perceive communication skills as highly valuable to employees and organizations alike. In business organizations, numerous sources have reported that communication skills are critical to career success and a significant contributor to organizational success (Du-Babcock, 2006; Roebuck, 2001; Certo, 2000; Dilenschneider, 1992; Rushkoff, 1999). In academia, research has shown faculty and administrators perceive that communication skills are very important to students’ eventual career success (National Association of Colleges and Employers, 2001; Gray, 2010). Despite the agreement in business regarding the importance of communication skills, evidence exists that long-term employees and those just entering the work force from college still lack these skills. Pearce, Johnson, and Barker (1995) reported fair to poor (the lowest two categories on a 5- point scale) communication and listening skills of managers and employees. Fordham and Gabbin (1996) interviewed 84 business executives and concluded that business students with apprehension about communicating are less likely to practice the communication and, therefore, are less likely to develop communication skills. Academicians appear to agree with their business counterparts. Lanier, Tanner, Zhu, and Heady (1997) found that most management faculty believe students are deficient in writing and verbal skills. Their study also revealed that although remediation in these skills is at the forefront of educational needs, students may not be receiving adequate education in these skills. Young and Murphy (2003) noted that accreditation requirements, academic research, and consistent feedback from employers, college recruiters, and alumni certainly suggest that communication skills should be dentified as one of the key issues in marketing education. Brodowsky and Anderson (2003) found that even business students themselves perceive inadequacies in their communication education. So, despite agreement between business and academia regarding the importance of communication skills, a gap persist regarding desired versus acquired communication skills levels. Several studies reveal that business education sh ould be sensitive to, but may not understand, the communication skills needs of business employees (Roebuck, 2001: Tanyel, Mitchell, McAlum, 1999; Lanier, Tanner, Zhu Heady, 1997). Gray (2010) found graduates often begin their careers with inadequate oral communication skills, but there is a lack of well- 6 grounded empirical data concerning precisely what employers mean by â€Å"oral communication† and what specific skills they value most highly. Sapp and Zhang (2009) suggested business professors think they know about their students’ readiness for post-graduation employment, but the reality often is that professors know very little about how their students will perform professionally in relation to what industry expects. The authors argued that rarely do business faculty have the opportunity to incorporate feedback from industry insiders in order to facilitate their students’ transition to full-time employment; that occasionally, academicians conduct alumni surveys or obtain feedback in program reviews or accreditation reports; but that most of the time, the information available about their students’ communication skills performance outside the classroom is either anecdotal or based on a small sampling of student work. Thus, business faculty can only assume and hope that the career-oriented education they provide as business communication teachers will translate into successful job performance. Although there is general agreement on the importance of business communication skills and on the need to include them in the business curriculum, research continues to show inadequately prepared entry-level employees. As an example, The National Commission on Writing (NCW) (2004) found that a significant proportion of firms reported one- third or fewer of their employees, both current and new, possessed the writing skills that are valued. The NCW study also estimated that firms spend $3. 1 billion annually on remedial training in writing. Finally, the NCW study noted that a vast majority of firms assess writing skills when considering hiring or promoting, that writing skills of recent graduates are generally considered unsatisfactory, and that writing skills are the â€Å"gatekeeper† for individuals desiring to achieve higher level salaried positions. Although recent graduates’ writing skills are generally inadequate, these skills are very important to their organizations and their own personal success. Anderson and Bacon (2004) surveyed employers and found they consistently ranked communication skills, in particular writing ability, among the most important skills for undergraduate business students to possess. However, they found improving writing skills, especially with respect to punctuation, grammar, and word choice, often requires substantial teacher time and effort, which may be a rare resource considering the abundance of content that must be covered in most business courses. Regarding the other primary communication skill, oral communication, Maes, Weldy, and Icenogle (1997) found that oral communication was one of the top three competencies needed to succeed in a managerial position. Yet other studies over decades have demonstrated the unsatisfactory oral communication skills of recent graduates (Bolt-Lee Foster, 2003; Reinsch Shelby, 1997). Thus, it appears that preparing students’ oral communication skills for the managerial workplace has not been highly successful. In specialized fields of management, this same phenomenon appears as well. The accounting profession has taken a special interest in communication skills as accounting has evolved from a bookkeeping, number-crunching activity to an analysis, reporting, and advising profession (Siegel, 2000). In an extensive study of practitioners, Bolt-Lee and Foster (2003) found that communication skills are one of the key areas needing major improvement in the accounting profession. Stowers and White (1999), after their study showed minimal importance 7 ttached to communication skills instruction, called for a more comprehensive approach in undergraduate accounting programs. Other specialties demonstrating concern for communication skills deficiencies are information systems and public relations. In a study of information systems employers, Cappel (2002) found a significant gap between expected and actual communication skills. In fact, information systems employers rated the communication skills ga p as much greater than the technical skills gap. In the public relations field, one focused on communications, Wise (2005) noted that public relations professionals overwhelmingly described the writing of entry- level employees as â€Å"bad† or â€Å"poor,† and the most positive comments in his study included â€Å"very uneven,† â€Å"average,† and â€Å"fair,† not a ringing endorsement of progress in teaching business communications skills. Thus research and debate continue on what communication skills should be emphasized and how they should be taught (Pittenger, Miller Mott, 2004; Russ, 2009; Blasczynski, Haras, Katz, 2010). Numerous studies suggest that business educators must better understand and teach the communication skills business considers important. Tanyel, Mitchell and McAlum (1999) found significant differences between prospective employers’ and faculty members’ attitudes regarding the importance of expected communication skills among recent graduates. Ulinski and O’Callaghan (2002) found that MBA students and employers generally disagree on the order of importance of communication skills. Seshadri and Theye (2000) found that professionals judge writing on different criteria than do faculty. The NCW (2004) report stated that employers feel that the style taught in academics is often inappropriate for business writing. So, between academia and practitioners is some disconnect regarding the business communication skills new graduates need. Although there are many possible explanations for this disconnect, one may be academics’ emphasis on theories and models versus practitioners’ emphasis on skills and abilities that produce practical outcomes. In addressing this gap, several studies have suggested a lack of focus in business communication curriculum on skills that relate to practical outcomes. Pfeffer and Fong (2002) concluded that the focus should be practical use of skills, not theoretical understanding or abstract knowledge. Pittenger, Miller and Mott (2004) proposed teaching communications with an emphasis on real-world standards and operational skills outcomes. Business communication skill education instructional methods are widely discussed. Kerby and Romine (2009) promoted embedding communication assessment in course content, suggesting outcomes that are useful skills that employers want. Du-Babcock (2006) stated that teaching business communication theory and models without associated application materials is inadequate and will lead to students not being capable of applying communication skills in the future. As early as 1999, Murranka and Lynch demonstrated that a competency-based communication course focused on skills applications could be successful. Laster and Russ (2010) found pedagogical differences and similarities in how instructors from business and communication disciplines teach the introductory business communication course. By surveying 444 instructors teaching this course at colleges and universities across the United States, they found both complimentary and contradictory instructional approaches and called for more cross-disciplinary uniformity in contemporary business communication education. 8 Bennis and Townsend (1995), Rowley, Lujan, and Dolence (1997), and Rusk (1993) have argued that it is the responsibility of colleges and business to collaboratively understand what is important in education, identify if there is agreement on importance, and make attempts at remediation of these skills before the students graduate and seek employment . In this vein, research becomes necessary to identify if business and business education agree on the importance of specific skills in business to ensure that the skills business expects are those considered important in college business education. At the graduate level, Bogert and Butt (1996) studied 55 MBA programs and found almost all of these programs concentrated on enhancing communication skills; in fact, several instructors stated clearly on their syllabi the premise that their students do know how to speak and write effectively. In addition, no school required a communication course that focused solely on organizational communication. Cyphert, Worley, and Dyrud (2002) looked at the integration of communication across the master of business administration (MBA) curriculum at the University of Northern Iowa. They found that although students felt that the communication-focused courses were worthwhile, the University still sought to better integrate communication skills across the MBA curriculum. The authors noted that one-unit courses do not offer enough opportunity for students to become familiar with the processes and protocols of business communication, particularly for those with no professional experience in the U. S. Finally, Bhatia and Hynes (1996) surveyed graduate business students preferences for the business communication course curriculum. Of the 255 graduate business students who had taken a core course in managerial communication, 86% were employed. The most highly rated course topics were making presentations, writing memos and letters, listening and interpersonal communication, impromptu speaking, and business report formats. The topics rated least important were international business communication, using technology, and managing diversity. The most frequently suggested additional topics were job interviews, team building, and writing manuals/policies/procedures. Scholars and practitioners alike have long argued that professional effectiveness is concomitantly linked to communication competence. Consequently, business school faculty have come to realize that they must equip students with the communication skills employers demand if their programs are to succeed. A number of audits published over 30 years have examined the evolutionary pedagogical and programmatic developments of the undergraduate business communications course (Russ, 2009). These audits serve as reliable barometers, yielding valuable information for both internal and external stakeholders and allowing them to evaluate the health of the introductory course, track pedagogical and administrative trends, benchmark best practices, and identify pedagogical opportunities. Although periodic audits of the business communication course are necessary, the last one was conducted a decade ago, warranting a contemporary audit. Yu (2010) echoed these beliefs and stated the idea of learning from industry is not readily embraced; looking at industry to design assessment may thus be interpreted by some faculty as a degenerative slide into a vocational paradigm that replaces education with training. Yu concluded that if business faculty want to help students succeed in workplace communication, they must understand how employees and their performance are assessed and deemed successful in those institutions. In summary, Waner (1995) concluded that on a regular basis, business communication faculty should survey and collaborate with other business faculty and business professionals to determine which business communication competencies are most important in the business world and which ones should receive the most emphasis in the business communication classroom. Re search emphasizes the need for excellent communication skills in the workplace, but exactly which skills should receive the most emphasis in the business communication classroom must be based on information received from the customers. Purpose of the Study Several studies reveal that business needs communication skill competency and that business education must be sensitive to and understand the communication skill needs of business. Accordingly, ongoing research is needed to ascertain which specific communication skills business considers important and those college business educators consider important. Pressing beyond previous research, this study compares the communication skills business considered important and those business education considered important. The purpose is to determine if there is agreement or a gap between business and academic professionals regarding the relative importance of communication skills in business. Discrepancies in perceptions of the relative importance of communication skills between business and business education specifically may affect the ability of education to teach what is important for business. Such discrepancies also may affect the ability of business to understand, appreciate, and utilize the skills that business education may consider important. This study investigated perceptions of communication skill importance among business leaders and among college business teachers in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, to determine if there is agreement or a gap about the importance of communication skills for business. The Twin Cities are home to several colleges that grant 4-year business degrees as well as several large businesses. The study asks one foundational question: In Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, are the communication skills business organizations consider important also those college business educators consider important? Research Questions This study asks and addresses the following research questions: 1. What communication skills does the literature indicate are needed in business? 2. How do business leaders rank the importance of the communication skills cited in the research literature? 3. How do college business teachers rank the importance of the communication skills cited in the research literature? 4. How do the communication skill responses of the business leaders compare with the responses from the college business teachers? 10 Communication Constructs and Skills Identifying Business Communication Constructs In business communication research and curriculum content, the most common constructs utilized include reading, writing, oral presentations, and listening. This foundation, no doubt, is derived from the historical core skills required to be considered an educated person. One might even argue that these skills are the foundation for becoming educated. However, it appears these skills alone are not sufficient in themselves to satisfy business practitioners’ needs. Evidence to support this contention is embedded in the multitude of research suggesting that graduates still lack the communication skills necessary to be successful in business despite education’s emphasis on the basic skills mentioned above. Examination of over 200 articles and books, and numerous discussions with practitioners revealed that the skills business most sought from their employees should be defined by communication behavior outcomes, such as the ability to negotiate a solution between two conflicting parties. Research was conducted to determine if such a set of outcome- based skills existed in the business communications literature. A literature review sought to identify those communication skills management experts, leadership theorists, business education professionals, communication skills researchers, and business development writers identified as most needed in business organizations. During the review, it became obvious that a broad set of constructs was needed to frame the identification of the myriad individual skills that might be deemed necessary. Thus, the first step in identifying the skills set was to formulate broader constructs, thus forming the structure for identifying the individual critical skills. Ober (2001), Angell (2004), and Roebuck (2001) have authored college undergraduate business communication skills text books and have determined that business communication skills fall in to three basic categories: organizational communication skills, leadership communication skills, and interpersonal communication skills. Organizational communication skills are those skills an organization uses to effectively communicate with all internal and external stakeholders, permitting coordination among people and organized behavior. Leadership communication skills are those skills that allow business leadership to effectively communicate with employees and key external constituents employing communication methods including stories, informality, metaphors, openness, and strategic dialogue to create trusting and supportive relationsh ips among colleagues and staff. Interpersonal communication skills are those skills that allow business organization members to effectively communicate to internal and external constituents on a personal, intimate, and one-on-one basis, exchanging thoughts in face-to-face verbal and non verbal contexts by sharing information, providing feedback, or simply maintaining a social relationship. Identifying Business Communication Skills Sets Once established, each construct was researched independently to assure that the communication skills cited were only the skills that make up that particular construct. For this study, 217 publications were reviewed for the identification of business communication skills. In all, 98 organizational and managerial publications; 77 leadership publications; and 42 business 11 communication skills publications were reviewed to accumulate the most frequently-cited business communication skills needed in business. Writers contributing to the communication skills inventory included recognized communication skills writers such as leadership experts Warren Bennis, Stephan Covey, Jim Kouzes, and Barry Posner; management theorists Peter Drucker, Richard Daft, and Peter Senge; and business communication skills writers Deborah Roebuck, Scot Ober, and Pamela Angell. The communication skills found in the review of literature were examined, categorized, and tabulated for frequency of citation. A vast array of communication skills emerged from this review process. Only those skills cited by a majority of the authors were included in the final inventory. Thus, a cutoff point was determined when additional skills were cited by fewer than half the authors. The inventory includes 24 skills that emerged from this mapping process: nine organizational communication skills, eight leadership communication skills, and seven interpersonal communication skills. The skills covered a range of business communication competencies in several business disciplines such as human resources, management and leadership, stakeholder relations, information management, communication technology, and specific verbal and ritten skills. Communication skills most frequently cited in the literature are these: Organizational Communication Skills 1. Initiating open discussion 2. Resolving conflict 3. Creating information networks 4. Teaching important skills 5. Using information technology 6. Providing performance feedback 7. Negotiating 8. Writing business correspondence 9. Ma king convincing presentations. Leadership Communication Skills 1. Arousing enthusiasm 2. Being a change catalyst 3. Creating group synergy 4. Building team bonds 5. Expressing encouragement 6. Providing motivation 7. Being persuasive 8. Building optimism. Interpersonal Communication Skills 1. Active listening 2. Building rapport 3. Demonstrating emotion self control 4. Building trust 5. Relating to people of diverse backgrounds 12 6. Demonstrating respect 7. Building relationships Methodology This study used a cross-sectional survey design to collect information from subjects who were randomly sampled from two distinct populations. The 24 communication skills provided by the review of literature formed the basis of the 24 questions included in the survey. The survey listed all 24 communication skills in one column and for each one, provided check spaces for rating that communication skill to be either â€Å"trivial,† â€Å"elective,† â€Å"useful,† or â€Å"essential. † The target populations were comprised of 180 business organizations and 3ll business teachers from nine business degree granting colleges in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota. Within the businesses, the human resource managers led the human resources departments for their organizations and helped establish the selection criteria for job candidates, helped screen and select employees, and directed the education and training functions of their organizations. The business teachers were full-time professors who teach management, marketing, law, leadership, business communications, ethics, and other non quantitative courses. A random sample of 45 managers and 45 professors was selected from the subject populations. Sample size was determined based on desired effect. Due to the population’s inherent interest in the topic and the nature of the participants, a response rate well above 50% was anticipated. Business leaders and business professors received identical surveys. A response rate of 71% (32) of the managers and 78% (35) of the professors was achieved. Validity and Reliability To ensure content validity, the constructs of organizational communication, leadership communication, and interpersonal communication were researched independently and thoroughly to determine what communication skills constituted the domain of each construct. To ensure that the questions were representative and covered the business communication skills within the three communication constructs, academic professionals familiar with communication skills reviewed and approved them. To establish construct validity, the review of literature provided the communication skills business needed within the distinct constructs of organizational, leadership, and interpersonal communication skills. This study sampled the actual population under study and used the data collected from selected business leaders and college business teachers. The subjects in this study were selected randomly, and the study obtained completed surveys from 32 of the business leaders and 35 of the business teachers, which exceeds the minimal number of 26 subjects needed from each group to make inferences concerning the population. The results are to be inferred only of the population defined in this study. Reliability of the survey instrument used in this study was established by using the Cronbach’s alpha coefficient. The coefficient value for the business leader surveys was . 8891 and for business teachers was . 7634, both indicating above . 70 reliability coefficient values. 3 Results The results from this research study indicate that most of the communication skills included in the survey may be considered of importance by a majority in both subject groups. Between business leaders and business teachers, there were many similarities in responses because the two groups lacked statistically significant differences in perception in a majority of the skills. However, the study did uncover some statistically significant differences between business and business education in perceptions of communication skill importance on some skills, detailed in the following section. Comparison of Business Leaders’ and Business Teachers’ Perceptions In summary, this research study showed no statistically significant differences between the subject groups on a majority of the communication skills, indicating that business leaders and business teachers agree on the importance of the communication. Despite few differences in the two groups’ perceptions of communication skill importance, any discrepancies are important. Twenty skills showed no significant differences in business leaders’ and business teachers’ perceptions of communication skill importance with p values greater than . 5. Only using information technology (. 004), writing business correspondence (. 048), creating group synergy (. 008), and demonstrating respect (. 019) had p values less than . 05, reflecting a statistically significant difference between the subject groups, with business leaders placing greater importance on these skills than did teachers. Appendix A reports the communication skill frequency of subject responses for business leaders and business teachers and the chi-square values measuring the relationships in communication skill responses between the business leaders and business teachers. The following table shows the skills reflecting a statistically significant difference. For question number 5, the ability to use information technology, 2(2, N = 67) = 10. 950, p = . 004. The probability of a statistically significant difference between the subject groups was p . 05. , indicating a significant discrepancy with business leaders perceiving the skill to be more important for business than did business teachers. Perhaps intense global business competition and communication demands of customers have created a greater need to communicate more efficiently and effectively as business seeks to align itself with information technology that increases the speed and availability of information and data to all key stakeholders. In contrast, this study shows business education believes information technology is important, but not to the extent that business does in believing this communication skill will enhance business effectiveness. For question number 8, the ability to write business correspondence,2 (1, N = 67) = 7. 764, p = . 005. The probability of a statistically significant difference between the subject groups was p . 05. This indicates a statistically significant difference in responses between the subject groups with business leaders placing greater importance on the communication skill and reflects the possibility that business leaders in this study value the ability to effectively write business documents and correspondence to a greater extent than does business education. 4 Possibly intense business competition has created a greater need to communicate more efficiently and effectively as business seeks to align itself with all key stakeholders by assuring that all written correspondence is clear, error-free, and explanatory. Although this study shows business education believes the ability to write business correspondence is important, it is not to the extent that business does in believing this com munication skill will enhance business effectiveness. Comparison of Communication Skill Importance Between Subject Groups N = 67 Communication skills Trivial Elective Useful Essential B T B T B T B T 2 Organizational communication skills 5. Ability to use information technology 0 0 1 3 8 21 23 11 10. 950* 8. Ability to write business correspondence 0 0 0 0 6 18 26 17 7. 764* Leadership communication skills 12. Ability to create group synergy 0 0 1 4 12 23 19 8 9. 623* Interpersonal communication skills 23. Ability to demonstrate respect 0 0 0 1 1 9 31 25 7. 924* B = Business Leaders T = Business Teachers *p . 05 For question number 12, the ability to create group synergy,2(2, N = 67) = 9. 623, p = . 008. The probability of a statistically significant difference between the subject groups was p . 05. This indicates a statistically significant difference in responses and thus perceptions between the subject groups with business leaders placing greater importance on the communication skill. This reflects the possibility that business leaders in this study value creating group synergy to a greater extent than does business education. Possibly, intense business competition has created a greater need to have work groups and teams work in close collaboration for producing more as a solidified unit than they would as independent members. The results may reflect that business seeks to align itself with the creation of synergistic teams to increase productivity and build cohesive organizational relationships. This study shows business education believes creating group synergy is important, but not to the extent that business does for obtaining and maintaining a synergistic team work environment that fulfills strategic goals and objectives. 15 For question number 23, the ability to demonstrate respect, 2(2, N = 67) = 7. 924, p = . 019. The probability of a statistically significant difference between the subject groups was p . 5. This indicates a statistically significant difference in responses between the subject groups and provides very strong evidence of business leaders placing greater importance on the communication skill of showing respect than educators perceived. Possibly, intense global business competition has created a greater need to communicate more effectively so business seeks to align itself with the s kill of communicating respect for all stakeholders to create and maintain a collaborative closeness based on mutual respect. Business leaders may see the need to show respect more often to various stakeholders, such as international customers and suppliers, because their cultures and societies place great importance on this interpersonal communication aspect and expect it to be a part of normal business communication. This study shows business education believes showing respect is important, but not to the extent that business does in believing this skill will help obtain and maintain customer and key stakeholder closeness. Discussion of Results Implications from the results of this study are made regarding only the population of business leaders and college business teachers found in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota. The results from this study indicate that both subject groups generally rated the communication skills as important. For all communication skills, both subject groups rated the skills as either useful or essential in a vast majority of the responses, although the communication skill, teach skills, did receive relatively high elective ratings from 19% of the business leaders and 38% of the business teachers. This may mean that in most cases, both business leaders and business teachers perceive the communication skills to be useful or essential for business. The skills of using information technology, writing business correspondence, creating group synergy, and demonstrating respect did reflect statistically significant differences in the perceptions between business leaders and business teachers with business leaders perceiving these skills to be of greater importance. Possibly, intense global competition has increased businesses’ awareness of the need to use these skills to increase productivity, profitability, and organizational relationships than is sensed by business education. Findings such as this may assist business education for preparing courses and curriculum that could enhance the ability of students to learn and use these skills. Comparisons of the responses from the two subject groups reveal agreement on the importance of a vast majority of the communication skills. Finding no statistical difference in agreement on the importance of the surveyed communication skills is significant for indicating that the communication skills considered important in business are also those considered important in business education. Similarly, the results from this study indicate an overall consistency between business leaders and business teachers in their perceptions that none of the communication skills are trivial; no communication skills received ratings of trivial from either subject group. Results indicate that both business leaders and business teachers perceive he communication skills to possess some importance for business and to be possible core elements of a business communication skills course. Despite substantial evidence that human resource managers and business instructors highly value communication abilities as discussed in broad terms, human resource managers value certain specific communication skills to a greater degree than do business profes sors. Of 16 the three primary constructs, leadership communication skills and interpersonal communication skills showed the greatest differences between managers and instructors. Human resource managers viewed these skills as more critical to employee performance. The two groups’ perceptions converged regarding organizational communication skills, those that might be considered more public in nature (versus one-on-one). In contrast, the groups’ perceptions diverged in the importance of leadership and interpersonal communication skills. The findings suggest that human resource managers perceived one-on-one leadership and interpersonal communication skills as more critical to personal and organizational success than did business instructors. The agreement between the human resource managers and instructors suggests that there is much common ground on which to build strong communication skills in educational experiences. Human resource managers and instructors valued very highly all types of communication skills and abilities. The importance of communications skills to career achievement and organizational success is undisputed. It cannot be overstated that between business and academia, a bridge of understanding must be constructed for assessing and addressing the communication skills business employees need. Business must reach out to education and identify the specific communication skills they require. Conversely, education must constantly explore and analyze the specific communication skills businesses need. Thus, working together on improving performance through commitment to more effective communication skill teaching pedagogy should be feasible. The review of literature suggests that through a communication audit, organizations must constantly assess their communication competence and examine how existing communication systems are either advantageous or detrimental to an organization’s strategy and performance. Such an audit is the internal assessment of all communication systems, practices, and devices to realize effectiveness or understand possible voids, inefficiencies, and deficiencies in internal and external communications. In practical terms, audits will explain how communication systems support initiatives aimed at improving information flow or how they may create an overabundance of information that becomes confusing and harmfully complex (Hargie, 2002). Communication is seen as an integral part of every organizational action and cannot be seen as an isolated function; most, if not all staff members, must have communication competence. An organization is reasonably clear about its audiences as they do not change a great deal over time. If an organization is purposeful in its communications practices, education efforts must be integrated as an important function throughout the organization. However, communication education rarely makes it into the budget as a separate line item, and when it does, it is one of the first areas to be cut when the budget needs to be reduced (Du-Babcock, 2006). Communications dollars tend to appear when surplus funds are left over and need to be spent down quickly. An organization must also develop a communications strategy for the overall organization rather than only for specific projects. In doing that, more attention will be paid to goals and outcome (Ober, 2001). 17 Further Study This study found that business leaders and business teachers often agree on the importance of communication skills in business, suggesting the merit of further research in communication skills in business and business education. The following research should be considered for further study to advance knowledge in the field: 1. Survey business alumni to find their views of communication skill importance and their perceived levels of competence. Their insight might add a dimension that can be used to design communication skill educational programs and courses. 2. Research perceptions from business leaders and business teachers regarding how communication skills can be developed in undergraduate business curriculum and other required college course offerings, or outside of the college environment such as through continuing education, training consultants, or on-line educational methods. Educational design for communication skills may benefit from this knowledge. . Research business and business education to discover which communication skills are emerging as the most critical skills business organizations or specific organizational members must possess. Results may benefit adaptation to the changing communication skill needs of business and business education and the development of education that addresses th e changing needs and priorities. 4. Research college business curriculum and course syllabuses for the types and degree of communication skill education incorporated into the various business courses and programs. Results may indicate the actual importance colleges and business instructors place on business communication skills in curriculum and course design and delivery. 5. Research the perceptions of business leaders and college business educators of communication skill competency possessed by college business graduates to determine weaknesses or strengths and the need for further education and development. Discovery of competency voids can be used to develop current and post-college communication skill education. 18 REFERENCES Anderson, E. Bacon, D. (2004). Assessing and enhancing the basic writing skills of marketing students. Business Communication Quarterly, 67 (4), 443-454. Angell, P. (2004). Business communication design. Boston, MA: McGraw Hill Irwin. Argenti, P. (2007). Corporate communication. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Bennis, W. Townsend, R. (1995). Reinventing leadership: Strategies to empower the organization. New York, NY: William Morrow and Company, Inc. Bhatia, G. Hynes, V. (1996). Graduate business students preferences for the managerial communication course curriculum. Business Communication Quarterly, 59 (2), 45-55. 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(2002) Integrating communication across the MBA curriculum. Business Communication Quarterly, 65 (3), 81-86. Dilenschneider, R. L. 1992. A briefing for leaders: Communication as the ultimate exercise of power. New York, NY: HarperCollins. Du-Babcock, B. (2006). Teaching business communication: Past, present, and future. Journal of Business Communication, 43 (3), 253-264. Fordham, D. Gabbin, A. (1996). Skills versus apprehension: Empirical evidence on oral 19 communication. Business Communication Quarterly, 59 (3) 88-97. Gray, E. (2010). Specific oral communication skills desired in new accountancy graduates. Business Communication Quarterly, 73, 40-67, first published on January 28, 2010. Hanna, M. Wilson, G. (1998). Communicating in business and professional settings. New York, NY: The McGraw-Hill Companies. Hargie, O. (2002). Communication audits and the effects of increased information: A follow-up study. The Journal of Business Communication 39, 414. Hynes, G. (2005). 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Business Communication Quarterly, 67 (3), 327-336. Reinsch, L. , Shelby, N. (1997). What communication abilities do practitioners need? Evidence from MBA students. Business Communication Quarterly, 60 (4), 7-29. Roebuck, D. (2001). Improving business communication skills. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Rowley, D. , Lujan, H. , Dolence, M. (1997). Strategic change in colleges and universities: Planning to survive and prosper. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Rushkoff, D. (1999). Coercion: Why we listen to what they say. New York, NY: Riverhead. Rusk, T. (1993). The Power of Ethical Persuasion. New York, NY: Penguin Books. Russ, T. (2009). The status of the business communication course at U. S. colleges and universities. Business Communication Quarterly, 72 (4), 395-413. Sapp, D. amp; Zhang, Q. (2009). Trends in industry supervisors’ feedback on business communication internships. Business Communication Quarterly, 72, (3), 274-288. Seshadri, S. Theye, L. D. (2000). 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The importance of writing skills. Public Relations Quarterly, 50, 37- 38. Young, M. Murphy, W. (2003). Integrating communications skills into the marketing curriculum: A case study. Journal of Marketing Education, 25 (1), 57-70. Yu, H. (2010). Bring workplace assessment into business communication classrooms: A proposal to better prepare students for professional workplaces. Business Communication Quarterly, 73 (1), 21-3. 22 APPENDIX Comparison of Communication Skill Importance Between Subject Groups Communication skills Trivial Elective Useful Essential B T B T B T B T df Power 2 N = 67 Organizational communication skills 1. Ability to initiate open discussion 0 0 1 1 14 13 17 21 2 . 075 . 324 2. Ability to resolve conflict 0 0 0 1 5 7 27 27 2 . 150 1. 201 3. Ability to create information networks 0 0 4 5 18 21 10 9 2 . 070 . 260 4. Ability to teach skills 0 0 6 13 16 15 10 7 2 . 322 3. 012 5. Ability to use information technology 0 0 1 3 8 21 23 11 2 . 850 10. 950* 6. Ability to give performance feedback 0 0 3 3 8 14 21 18 2 . 200 1. 736 7. Ability to negotiate 0 0 3 0 10 17 19 18 2 . 479 4. 716 8. Ability to write business correspondence 0 0 0 0 6 18 26 17 1 . 795 7. 764* 9. Ability to make convincing presentations 0 0 2 1 14 13 16 21 1 . 25 . 913 Leadership communication skills 10. Ability to arouse enthusiasm 0 0 1 5 14 16 17 14 2 . 317 2. 916 11. Ability to build optimism 0 0 2 5 13 19 17 11 2 . 375 3. 569 12. Ability to create group synergy 0 0 1 4 12 23 19 8 2 . 799 9. 623* 13. Ability to build team bonds 0 0 1 4 13 20 18 11 2 . 490 4. 849 14. Ability to express encouragement 0 0 1 1 9 17 22 17 2 . 319 2. 974 23 15. Ability to provide motivation 0 0 1 2 6 12 25 21 2 . 278 2. 551 16. Ability to be persuasive 0 0 2 1 12 19 18 15 2 . 230 2. 056 17. Ability to be a change catalyst 0 0 3 4 14 19 15 12 2 . 41 1. 101 Interpersonal communication skills 18. Ability to listen actively 0 0 0 0 5 6 27 29 1 . 053 . 028 19. Ability to build rapport 0 0 0 1 10 17 22 17 2 . 352 3. 328 20. Ability to express emotional self-control 0 0 0 2 10 17 22 16 2 . 472 4. 637 21. Ability to build trust 0 0 0 0 5 7 27 28 1 . 075 . 217 22. Ability to relate to diverse people 0 0 0 1 7 14 25 20 2 . 393 3. 762 23. Ability to demonstrate respect 0 0 0 1 1 9 31 25 2 . 713 7. 924* 24. Ability to build relationships 0 0 0 3 5 11 27 21 2 . 574 5. 877 B = Business Leaders T = Business Teachers *p . 05 |

The Great Depression Essay †The Worst of Times - BestEssay.education

The Great Depression Essay – The Worst of Times The Great Depression Essay If your grandparents are still alive, they probably lived through the Great Depression – that really dark period in American history, between 1929 and 1941, when life was really horrible for a whole bunch of people. If you have read about it, then you have the basic facts. If you haven’t yet, then you may be asking yourself, â€Å"What is the Great Depression?† Simply put, it was a time in our history when we experienced the worst economic circumstances in all of our history – bank failures, terribly high unemployment, wages that could not support families, and high rate of home foreclosures. Does this sound familiar? It should. A Look at the Causes of the Great Depression The 1920’s came in like a tornado. World War I was over, and people were happy about that. Prohibition was also in effect, and people were not very happy about that. Jazz and the Charleston dance were the rage. Women cut their hair and raised their skirt lengths; men drove flashy convertibles. Life was good. But the warning signs were there. Banks were lending money wildly – to startup businesses, to real estate developers, and to individuals who wanted to buy homes and cars; stock brokerage firms were loaning money to people so they could invest in the Stock Market, and companies that were selling that stock were selling more than their companies were worth. Lots of risks were being taken with no government regulations to curtail them. It was a time of â€Å"do whatever you want.† Unfortunately, that behavior cannot last forever and the cracks began to appear in the summer of 1929. They soon became trenches and, in October of that year, the Stock Market crashed. That was followed by â€Å"runs† on the banks, as people tried to get their money out. The banks did not have the money – they had lent it all out. Banks failed. Companies went bankrupt, and people lost their jobs. So, if you need to write an essay on any of these causes, you can easily compare them t o the â€Å"crash† of 2008 and then explain why were able to avert a depression this time around. The Effects of the Great Depression Many of the effects were outlined for you above – high unemployment, loss of life savings, home foreclosures, and so on. Enter Franklin Roosevelt The short-term effects of the Great Depression were devastating, and in 1932 the country changed course and elected a Democrat to the White House, giving control of Congress to the Democrats as well. Thus began a series of programs, new laws and regulations, and controls on lending institutions that were designed to prevent this from every happening again. And most of those regulations and laws are still in effect today. But monied people and financial institutions have a way of finding methods to â€Å"skirt† the regs, and that is why it all came crashing down again. Essay Topics There are so many possibilities. You can look at a single cause, a single effect; you can look at how society coped; you can look at the fights in Congress as each new relief bill or program was introduced. And, even more interesting, you can compare the causes and effects of the Great Depression with the financial crisis of 2008. The Great Depression was a â€Å"dark† but fascinating piece of American history. We need to study it a bit more as we still seek solutions.