Business Communication Classes Research Articles

Reflection on Business Communication in a “Fishbowl”: Increasing Active Learning and Course Effectiveness While Lowering Disconnection

Active learning is synonymous with learning by doing. Power in learning by doing has been amplified by a Confucian scholar “What I hear, I forget. What I see, I remember. What I do, I understand” (Xunzi, 340- 245 BC). In the business communication class, hearing is less effective than seeing and is less effective than experience. True learning must be active, where students’ experiences produce action and connection to the real-world workplace. This pilot study explores the “Fishbowl” active learning method to teach business communication. This case study is anchored in reflective practice and the theory of learning by doing. Data were collected from instructor reflections and students’ self-report data from class discussions during the spring 2022 semester. Findings indicate that (1) practical class discussions amplify the voices of the students rather than the teacher (2) students are willing to be actively engaged with the content if allowed, (3) asking open-ended, analytical, or opinion questions increase class participation, and (4) effective teaching and learning occurs when instructors engage in reflective practice.

A Study on Role of Communication Skills among Management Graduates of Bhopal Region

Any business professional must be able to communicate effectively. Effective communication skills help to build positive relationships among employees in addition to facilitating the sharing of ideas with others. Nonverbal and verbal communication are equally important. As a result, the current study was conducted with the goal of emphasizing the topic's importance to students. The study's goal was to find out how management students perceived the importance of the business communication course. This data was gathered from 100 management students in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, who attended both public and private schools. The non-probability convenience sampling method was used to select the sample. The study's research instrument was a five-point Likert scale-based questionnaire. The SPSS version was used to analyze the data. 25. The study's findings suggested that, despite students' awareness of the course's importance, they were not taking full advantage of it. They lacked communication skills, particularly during group activities such as role-playing and group discussions. This is due, in part, to the fact that most business communication students do not speak English as their first language. This demonstrates that students need to focus more on these areas in order to improve their communication skills. This will enable them to stand out during job interviews, business meetings, and public speaking. During business communication classes, students should be encouraged to participate actively in all activities.

Digital mind maps (DMM) in developing students’ critical thinking within the course of Business Communication

In the era of information technology development, various interactive computer programmes and electronic resources in educational settings are of particular relevance for effective teacher-student interaction. This paper discusses didactic potential of using Digital Mind Mapping (DMM) technology in the context of developing Masters students’ critical thinking within business communication classes. In this context, mind mapping is an innovative strategy to facilitate recognition and memorization of important information by students, as well as to ensure the depth of their understanding by making connections between pieces of information and to develop critical thinking of students. The study gives an overview of services for creating DMM, a comparative analysis of their functional characteristics, and also offers a model for using DMM consisting of several stages, using the “Business communication” course in a foreign language for Masters students as an example. The authors concludes that the use of DMM in the educational process stimulates the development of creative abilities and critical thinking of students; develops general cultural competencies of students in group work; promotes the development of argumentation skills; justification of their point of view and possession of clear oral and written speech; forms the ability to work in a team, and promotes the development of cooperation skills; makes it possible to ma

Practices Using Alternative Measures in English Business Communication Classes upon Graduation

In light of normative assessment, the current study was conducted on various evaluation methods in business communication programs. The main goal of educational measurement is assessment since it shows how well students communicate in relation to their language studies. Despite being a crucial part of the teaching-learning process, evaluation is sometimes overlooked in language courses when it comes to real-world circumstances. Although learners are typically evaluated on pass/fail criteria, this truly does not reflect how much they have learned, as each student's subject of study affects how they view learning. In various circumstances, the recommended assessment plan is often a 70:30 ratio, with 70% assumptive evaluation and 30% internal/formative/continuous assessment. Therefore, this assessment ratio does not satisfy the requirements for assessment, and it is necessary to go from assumptive assessment to formative assessment. Measuring educational techniques, learning results and course outcomes eventually becomes impossible. As a result, none of the allegations included in the assessment is really evaluated on the ground. With reference to several studies carried out in the past, assessment has switched its emphasis from traditional evaluation to the use of alternative assessment methods with the goal of improving learning outcomes. Traditional assessment is ineffective since it doesn't let students know where they've performed poorly in certain areas (Anderson, 1998). Additionally, it ignores the many facets of pedagogy in relation to a broad community of learners with various origins, skills, and behaviors. Less information about students' attitudes and perspectives on learning and subject comprehension is made available to instructors. It is impossible to improve the teaching-learning process and increase efficacy without understanding the learners' multifaceted views (Garfield, 1994). Thus, it becomes clear that the current standards for evaluation have not been able to reach their supposedly existing purposes and that doing so would be practically impossible given the current situation. Alternately, in order to achieve the goals of assessment, alternatives to the current assessment framework must be implemented at all educational levels. These alternatives must improve learning outcomes as well as course outcomes in a comprehensive and inclusive way, with a focus on the attitudes and perceptions of both students and faculty members.

Students' Perceptions of Professional Short-Messaging Education in Undergraduate Courses

The popularity of short-messaging formats, like text and chat, is on the rise in the workplace with many employees preferring this style over long-form options like email. While many businesses expect employees to communicate using short messages, students may be ill-equipped to effectively use these methods due to a lack of formal training. This study sets out to understand students’ experience, confidence, and education related to professional short messaging. Results indicate a correlation between confidence and experience levels in writing text and chat messages. Further, the participants who indicated they had training on writing short messages, indicated they learned it in a business communication class. Thus, this study highlights a need for education on short messaging in the business communication classroom to increase student experience, and thus, their confidence in writing these messages.

Metadiscourse in Business English: Ideas for the EBC Class

Metadiscourse has been defined as the discourse used by writers to help their readers connect, interpret and evaluate their attitudes towards the referential material presented (Vande Kopple, 2002). In his study on CEO’s letters, Hyland (1998b) examined metadiscourse as the manifestation of a writer’s linguistic and rhetorical presence in the text and looked at the persuasive nature of business communication. An awareness of the rhetorical power of metadiscourse in this text genre is vital for professional development, particularly in the teaching of business English. This study was designed to examine the use of interactive and interactional metadiscourse in Business English writing through an analysis of the Enron Email Dataset and the Business Letter Corpus. The data analysis was conducted following Hyland (2005, 2019), in order to understand how content and discourse are set up to orient and persuade the reader. Although this study focuses specifically on interactional metadiscourse, the results are expected to be relevant for the ESP classroom, particularly in English for Business Communication (EBC) classes (Bhatia & Bremner, 2012). Acquiring conscious awareness of the rules and conventions to master formal writing can be of great help to business students in order for them to become successful writers in both academic and professional environments.

Key Skills in Business Communication - Persuasion

While public speaking has been acknowledged as art due to the power it exerts in affecting people’s attitudes and beliefs, the relevance of the ability to persuade goes well beyond the area of oral communication. People need to persuade their peers on both personal and professional matters. Consequently, if we refer to the area we are particularly interested in, i.e. business, we may assume that persuasion is undoubtedly among the skills that students need to acquire in order to cope with the challenges which occur in various professional (and not only) contexts. Consequently, the aim of this paper is to explore the areas which require the use of persuasive strategies and to discuss the means by which business students could be enabled to acquire the ability to successfully use them. In the first part of the paper, the main theoretical aspects related to communication, business communication and persuasion will be discussed. In the second part of the paper, some strategies for developing persuasion skills among business students will be identified. Finally, conclusions on the best practices in dealing with persuasion in Business communication classes will be drawn.

Supporting Neurodiverse Students in Business and Professional Communication Classes: Opportunities and Challenges

Supporting Neurodiverse Students in Business and Professional Communication Classes: Opportunities and Challenges

Challenges in BCOM: Student and Faculty Perceptions on English as an Additional Language

Business remains a popular major for international students in the United States. Little is known, however, about how these students fare in business communication (BCOM) classes. This qualitative study evaluates the challenges and needs of English as an additional language (EAL) students in BCOM courses at a private university in the United States. We surveyed and interviewed 15 BCOM instructors and 30 students previously enrolled in BCOM. Results reveal faculty are aware of some, but not all, of the linguistic, cultural, emotional, time, and accommodation challenges EAL students face. We discuss suggestions for accommodating EAL students’ unique needs in BCOM courses.

Of Changing Needs and Mismatched Expectations: Teaching Business Communication in Indian Business Schools

The exploratory research uses the framework of Communication Studies and Sociology to demonstrate how restructuring of social hierarchies impacts language use in the Business Communication class of an Indian management institute. The study examines how dominant communication practices are being subverted by issues of identity, power, privilege, sociopolitical forces and technological transformation. It suggests that instructors teaching Business Communication may benefit by aligning their pedagogy to the sensibilities of the present generation of management students. The paper is premised on the interpretivist belief that meanings and identities are socially constructed through respondents’ engagement with everyday realities. Twenty-two in-depth personal interviews were conducted with participants of the postgraduate programme in management and instructors of Business Communication. Further, a questionnaire was administered to 51 participants of an executive management programme to understand attitudes towards language use at the workplace. The responses indicate that a variant of indigenised English appears to be acquiring legitimacy amongst young professionals, while instructors continue to emphasise grammatical accuracy, blindsided by their training in language and literature. Therefore, to cater to the next generation of managers, instructors may have to shed their bias against non-formal expressions in English, and consider focusing on the functional aspects more important for intra-national purposes.

The Need for Cross-Cultural Communication Instruction in U.S. Business Communication Courses

U.S. undergraduate business communication (BCOM) classes teach students workplace communication fundamentals, but may not build the cross-cultural communication (CCC) skills that learners will need in today’s global workplace. This project surveyed BCOM instructors and students about the importance of including cross-cultural material in BCOM classes. While all instructors considered it at least moderately important to include CCC material, most covered the subject briefly. Students showed interest in receiving CCC training in their BCOM courses but received limited information about it in their classes. Incorporating CCC comprehensively and systematically into BCOM classrooms may help students become competent intercultural communicators.

Honors Projects: Sam Houston State University Students | Business Communication

The following three pieces are part of Honors projects completed in a Business Communication class at Sam Houston State University. The students in this class completed an ACE project (Academic and Community Engagement) where they worked for a client in the community. This project asked the students to research ways that they could promote new programs being offered at the Boys and Girls Club of Walker County. These Honors students were then asked to write a reflection piece that explored the impact this project (and other ACE projects) had on their community partners, and also on them. As I read the reflections, I was struck by the kindness and dedication that my students put into these projects. I am proud to present these students’ work here.

Teaching Love as the Foundation for Business Communication: A Strategy for Spiritual Formation and Concept Cohesion

When teaching business communication, Christian faculty can integrate the virtue of love to help students cultivate ethical reasoning and bring cohesion to disparate writing and speaking assignments. “How can you love your audience?” is a central question around which a spiritually formative business communication class can be built. In answering this question in a variety of contexts, students practice cultivating an othersoriented focus in their communication, which provides a cohesive foundation for practical instruction.

Competitions Versus Classes: Exploring the Impact of Case Competitions and Communication Coursework on MBA Ranking

Business communication programs and business school competitions are a prevalent component of graduate-level business education. Both activities help students develop problem-solving skills, critical thinking, high-level communication, and applied experiential learning. While business competitions may aid in the development of advanced communication skills, to date there has been no comparison of the effectiveness of coursework, competitions, or both. Using U.S. News & World Report rankings of the top 100 U.S. MBA programs as a proxy for program quality, we find that business communication coursework provides greater benefits when compared with internal case competitions. Specifically, findings indicate a higher ratio of graduate business communication classes to internal competitions correlated to higher rank. Furthermore, reputational advantage was also associated with required communication coursework and a higher number of internal competitions offered for graduate business student participation.

Students’ perceptions of the use of technology in cross-cultural communication

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore students’ perceptions of the use of technology in cross-cultural communication and to compare findings with current trends in business. Design/methodology/approach – Structured interviews with seven open-ended questions were used to explore students’ perceptions of the use of technology in cross-cultural communication. Findings – Students learn how to use new technology in cross-cultural communication faster than businesses implement those technologies. Students tend to emphasize the use of video conferencing tools rather than e-mail. Research limitations/implications – Although data saturation has been reached, the sample size was relatively small. Students studying business participated in the study. Practical implications – The findings of this study suggest considering changes to the curriculum and embedding work-based learning into academic programs. Originality/value – This paper compares students’ perceptions with business expectations, revealing the areas in the content of the business communication classes that need to be changed.

The State of Business Communication Classes

This nationwide study of 169 business communication instructors examines the following issues: (a) ideal and actual class sizes in business communication courses, (b) delivery modes of business communication courses, (c) types of written and oral assignments, and (d) topics covered and depth of coverage. Findings suggest that business communication course offerings are growing on the national stage. The vast majority of class sizes have stayed the same or gotten smaller. One significant change over the past 5 years is the increased focus on interpersonal communication and teamwork. While some courses offer significant coverage of social media, the majority does not.

Writing Self-Efficacy and Written Communication Skills

Writing is an essential professional skill. The goal of writing instruction in business communication classes is to develop the skills and knowledge necessary to successfully meet future writing challenges. However, many writers struggle to transfer skills and knowledge from one context to another. The primary reason for this struggle is that despite years of writing instruction, most people are highly apprehensive about writing and do not consider themselves “writers.” Writing instruction typically does little to lessen writing apprehension, but fostering writing self-efficacy can both diminish writing apprehension and further writing development.

The Impact Of Globalization And Technology On Teaching Business Communication: Reframing And Enlarging World View, Methods, And Content

This paper explores the current paradigm shift in the use of technology in the classroom, which is occurring because of technology explosion in society, impact of globalization, necessary reframing, and enlarging of the world view, methods, and content to make business communication classes relevant. The question is whether the classroom should mirror society or whether society will eventually mirror the classroom. If the classroom mirrors society, the responsibility of methods and content becomes an outwardly directed response. In essence, we simply copy what we see happening in technology within the business arena, such as blogs, Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube videos. If society will mirror the classroom, then the content and methods used can determine whether the potential for higher order thinking can be actualized within the society, as a whole, through the pedagogy of business communication. This actualization must come through the structure and use of an ethical core in teaching, with an understanding that technology has the power to both advance innovation and collaboration or mislead and distort, and it is the classroom facilitator’s responsibility to foster the realization of the power of technology. The business world is challenging those of us who teach business communication to make use of technology in a more “21st century” manner; not so much in the use of technology, but more in the attitudes that shape its use. In addition to teaching how to use technology for communication, there is a strong push to teach appropriate ethics in its use within a reframed world view. This paper addresses how content and methods must be reframed and how professors must adopt a revised world view that aligns with a culturally diverse audience and a 24/7, communicative, free, and open environment. The power and force of said technology, specifically social-media communication, has the ability to alter the course of lives, communities, corporations, and countries and must be seen as an integral part of the business classroom.

Integrating Changing Communication Technology into Business Communication Classes

Integrating Changing Communication Technology into Business Communication Classes

Place Existing Online Business Communication Classes into the International Context: Social Presence from Potential Learners' Perspectives

Recent scholarship on global online courses points to the need to examine the issue of social context in an online global learning environment. To explore global learners' cultural perspectives on the social climate of an online class, we first review the social presence theory—which can be used to examine the social climate in an online classroom, and explain factors that contribute to learners' social presence. Then we report findings of a survey conducted among a group of Chinese business students and discuss specific aspects of an online business communication class which might contribute to enhancing global learners' sense of social presence in an online environment. We conclude the study by explaining the present study's implications for delivering effective online business and technical communication courses with global learners and recommending strategies for increasing global audiences' social presence in an online class created by the instructor and the online community.