Education Catering for Professionals’ Communication Needs on the Global Labour Market

Abstract

This article focuses on the modalities in which education could improve the specific functioning of language in business engineering communication contexts, on the global labour market. The research investigates students’ skills and English resources used in business actions. The spectrum is wide and includes: discourse in economics; managerial communication; tech-mediated dialogues in business; professional sublanguages in advertising and marketing, public relations, sales techniques; business rhetoric (leaders’ speech, argumentative or persuasive strategies for presentations, conducting meetings and negotiations, as well as the application of idiom resources in motivating, problem-solving, brainstorming, teambuilding, staff selection and appraisal. Preparing students as future professionals for the global labour market requires building the adequate skills for coping with the challenges posed by the business speech and its delicate feedback; with drafting business correspondence and contracts; and with the strategies of exploiting the resources of the business media. Both undergraduate and graduate education will facilitate the acquisition of the academic language of business, economics and management, used in textbooks and research, lectures, case studies and training, as well as in consulting on business topics. The intercultural dialogue is encouraged, including the study of foreign languages for business purposes at the workplace in multinationals.

Keywords: Entrepreneur communicationglobal job marketintercultural business dialoguecorporate formal stylesmultinationals

Introduction

The current research was designed as a 75-item questionnaire analysed by SPSS. The target group

was made out of 237 third-year students of the Faculty of Management and Economics Engineering in

Agriculture and Rural Development within the University of Agronomic Studies and Veterinary

Medicine in Bucharest, Romania. Those included in the investigation envisage an entrepreneur career

and opted for a major in Management Engineering in Catering and Agri-Tourism. The aim of the study

was identifying improvement modalities for entrepreneur education in specific areas of English

communication functioning in business engineering contexts, on the global labour market.

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For successful entrepreneurship on the global job market, as fast-evolving and ever-changing as it is

nowadays, professors keep in step with the latest developments in attractive, active and modern

teaching-learning communication skills in business engineering for the aspiring trainees in tertiary

education.

Questionnaire structured on key investigated areas

Skills cultivation in academic entrepreneur education must primarily focus on business discourse,

corporate and managerial communication; tech-mediated dialogue in business; professional sub-

languages (those of banking, trading, accounting, manufacturing, and administration); advertising and

marketing, public relations, special techniques in sales (including methods of psycho-verbal

manipulation); business rhetoric (leaders’ speech, argumentative-persuasive strategies for carrying out

presentations, conducting meetings and negotiations, as well as implementing idiom resources in

motivating, problem-solving, brain-storming, teambuilding, staff selection and appraisal as core

domains in the economic life.

Results and interpretation

The questionnaire intended to reveal distinctive characteristics in these areas, namely in logical

thinking traits (Adler, 1983) conveyed in clear discourse, persuasive-motivational talk, adapting speech

to the envisaged audience, keeping dialogues to the point, within negotiated limits and achievable

objectives, enhancing teamwork, getting and prioritising data for decision-making, actively seeking

opportunities to build responsibility and initiative (Beamer, 2008).

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Fig. 2 illustrates the marked correlation observed between logical thinking traits conveyed in clear

discourse (left, red, 27%) and entrepreneur problem solving (right, red, 29%). Using creativity and

initiative in alternative solutions is in step with planning and negotiating effectively, both in blue, 38%

to 32% respectively. In point of discourse flexibility in adapting goals to changing situations (right,

green 16%), it emerges as commensurate with the cumulated 17% (green + yellow, left) representing a

positive attitude to failure and exploring new communication channels, persevering in delivering the

message. The 9% (grey left) stand for differentiating between practical and impractical solutions, a

positive correlation with the 8% in purple (right) representing the skill of handling objections to

arguments and making concessions to reach agreement.

Fig. 3 explores further connections between clear self-expression in written communication 37.8%

(blue, right) and entrepreneurs’ gathering, analysing and arranging information in logical sequences

blue, left (consistent with Cismas et al, 2015, p. 78). Entrepreneurs’ ability to prioritise information for

producing concise summary notes (11% pink, left) confirms related skills of clarifying and

summarising interlocutors’ speech (17.5% yellow, right). Helping others identify problems (8.5%

purple, left) is in step with the ability to clarify and summarise (Cismas et al, 2015, p. 134) what others

are saying (8.9% green, right). Setting achievable goals (Cismas et al, CESC2015), managing time

effectively by using action planning skills (Cismas et al, CESC2015), setting priorities as most im-

portant/urgent and identifying steps to meet goals cannot exist without entrepreneurs communicating

effectively under pressure (Cismas et al, SIM2015).

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In the light of these results professors seek compliance with EU CEFR Competence standards.

Digital literacy together with professional communities of hands-on practice in this area will perfect

relevant abilities (Livesey, 2002) to be mastered by all categories involved in the contemporary

dynamic study process targeted at constantly shifting realities in the economic field. Testing and

assessment enhance responsible and efficient autonomous learning for holistic career development,

aiming at enforcing pluri-lingual, inter-cultural and inclusive approaches for all the staff members and

the entrepreneurs we are preparing.

Conclusion

The intercultural business dialogue is encouraged, including the teaching and learning of foreign

idioms for business purposes, as well as language at the workplace in multinationals. Preparing

students as future professionals for the global job market requires building the adequate skills for

coping with the formality and indirectness of the business speech and its delicate feedback; with

drafting business correspondence and contracts; and with the strategies of exploiting the resources of

the business media.

References

1. Adler, R.B. (1983). Communicating at work: Principles and practices for business & professions. New York: Random House.
2. Beamer, L., Varner, I. (2008). Intercultural communication in the global workplace. Boston: McGraw-Hill Irwin.
3. Cismaş, S.C., Dona, I., Andreiasu, G.I. (2015a). CLIL Supporting Academic Education in Business Engineering Management. The 11th WSEAS International Conference on Engineering Education EDU15 University of Salerno, Italy, June 27-29 2015, Recent Research in Engineering Education pp. 78-88 WSEAS-World Scientific and Engineering Academy and Society www.wseas.org
4. Cismaş, S.C., Dona, I., Andreiasu, G.I. (2015b). Tertiary Education via CLIL in Engineering and Management. The 11th WSEAS International Conference on Engineering Education EDU15 pp.134-142 WSEAS (World Scientific & Engineering Academy and Society) www.wseas.org
5. Cismaş, S.C., Dona, I., Andreiasu, G.I. (2015c). Teaching & Learning via CLIL in the Knowledge Society. 2nd International Conference on Communication & Education in Knowledge Society CESC2015 West University and Institute for Social Political Research, Timisoara, Romania, November 5-7 2015, Trivent Publishing House Budapest http://cesc2015.org http://trivent-publishing.eu
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