Communication apprehension among master's of business administration students: Investigating a gap in communication education

Abstract

Master's of Business Administration students at a large Midwestern university were administered the Personal Report of Communication Apprehension‐24. The students also responded to a questionnaire that generated data for six independent variables and were analyzed in relation to the PRCA‐24 scores via a multiple regression analysis. The findings indicate that communication apprehension (CA) exists among the MBA students with the average overall score slightly below the national average. The students had low dyadic, but high meeting and public speaking apprehension. Undergraduate major and culture significantly predicted the PRCA‐24 scores. Students with math‐related majors had significantly lower CA than students with a business‐related or other undergraduate majors. The findings suggest that MBA programs are not addressing CA in their curricula.

Keywords:

• communication apprehension
• MBA students
• communication education
• managerial communication