Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
A. Ayers
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were over 137 million jobs in all levels
of customer service in 2015 in the United States (BLS, 2015). Many of these jobs are filled by
college students who work to help pay for various expenses such as rent, books and tuition.
Customer service jobs can entail two parts of selling, one is service and the other is products.
Since a lot of students need a customer service job while in college, it is important to know the
influence the job has on a persons communication competency. Jobs, no matter the type, take a
portion of a persons day and week and the repercussions of investing in a company or job can
The retail industry is a sub group that I will target one of my focus groups on and because
of its role in the economy. The retail sector plays a vital role in the U.S. economy, supporting 1
in 4 American jobs (PWC, 2014). Since the retail industry provides 25% of the jobs in the U.S.
it is important that these jobs are improving communication competency for those working in
those jobs. Another real world significance is that oral communication, which is one of the top
skills needed in any career is improved in customer service jobs (Brink & Costigan, 2015). The
competency?
supply for their customers needs and wants (Ward, 2016). Communication competency is
situation and the ability to use the knowledge (Cooley & Roach, 1984). Literature from the
following areas will be examined: (1) customer service jobs (2) communication competence, and
(3) the effects of having a customer service job while in college and how if positively affects
Running head: Customer Service Job Improves Communication Competency 3
communication competency. This paper will compare research and literature from customer
Customer service can be defined as supplying the needs and wants of customers.
Customer service jobs are occupied by many different people in multiple stages of life, according
to La Londe (1966), many retailers hire teen-agers, part time college students and married
women looking for just a few hours of work a week to pay bills (la Londe, 1966). This study also
shows that the customer service and retail industry are expanding at such a fast rate that the work
force is not able to keep up with the demand of jobs available (la Londe, 1966). Another study
explains the importance of customer service and the employee always putting the customer first
Customer service is the supplying of all my customers with the product or service
that they desire, with the quality that they expect, at the price that they can justify,
at the time that they require, with the follow-up and support that they deserve.
(p.18)
Along with ensuring that customers are the number one priority in customer service jobs, the
manufacturing, marketing and developing of the products also needs to keep customers in mind.
(McAtee, 1999).
A study by Brink and Costigan (2015) shows that one of the main skills needed in the
customer service job and the one that employers look for is oral communication skills (Brink &
Costigan, 2015). Oral communication can also be used in multiple different forms of
in all forms of communication that include oral communication. (Roberts et al., 1974). This
study shows the significance of learning oral communication skills in school and applying it to
the workplace whether that be in the business field or in the retail customer service industry.
Another study shows the importance of verbal communication in the workplace which
customer service jobs require. This study defines interpersonal skills and a persons ability to
work in a group as a team towards one goal one of the main things employers seek when they are
hiring new employees or promoting from within. (Keyton et al., 2013). The main goal that
companies have and those that work in customer service is to sell the product or service and to
make the customer happy and wanting to come back to their company.
Studies show that although the job may seem easy in customer service, there are complex
tasks involved in various customer service roles and jobs. Bitner explains how employee
attitudes can affect the customers attitudes towards the service quality even if the product is good
and what they are looking for. Research has shown that employees attitudinal and behavioral
responses can positively and negatively affect customers perceptions of the service encounter
and their judgements of service quality (Bitner, 1990, p.53). A study about the effects of
importance of managers effectively controlling their employees in a hierarchy effect. (Hartline &
Ferrell, 1996).
Customer service is not just selling product but a lot of the customer service jobs are also
for services. According to a study by Gu and Siu about customer service in Casinos, one of the
most important customer service skills is respecting the customers. Gu and Siu state the features
that help their casinos to have repeated customers. Interpersonal features, such as respecting
guests, greeting customers, smiling and being willing to help customers, are important service
Running head: Customer Service Job Improves Communication Competency 5
attributes needing to be strengthened among the labor force (Gu & Siu, 2008). In customer
service cases such as the casino industry where they are not necessarily selling product but a
service, this study concluded that there must be training done more often for employees to keep
their service level at a higher level to keep customers coming back to their casino.
When students graduate from college, many go into their field but a lot struggle to find
jobs right away and dont know what to do in the meantime or how to find experience. 56% of
22-year-old college graduates in 2009-2011 were working in jobs that did not require a college
degree (Wessel, 2014). This statistic suggests that many customer service jobs such as sales
workers or bartenders do not need college degrees but they also give the recent college graduate
experience in oral communication and in a teamwork. A study conducted about the differences
of graduating with a full-time job or a full-time job with ones major shows the distinct
difference that the experiences are both positive but different skills are learned in each path (Blau
et al., 2016). This study was conducted from a sample of Business students from Temple
University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Seniors were strongly encouraged to fill out a student
satisfaction survey. The survey asked about their full time college experience, internships in their
field and outside their field as well as what skills they have in these areas.
Another study found the internal communication satisfaction an employee has in the
retail sector can be used as a motivational tool. A study conducted by Pradyna Chitrao (Chitrao,
2014) in the European Journal of Social & Behavioral Sciences shows whether retail employees
have the necessary information to help engage with customers on products and how that
communication is best reached. This study showed that retail employees need to have day to day
interactions with managers to be more successful when interacting with customers and selling
Running head: Customer Service Job Improves Communication Competency 6
products. It also showed that only 90% of employers said it is necessary to talk to employees
The retail industry also relies heavily on nonverbal communication and retail context
because of its predominantly fast paced atmosphere (Puccinelli, Motyka, & Grewal, 2010).
Retail employees use their conflict management and prior knowledge to help determine how to
work with customers and their co-workers. They need rely on nonverbal cues such as looking
frustrated or ready to ring up their items rather than asking the customer in a hectic environment
that can be helpful for making their shopping experiment more enjoyable. Retail employees are
not always taught this in training for a job so it is necessary that co-workers help each other as
Communication Competence
The second variable I will be studying will be the communication competence, how
a few different ways according to a few recent articles. Morreale et al. defines it one of the ways
conceptually and theoretically and to identify the components that comprise it(Morreale, Staley,
Stavrositu, & Krakowiak, 2015 p. 107). These authors, Morreal, Stanley, Stavrositu and
Krakowiak all wrote articles about communication competency in the 1980s and 1990s but have
since reevaluated the meaning and context of communication competency. They also said in a
2015 article about first-year college students and their understanding of communication
competency that the importance of the notion of competence is emphasized by the recent
various contexts and situations (Morreal, Stanley, Stavrositu, Krakowiak, 2015, p. 108). An
article about communication competency in a changing business says that this concept is used in
multiple different ways including teamwork, leadership, planning, organizing and many other
basics for successful career behaviors. (Waldeck, Durante, Helmuth, & Marcia, 2012).
Many articles have shown that group or team work communication in the workplace is
where a group comes together to get tasks done and where the learner must make attempts in
order to develop accuracy and frequency within the group. (Chaudhury, 2015). This study is
explaining that communicative language teaching has switched form the teacher explaining the
process to the learner putting it into practice more (Chaudhury, 2015). Their ability to be
competent is directly related to how their supervisor explains something to them which causes
alternative communication style (AAC) (Light & Mcnaughton, 2014). A recent study found the
effects of having this alternative communication for students to be positive for their learning.
This type of learning is when students listen to words and directions on a device that helps
students with disabilities learn at a faster rate (Chung & Douglas, 2014). There are many positive
ways this communication style is helping students with their competency, one of the promising
inclusion outcomes of AAC users, along with learning the content, is the rich opportunity for
peer interactions. The context of peer interactions facilitates social skill learning, knowledge
acquisition and establishment of social connections (Chung & Douglas, 2014). This type of
learning helps the students become more competent in their communication and gives them the
outside to the United States demonstrate the importance and impact that the Leader Member
Exchange (LMX) has on commitment and satisfaction within a group. (Ansari, Lee & Aafaqi,
2007; Lo, Ramayah, &Hui, 2006). Other studies done in the United States show that the
correlation between communication competency and job satisfaction is lacking, the current
study addresses this gap in the literature in two ways by comparing within-group and between-
and communication satisfaction (Steele & Plenty, 2015). For this study, Cooley and Roach
communication patterns in a given situation and the ability to use the knowledge (Cooley,
Roach, 1984). From this definition and the studies on communication competency in accordance
with job satisfaction and how the supervisor communicates, a strong correlation was found
between supervisor communication competence and job satisfaction (Steele & Plenty, 2015).
Having communication competency skills can be learned in a variety of ways even in the
classroom. Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) shows that
there are some variation in the ways in which the concept of communicative competence is used
in the academic and professional literature(Leung & Lewkowicz, 2013). This study shows that
the CEFT descriptors are conceptually concerned with three areas of communicative
competence, pragmatic, linguistic and sociolinguistic. (Leung & Lewkowicz, 2013). This shows
that communicative competency isnt only concerned with how they are understanding a topic
but how they can relay it to others as well. The CEFT is a type of testing and measuring and
Competency also refers to the ability for people to communicate information to others,
measure this. Task interdependence refers to the degree to which team members identify with,
and intend to help, one another both through their actions and through providing resources
(Johnson & Johnson, 1999). A story by Wang et al. (2001) showed a positive correlation
between team corporation and job performance which shows that their communication
through planning, teamwork, analyzing decisions and customer orientation. Customer orientation
(CO) is defined as how employees or customer service workers are able to meet the customers
needs based on their service (Donavan, Brown, & Mowen, 2004). By studying how customers
service jobs in college promote people being more competent in communication, it encourages
students to gain other skills than those they learn in the classroom.
The skills that college students learn in the classroom are not always enough to help in
the workplace when obtaining a job but the use of technology in the classroom and workplace
have helped (Michelli, 2016). A recent study through the Mercedes-Benz company and their use
of technology in the workplace emphasized the need for people to use technology in customer
service atmospheres. With one of the main qualifications and job duties for customer service jobs
is oral communication, many students are able to learn this and perfect these skills in public
After examining the Literature on these two topics, there is shown to be a positive
correlation between having a customer service job while in college and having communication
competency?
The results I expect from my study is to determine that having a customer service job
while in college helps the student or employee with more than just rent money but lasting skills. I
also hope to promote the impact of balancing customer service jobs while also being a student
because of the communication and leading skills that are obtained. A customer service job
defined as a job that involves working with people to satisfy their wants and needs in a retail
industry in this study (McAtee, 1999). The definition for communication competency in this
study is the ability to know how to communicate in different situations based on a persons
knowledge (Cooley, Roach, 1984). This hypothesis is important because many students may be
more inclined to obtain a customer service job while in college if they know the positive
References:
Blau, G., Hill, T. L., Halbert, T. A., Snell, C., Atwater, C. A., Kershner, R., & Zuckerman, M. M.
(2016). Correlates of Graduating with a Full-Time Job Versus a Full-Time Job Consistent
Brink, K. E., & Costigan, R. D. (2015). Oral Communication Skills: Are the Priorities of the
https://doi.org/10.5465/amle.2013.0044
Activities in Business Communication Courses. IUP Journal of Soft Skills, 9(3), 718.
retail sector in pune. The European Journal of Social & Behavioural Sciences, 10(3),
15411552.
Chung, Y.-C., & Douglas, K. H. (2014). Communicative Competence Inventory for Students
Donavan, D. T., Brown, T. J., & Mowen, J. C. (2004). Internal Benefits of Service-Worker
Keyton, J., Caputo, J. M., Ford, E. A., Fu, R., Leibowitz, S. A., Liu, T., Wu, C. (2013).
la Londe, B. J. (1966). The Retailers Dilemma: Full Service and Full Employment. Journal of
Leung, C., & Lewkowicz, J. (2013). Language communication and communicative competence:
Light, J., & Mcnaughton, D. (2014). Communicative Competence for Individuals who require
https://doi.org/10.3109/07434618.2014.885080
McAtee, L. F. (1999). Customers service skills for survival. Hospital Materiel Management
Michelli, J. A. (2016). How to play nice and add value. Industrial Engineer: IE, 48(5), 4448.
Morreale, S., Staley, C., Stavrositu, C., & Krakowiak, M. (2015). First-Year College Students
https://doi.org/10.1080/03634523.2014.978799
Puccinelli, N. M., Motyka, S., & Grewal, D. (2010). Can you trust a customers expression?
Insights into nonverbal communication in the retail context. Psychology & Marketing,
27(10), 964988.
Running head: Customer Service Job Improves Communication Competency 13
Waldeck, J., Durante, C., Helmuth, B., & Marcia, B. (2012). Communication in a Changing
Zheng Gu, & Ricardo Chi Sen Siu. (2008). Industry Labor Force Quality: An Investigation from
the Customer Service Perspective. UNLV Gaming Research & Review Journal, 12(1/2),
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