Journal of Financial Reporting and Accounting

Accounting students' perceptions of important business communication skills for career success : An
exploratory study in the Tunisian context
Ahmed Atef Oussi, Mohamed Faker Klibi,
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Ahmed Atef Oussi, Mohamed Faker Klibi, (2017) "Accounting students' perceptions of important business communication
skills for career success : An exploratory study in the Tunisian context", Journal of Financial Reporting and Accounting, Vol.
15 Issue: 2, doi: 10.1108/JFRA-10-2015-0092
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 1

Accounting students’ perceptions of important business communication

skills: An exploratory study in the Tunisian context

Abstract

Purpose –This paper aims to examine the business communication skills that accounting

students see as having the highest importance for career success. It also explores the current

levels of development of these skills and analyzes them through a comparative study between
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three Tunisian business schools.

Design/methodology/approach – The authors used a questionnaire sent to180 students from

three business schools to provide insights into the development of communication skills

perceived important for a successful accounting career.

Findings –The results indicate that all students are conscious of the importance held by

communication skills for career success in the accounting profession. However, they feel that

their aptitudes are sometimes poorly developed, especially when it comes to proficiency in

French (as a language of business in Tunisia) and written skills.

Practical implications – The paper’s findings offer important guidance concerning the

communication skills that accounting students consider most needed by the Tunisian labor

market. The findings of this study may be useful for curriculum development in local and

international contexts.

Originality/value – This study is conducted in a developing country where the graduate

unemployment rate is about 30%. This high unemployment often affects service professions

like accounting. Moreover, in Tunisia, accounting education focuses particularly on technical

aspects. So far, no studies have been conducted to show whether students nowadays are aware

of the increasing importance of generic skills in accounting practice. As a result, the

 2

conclusions of this study could provide Tunisian stakeholders with insights into ways of

potentially improving accounting graduates’ employability.

Keywords: Accounting education, graduate competencies, communication skills,

employability.

1. Introduction

New global business models have changed the old acceptance of accountants’ role in modern

corporations (De Lange et al., 2006). Historically considered as score-keepers, bean counters
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or corporate cops (Siegel, 2000), accountants are actually fulfilling more strategic roles in

their organizations (Apostolou et al., 2013; Jones and Abraham, 2009; Howieson, 2003;

Bescos, 2002; Williams, 1994). According to Stone et al. (2013), changing economies and

advances in technology are pushing accountants into new areas, where oral and written

communication abilities are of foremost importance. As a result, accounting graduates are

increasingly required to have additional generic skills (Jackson, 2014; Apostolou et al., 2013;

Rosenberg et al., 2012; Tempone et al., 2012; Wells et al., 2009; Apostolou et al., 2001;

Arquero Montano et al., 2001; Rebele et al., 1998). Jones (2011, p247) suggests that

"communication skills are a fundamental personal competency for a successful career in

accounting".

Numerous studies recognize that accounting practitioners consider communication as the

most important aptitude for graduates to quickly gain access to an accountancy career

(Hossain et al., 2015; Siriwardane and Durden, 2014; Hassell and Joyce, 2014; Riley and

Simons, 2013; Lin et al., 2005).

Despite the importance paid to effective oral and written communication skills by

practitioners, it seems that accounting students are generally unaware of the new skills

currently expected for future accountants in order to deal with new businesses processes

(Kavanagh and Drenan, 2008). Several studies contend that accounting graduates are not well
 3

prepared to start professional practice (Mathews, 2001; Mohamed and Lashine, 2003). The

findings of Albrecht and Sack (2000) and Henderson (2001) revealed that accounting students

need to improve their communication skills, and that accounting degree courses should pay

more attention to this range of generic skills.

Prior research also suggests that business schools have failed to adequately develop

communication skills, requiring as a result a curriculum change (Pen and Perera, 2012;

Albrecht and Sack 2000; Siegel and Sorensen 1999; Zaid and Abraham, 1994). In a related
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vein, Mangum (1996) and Siegel and Sorenson (1999) pointed out that employers are not

satisfied with graduates’ communication skills. Similar results were found by Gray (2010) in

New Zealand, Courtis and Zaid (2002) and Kavanagh and Drennan (2008) in Australia. These

studies indicated that "significant gaps exist between the student perception and employer

expectation regarding an accountant’s ability to write clearly and persuasively" (Riley and

Simons (2013), p.835). Thus, the concern is clear; do accounting graduates have the adequate

communication skills?

Several researchers have investigated the business communication skills needed by entry level

accounting jobs, but none has focused on the students’ perceptions of the importance of

communication skills in accounting careers in developing countries. As such, specific

communication skills needed by an accountant graduate may not be the same as those

required in other markets. For example, Lin et al. (2005) argue that Western nations and their

workplaces have placed a higher emphasis on communication as a generic skill compared to

Japanese workplaces. Therefore, it will be interesting to analyze how communication skills

are perceived by accounting students in Tunisia.

Tunisia is located in North Africa. Its population is estimated at around 11 million (NIS,

2013) and its unemployment rate is about 30% (NIS, 2014). This high unemployment rate
 4

often affects service professions like accounting. Thus, this paper addresses the following

research questions:

• What communication skills do accounting students see as having the highest

importance for career achievement?

• What is the current level of development of their aptitudes in terms of language, oral

and writing skills?

• Does the accounting student’s perception of business communication skills differ from
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one business school to another?

Data was collected using a survey of 180 accounting graduates from three Tunisian business

schools. Overall, findings suggest that respondents perceive all the oral and written

communication skill items as important. Despite the importance placed on these

communication competencies, a common theme among accounting students surveyed is the

feeling that they need to strengthen communication skills.

Results from our study will provide insights into issues related to the importance of

communication skills from the perspective of accounting graduates. Also, by addressing this

topic, our examination hopes to assist higher business schools to develop accounting

curriculums that better improve oral and written communication skills.

The rest of this paper is organized as follows. A general review of prior studies is outlined in

the following section to develop the background of this study. The research method adopted is

then developed. Section 4 reports the descriptive statistics and the main empirical findings.

The final section discusses conclusions and presents future research directions.

2. Literature review

Historically, the accountant has long been confined to the corporation’s back office, and

consequently, technical accounting skills were perceived as being very important (Siegel,

2000). Currently, in the modern world of business, the accountant’s technical tasks have been
 5

increasingly automatically carried out by the growth in the amount of specialized software.

Henceforth, the actual role of an accountant requires him to come into contact with other

components of management and the organization, and this obviously demands a large

capacity for communication and analysis (Klibi and Oussii, 2013; DiGabriele, 2008;

Kavanagh and Drennan, 2008; Mohamed and Lashine, 2003;Burnett, 2003). Thus, effective

oral and written communication is a generic aptitude that is often considered as vital for a

present - day accountant to have (Jackson and Chapman, 2012; Warraich and Ameen, 2011;
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DeLange and Jackling, 2009; Wang and Hamali, 2006; Hassall et al., 2005; Smith and

Comyn, 2004).

Academics (Holtzman and Kraft, 2011), employers (Kavanagh and Drennan, 2008; DuPre

and Williams, 2011) and students (De Lange et al., 2006; Andrews and Russell, 2012) have

acknowledged the importance of communication skills for successful job performance (Leong

and Kavanagh, 2013; Zhu et al., 2011; Blom and Saeki, 2011; Conrad and Newberry, 2011).

Shanahan (2013) considered oral communication skills an important component which

enables students to participate fully in their learning and demonstrate their ability to

communicate. In a related vein, Hancock et al. (2010) suggested that the lack of

communication skills is highly undesirable in a new graduate. It is also perceived as a

disadvantage when looking for an accounting job.

Business communication skills can be defined as aptitudes which enable individuals to be

confident and competent communicators (Abayadeera and Watty, 2014; Bui et Porter 2010;

Burnett, 2003; Borzi and Mills, 2001; Lee and Blaszczynski, 1999; Siegel and Sorenson,

1999; Zaid and Abraham, 1994).

Borzi and Mills (2001) suggested that effective communication includes the ability to state

one’s opinion clearly and to defend it, and to effectively use written and oral communication.

Hardy and Deppe (1995) indicated that communication skills involve the ability to
 6

communicate information and to easily share ideas. In the same vein, the Association of

Chartered Accountants of South Africa (SAICA, 2003) listed the communication skills

needed by new accounting graduates. These skills are essentially: ‘‘(1) the ability to present,

discuss and effectively defend the points of view and (2) the ability to listen effectively,

locate, obtain, organize and use information from different sources’’ (Barak, 2009, p.67).

Against this background, practitioners, academics, and students are frequently interviewed to

figure out what abilities are required of accounting graduates (Riley and Simons, 2013). For
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example, Albrecht and Sack (2000) concluded that practitioners in the United States gave the

highest ranking to written communication for entry-level accountants’ career success. Gabric

and McFadden (2001), De Lange et al. (2006) and Fortin and Legault (2010) found that

communication skills were ranked as the top five soft skills valued by employers for entry-

level positions.

Holdsworth et al. (2009) indicated that communication skills were rated by employers as

being more important when deciding to hire or not to hire a new graduate, compared to

previous work experience or qualifications. Green and Madison (2009) found that

communication skills were considered to be very important and were highly valued within the

accounting curriculum.

Christensen and Rees (2002) surveyed 2,181 members of the Institute of Management

Accounting and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants in order to determine

the importance of 32 business communication skills for entry-level accountants. Results show

that respondents rank oral and written communication skills as very important. Similar

findings were found by Maturo (2007) and Frecka and Reckers (2010).

In New Zealand, Gray (2010) surveyed 146 chartered accountancy firms to gather perceptions

regarding 27 oral communication skills that may be important to accounting graduates.

 7

Results suggest “that 49.6% of respondents reported that they considered oral communication

skills to be “essential” in a new graduate; a further 41.4% reported them to be “very

important” (Gray, 2010, p48).

Also, Bui and Porter (2010) found that employers considered communication skills to be

essential for accounting graduates. ‘‘To the Big 4 firms, oral (especially presentational) skills

are particularly important as graduates are expected to present confidently and effectively to

managers or directors of the firm’s clients early in their careers’’ (Bui and Porter, 2010, p.34).
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In the United Kingdom, Crawford et al. (2011) found that academics and chartered

accountants viewed written communication as being the most important competencies for

accounting students to acquire. Jones (2011) investigated competencies employers believe are

important for new hires. Findings show that “basic writing mechanics are the skills in highest

demand, followed by effective documentation” (Jones, 2011, p.248).

Gray and Murray (2011) similarly surveyed 146 accountancy employers from New Zealand;

they found that listening skills are deemed most important for new accountancy graduates.

Maelah et al. (2011) surveyed 137 trainees from the UKM Bachelor of Accounting program

in Malaysia and found that industrial training enhances accounting graduates’ communication

skills. In Serbia, Zivkovic (2014) surveyed 85 students from the Faculty of Civil Engineering

and Architecture to gather perceptions regarding the development of their communication

skills during the learning program. The findings suggest that “students perceive the

significance of preparing and delivering oral presentations for successful communication in

the future professional surrounding” (Zivkovic, 2014, p. 472).

In Australia, Jackson (2014) conducted a survey of 674 recent business graduates to

determine how they perceived their own aptitudes in oral communication skills. The author

concluded that “business graduates rated their skills in oral communication highly although
 8

mean ratings for the 14 sub-behaviours varied with graduate age and time spent working

since graduation” (Jackson, 2014, p.22).

3. Methodology

In order to achieve the paper’s objectives we selected a sample of students who are about to

complete their accounting studies. The survey was conducted during the month of April 2014.

At that time, only two months remained to interview students before they received their

bachelor’s degree in accounting and then became candidates in the labor market.
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The survey questions were generated from an abundant process that incorporated survey

instruments developed by previous studies (i.e., Gray and Murray, 2011; Gray et al., 2006;

Christensen and Rees, 2002; Smythe and Nikolai, 2002; Maes et al., 1997; Morgan, 1997;

McLaren, 1990) as well as the input of Tunisian accounting practitioners, with the aim of

reflecting the specific aspects of the Tunisian context.

Accordingly, communication skills have been divided into three categories: (1) proficiency in

French, (2) oral and interpersonal skills and (3) writing skills. Each category was divided into

various sub-skills (items). In order to verify whether these skills are really useful in the

Tunisian accountant labor market, all these sub-skills have been discussed with six Tunisian

Certified Public Accountants. Finally, the selected sub-skills were submitted for the

consideration of ten students in order to verify if there were ambiguous terms and/or

confusing phrases. After revision, we edited a communication skills’ matrix which was

administered to three groups of students enrolled in their third year of accounting at Tunisian

business schools which are:

• The Higher School of Economics and Business (HSEB) of Tunis: under the academic

supervision of Tunis University.

• The Higher School of Accounting and Management (HSAM) of Manouba: under the

academic supervision of Manouba University.

 9

• Higher School of Business and Accounting (HSBA) of Bizerte: under the academic

supervision of Carthage University.

Respondents were invited to rate each sub-skill (item) on two five-point scales. By

reference to the first one, they had to give their perception of the importance of a given

communication skills item. More precisely, we asked them the following question: how

would you rate the importance of each of these sub-skills in the labor market for accountants?

This perception is mapped as follows: 1 = not at all important, 2 = unimportant, 3 = somewhat

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important, 4 = important and 5 = very important.

At the same time, referring to the second five-point scale, students had to rate the level of

their current aptitude (competence) related to the same skills. More specifically, we asked

them the following question: how would you rate your current aptitude in each of these sub-

skills? This perception is mapped as follows: 1 = not at all competent, 2 = incompetent, 3 =

somewhat competent, 4 = competent and 5 = very competent.

4. Results

4.1. Characteristics of respondents

To capture the business communication skills that accounting students perceive as the most

important for career success, we conducted a survey involving data collection from all

graduating students in three business schools in Tunisia. All students surveyed were studying

an accounting major as part of a Bachelor in Accounting. The selection of business schools

was based on two criteria. First, accounting academics that we contacted in each business

school approved carrying out the survey in their classes. Second, the selected Higher Schools

of Business were public and differed in terms of location. This would produce a representative

sample in order to avoid bias and support generalizable findings.

Table 1 shows the details of the demographic composition of the sample. The questionnaires

were completed by 180 accounting graduates (31.7% male and 68.3% female) studying an
 10

accounting major in three Higher Schools of Business (HSB). Quantitatively, the sample is

composed of 76 (42.2%) students enrolled in the HSEB, 51 (28.3%) students enrolled in the

HSAM and 53 (29.4%) students enrolled in the HSBA. The average age of these students is

21.79 years (median = 22 years).

Insert table 1 here

In order to better understand the communication skills perceptions, we formed three groups of

students based on their membership to one of the three HSBs. Hereafter, we describe the
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difference between the demographic features of each of them according to two criteria. First,

these business schools attract different profiles of students that we can classify according to

their intellectual abilities measured by the overall average grade on the Baccalaureate Exam.

According to this criterion, HSEB attracts top students followed by the HSAM. The HSBA is

ranked third.

Secondly, it seems that the three business schools attract different socio-economic profiles of

students. We measure this feature by the number of scholarships granted to the students of

each higher school. In Tunisia, only students that can show a disadvantaged financial situation

may benefit from a scholarship. Table 2 shows that 52.8% of HSBA students receive a

scholarship, which represents 38.89% of our whole sample of students who have benefited

from this advantage. It is the business school where the largest number of scholarship

recipients is registered followed by the HSAM (second place) and the HSEB (third place).

Insert table 2 here

4.2. Importance of and aptitude in communication skills

In Tunisia, all courses provided to accounting students are in French. French is the language

of business; therefore, success in professional careers requires a good level of that language’s

knowledge. Indeed, the French language is present in all the tasks carried out by the Tunisian

accountant: reading and understanding the Tunisian Accounting Standards, using accounting
 11

software, reading bills and contracts, writing emails, faxes, internal and administrative

documents, annual reports…etc.

Table 3 shows three main columns: importance, aptitude and comparison of many

communication skills. In the first column, we present descriptive statistics that examine

student perception of the importance of a given item by the labor market for accountants. In

the second column, we give descriptive statistics that examine student perceptions of their

actual level of aptitude in the same given item. In the third column, we present comparative
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statistics that analyze the significance of the gap between the importance of and the aptitude

in the same communication skill. All tables we show in the rest of this paper are described

respecting this logic of presentation.

Insert table 3 here

The analysis of this table shows a higher average rating (greater than three) for all the items

representing proficiency in French language. “Uses an effective business vocabulary” is

ranked first with an average rating of 4.14 (between important and very important) followed

by “uses correct grammar in both oral and written communication” with an average rating of

3.97. Otherwise, accounting students sometimes state that their real aptitudes (skills) are weak

(less than three), and this especially in regard to two items: “produces correctly spelled

documents” and “uses correct grammar in both oral and written communication”. This is

inconsistent with Jackson (2014) and DuPre and William’s (2011) studies which found

undergraduates were confident in their abilities to communicate effectively.

Moreover, we note that students feel they are less competent in French language compared to

the accounting job market requirements. Indeed, the pairwise comparison test (t-test) shows

that the difference between the mean of “importance” variable and “aptitude” variable of all

proficiency in French items is always significant at 0.01.

 12

The accounting students’ perceptions of oral and interpersonal communication skills are

analyzed in Table 4. The importance of all these items is rated with a score higher than 3.81

(seven of them have a score greater than 4). This result confirms the importance of oral and

interpersonal communication for individuals having a Mediterranean culture. In this respect,

we assume that Mediterranean culture has high context communication regarding the

“extensive information networks among family, friends, colleagues and clients and who are

involved in close personal relationships” (Hall and Hall, 1990, p.6).

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In the respondents’ opinion, “listen effectively”, “maintain eye contact”, “asks appropriate

questions when talking with customers” and “objectively presents information in oral reports”

are the most requested skills in the accounting labor market.

Prior studies showed that these aptitudes are highly ranked by employers (Gray and Murray,

2011) and considered a crucial aspect of the communication skill range (Wolvin, 2012). At

the same time, they think they have real skills (aptitudes) in the following areas: “listen

effectively”, “uses the telephone and intercom effectively”, “maintains eye contact” and “uses

voice effectively for emphasis”. All these items, with eight other items, have a score above 3.

The only score that is less than 3 is given to the item “uses appropriate body actions in

interpersonal oral communication”. Nevertheless, the comparative study indicates that

students feel less competent with respect to their perception of the labor market requirements.

In fact, the t-test always shows a significant difference (at 0.01) between the “Importance”

variable and the “Aptitude” variable except in the case of the “uses the telephone and

intercom effectively” item. The non-significance of the mean difference in regard to this last

item seems to show that when it comes to new technology, the “young” students have no

problems. This aligns with evidence highlighting deficiencies in students’ performance in

listening aptitude in the workplace (Stone and Lightbody, 2012).

Insert table 4 here

 13

Table 5 features the analysis of the third category of communication skills: writing skills. The

first three important items of this category are rated with a score greater than 4 (between

important and very important). These items are successively: “uses effective techniques in

writing reports”, “organizes information into effective sentences and paragraphs” and “writes

naturally and on the reader’s level”. All the rest of the items have a score higher than 3. These

results show once again that accounting students are well aware that the labor market needs a
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candidate who has a clear understanding and a sufficient mastery of communication

techniques. However, it is likely that respondents feel that they do not have high competency

in this communication skills category. Indeed, they rate their aptitudes with a score lower than

3 in five cases (items): “uses long hand to create draft of document”, “writes a paper very

eloquently and with much persuasion”, “writes routine letters, order acknowledgement,

inquiry, etc”, “writes well, clearly, concisely and completely” and “provides effective

transition between ideas”. These low mean scores for speaking communication are aligning

with documented concerns for the students’ proper use of vocabulary and proficiency in

writing (Jackson, 2014; Gray and Murray, 2011; Nelson et al., 1996). Moreover, comparison

tests indicate that students recognize that there is a significant gap between what they consider

important and what they actually master. The results of the t-test are significant (at 0.01) for

thirteen items. Only the difference between the “Importance” variable and the “Aptitude”

variable for the item “composes at the keyboard” is not significant and this confirms that

students have no problems with communication skills that deal with new technology.

Insert table 5 here

To synthesize this first batch of results, we can conclude that, despite the fact that accounting

is a technical discipline, students admit the importance of business communication skills for a

successful accounting career. Statistically, the importance of the perception of all the items
 14

describing our three communication skills categories is rated with scores that are greater than

3. This finding is consistent with other studies, which emphasized that accounting students

perceive communication skills as being the most important aptitudes required for a successful

career in accounting (Rainsbury et al., 2002; De Lange et al., 2006). This finding also

corresponds with prior research, which highlighted that accounting practitioners and

academics consider communication skills to be one of the most important skills for an entry-

level graduate to possess (Gray, 2010; Kavanagh and Drennan, 2008; Maes et al., 1997;
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Morgan, 1997; Hock, 1994; Albin and Crockett, 1991) but contrasts with the findings of

Wardrope (2002), who found that the ability to make oral presentations was ranked extremely

highly by accounting academics. Moreover, our findings show that students recognize that

their aptitudes are significantly lower compared to labor market requirements, and this is

especially the case for proficiency in French language and in writing skills. This finding is

consistent with De Lange et al.’s (2006) study which found that students reported a significant

skills lacuna particularly in terms of interpersonal skills and oral expression.

Also, this result corresponds with numerous studies, which have shared opinion that oral

communication skills in accountancy graduates are not at the required level (Albrecht and

Sack, 2000; McDonald, 2007; Morgan, 1997; Kryder, 1997). Furthermore, the second part of

our results emphasizes the analysis of communication skills by category of students according

to their membership in one of the three business schools.

4.3. Importance of and aptitude in communication skills: a comparative analysis

Table 6 shows the results of an ANOVA test. This test aims to compare the means of the

different items composing our three communication skills categories categorized by

enrolment of students at a given business school. Statistically, the comparison may be relevant

only in cases where the F of Fisher is significant. Our analysis will focus on the cases where

the mean difference is significant, especially when the means are less than 3.
 15

Insert table 6 here

Results of Table 6 state that the three business schools’ students perceive all the

communication skills items as important (all the means of the variable “importance” are

higher than 3). However, they feel their communication skills are sometimes poorly

developed, especially when it comes to proficiency in French and written skills. This is

particularly true for students who belong to HSAM and HSBA. Therefore, it would appear

that accounting students notice that accounting curriculums should place greater attention on
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interpersonal skills and communication skills. Indeed, the HSAM’s students indicate that they

have no significant aptitudes in two communications skills items (among 4) which come

under proficiency in French and in six communication skills (among 14) which come under

writing skills.

It seems that that there is a difficulty in developing these skills in students through curricular

activities (De Lange et al., 2006). This issue needs to be addressed to academics as numerous

research findings have highlighteds the need for accounting graduates with a broad range of

communication and interpersonal skills (Awayiga et al., 2010; Kavanagh and Drennan, 2008;

Jackling and De Lange, 2009; Borzi and Mills, 2001). Not far from these results, the HSBA’s

students indicate that they have no significant aptitudes in two communications skills items

(among 4) which come under proficiency in French and in five communication skills (among

14) which come under writing skills. Another result that comes out of our comparative

analysis is that in terms of oral and interpersonal aptitudes and out of “is poised; controls

nervousness” item, it seems that the three business schools’ students agree that they have

many skills to offer in the accounting labor market.

5. Conclusion

This study empirically investigated students’ perception of the important business

communication skills for career success using a sample of 180 students from three Tunisian
 16

business schools. The findings of this study show that students recognize the importance of

communication skills in order to have success in their career. In three Tunisian business

schools, students perceive all the communication skills items as important. However, they feel

their communication skills are sometimes poorly developed, especially when it comes to

proficiency in French and written skills. More specifically, this study revealed that

accountancy students highly valued the oral communication skills “uses an effective business

vocabulary” and “uses correct grammar in both oral and written communication”. While
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accountancy students consider oral communication and interpersonal skills to be important for

new graduates to possess, they still report that their aptitudes are weak, especially in terms of

written communication. The findings of the present study reveal that the existing university

accounting program is failing in its attempts to produce graduates with a wide array of

communication skills. These shortcomings are viewed as ongoing barriers to employment for

accounting graduates. However, we assume that since communication aptitudes are developed

by certain factors such as age, maturity and organizational affiliation, business schools do not

have to assume alone the entire responsibility for developing ‘‘workplace-ready’’ graduates

(Gray and Murray, 2011, p. 278); business communication skills in accounting graduates

(Abd Rahim et al., 2011; Ford, 2009;Triebel and Gurdjian, 2009). Furthermore, graduates

themselves and firms employing them should share the responsibility for developing business

communication skills. Finally, future research could look at the best ways and the appropriate

place to teach or learn oral and written communication skills, given that this is still an

unexplored topic.
 17

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 Tables:

Table 1: Respondents characteristics

Gender Male Female Total

N 57 123 180
Percentage (%) 31.7 68.3 100%
Age Min Mean Std. deviation max Median
20 21.79 0.950 24 22
Scholarship Yes No Total
N 72 108 180
Percentage (%) 40% 60% 100%
HSB HSEB HSAM HSBA Total
N 76 51 53 180
Percentage (%) 42.2% 28.3% 29.4% 100%
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Geographical
Capital Coastal zone West zone Total
location
N 75 75 30 180
Percentage (%) 41.7% 41.7% 16.7% 100%
HSB: Higher School of Business. HSEB: Higher School of Economic and Business of Tunis. HSAM: Higher
School of Accounting and Management of Manouba. HSBA: Higher School of Business and Accounting of
Bizerte

Table 2: Number of beneficiaries of scholarship by HSB

Does the student

HSB Total
have a scholarship?
Yes No
N 21 55 76
Percentage 27.60% 72.40% 100%
HSEB
Percentage (relative to the
29.17% 50.93% 42.22%
modalities: yes or no)
N 23 28 51
Percentage 45.10% 54.90% 100%
HSAM
Percentage (relative to the 31.94% 25.93% 28.33%
modalities: yes or no)
N 28 25 53
Percentage 52.80% 47.20% 100%
HSBA
Percentage (relative to the 38.89% 23.15% 29.44%
modalities: yes or no)
HSB: Higher School of Business. HSEB: Higher School of Economic and Business of Tunis. HSAM: Higher
School of Accounting and Management of Manouba. HSBA: Higher School of Business and Accounting of
Bizerte

1
 Table 3: Proficiency in French language

Importance Aptitude
Comparison
Items/ Proficiency in Rank
N Mean Rank SD N Mean Rank SD Gap T-Test p
French Gap
Produces correctly spelled 176 3.78 3 0.962 176 2.98 3 0.845 0.80 2 8.28 ***
documents
Punctuates documents 177 3.52 4 0.972 177 3.15 2 0.911 0.37 4 4.29 ***
properly
Uses an effective business 177 4.14 1 1.030 177 3.44 1 0.934 0.70 3 6.92 ***
vocabulary
Uses correct grammar in 179 3.97 2 1.109 179 2.98 3 0.965 0.99 1 9.50 ***
both oral and written
communication
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Importance was rated on a five-point scale, where:1 = not at all important, 2 = unimportant, 3 = somewhat
important, 4 = important and 5 = very important.Aptitude was rated on a five-point scale, where:1 = not at all
competent, 2 = incompetent, 3 = somewhat competent, 4 = competent and 5 = very competent.

Table 4: Oral and interpersonal communication skills

Importance Aptitude Comparison
Items / Oral & Interpersonal Rank
skills N Mean Rank SD N Mean Rank SD Gap T-Test p
Gap
Analyzes the audience before, 173 3.99 8 0.918 173 3.28 11 0.956 0.71 4 7.36 ***
during, and after an oral report
Asks appropriate questions when 175 4.11 3 0.890 175 3.48 7 0.940 0.63 5 6.99 ***
talking with customers
Asks appropriate questions when 176 4.04 6 0.884 176 3.31 10 0.942 0.73 3 8.51 ***
talking with supervisors
Establishes rapport with the 177 4.02 7 1.058 177 3.41 9 1.089 0.61 7 6.86 ***
audience
Is poised; controls nervousness 179 3.84 12 1.126 179 3.01 12 0.971 0.83 2 8.86 ***
Listens effectively 175 4.32 1 0.947 175 3.87 1 1.119 0.45 11 4.64 ***
Maintains eye contact 176 4.19 2 0.966 176 3.57 3 1.154 0.62 6 6.13 ***
Objectively presents information 173 4.09 4 1.033 173 3.49 5 1.054 0.6 8 6.07 ***
in oral reports
Organizes presentations 177 4.07 5 0.069 177 3.49 6 1.001 0.58 9 6.52 ***
effectively
Uses appropriate body actions in 174 3.96 10 1.093 174 2.9 13 1.089 1.06 1 8.77 ***
interpersonal oral communication
Uses appropriate tone of voice – 177 3.99 9 0.965 177 3.47 8 1.118 0.52 10 5.56 ***
conversational or formal
Uses the telephone and intercom 176 3.91 11 1.128 176 3.81 2 1.028 0.1 13 0.99
effectively
Uses voice effectively for 178 3.81 13 1.002 178 3.57 4 1.030 0.24 12 4.35 ***
emphasis (speech, pitch, volume)
Importance was rated on a five-point scale, where: 1 = not at all important, 2 = unimportant, 3 = somewhat
important, 4 = important and 5 = very important.Aptitude was rated on a five-point scale, where:1 = not at all
competent, 2 = incompetent, 3 = somewhat competent, 4 = competent and 5 = very competent.

2
 Table 5: Writing skills

Importance Aptitude Comparison

Rank
Items / Writing Skills N Mean Rank SD N Mean Rank SD Gap T-Test p
Gap
Composes at the keyboard 178 3.98 4 1.008 178 3.96 1 0.967 0.02 14 0.25
Creates bibliographies or finds 177 3.87 9 1.034 177 3.39 7 1.163 0.48 10 5.13 ***
references
Edits and revises documents 175 3.95 6 1.030 175 3.55 2 1.032 0.40 13 4.48 ***
conscientiously
Organizes information into 177 4.04 2 0.967 177 3.54 3 1.071 0.50 9 5.24 ***
effective sentences and
paragraphs
Outlines material before 174 3.69 13 1.110 174 3.26 8 1.079 0.43 11 4.58 ***
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composing techniques
Provides effective transition 174 3.8 11 1.100 174 2.94 10 0.972 0.86 5 7.78 ***
between ideas
Uses effective techniques in 177 4.19 1 0.890 177 3.47 4 1.072 0.72 7 7.49 ***
writing reports
Uses jargon in appropriate 178 3.86 10 0.990 178 3.44 6 0.974 0.42 12 4.58 ***
situations
Uses longhand to create draft 177 3.54 14 1.076 177 2.6 14 0.834 0.94 4 9.88 ***
of document
Uses proper placement and 179 3.98 5 0.918 179 3.47 5 0.914 0.51 8 5.6 ***
format for letters and reports
Writes naturally and on the 179 4.02 3 0.909 179 3.17 9 1.059 0.85 6 8.91 ***
reader’s level
Writes a paper so eloquently 179 3.7 12 1.111 179 2.69 13 0.855 1.01 2 9.89 ***
and with much persuasion
Writes routine letters, order 178 3.89 7 1.102 178 2.87 12 0.866 1.02 1 9.85 ***
acknowledgement, inquiry,
etc.
Writes well, clearly, 179 3.89 8 1.165 179 2.91 11 0.940 0.98 3 9.5 ***
concisely, correctly and
completely
Importance was rated on a five-point scale, where:1 = not at all important, 2 = unimportant, 3 = somewhat
important, 4 = important and 5 = very important.
Aptitude was rated on a five-point scale, where:1 = not at all competent, 2 = incompetent, 3 = somewhat
competent, 4 = competent and 5 = very competent.

3
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Table 6: Communication skills analysis with respect to business schools membership

Importance Aptitude
Mean HSEB Mean HSAM Mean HSBA F (p) Mean HSEB Mean HSAM Mean HSBA F (p)
Proficiency in French
Produces correctly spelled documents 3.83 (1.018) 3.92 (0.900) 3.60 (0.906) 1.530 (0.219) 3.30 (0.849) 2.90 (0.743) 2.62 (0.765) 11.823 (0.000)***
Punctuates documents properly 3.59 (0.988) 3.58 (0.950) 3.40 (0.987) 0.688 (0.504) 3.43 (0.808) 2.88 (0.909) 3.00 (0.941) 6.866 (0.001)***
Uses an effective business vocabulary 4.14 (1.055) 4.10 (1.005) 4.10 (1.071) 0.45 (0.956) 3.41 (0.036) 3.43 (0.964) 3.50 (1.055) 0.149 (0.862)
Uses correct grammar in both oral and written 3.71 (1.252) 4.18 (1.014) 4.15 (0.894) 3.795 (0.024)** 3.20 (0.910) 3.25 (1.017) 2.40 (0.716) 16.077 (0.000)***
communication
Importance Aptitude
Mean HSEB Mean HSAM Mean HSBA F (p) Mean HSEB Mean HSAM Mean HSBA F (p)
Oral/Interpersonal skills
Analyzes the audience before, during, and after 4.12 (0.929) 3.82 (0.873) 3.96 (0.916) 1.664 (0.192) 3.21 (0.990) 3.02 (0.924) 3.65 (0.830) 6.058 (0.003)***
an oral report
Asks appropriate questions when talking with 4.32 (0.804) 3.90 (0.806) 4.02 (1.029) 3.817 (0.024)** 3.55 (0.953) 3.14 (0.857) 3.71 (0.915) 5.353 (0.006)***
customers
Asks appropriate questions when talking with 4.24 (0.846) 3.82 (0.800) 3.98 (0.971) 3.638 (0.028)** 3.21 (0.934) 3.39 (0.940) 3.35 (0.955) 0.639 (0.529)
supervisors
Establishes rapport with the audience 4.14 (1.003) 3.81 (1.202) 4.02 (0.980) 1.443 (0.239) 3.36 (1.042) 3.24 (1.251) 3.64 (0.963) 1.883 (0.155)
Is poised; controls nervousness 3.75 (1.145) 3.45 (1.172) 4.34 (0.854) 9.320 (0.000)*** 3.23 (1.008) 2.73 (0.961) 2.98 (0.866) 4.224 (0.016)**
Listens effectively 4.45 (0.782) 4.25 (0.913) 4.23 (1.154) 1.090 (0.338) 4.00 (1.000) 3.84 (1.167) 3.71 (1.210) 1.058 (0.350)
Maintains eye contact 4.27 (0.920) 3.82 (1.004) 4.46 (0.896) 6.318 (0.002)*** 3.57 (1.075) 3.41 (1.153) 3.71 (1.258) 0.874 (0.419)
Objectively presents information in oral reports 4.10 (1.095) 3.84 (0.903) 4.31 (1.029) 2.703 (0.70) 3.47 (0.919) 3.16 (1.076) 3.82 (1.126) 5.257 (0.006)***
Organizes presentations effectively 4.03 (0.993) 4.06 (0.740) 4.15 (1.127) 0.272 (0.762) 3.46 (1.076) 3.37 (0.809) 3.62 (1.060) 0.855 (0.427)
Uses appropriate body actions in interpersonal 3.81 (1.178) 3.92 (1.007) 4.21 (1.016) 2.130 (0.122) 3.04 (1.120) 2.73 (0.844) 2.87 (1.221) 1.246 (0.290)
oral communication
Uses appropriate tone of voice –conversational 4.03 (0.958) 3.82 (0.932) 4.09 (1.005) 1.123 (0.328) 3.55 (1.106) 3.31 (1.065) 3.53 (1.187) 0.771 (0.464)
or formal
Uses the telephone and intercom effectively 3.89 (1.211) 3.67 (1.108) 4.17 (0.975) 2.658 (0.073) 3.84 (0.931) 3.65 (1.200) 3.92 (0.978) 0.936 (0.394)
Uses voice effectively for emphasis (speech, 4.07 (0.884) 3.55 (0.986) 4.25 (1.054) 7.371 (0.001)*** 3.45 (1.119) 3.38 (0.901) 3.91 (0.946) 4.302 (0.15)**
pitch, volume)

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Importance Aptitude
Mean HSEB Mean HSAM Mean HSBA F (p) Mean HSEB Mean HSAM Mean HSBA F (p)
Writing Skills
Composes at the keyboard 3.99 (1.026) 3.78 (0.923) 4.12 (1.078) 1.399 (0.249) 3.91 (0.969) 4.12 (0.872) 3.83 (1.069) 1.229 (0.295)
Creates bibliographies or finds references 3.95 (1.025) 3.49 (0.857) 4.10 (1.114) 5.375 (0.005)*** 3.48 (1.245) 3.04 (0.903) 3.60 (1.198) 3.492 (0.033)**
Edits and revises documents conscientiously 3.93 (1.004) 3.76 (1.012) 4.10 (1.100) 1.323 (0.269) 3.68 (1.029) 3.28 (0.991) 3.62 (1.051) 2.445 (0.090)
Organizes information into effective sentences 4.07 (0.896) 3.82 (1.034) 4.17 (1.014) 1.752 (0.177) 3.76 (1.063) 3.28 (1.031) 3.49 (1.067) 3.202 (0.043)**
and paragraphs
Outlines material before composing techniques 3.77 (1.173) 3.18 (1.053) 4.06 (0.949) 9.077 (0.000)*** 3.29 (1.196) 3.04 (0.947) 3.45 (0.992) 1.939 (0.147)
Provides effective transition between ideas 3.59 (1.249) 3.76 (0.925) 4.15 (0.928) 4.219 (0.016)** 3.28 (1.103) 2.90 (0.863) 2.57 (0.747) 8.869 (0.000)***
Uses effective techniques in writing reports 4.29 (0.835) 3.98 (0.769) 4.25 (1.036) 2.033 (0.134) 3.57 (0.994) 3.14 (1.020) 3.70 (1.170) 4.066 (0.019)**
Uses jargon in appropriate situations 3.83 (0.985) 3.62 (0.878) 4.13 (1.038) 3.632 (0.028)** 3.49 (0.935) 3.04 (0.958) 3.79 (0.927) 8.473 (0.000)***
Uses longhand to create draft of document 3.35 (1.236) 3.37 (1.019) 3.94 (0.795) 5.715 (0.004)*** 2.86 (0.926) 2.20 (0.728) 2.60 (0.834) 10.538 (0.000)***
Uses proper placement and format for letters and 3.99 (0.973) 3.82 (0.850) 4.11 (0.891) 1.325 (0.269) 3.55 (0.958) 3.00 (0.872) 3.77 (0.776) 10.675 (0.000)***
reports
Writes naturally and on the reader’s level 3.88 (0.952) 4.29 (0.701) 3.94 (0.969) 3.504 (0.032)** 3.21 (1.017) 2.75 (0.935) 3.53 (1.103) 7.746 (0.001)***
Writes a paper so eloquently and with much 3.38 (1.211) 3.44 (0.951) 4.40 (0.743) 17.691 (0.000)*** 2.92 (0.860) 2.48 (0.839) 2.57 (0.797) 5.061 (0.007)***
persuasion.
Writes routine letters, order acknowledgement, 3.62 (1.316) 3.86 (0.895) 4.26 (0.836) 5.593 (0.004) 3.14 (0.844) 2.78 (0.848) 2.55 (0.798) 8.451 (0.000)***
inquiry, etc.
Writes well, clearly, concisely, correctly, 3.72 (1.333) 3.94 (0.935) 4.08 (1.089) 1.499 (0.226) 3.21 (0.998) 2.94 (0.858) 2.47 (7.99) 10.453 (0.000)***
completely
HSB: Higher School of Business. HSEB: Higher School of Economic and Business of Tunis. HSAM: Higher School of Accounting and Management of Manouba. HSBA:
Higher School of Business and Accounting of Bizerte

Importance was rated on a five-point scale, where:1 = not at all important, 2 = unimportant, 3 = somewhat important, 4 = important and 5 = very important.
Aptitude was rated on a five-point scale, where:1 = not at all competent, 2 = incompetent, 3 = somewhat competent, 4 = competent and 5 = very competent.