STUDENTS’ ASSERTIVE COMMUNICATION SKILLS AT UNIVERSITY OF DEBRECEN

Abstract

Assertive communication has become a popular topic in nowadays organizations. Communication among employees is a key factor in the organization’s operation. The information must flow from one person to the other, but the way we communicate with each other influences the quality of the given data. Why can assertiveness be important in the organizations? As almost all the companies work for gaining profit by their output (product or service), the organizations depend on the customers. It means that employees should communicate in a proper way to maintain clients. Moreover, communication style has an impact on the connection between the leader and the subordinates which means that managers also should know the way to be assertive. We can see that appropriate communication influences the effectiveness of the organizations in many fields. In my study, I used Rathus Assertiveness Schedule to research the assertiveness of the pupils at the University of Debrecen. My aim is to have an overview about the assertive behaviour of the students who will be new employees in a few years. 178 students participated in this research by filling a 30-item questionnaire and demographic questions. To analyse the answers, I used averages and standard deviations. The total achievable score in this test was between -90 and +90 and the answers were between -60 and 74 scores. Based on the results, men tend to be more assertive than women. 81 students of the total 178 are considered to be assertive. Among the male participants 29 people, while among the female students 52 people are assertive. “I strive to get ahead as well as most people in my position.”; “There are times when I look for a good, vigorous argument.” and “I enjoy starting conversations with new acquaintances and strangers.” are the situations when they are most likely to behave assertively.

Keywords

• assertiveness; assertive behaviour; students