Designing And Evaluating A Personal Skills Development Program For Management Education

Abstract

Success in preparing business students for professional careers requires these students to develop a set of well-defined personal skills. The present study examined 145 business students to assess the effectiveness of a personal skills development (PSD) program by measuring the impact of the training on the students’ attitudes in skill development and by evaluating their satisfaction of the learning process. We present the planning and implementation processes of a comprehensive semester-long program in an English-speaking university in Asia that aims to develop the personal skills of business undergraduates. Differences between pre- and post-test perceived ability skill levels were highly significant (p < .01). Respondents also agreed that the program has a positive impact on their skill development and reported satisfaction with the learning experience. This study provides suggestions to business educators on developing and evaluating a range of personal skills amongst students. Recommendations and limitations of the study are discussed.