An Assessment of Listening Abilities of MBA Students

International Journal of Social Science & Interdisciplinary Research_____________________________ ISSN 2277-3630 IJSSIR, Vol. 3 (6), JUNE (2014) Online available at indianresearchjournals.com

247

AN ASSESSMENT OF LISTENING ABILITIES OF MBA STUDENTS

BANNOR RICHARD KWASI*; SURJEET RANDHIR SINGH DHAKA**;

ADITI MATHUR***; LONGO JOSEPH****

*PHD SCHOLAR (AGRIBUSINESS), INSTITUTE OF AGRIBUSINESS MANAGEMENT, SK RAJASTHAN AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITY,

BIKANER.

**PHD SCHOLAR (AGRIBUSINESS), INSTITUTE OF AGRIBUSINESS MANAGEMENT, SK RAJASTHAN AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITY,

BIKANER.

***ASSISTANT PROFESSOR,

INSTITUTE OF AGRIBUSINESS MANAGEMENT, SK RAJASTHAN AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITY,

BIKANER.

**** PHD SCHOLAR (AGRIBUSINESS), INSTITUTE OF AGRIBUSINESS MANAGEMENT, SK RAJASTHAN AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITY,

BIKANER.

ABSTRACT

Active listening is a communication technique that increases understanding and rapport

between speaker and listener. Rather than passively listening to the speaker (or not

listening at all), the active listener pays close attention to both verbal and body language,

then repeats back the most important points of the speaker's message. A modified Harvard

listening tool was used to assess the listening levels of students by a complete enumeration

sampling technique. The results showed that 17 of the students are average listeners, 2 are

active listeners and 29 which forms majority of the respondents are good listeners.Various

factors that affect listening ability were determined however, some factors that are

normally used in most listening tools such as maintaining eye contact, looking at the face

of speaker, age, and educational background were found not to be a determining factor in

listening. A new listening tool called The DhakLongBanor listening tool was developed to

be used to determine the listening ability of individuals in further researches in listening as

it accounts for 85% of factors that affect listening

KEY WORDS: Active listening, level of listening, modified Harvard listening tool,

DhaklongBanor Listening tool.

Introduction

Communication isn’t just speaking and writing. The forgotten part of it for most people is

listening. Studies have shown that a large percentage of people listen less effectively than

they believe, and many are poor listeners” (Axley, 1996)


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Thom (1996), points out that listening and asking hard questionsare two important skills

that all effective managers need if they want success.

Listening is defined as a form of communication that involves hearing, interpreting, and

constructing meanings; an active process that is not limited to the spoken word; and an

essential way of participating in daily routines as well as wider decision-making processes

(Clark, 2005).Active listening is a communication technique that increases understanding

and rapport between speaker and listener. Rather than passively listening to the speaker (or

not listening at all), the active listener pays close attention to both verbal and body

language, then repeats back the most important points of the speaker's message.

Many organizations and institutions, in an effort to improve interpersonal communications,

have encouraged skill development in reading, writing and speaking. Little if anything is

ever suggested to improve listening habits mainly because of the misconception by many,

according to Hunsaker and Alessandra (1986), is that listening is related to hearing.

A person may have perfect hearing, but because his listening skills are inadequate, what he

understands is not necessarily what is being said. Studies have shown that in the course of

one work day, an average of 45 percent of the hours in the office is spent listening

(Huseman, Lahiff and Penrose, 1991).Listening is an essential and undervalued skill,

underscored by Cohen (1988). However would be mangers and MBA students tend to be

aggressive, they are sometimes better talkers than listeners. This is attributed to the

misconception that managers have been promoted because they have been noticed, and

people do not usually get noticed by being silent.

Lucia (1997) underscores would be effective mangers and MBAs should be able to hear

what others have to say and empathize with their issues. They should walk in others’ shoes

by listening and caring. These two but critical, respected leadership characteristics are

often missing for many reasons. One point is certain, when managers take the time to listen

with empathy; they build trust and commitment that creates an environment for success.

Atwater (1992) noted that throughout the years of formal schooling, students spend fifty

percent or more of their communication time listening, followed by speaking, reading and

writing in that order. However, the amount of training time students receive in these skills

occurs in just the reverse order.

The study therefore seeks to find answers to the following questions:

1. Are there factors that affect listening?

2. What are the factors that affect listening?

3. What are different active listening levels of the various MBA Agribusiness

students?

4. What listening tool can be developed from the study?

5. What recommendations can be made for improvement in their active listening

ability?

Objectives of study

1. To determine factors that affect listening

2. To assess listening levels of MBA agribusiness students

3. To develop a listening tool


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Hypothesis

1. Ho: There are no factors affecting listening

H1: There factors affecting listening

2. Ho: The listening levels of MBA Agribusiness students are the same

H1: Listening levels of MBA Agribusiness students are not the same

Literature Review

Non-traditional approaches have identified active listening as facilitative to the interactive

components of managerial communication (Bokeno, 2002). Active listening is not only

utilized to gather factual information but rather to involve both parties so they may arrive

at innovative ideas and strengthen the relationship which already exists (Bokeno). It is

fairly logical to assume that we like people better when we think they are listening to us; in

the organizational environment it looks as if there is no exception to this assumption.

Atwater (1992) noted that success at all levels of management may depend on how well we

listen to detailed instructions or to feedback from our staff. Of all the sources of

information to help a manager know and evaluate the personalities of their department

members, listening to the individual employee is the most important (Hunsaker and

Alessandra, 1986).

The highest and most effective level of listening is the active listening (Hunsaker and

Alesandra, 1986; Newkirk and Linden, 1982). Active listening requires that we listen not

only for the content of the speakers message, but more importantly, for the intent and

feeling of the message as well. The active listener shows the listener, both verbally and

nonverbally that they are truly interested and listening. They are usually skillful

questioners, but never interrupt and are always looking for verbal and visual cues that

signify the other person has something to say.

Research has found that by listening effectively, you will get more information from the

people you manage, you will increase others' trust in you, you will reduce conflict, you

will better understand how to motivate others, and you will inspire a higher level

of commitment in the people you manage. Hence, listening is the most important factor for

a manager but often not paid attention to (Behn, 1998)


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Figure: 1 Degrees of active listening

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Active-listening-chart.png

Figure: 1 shows about degree of active listening or different types of active listening.

Repeating message using exactly same words, paraphrasing- rendering message using

similar words and reflecting- rendering message using own words. Perceiving, Paying

attention and Remembering are common in all types but thinking and reasoning provide

more degree to listening ability.

Methodology

Study Area

The study was carried out in Swami Keshwanand Agriculture University in Rajasthan

State of India. The university was chosen because of the existence of an Agribusiness

school and the easiness to identify students who are in agribusiness programme.

Data Collection

Purposive Sampling technique was employed for the collection of primary data from the

students of Institute of Agri Business Management, Bikaner.It was complete enumeration

of MBA students in the Institute

Sample size: 48 students which consisted of (MBA 1st year-27 students& MBA 2

nd year

21 students) enumeration

The Harvard listening tool was tested using a random sample of 20 students. After the

testing tool, the researchers then modified it to suit the objective of their analysis. Separate

pre-structured questionnaire was then prepared for the students consisting closed-ended

questions based on a modified Harvard listening tool for identifying level of listening of

students

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Active-listening-chart.png


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Analytical Technique:

Descriptive statistics such as means, chi-square frequencies, and percentages were used to

analyse the data. The ordinary least square multiple regression models was used to

estimate the determinants of respondents’ listening

The ordinary least square multiple regression model can be empirically stated as:

Yi = β0 + β1X1 + β2X2 + β3X3 …….+βnXn+ ε

Where

Y= Average listening marks for each respondent

β0=Intercept of the regression line

X1…..Xn = independent variables which include maintaining eye contact, looking at the

face of speaker, age, educational background etc.

ε= Error term

β1=coefficients of the variables used in the regression

Analysis and Discussion

1. Objective One: To determine factors that affect listening

Table 1: OLSmultiple regression model

Model R R Square Adjusted R

Square

Std. Error of

the Estimate

1 0.921

0.849 0.771 0.264

a. Predictors,

b. Dependent Variable: Listening

The table shows to what extent the OLS multiple regression models used to predict the

level of listening of MBA students in the Institute of Agribusiness Management was a fit

model. The table shows that the Predicting variables or the independent variables use to

analyse the level of listening of the students can explain 85% listening leaving a room for

15% which cannot be explained by the identified variables. This shows that, they are other

variables of 15% importance our research could not identify.

Table 2: ANOVA table of independent and dependent variables

Model Sum of

Squares

Mean Square F Sig.

1 Regression

Residual

Total

12.151

2.162

14.312

.759

.070

10.891 0.000

a. Dependent Variable: Listening

b. Predictors, < 0.001, Significant at 1 %

Table 2 shows the ability of our predicting variables to determine listening level is

statistically significant. That is to say our predicting variables are significant predictor of

MBA students listening ability at 5%. In addition the significance shows that there is

relationship between the predicting variables and the dependent variable


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Table 3: Multipleregression analysis between level of listening and independent

variables

Model ( Variables) Unstandardized

Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig.

B Std.

Error

Beta

(Constant)

Plan listener (x1)

Eye contact (x2)

Take notes (x3)

Notice feeling (x4)

Find thinking (x5)

Face person (x6)

Watch body (x7)

Control distraction (x8)

Interruption (x9)

Distraction by me (x10)

Without judging (x11)

Encourage speaker (x12)

Repeat words (x13)

Age (x14)

Education background

(x15)

Class (x16)

-.660

.095

-.009

.098

.076

.109

.007

.112

.071

.118

.100

.111

.100

.129

-.089

.044

-.183

.620

.043

.052

.049

.035

.036

.053

.041

.041

.038

.035

.028

.031

.035

.161

.042

.094

.209

-.014

.169

.186

.274

.011

.231

.175

.242

.250

.302

.269

.333

-.045

.100

-.166

-1.065

2.222*

-.169

2.006*

2.214*

3.055**

.132

2.752**

1.737

3.109**

2.818**

3.990**

3.230**

3.667**

-.551

1.060

-1.948

0.295

0.034

0.867

0.054

0.034

0.005

0.896

0.010

0.092

0.004

0.008

0.000

0.003

0.001

0.586

0.298

0.061

a. Dependent Variable: Level of Listening, **Significant at 0.01 level, * Significant at 0.05

level

Table 3 shows that most of the various variables used to determine the level of listening.

Majority of the variables were significant at 1%These variables are (Find myself thinking

about other things while the person is talking; Interrupt the speaker to make a point; I am

distracted by other demands on my time; Listen to the message without immediately

judging or evaluating it; Watch for significant body language (expressions, gestures);Ask

questions to get more information and encourage the speaker to continue;and Repeat in my

own words what I’ve just heard to ensure understanding.)

The study further revealed that in age of a listener and education level does not affect

either negatively or positively a person’s ability to listen. It also showed that maintaining

or keeping eye contact with the speaker and facing the person who is talking was not

significant. This true for the researchers because, even in some cultures looking at the face

of an adult is seen as affront hence cannot be a determining factor of one being an active

listener. In addition someone may be looking at you alright when speaking but his or her

mind might be wondering.

Our null hypothesis is rejected and alternative hypothesis is accepted as majority of the

factors used in the analysis is significant hence there are factors that affect listening.

In the table above the intercept is = 0.660,this shows that for every unit in X which is the

predicting variable in say the variable on encouraging the speaker, the predicted value of Y

(listening level) increases by 0.129units.


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In addition, when X which is the predicting variable is zero Y which is the level of

listening is 0.660. This clearly shows that each and every other person has a degree of

listening naturally but the extent or the quantum is determine by the factors outlined and

other factors not identify by the research.

Table 4: Cross tabulation between listening level and Class of respondents

Item Class Total

First Year Second Year

Listening 33-43

44-54

Above 54

Total

5

22

0

27

12

7

2

21

17

29

2

48

(Below 32= Poor listener, 33-43= Average listener, 44-54 = Good listener, above 54=

Active listener)

Table 4 shows cross tabulation between the level of listening and the class of the

respondents. It was found out that out of the total 27 students from MBA first year

interviewed, 5 are average listeners (33-43) compared to 12 students in MBA second year;

22 in MBA first year are good listeners (44-54) with no active listener but 7 of the MBA

second year respondents are good listeners with only two persons being active listeners

(above 54).

Table 5 Relationship between listening level and class of respondents

Item Value Asymp. Sig.

(2-sided)

Pearson Chi-Square

Likelihood Ratio

Linear-by-Linear

Association

N of Valid Cases

12.080

13.139

3.285

48

.002*

.001

.070

* Significant at 1% level

Table 5 was employed to see whether there is any relationship between the class of

respondents and the level of listening. This is because the cross tabulation table had shown

a trend of MBA second year being at the extreme ends of both average listening ability and

active listening ability. The Chi-square tests confirm the cross tabulation that, there is

significance relationship between the class of respondents and their listening ability at 1%

significance level.

Objective Two: To assess listening levels of MBA agribusiness students


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Table 6 Frequency of listening scores

Frequency Percent Cumulative Percent

2 17 35.4 35.4

3 29 60.4 95.8

4 2 4.2 100.0

Total 48 100.0

(1= Poor listener, 2= Average listener, 3= Good listener, 4= Active listener)

Table 3.6 shows the listening levels of students in MBA first year and second year

listening levels. It shows that out of the 48 students interviewed 35.4% are average

listeners with no poor listener. It also reveals 60.4% as good listeners and 4.2% as active

listeners. The active listeners were only two in the whole respondents clearly given an

indication most of the students’ needs improvement in listening as they are trained to be

managers.

Table 7 Central tendency of listening levels

Item Listening Class

Mean 2.69 1.44

Median 3.00 1.00

Mode 3 1

Std. Deviation .552 .501


Table 3.7 was used to analyse the central tendency figures of the respondents. It shows

clearly though there are differences in the levels of listening and even according to the

class of respondents, the mean value is 2.69, modal value is 3 and median value is 2.69

showing that averagely the respondents are good listeners.


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Table 8: Cross tabulation between class of respondents and listening scores

Class

Total first year second year

Listening 2 Count 5 12 17

Expected

Count

9.6 7.4 17.0

% within

Listening

29.4% 70.6% 100.0%

3 Count 22 7 29

Expected

Count

16.3 12.7 29.0

% within

Listening

75.9% 24.1% 100.0%

4 Count 0 2 2

Expected

Count

1.1 .9 2.0

% within

Listening

0.0% 100.0% 100.0%

Total Count 27 21 48

Expected

Count

27.0 21.0 48.0

% within

Listening

56.3% 43.8% 100.0%


Table 8 shows the differences in percentages of MBA students in first and second year

levels of listening. The table shows that 29.4% of the first years interviewed out of the total

27 are average listeners whiles 70.6% for second year students out of the 21 students

interviewed. 75.9% of the students from first year were good listeners compared to 24.1%

of second years. Lastly 2% of second years interviewed are active listeners with nothing or

0% of active listeners first year.

Objective Three: To develop a listening tool


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Table 9: New developed tool (DhakLongBanor- Listening tool)on the basis of

different factors that affect listening abilities

The table below shows the new listening tool developed by this research. It includes

factors that account for 85% of listening ability as specified by this research.

While someone is talking, I: Mostly Sometime Seldom

Plan how I’m going to respond. 1 3 5

Take notes as appropriate. 5 3 1

Notice the feeling behind the words. 5 3 1

Find myself thinking about other things while

the person is talking.

1 3 5

Watch for significant body language

(expressions, gestures).

5 3 1

Control fidgeting or other distracting habits. 5 3 1

Interrupt the speaker to make a point. 1 3 5

Am distracted by other demands on my time. 1 3 5

Listen to the message without immediately

judging or evaluating it.

5 3 1

Ask questions to get more information and

encourage the speaker to continue.

5 3 1

Repeat in my own words what I’ve just heard to

ensure understanding.

5 3 1

Totals for each column

Grand Total

Scoring:(Below and 27 = Poor listener; 28 - 37 = Averagelistener; 38 - 45 = Good

listener; 46 – 55 = Active listener.)

Table 9 was developed as a result of the researchers study on the field. In analysis we

found out certain factors such as age, looking into the face of speaker, educational

background and maintaining eye contact are not factors that can determine one as active

listener or otherwise. However all the factors used in developing the new listening stool are

important in determining the listening ability of an individual.


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Conclusion

1. Various factors that affect listening ability were determined however some factors

that are normally used in most listening tools such maintaining eye contact, looking

at the face of speaker, age, educational background were found not to be a

determining factor in listening

2. Majority of the MBA first year students are good listeners with majority of MBA

second years as average listeners

3. There is relationship between the listening ability of respondents and their class

levels

4. Every individual has a listening ability even without receiving any educational

training.

5. The DhakLongBanor listening tool can be used to determine the listening ability of

individuals as it accounts for 85% factors that affect listening.

Recommendations

According to listening ability level of a student, some suggestions are mentioned here:

1. Students those having poor and average listening ability, can improve their skill

through feedback, Reminded on active listening principles and importance and

placed at the horizontal tail of classroom “ T”

2. Students having good listening skill also can enhance by feedback, Reminded on

active listening principles and benefits in new globalized world

3. Active listeners should be Rewarded and encouraged to maintain the character

4. Further research should be done to test applicability the DaglongBanor listening

tool developed by the researchers in different places of different sections of

respondents


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Figure: 2The horizontal tail of classroom “T” structure:

There is a relationship between sitting position and listening. Considering the structure of

the classroom as T. Students sitting along the horizontal and vertical tails of T are likely to

stay alert during teaching sessions. Hence students in the poor and average category of

listening should be made as possible be placed along the horizontal bar (tail) of T, whereas

those in good category of listening should be placed in the vertical tail of T while the

active listeners are to be placed in the pockets

In addition studies should be conducted by other researchers to determine other predicting

variables as our tool could only account for 85% prediction variables and also using a more

heterogeneous sample.

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An Assessment of Listening Abilities of MBA Students

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