Correlating graduate marketability dimensions with the measurements of university-student relationship

Abstract

Organization has always placed emphasis on the publics who would determine its life span. In the context of higher education institution, graduates are the main public whereby their marketability is the key measurement of a university's effort in the human resources development. Hon & Grunig (1999) identify two types of organizational relationship from public perspectives. The communal relationship is said to focus more on the surrounding and balance effect whilst exchange relationship is more inclined towards organizational self interest from the viewpoint of the public. From a different perspective on these two types of relationship, what exactly is the correlation between the student's soft skills as claimed to be the determinant of their future employability after graduation? This problem has definitely tapped the interest of researchers to conduct an empirical study in order to examine the views of a university's final-year undergraduates regarding the relationship of university-student and relate it to the seven dimensions of soft skills, namely communication skills, critical and problem solving skills, teamwork skills, continuous learning and information management skills, entrepreneurship skills, professional moral and ethics as well as leadership skills. Perceptions from 115 students were studied through face-to-face survey method. Communal relationship was proven relationally positive with communication skills, critical and problem solving skills, teamwork skills, continuous learning and information management skills, and entrepreneurship skills while exchange relationship was inversely related with professional moral and ethics.