Skills Needed in the Workplace : A Comparison of the Results of Feedback from Representatives of Large and Small Businesses in New Jersey

The purpose of this research is to determine what skills small and large business representatives in New Jersey believe are important for the workplace. There were 120 small businesses and 71 large businesses representatives surveyed. Written communication skills, adapting to change and being flexible, sales presentation experience, networking, and enthusiasm were the top skills identified by respondents from small businesses as important or very important. Attitude/professionalism; work ethic; ethical understanding; respecting and valuing diversity; interpersonal skills; enthusiasm; teamwork skills and adapting to change and being flexible were the top skills identified by large business respondents as important or very important. There were a significantly greater percentage of respondents from mid to large size businesses rating the following skills as important or very important – attitude/professionalism (p<0.01); work ethic (p<0.01); adapting to change/flexibility (p<0.05); respecting and valuing diversity (p<0.01); ethical understanding(p<0.01); enthusiasm (p<0.10); interpersonal skills (p<0.05); teamwork (p<0.05) locating, organizing, and evaluating relevant information (p<0.05); thinking creatively to solve problems (p<0.10); managing time (p<0.10); and speaking/oral communication skills (p<0.10). There were a significantly greater percentage of respondents from small businesses rating networking (p<0.01), knowledge of global issues/international policy (p<0.01), and sales experience as important (p<0.01) or very important than respondents from mid to large size businesses. The authors conclude that the differences in ratings of the skills valued by small and large businesses are due to the traits of an entrepreneur and structure required of the human resources of a large business