arbiter
JournalsPricingAccount

A comparative study of hiring managers’ expectations and undergraduates’ challenges in oral presentation competence

Nadia Anuar et al.

Higher Education, Skills and Work-based Learning2026https://doi.org/10.1108/heswbl-09-2025-0395article
AJG 1ABDC C
Weight
0.50

What the paper says

Purpose This study aims to explore and compare the extent to which undergraduates’ perceived challenges in oral presentations align with the expectations of hiring managers in workplace communication settings. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative exploratory approach was used, combining semi-structured interviews with 4 hiring managers across banking and corporate sectors and open-ended responses from 112 final-year undergraduates from a Malaysian public university. Thematic analysis was applied to examine how oral presentation competence is experienced by students and evaluated by hiring managers. Findings Thematic analysis revealed a clear mismatch: while hiring managers prioritised clarity, confident delivery and audience engagement, undergraduates were preoccupied with linguistic accuracy and error avoidance. Notably, language proficiency was only cited as a barrier by students, which suggests different conceptualisations of presentation competence. Originality/value This study offers a theory-informed, comparative analysis of oral presentation competence from the perspectives of undergraduates and hiring managers in Malaysia. It explains how differences in how presentation competence is understood, experienced and evaluated contribute to the persistence of this gap in oral presentation contexts.

Open paper page →

Cite this paper

https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1108/heswbl-09-2025-0395

Or copy a formatted citation

@article{nadia2026,
  title        = {{A comparative study of hiring managers’ expectations and undergraduates’ challenges in oral presentation competence}},
  author       = {Nadia Anuar et al.},
  journal      = {Higher Education, Skills and Work-based Learning},
  year         = {2026},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1108/heswbl-09-2025-0395},
}

Paste directly into BibTeX, Zotero, or your reference manager.

Flag this paper

A comparative study of hiring managers’ expectations and undergraduates’ challenges in oral presentation competence

Flags are reviewed by the Arbiter methodology team within 5 business days.

Evidence weight

0.50

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20
M · momentum0.50 × 0.15 = 0.07
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.