The role of problem-based learning in developing communication conflict resolving skills among selected non-government organisations in Pakistan

Communication conflicts among employees of the developing organisations in Pakistan have been one of the major issues over the years. The causes are numerous but the efforts to reduce and resolve these conflicts effectively are found to be rare. The objectives of this case study were to examine the nature of communication conflicts predominant among employees at the workplace, explore the role of culture in communication conflicts, identify the perceptions of employees of in-house training using Problem Based Learning (PBL) approach and finally propose a PBL-based training module for developing conflict resolving skills among employees at the work place in Pakistan. This study adopted a Case Study approach. Using purposeful sampling, it involved forty Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) employees from different parts of Pakistan. The data emerged from three instruments involving semi-structured interviews, surveys and observations to examine the nature of communication conflicts among employees and see the impact of PBL training on the soft skills of respondents. Interview and observation data were transcribed and analysed through thematic analysis while the data from the survey was computed through descriptive statistics using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The findings from this study show the existence of different type of communication conflicts among employees in the developing organisations. The result shows the substantial role of PBL in developing conflict resolving skills and other essential soft skills among employees as a whole. The finding concludes that PBL plays an instrumental and effective role towards improving the various soft skills and traits including among employees of an NGO sector

Exploring the Role of Culture in Communication Conflicts: A Qualitative Study

This research article as a part of larger study intends to explore the role of culture in triggering communication conflicts among employees at the workplace. It also explores the role of Problem-based learning in resolving these culture based conflicts. Being a part of human life, conflict is a pervasive aspect of the socio-cultural and professional environment, especially at the workplace. The role of culture has one of the aspects that have played a pivotal role in initiating conflicts in the past. Using a qualitative research approach, this descriptive phenomenology study gathered data from semi-structured interviews from eighteen selected employees belonging to three development organizations in Pakistan. The research used a purposeful sampling to derive sample for the study. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed through thematic content analysis. The findings from this study reveal that different aspects of culture have a significant role in triggering communication conflicts among employees. The respondents, however, suggested that culture-based conflict could be reduced and tackled effectively through the training of employees on PBL approach which bring together people of diverse cultures on one table

The Problem-Based Learning Approach towards Developing Soft Skills: A Systematic Review

In this paper, we review systematically the role of problem-based learning (PBL) in developing soft skills in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and other fields of studies. The Systematic Literature Review (SLR) includes the most recent empirical, review, and conceptual studies from TVET and other multiple fields of studies including medicine, humanities, and engineering between the years of 2001 and 2016 collected from four databases. A qualitative method was used to accomplish the systematic review. After the collection of articles, the selected studies were analyzed through thematic analysis. From this review, we concluded that PBL as an instructional approach has a significant role in the development of soft skills among students of various disciplines including TVET; empirical evidence is predominantly conclusive in identifying the acquisitions of various soft skills including communication skills, conflict resolution skills, leadership skills, and interpersonal skills, and finally, several factors might influence the relationship of PBL and soft skills such as duration and process of PBL instruction, role of facilitator, and awareness and training of learners. Moreover, there are fewer number of empirical studies on the role and effects of PBL approach to developing soft skills in TVET

Un estudio sobre el uso de combinaciones de palabras en estudiantes de administración

Previous studies have reported lack of collocational competence and difficulties among English as a second language (ESL) learners. However, collocation is crucial in second language acquisition. This research examined the receptive and productive knowledge of collocations among the business students of COMSATS University Islamabad Vehari Campus who studied ESL. It also investigated the gap in the use of collocations at a receptive and productive level. The sample included 61 males and 39 females out of the total sample size of 100. Employing a quantitative approach, we gathered the data through a questionnaire and two collocations tests, and we analysed them via SPSS version 20. The overall result of the collocation test indicated that 66.4% of the respondents had the correct answer at the receptive level compared with only 33.7% at the productive level. Moreover, the statistical result presented a great gap in the ability to utilise collocations at the productive and receptive levels. This result also affirmed that despite their ability to understand the collocations, the students had difficulties in identifying proper English collocations confidently. Local and native language experiences might be one of the reasons that caught the students from being more confident in identifying the English collocations.Previos estudios han informado de la falta de competencia en la ubicación y las dificultades entre los estudiantes de inglés como segunda lengua (ESL). Sin embargo, las combinaciones de palabras son cruciales en la adquisición de un segundo idioma. Esta investigación examinó el conocimiento receptivo y productivo de las combinaciones de palabras entre los estudiantes de administración de la Universidad COMSATS de Islamabad (Campus de Vehari) que estudiaron ESL. También investigó la brecha en el uso de estas combinaciones a nivel receptivo y productivo. La muestra incluyó 61 hombres y 39 mujeres, de un total de 100. Empleando un enfoque cuantitativo, recopilamos los datos mediante un cuestionario y dos pruebas de colocaciones, y los analizamos por medio del programa SPSS versión 20. El resultado general de la prueba de colocación indicó que el 66,4 % de los encuestados tenía la respuesta correcta a nivel receptivo y solo el 33,7 % a nivel productivo. Además, el resultado estadístico presentó una gran brecha en la capacidad de utilizar combinaciones de palabras en los niveles productivo y receptivo. Este resultado también afirmó que, a pesar de su capacidad para comprender las combinaciones de palabras, los estudiantes tenían dificultades para identificar con seguridad (...