Reliability of Communication Competence: Exploratory Factor Analysis

Unemployment issue has been deliberately discussed in various studies and communication skills have been identified as one of its determinants. This study investigated the constructs of broader aspect of communication skills which was communication competence. In measuring the communication competence, the researchers used a combination of two instruments named "Interpersonal Communication Competence" and "Intercultural Sensitivity Scale" as a tool to measure the communication competence among university students in the Klang Valley. The integration of "culture" dimension was seemingly appropriate for Malaysia settings, which comprised of multiple races and religions. Results from preliminary analyses revealed that communication competence scale had good internal consistency. Findings from exploratory factor analysis indicated that the instrument used in this study met the standards of reliability analysis though there were reconstruction in the instrument in terms of items deletion and dimensions diversion. Exploratory factor analysis suggested that there were five dimensions of communication competence which comprised of Cultural interaction, Cultural tolerance, Knowledge, Passive communication skills and Active communication skills. This has in fact, improvised the original instrument which encompassed of only four dimensions with Knowledge, Motivation, Skills and Culture.