Technical writing instructors generally agree about the absolute need for communication skills throughout the technological work place, but a survey of technical writing journal articles shows a lack of focus on ways to address business's needs for on-the-job literacy. One major advance within the profession in recent years has been the development of university programs to prepare students for careers as technical communicators. Programs build from a basic technical writing course that usually follows one or two courses in fundamentals of English grammar and composition. The broader interdisciplinary field of technical communication stresses collaborative writing assignments, the entire technical publication process, and the incorporation of oral or visual communication components. The foundation of a technical communication program is still the introductory class in technical writing or report writing, often required by various technical and scientific disciplines as part of their degree programs, and the only opportunity writing instructors have to improve the skills of the nonmajors. Some professionals argue that English departments should work with industry to plan "specialized practical writing courses," while others argue that discrete courses in business writing or other kinds of professional writing are outmoded. Basic technical writing courses should emphasize those common rhetorical principles that underlie the design and development of all writing. Meanwhile, a new response to the serious literacy problem across the country is gaining attention: American business taking on the responsibility for literacy, with the corporate school becoming almost as extensive as the traditional university system. (Twenty endnotes are appended.) (NKA)