A corporate perspective on the general education competencies expected of middle management and technical personnel is provided and responded to in these three papers. First, Rita Meyer presents results from a study conducted by West Virginia Northern Community College to obtain the views of corporate managers on the general education competencies, skills, knowledge, attitudes, and values needed by successful managers and technical personnel. Highlights of the study of 28 managers of firms with more than 300 employees included: (1) the main desired competencies were factual communication skills, cognitive skills, and inquiry skills; (2) ethics/personal integrity and human relations/interpersonal skills were also considered essential competencies for managers; (3) 16 of the 28 respondents felt community colleges should include a greater percentage of general education courses than are currently offered; and (4) 11 respondents cited lack of interpersonal skills as the most common reason for firing an employee. In response to Meyer's presentation, Donald R. Donell argues for a joint business/academic effort in developing general competencies on the part of the entire workforce and explores the advantages of a well-educated labor force; and John Andes urges community colleges to be as concerned with the retention and promotion of their graduates in the work place as with their initial placement and employment. (HB)