Emotional intelligence and organizational performance improvement frameworks

Web-Based Failure Mode and Effect Analysis

In this paper we analyze emotional intelligence (E.I) and its applicability in the workplace. Our aim is to come up with the best framework to be adopted by various organizations in improving and measuring the level of emotional intelligence among the various employees. We present a review of relevant literature regarding the issues of emotional intelligence with a view of deriving a consensus on how effective it can be in improving organizational performance. A recommendation is then presented from a unified view of the entire concept of emotional intelligence at the workplace. Our objective is developing the "best practice" when it comes to emotional intelligence.

Introduction

The idea of Emotional Intelligence (EI) has resulted in increased level of interest in formal view as well as in the scientific domain (Salovey & Mayer, 1990).This has therefore led to a general loss of ground by the earlier concepts such as the use of IQ in testing the level of aptitude (Sternberg, 2002). Several reasons exist to explain the rapid development of emotional intelligence in the professional domain. This is mainly attributed to the ability of the Emotional Intelligence (EI) concept to be used to satisfactorily and appropriately utilized as the main theoretical model in both academic and organizational spheres in the evaluation and formulation of various main tasks (Feldman-Barret & Salovey, 2002).

The developmental model

In order to come up with the best practice for the development of emotional intelligence at the workplace, it is necessary to have a proper understanding of all models of Emotional Intelligence (EI) .We begin with the description of the developmental model which necessary for nurturing of various forms of skills in the workplace. There are various levels of skills to be acquired in the various stages of the developmental model. We have the first level which includes the acquisition of skills by an individual. The skills acquired at this level are necessary for the perception, appraisal as well as expression of one's emotions. The skills acquired allow one to effectively identify their own as well as other person's emotions. The skill set is also fundamental for the discrimination of others' expressions of emotions. The second level involves the process of integrating various forms of emotions and facilitating them. The underlying concept and objective is the facilitation as well as the prioritization of one's style of thinking. This is through appropriate processing of emotions that gets introduced into a person's cognitive system and then subsequently gets recognized and then finally gets labeled. This then leads to the alteration of an individual's thought. The third level entails elements of emotional understanding as well as reasoning. The various emotional signals are comprehended by a person as well as their corresponding implications. The implications include feeling as well as meanings and must be put into consideration. The forth level is involved with the management of the various emotions and has a lot of involvement with how open an individual is to his or her emotions for the benefits of their own intellectual growth and development. This level is the more complex and involves the use of special skills that allow an individual to engage in a selective fashion, the various emotions as well as the monitoring and management of their emotions as well as other's (Mayer et al., 2000).

There is another approach to the concept of Emotional Intelligence (EI) which goes beyond the common and rigid concept of EI. It advocates for the distinction between the various types of EI as ability and one's emotional competencies which are in real sense learned capabilities as pointed out by (Goleman, 2001).

It is important that appropriate EI be attained by various employees so as to ensure the success of every organization. As pointed out by Goleman, it is important to ensure that every executive has a good level of EI as it is considered a major quality in the differentiation successful executives from the unsuccessful ones. This is because studies have generally shown that the less successful executives do have a poor control of their emotions despite having excellent levels of cognitive abilities coupled with exquisite level of technical expertise. It is therefore important to learn that emotional competences are capabilities that are acquired through learning on the basis of EI. The result is an outstanding level of performance in the work environment (Goleman, 2001).

Various forms of conceptual discrepancies do however exist and are a cause of major discontinuity in the areas of EI measurement. It is a fact that there are people who conceptualize the subject of Emotional Intelligence (EI) as comprising of a set of abilities and skills that are emotion-processing in nature (Mayer & Salovey, 1997). This is through an assessment based on the objectivity of the various performance tests. There are however a certain class of individuals who view the concept of EI as made up of certain multiple aspects that are all involved in the proper functioning of an individual Bar-On, 1997; Goleman, 1995).Tis is on the basis of sel-reports and the like. The use of self-reports in the assessment does however come with certain drawbacks such as the low level of reliability as well as low levels of validity. This is because an individual's self-assessment is a reflection of their self-concept as opposed to their actual traits and abilities as pointed out by Mayer et al. (2000).There are however three different forms of measuring EI.These are self reports, ability as well as measures based on observer ratings (Mayer et al., 2000).

Annotated Bibliography

Cobb Casey D. "Emotional Intelligence: what the research says." Education Leadership

58:3. pg.14-18. Nov.2000 10/18/01

This article discusses the concept of emotional intelligence and analyses its approach from the various research databases. The article talks about Daniel Coleman's role in the development of the EI theory which includes two fundamental competences. The first one being personal competence which entails several variables such as self-awareness, motivation, empathy, self-regulation and other forms of personal social skills. In this article two important models of emotional intelligence are discussed. These are the ability as well as the mixed forms of emotional intelligence. There are however several questions that are raised in the process. One of the questions is the reason as to why it is important to include various forms of measurement rests and the nature of reaction that emanated from the public regarding the idea of emotional intelligence. The other question raised in the article regards what the different schools can do regarding the mixed type of emotional intelligence. The article also discusses the development of IQ tests as well as the development and applicability of MSCEIT and MEIS test in the measurement of an individual's emotional intelligence.

Riff Henry B; Hatzes Nanette M. Bramel; Michael H. "Emotional Intelligence and LD in collage students." Journal of Learning Disabilities. 34:1. pg.66-78. Feb 2000. 10/18/01

This article talks about various aspects of emotional intelligence in regard to college student's life and behavior. It discusses LD-leaning disabilities as well as the measurements of emotional intelligence constructs by means of EQ.The article recommends that for students to have good achievements, then they must follow the following skills (social) keenly;

Navigation through an environment which has a complex bureaucracy

Ability to advocate for various requisite recommendations

Ability to effectively overcome the various forms of obstacles while being able to compensate for the various challenges that are presented through tackling of various learning problems.

Ability to manage stress that usually accompanies the various challenges

The paper then presents an experiment conducted by Hatzes in interviewing of a total of 20 adults who all had LD.10 out of the 20 had been previously academically dismissed from university. Through his study he came to realize that emotional intelligence has the following components.

Ability to effectively manage one's emotions

Persistence

Appropriate interpersonal skills

Empathy

A high level of positive reframing

Informative style

Tapia Martha. "The Relationship of the Emotional Intelligence Inventory. "ERIC. Mexico, 1999-11-00 (p21) 10/18/01

In this article, the relationship between emotional intelligence as measured through the techniques of Emotional Intelligence Inventory (EQI).The article discusses the importance of various school ability test like the GPA grade point average and PSAT. The article then concludes by indicating the fact that the use of EQI scores are an indication that there exists a total lack of correlation between the construct of emotional intelligence and the general human intelligence as evaluated by means of PSAT.EQI scores in this article were evaluated on the basis of grouping by ethnicity.

Ellis, Arthur K. Research on Educational Inovations. Larchmont: Eye on Education, 2001. Pgs. 97-99.

In this paper, a short history of Emotional Intelligence is presented that covers a period of a couple of decades ago. This article presents the generally more popular view of Emotional Intelligence as advanced by Daniel Goleman. This covers the five domains as outlined by Coleman. A definition of the five domains is presented as well as the components contained within them.

Rovenger, Judith. "Fostering Emotional Intelligence." School Library Journal. 46:12.2000. 10/6/01.

This article presents an analysis of the role of literature in the development of student's intelligence. The book has the ability to aid students in the identification of their personal feelings by means of various characters and pictures that are fundamental in the development of their self-awareness. The overall result is the ability to manage their emotions through coming in touch with their emotions. The method employed included the teasing of various characters in order to elicit the feeling of empathy in the children. The book is perfect for the development of the five domains of emotional intelligence.

Elias, Maurice J. "Primary Prevention: Educational approaches to enhance social and emotional learning." The Journal of School Health. 70:5.2000. 10/6/01.

This journal is based on Daniel Goleman's description of Emotional Intelligence and its relation to the world of mental health. This journal presents a description of the importance od having good emotional health in the lives of students. It also presents a possible method to be used in including the concept of emotional health in the curriculum as well as a way of implementing this crucial component. It has various examples of how the concept of emotional intelligence can effectively be developed via various programs for the classroom environment.

Pfeiffer, Steven I. "Emotional Intelligence: Popular but Elusive Contrast." Roeper Review. 23:3.Apr 2001. 10/6/01.

This article describes the various different methods of measuring emotional intelligence. The concept if emotional intelligence is presented via the theory advanced by Daniel Goleman. The paper presents a detailed description of each from of emotional intelligence tests as well as their perceived levels of accuracy