Organisation business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Organisation business - Essay Example Emotional intelligence is largely promoted and touted to be the key to success in contemporary times, since it is all about retaining balance of self and reacting intelligently rather than emotionally, to any given situation at the work place. The power of emotional intelligence and its impact on employees’ work performance has been discussed and widely debated over the years (Homans, 1950; Rothlisberger & Dickson, 1939). However the relationship between the two has been recognized and acknowledged by researchers and organizations alike, only recently (Ashkanasy, Zerbe & Hartel, 2005). It has often been observed that not all employees are equally skilled at team work, and successful in leading or dealing with other employees. The concept of emotional intelligence can be used by managers, to unravel the mystery behind the failure of apparently intelligent employees with great credentials and strong academic and cognitive skills to perform at work (Murphy, 2006). It has been est ablished through various research that there is a direct relationship between emotional intelligence and the failure of employees at managerial positions to perform adequately at work (Lombardo, Ruderman, & McCauley, 1988, 199-216). The interest and literature on the concept of emotional intelligence is growing, with fair amount of evidence about its impact on job performance. The same can be utilized by the management while hiring, so that the right kind of employees with higher emotional intelligence can be hired for managerial positions. Although there is mounting evidence regarding the significance and relevance of ‘emotional intelligence’ on employees’ job performance, there are fair amount of criticisms of the concept, as well (Matthews, Zeidner, & Roberts, 2002; Landy, 2005, 411-424; Locke, 2005, 425-431). The same has been discussed in the subsequent sections. Definitions of emotional intelligence: According to Wharam (2009, 11), Emotional Intelligence is : â€Å"The potential to be aware of and use one's own emotions in communication with oneself and others and to manage and motivate oneself and others through understanding emotions† According to Jones (2006, 412) Emotional Intelligence entails the use of insight and balance of self, in decision making. It helps individuals in attending to problems or critical organizations situations an intelligent way; establish and improve better contacts and relationships within the organizations; help in motivating people around them skill-fully; manage themselves effectively in stressful situations by staying calm and focused and create positive emotions such as hope and compassion while dealing in stressful environment, thus encouraging people to develop a positive vision and attitudes. According to Salovey et al., (2004, 31): Emotional intelligence refers to "the ability to perceive emotions, to access and generate emotions so as to assist thought, to understand emotions and emotional knowledge, and to reflectively regulate emotions so as to promote emotional and intellectual growth". The key characteristics of Emotional intelligence as observed from the above definitions include: awareness of self; ability to manage and control one's emotions; the ability to use such self-control and direct it towards attainment of organizational goals; identify the emotions of other employees at work and motivate them - alternatively