Emotional Intelligence, Organizational Behaviors and Concepts - Book Report/Review Example

?Emotional Intelligence Overview of the Book             This book offers the theory that people are often ruled by their emotions, and that emotional intelligence is not necessarily related to intellectual intelligence. According to Goleman (1994), the perfect example of this was a student who was determined to go to Harvard Medical School. This student, despite having a high intellectual IQ, did something that would be considered stupid, in that it jeopardized his entire life – he stabbed his physics teacher, who gave the student an 80 on an exam. And this is really what is important – simply having a high IQ is not a guarantee, by any stretch of the imagination, that one will succeed in life. Goleman (1994) theorizes that having a high IQ accounts for 20% of whether or not a person is a success in their endeavors, which means that there is 80% that is attibuted to other factors. Goleman (1994) therefore singles out the concept of emotional intelligence, which is a greater predictor of success in life. This is whether the individual is able to motivated, control his impulses, regulate his mood and minimize distress, and to hope. This goes for everybody – the children of poor immigrants are much more likely to better themselves if they have certain traits, such as the ability to handle frustration, control emotions and get along with others. On the flip side, a look at valedictorians and salutatorians shows that many of them do not achieve the kind of success that might be expected of them, considering their intellectual capabilities. The truth of the matter is is life is often tumultuous, and how one is able to withstand the turmoil is a better predictor of how one will succeed in life than intellectual IQ is (Goleman, 1994). Applied to Organizational Behaviors and Concepts             The theory of emotional intelligence may be applied to group theory, which his espoused by Bruce Tuckman in 1965. According to this theory, within an organizational group, there are four major processes that the groups go through, including the individual group members. The first is that the group forms, and this is when the group is first introduced and the members of the group are getting to know one another, including one another’s strengths and weaknesses. The next part of the equation is storming, and this is when there is intergroup conflict. The group has formed, everybody had gotten to know everybody else, and it is time for the group to go through the growing process, which occurs before there is any kind of cohesion. Norming comes after storming – this is when the group has gelled a little bit, and the group members settle into more of a groove. They see each other as a part of the group, and there is, overall, a cohesiveness about this group and the group’s intentions and goals. Then comes performing, and this is when the group comes together to work on and complete their task. At this point, everybody is aware of the strengths and weaknesses of everybody else, therefore the group is able to delegate certain projects and there might even be a leader who is elected by this time, either formally or informally (Tuckman and Jensen, 1977). Furthermore, Oemig et al. state that the group members must have an awareness of one another, and information about each other, so that the group can perform at its peak efficiency, because this is the only way that the projects will be delegated to the group members. Civettini (2007) also notes that if the group members are similar to one another, then the task efficiency is heightened, as this similarity means that there is less conflict, and, if the group members are similar, then they can think more alike one another, and this, too, increases task efficiency.             The functioning of the group is also contingent upon emotional factors. As Rothwell et al. (2008) notes, group emotions, which are more or less predictable, forms the basis for group functioning and cohesiveness. Infact, the group’s emotional culture, which is based upon the individuals’ fears, fantasies and anxieties, is a strong predictor for how that group will function as a unit. Therefore, the work group may be looked at as not only a work group, but also an emotional group, and there are discrete emotional groups which are subsumed by the work groups, for the most part (Rothwell et al., 2008).             Therefore, since there is such a strong emotional component for how well groups may function, the concept of emotional intelligence is extremely important in determining the efficacy of a given group. And, one of the concepts in the book is especially pertinent to these concerns, and thas the concept of empathy. If the group members are empathetic to one another’s feelings and emotions, it stands to reason that this group will have an easier time being cohesive and functioning, then if the group is comprised of people who do not empathize with one another. And it seems that much of what Goleman (1994) notes, on the subject of empathy, is based upon sound research. For instance, the researchers VanHeule et al. (2007) note that people with alexithymia have difficult identifying feelings, describing feelings and their thinking is externally oriented. This would mean that they would be incapable of introspection.This describes the lack of empathy that was seen in the surgeon Gary, who Goleman (1994) alludes to in the opening paragraph of this particular chapter.             Goleman (1994) further goes into more detail about the neurology of empathy. Specifically, he noted that there were patients who had lesions in their right frontal lobes who were missing empathy. There were also patients who had issue with the right hemisphere of their brains having similar deficits. Other researchers point to the amygdala and its connections in how empathetic people are to one another. Carr et al. (2003) state that they, too, had studied the neural mechanisms of empathy in humans, and they state that it is the limbic system which is crucial for emotional processing and behavior, and they also look at the frontal parietal lobes in context of action representation. These researchers looked at empathy in terms of imitating others, and observing and imitating facial expressions. What this suggests is that, at least with respect to the emotions which are at the heart of empathy, it is the limbic system which is most involved in the emotions. The frontal parietal lobes is more involved with the imitation of others, but this does not suggest empathetic emotions so much as it suggests that people can imitate being empathetic. Therefore, the study conducted by Carr et al. (2003), suggests that the right frontal lobes, which is responsible for missing empathy, is more responsible for missing the ability to imitate others, which isn’t true empathy. This might explain why the people with problems and deficits in their frontal lobes do not seem to be empathetic – in short, they cannot fake empathy as others might be able to. But, for true emotions, one has to look to the limbic system. Practical Value of the Book             The practical value of the book is related to the research regarding group behavior, which is listed above. Since the ability to be in tune with the emotions of groups, and this would extend to larger groups as well, which might mean that it would extend to the entire workplace as a whole, is paramount in succeeding in business, it would certainly come in handy to learn how to process emotions of others and to be empathetic to others. I feel that I would be able to relate better with others if I developed this more. Further, it seems that there are other lessons in the book that would come in handy with my everyday life, as well as in my career. For instance, having sound emotional intelligence will dictate whether I could perservere, even in the face of setbacks, or if I just give up. The ability to do this is key to being successful, because one only becomes successful if one does not give up. If one gives up because of a setback or two, then this person will not experience success. Having  a level head about challenges is key, as is the ability to be optimistic about life and career. Also, one has to learn to get along with others if one is to succeed in life, and this, too, depends upon emotional intelligence. Conclusion Because the book was interesting, easy to read, and filled with great examples, I would definitely recommend this book to others. More importantly, it introduces the concept that one has to have all kind of skills to make it in life, and intelligence is perhaps the least of these skills. One has to have the ability to get along with others, to have empathy with others, and to control their own emotions. They also have to have the ability to not get down on themselves, and be able to pick themselves up after a setback. This is what the book does, and it shows people how to handle themselves emotionally. Moreover, it also gives good advice on raising children, and how to not raise bullies and violent kids in today's world. Perhaps the book could have had more practical advice, and this was the one thing that was lacking. In all, though, I found the book a sound one, and one that I could apply to my daily life. References Carr, L., Iacoboni, M., Dubeau, M. C., Mazziotta, J. C., & Lenzi, G. L. (2003). Neural mechanisms of empathy in humans: a relay from neural systems for imitation to limbic areas. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 100(9), 5497-5502.   Civettini, N. (2007). Similarity and group performance. Social Psychology Quarterly 70(3): 262-271.   Oemig, C. & Gross, T. Shifts in significance: How group dynamics improves group awareness. Retrieved from; http://cml.medien.uni-weimar.de/~gross/publ/mc07 _oemig_gross_group_dynamics.pdf Rothwell, E.W. (2008). The emotional dynamics of a group during a challenge course exercise. Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning 8(2): 113-131. Tuckman, B. & Jensen, M. (1976). Stages of small-group development revisited. Group and Organization Studies: 419-430.     Vanheule, S., Desmet, M., Verhaeghe, P., & Bogaerts, S. (2007). Alexithymic depression: Evidence for a depression subtype?. Psychotherapy and psychosomatics, 76(5), 315-316.     Read More