Emotional Quotient Inventory and Work Capacity - Essay Example

Emotional Intelligence Name Student Number Institution Course Code Instructor Date Critical Review of Emotional Intelligence Emotional intelligence is referred to as having the capability to tell apart various feelings or sentiments, to access, as well as initiate emotions within oneself crucial for thinking purposes (Mayer and Salovey). It also entails comprehending emotions and its knowledge and reflectively controlling emotions that improves emotional and intellectual growth. Intelligence is a critical concept that means the ability to learn or comprehend and cope with upcoming issues in life. Further, it is the cognitive abilities depicted by a person to learn from experience, reason well, and cope effectively with daily life demands (Robbins and Judge, 2009). In context, emotional intelligence (EI) has something to offer; nevertheless, its popularity has resulted in it being used and assessed without sufficient empirical support. For purposes of certainty and making sense to the phenomenon, critical evaluations of the source of the idea, as well as moving ahead from there should be carried out (O’Boyle et al., 2011). There is the need for more research with respect to developing a more research based idea pertaining to this aspect, rather than dwelling on what is popular. To critically support this stand on emotional intelligence, this study reviews the strengths and weaknesses presented by the initial studies of emotional Intelligence as per the Bar-On emotional quotient inventory concept. Consequently describe EI as depicted by Goleman’s Emotional Competence Inventory (ECI), as well as Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence test referred as MSCEIT. Salovey and Mayer were the pioneer scholars of the concept of emotional intelligence and the concept has since acquired tremendous popularity among other scholars and researchers (Merkowitz and Earnest, 2006). This prompted Daniel Goleman to carry out research on the notion and came up with more analysis of EI building more populace on the notion. The current dispensation is characterised by a lack of clarity due to the general understanding of EI being promoted by the popularity context. Reuven Bar-On further came up with the term emotion quotient, where emotional intelligence was described as an arrangement of non-cognitive abilities, skills and competences that persuade the ability of an individual to cope successively with the stress and demands within their environment (Bar-On, 1997). Emotional intelligence influence towards popular culture, as well as the academic community, has been swift and prevalent. Amid the fact there has been various research studies arising from this aspect, coupled with research initiatives spanning diverse domains in psychology, the speed in which EI has evolved has brought about a discontinuity (Koman and Wolff, 2008). There exists a gap in regard to what is already known and what is not known prompting the need for extensive and focused studies. In context, the prevailing situation is characterised by various debates aimed at understanding, as well as applying effectively the principles that are associated with EI. The concept of emotional intelligence was developed by Mayer and Salovey in 1990 and popularised by Goleman (1995a). EI like general intelligence develops within an individual from birth and continuously evolves with maturity. The normal development of emotions results in a healthy life with high emotional quotient (Arnold et al., 2005). Nevertheless, high echelon of variation in the respect to the level of emotions of a person damages their individual life. Emotional Quotient (EQ) refers to the level of emotion in an individual and is obtained through emotional intelligence tests (Bar-On, 1997). This is similar to the tests carried out to assess the Intelligence Quotient (IQ) of a person. EQ determines one’s success in the professional world in conjunction with the IQ. For example, having high emotional quotient among healthcare workers would mean identifying and establishing their own emotions as well as those of the patients by facial observation, tone of voice or body language (Koman and Wolff, 2008). Thus, some individuals within certain professions are expected to possess high emotional quotient for purposes of working effectively. The MSCEIT is an ability-based evaluation that is created to assess the four branches that constitute the model of emotional intelligence proposed by Mayer, Salovey Caruso (2002). EI as a concept has been deemed distinct in respect to the traditional IQ and finds relevance in various real-life outcomes. As per Goleman’s research, IQ and EI are two distinct aspects existing independently from each other with respect to personality of a given person (Goleman, 1995a). The development of MSCEIT emanated from an intelligence testing tradition that was created by upcoming scientists with their understanding of emotions and their functions (Mayer, Salovey and Caruso, 2002). This can be traced from the first published ability to measure specifically with the intention of assessing EI which was termed as Multifactor Emotional Intelligence Scale. Emotional intelligence exists within four branches which uniquely identifies the concept and involves, Perceiving Emotion; Facilitating Thought; Understanding Emotion and Managing Emotion. The first one involves the ability to distinguish emotions within an individual and those around, as well as other aspects involving stories, art, music objects and other stimuli (Merkowitz and Earnest, 2006). The second branch involves the ability to come up with, use and feel emotion in order to communicate one’s feelings or utilise them for other cognitive means. The third branch involves having the capability to understand emotional information, comprehend the manner in which emotions come together and the improvement in respect to relationship transitions, as well as to value such emotional connotations (Koman and Wolff, 2008). The last branch of emotional intelligence involves having the ability to open up regarding to inner feelings, as well as coping with them and with those of others in order to improve one’s understanding and growth (Mayer, Salovey & Caruso, 2002). The model by Goleman revolves around emotional competencies which involve a combination of crucial skills and competencies within an organisational context that enhances organisational management and performance (Goleman, 1995a). Goleman emphasises on the aspect of emotional intelligence (EI) that it plays a critical role in determining the success of individuals. It offers critical competitive edge in the workplace with individuals who manage their own emotions termed as intrapersonal intelligence, as well as that of others referred to interpersonal intelligence have a higher advantage with respect to any life domain (Merkowitz and Earnest, 2006). From this, it is evident that EI is not necessarily an aspect one can acquaint or acquire holistically, rather individuals can learn the emotional competencies necessary for their tasks or work in the convenient or the right environment. This would result in developing the right emotional competencies which are crucial for professional performance and consequently enhance one’s skills and experiences (Koman and Wolff, 2008). From a critical point of view, the aspect of emotional intelligence as depicted by Goleman indicates that it determines the potential of an individual to learn the practical aspect based on self-awareness, motivation, self-regulation, expertise and empathy within a relationship (Goleman, 1995b). With the popularity of EI, there is a need for concerted efforts to ensure that the original concepts brought about by the earliest scholars are adhered to and effectively utilised. In context, the concept of emotional intelligence is crucial for purposes of leadership and teamwork to achieve effectiveness (Koman and Wolff, 2008). Thereby, to critically address the aspect of effective leadership and teamwork within an organisation, understanding the various perspectives and tenets of EI is imperative. This will result in critical consideration and incorporation of the necessary aspects of effective leadership and teamwork. The ability to exercise clear and sound judgement in given situations relating to work and professional exercises (O’Boyle et al., 2011), emotional intelligence greatly contributes in this context. It involves the ability to manage and control one’s impulses, cope with change in the working environment, solve arising challenges and effectively communicate with colleagues, as well as other subjects within the line of duty (Koman and Wolff, 2008). Emotional intelligence also contributes greatly towards making humour out of tensed circumstances and thereby creating an effective surrounding for discussion and deliberation. Nevertheless, failure to comprehend emotional intelligence in its effective context, individuals perceive the aspect as a mere parameter for determining competence rather than a process that can be developed within one’s engagements and practices (Robbins and Judge, 2009). As earlier indicated, employees with higher emotional quotient tend to relate effectively to clients or subjects being attended to by their practices. The effectiveness attached to emotional intelligence surpasses the general context of popularity and prominence to surround the individuality aspect critically in creating and developing effective tenets for personal and organisational growth (Arnold et al., 2005). Thus, it is imperative to state that the aspect of EI has a crucial role to play within an organisational structure by effectively identifying better performing and poor performing workers. The model by Bar-On clearly outlines the emotional, social intelligence (ESI) with critical tenets of psychological aspects (Bar-On, 1997). In this perspective, EI is brought out as the aspect that involves effective understanding of other people in the surrounding including oneself, as well as being able to correlate effectively, while at the same time coming up with the ability to cope with dynamics occurring within the environment. Bar-On (1997) indicates that emotional intelligence is developed with time and enhanced through training and programming process. This is a clear indication that emotional intelligence is an on-going process that requires a foundational aspect and then, growth and development driven forward through effective management and guidance (O’Boyle et al., 2011). The general life aspect presents various challenges where an individual is never free from encountering hindrances. Success is very elusive and human beings put more efforts to pursue and achieve it in their daily endeavours. In this context, emotional intelligence plays a critical role with respect to overcoming the life barriers whether perceptual or real life encounters (Robbins and Judge, 2009). Lack of effective emotional intelligence results into emotional problems in the life of the subject and has a direct inclination with negative results in the life of the individual at hand. Generally, the potential to succeed in life is termed by Bar-On as fundamentally being enhanced by both cognitive and emotional intelligence (Bar-On, 1997). Effective emotional intelligence should be developed and maintained to have a positive impact on the life of a given person. According to O’Boyle et al. (2011), research and development are critical in respect to developing standards and parameters to achieve necessary standards of EI levels. The validity of emotional intelligence should be predicted in research studies and consequently examined at another level of EI in a different setting. This is in regard to the fact that individuals within various working set-ups or life situations will present diverse emotional skills and competencies (Koman and Wolff, 2008). Daily life involves interactions with diversified individuals presenting various life aspects. Consequently, the interactions impact on the individual emotions and thus, it calls for identification and dealing with the emotions to impact positively on daily life issues (Merkowitz and Earnest, 2006). Nevertheless, this cannot be achieved from a popularity point of view or from an aspect of the general overview; there is a need for critical considerations pertaining to the exact trends that favour the specific emotional aspects. Effective understanding of oneself promotes emotional intelligence; consequently, understanding the foundational concepts surrounding emotional intelligence enhances embracing of effective aspects of EI in life (Arnold et al., 2005). Creating tests for emotional intelligence without having critical considerations of the specific environmental aspects that favour or affect cognitive and behavioural aspects of an individual cannot reflect competitive EI. Thus, to effectively recognise and establish emotional competence, the attributes of the life of the person, working condition and societal considerations comes into play (Koman and Wolff, 2008). It is also worth noting that since emotional intelligence involves interaction with others, organisation settings can enhance emotional intelligence of individuals within the structure. This is by ensuring that all subjects in it motivate and enhance each other towards effective performance and achieving the best (Robbins and Judge, 2009). Generally, emotions are part of the management system crucial to the co-ordination of each and every individual’s diversified plans and goals with constraints of time, as well as other relevant resources. Since the initial development of emotional intelligence as a field, various organisations have embraced the concept and resulted in incorporating it into its human capital functions (O’Boyle et al., 2011). The need for having effective workers involves managing skills and competencies effectively. Emotional intelligence, as depicted by Bar-On, involves the social aspect of interacting with others and subsequently impacts directly on the overall outcome (Bar-On, 1997). Skills and personalities within organisational structures, societal settings and general life situations have involved assessment of emotional quotient competence. Nevertheless, the need for specific emotional competencies is determined by the relevant issues and aspects surrounding the individuals. Organisations impart the aspect of emotional intelligence to improve on its workers skills which incorporate industry knowledge, technical expertise and education (Arnold et al., 2005). Through effective interaction, research and developments are created within the organisational setting resulting to individuals coping with each other and impacting their competencies towards higher achievements. Organisations and societies have the responsibility of ensuring delving deeper into the aspect of emotional intelligence, as well as develop and adopt effective procedures of measurement (Koman and Wolff, 2008). These are measurement procedures that would give a platform to identify and develop competent employees with respect to emotional intelligence as part of training and development. Emotional intelligence has the pivotal role of enhancing competency skills for effectiveness management (O’Boyle et al., 2011). Nevertheless, to effectively realise the level of required skills and experiences, human resource officials have the duty of effectively establishing scientific research studies to determine legitimate ability pertaining to EI within their organisational settings. According to Merkowitz and Earnest (2006), the inclusion of emotional intelligence within training and development of leaders within an organisation would effectively result in positive outcomes for the improvement of individual employees for societal and personal development aspect. Effective utilisation of emotions results to tackling sensitive tasks and consequently perfecting certain roles (Koman and Wolff, 2008). The aspect of understanding emotions may involve categorising emotional impacts pertaining to target audience, whether is the customer base or colleagues within a working set-up. Finally, management of emotions may involve knowing how to lead others effectively through encouraging achieving of desired emotional reactions associated with target goals (O’Boyle et al., 2011). In conclusion, amid the fact that emotional intelligence is generally based on popularity perspective, there is a need for foundational aspects to be put in place with respect to the individual setting. This is a field that calls for greater emphasis and more research studies towards effectively addressing decisive and specific tenets that surround the specific parameters of emotional intelligence. The concepts brought about by Mayer and Salover (1990), Goleman (1995) and Bar-On (1997) provides effective perspectives where individuals can acquire basics towards creating high performing emotional intelligence in any given settings. In the organisational context, having highly emotionally intelligent workers would result in being a great asset in human resources and impact positively both to the organisational performance, as well as the community. The community involves colleagues and customers that workers interact with due to the aspect depicted by Bar-On on emotional intelligence having a social influence through interaction. In this context, there is a need for more emphasis towards detailed research studies on emotional intelligence, its evaluation and assessment, as well as specific environmental settings that it can effective present for purposes of effective performance. References Arnold, J., Silvester, J., Patterson, F., Robertson, I., Cooper, C. and Burnes, B. (2005). Work psychology: Understanding human behaviour in the workplace. 4th ed. Essex: Pearson Education Ltd. Bar-On, R. (1997). The emotional Quotient Inventory (EQ-i): A test of emotional intelligence. Toronto: Multi-Health Systems, Inc. Goleman, D. (1995a). Emotional intelligence: Why it can matter more than IQ. New York: Bantam Books. Goleman, D. (1995b). Working with emotional intelligence. New York: Bantam Books. Koman, E.S. and Wolff, S.B. (2008). Emotional intelligence competencies in the team and team leader: A multi-level examination of the impact of emotional intelligence on team performance. Journal of Management Development. 27(1): 55-75. Mayer, J.D. and Salovey, P. (1990). Emotional intelligence. Imagination, Cognition, and Personality. 9: 185-211. Mayer, J.D. and Salovey, P. (1997). What is emotional intelligence? In P. Salovey and d. Sluyter (Eds) Emotional development and emotional intelligence: Implications for educators. New York: Basic Books. Mayer, J.D., Salovey, P. and Caruso, D.R. (2002). Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT). Toronto: Multi-Health Systems, Inc. Merkowitz, R.F. and Earnest, G.W. (2006). Emotional intelligence: A pathway to self- understanding and improved leadership capacities. Journal of Extension. 44(4). O’Boyle, Jr. E.H., Humphrey, R.H., Pollack. J.M., Hawver, T.H. and Story, P.A. (2011). The relation between emotional intelligence and job performance: A meta analysis. Journal of Organisational Behaviour. 32(5): 788-818. Robbins, S.P. and Judge, T.A. (2009). Organisational behaviour. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Read More

The concept of emotional intelligence was developed by Mayer and Salovey in 1990 and popularised by Goleman (1995a). EI like general intelligence develops within an individual from birth and continuously evolves with maturity. The normal development of emotions results in a healthy life with high emotional quotient (Arnold et al., 2005). Nevertheless, high echelon of variation in the respect to the level of emotions of a person damages their individual life. Emotional Quotient (EQ) refers to the level of emotion in an individual and is obtained through emotional intelligence tests (Bar-On, 1997).

This is similar to the tests carried out to assess the Intelligence Quotient (IQ) of a person. EQ determines one’s success in the professional world in conjunction with the IQ. For example, having high emotional quotient among healthcare workers would mean identifying and establishing their own emotions as well as those of the patients by facial observation, tone of voice or body language (Koman and Wolff, 2008). Thus, some individuals within certain professions are expected to possess high emotional quotient for purposes of working effectively.

The MSCEIT is an ability-based evaluation that is created to assess the four branches that constitute the model of emotional intelligence proposed by Mayer, Salovey Caruso (2002). EI as a concept has been deemed distinct in respect to the traditional IQ and finds relevance in various real-life outcomes. As per Goleman’s research, IQ and EI are two distinct aspects existing independently from each other with respect to personality of a given person (Goleman, 1995a). The development of MSCEIT emanated from an intelligence testing tradition that was created by upcoming scientists with their understanding of emotions and their functions (Mayer, Salovey and Caruso, 2002).

This can be traced from the first published ability to measure specifically with the intention of assessing EI which was termed as Multifactor Emotional Intelligence Scale. Emotional intelligence exists within four branches which uniquely identifies the concept and involves, Perceiving Emotion; Facilitating Thought; Understanding Emotion and Managing Emotion. The first one involves the ability to distinguish emotions within an individual and those around, as well as other aspects involving stories, art, music objects and other stimuli (Merkowitz and Earnest, 2006).

The second branch involves the ability to come up with, use and feel emotion in order to communicate one’s feelings or utilise them for other cognitive means. The third branch involves having the capability to understand emotional information, comprehend the manner in which emotions come together and the improvement in respect to relationship transitions, as well as to value such emotional connotations (Koman and Wolff, 2008). The last branch of emotional intelligence involves having the ability to open up regarding to inner feelings, as well as coping with them and with those of others in order to improve one’s understanding and growth (Mayer, Salovey & Caruso, 2002).

The model by Goleman revolves around emotional competencies which involve a combination of crucial skills and competencies within an organisational context that enhances organisational management and performance (Goleman, 1995a). Goleman emphasises on the aspect of emotional intelligence (EI) that it plays a critical role in determining the success of individuals. It offers critical competitive edge in the workplace with individuals who manage their own emotions termed as intrapersonal intelligence, as well as that of others referred to interpersonal intelligence have a higher advantage with respect to any life domain (Merkowitz and Earnest, 2006).

From this, it is evident that EI is not necessarily an aspect one can acquaint or acquire holistically, rather individuals can learn the emotional competencies necessary for their tasks or work in the convenient or the right environment. This would result in developing the right emotional competencies which are crucial for professional performance and consequently enhance one’s skills and experiences (Koman and Wolff, 2008).

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