MN3041QA - Literature Review: Emotional Intelligence & Business

This literature review examines the concept and significance of emotional intelligence (EI) in a business context, drawing on various academic sources. The review defines EI as the ability to manage and understand emotions effectively, emphasizing its importance for self-management, self and social awareness, and relationship management. It explores how EI impacts decision-making, workplace relationships, and overall well-being, highlighting the potential for both positive and negative effects. The review synthesizes perspectives from various researchers, including Goleman, emphasizing the need for EI training programs in contemporary organizations. It concludes that EI is crucial for making accurate decisions, fostering professional success, and navigating the complexities of diverse teams, recommending its equal prioritization alongside cognitive intelligence. The review suggests promoting cross-cultural teamwork training and regular evaluation of emotional well-being to enhance EI and improve productivity. The document concludes by emphasizing the importance of emotional intelligence for personal and professional development.

Literature Review: -
Development for
Success in Business
(MN3041QA)
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
LITERAUTRE REVIEW................................................................................................................3
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................5
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................6
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INTRODUCTION
Emotional intelligence is referred as the capacity to have efficient management of emotions
using skills such as motivation, empathy, social and self-awareness and self-regulation (Di Fabio
and Saklofske, 2018). The emotional characteristics of workforce are becoming a topic of great
importance for human resource management because it encourages more flexible and productive
environment along with the improved work place collaboration. The trend of increasing
emotional intelligence not only affect the personal development but can also have devastating
impact on workplace if not managed appropriately.
With increasing and changing professional or business trends people are paying more
emphasis on psychological health which is vital for wellbeing of individual at all personal,
professional as well as social levels (Rezvani, Khosravi and Ashkanasy, 2018). The skill helps in
understanding the diversity and relationship management with others so that even under complex
or pressure situations one can remain stable and productive. This literature review provides a
critical evaluation of the concept and significance of emotional intelligence through available
literature sources. It also analyses the future needs and methods for improving emotional
intelligence.
LITERAUTRE REVIEW
According to MacCann and et.al., (2020) emotional intelligence or emotional quotient is
defined as the ability of an individual to manage and understand their own emotions in
productive and positive way. It is imperative to manage the emotional swings so that one can
empathise and communicate effectively with others and can overcome the conflicts, stress and
other challenges. O'Connor and et.al., (2019) stated that emotional intelligence is essential for
building strong relationships at workplace as well as in personal life. The lack of this personality
aspect can result in uninformed decisions which can have serious implications. Individuals with
good emotional balance used to make balance decisions with compassion because they
understand that for improved decision making and productivity one must have empathy and self-
regulation. This can be achieved only when physical as well as psychological wellbeing is not
threatened by frequently and rapidly changing emotions.
As per the view of Kotsou and et.al., (2019) emotional intelligence is characterized by
four perspectives. The first perspective is self-management. If individuals are able to control
their emotions in positive way, then they can avoid the impulsive behaviour with better
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adaptation of changing circumstances. Another perspective includes self and social awareness.
With impressive self-awareness people or leaders are able to recognise their own emotions and
its impact on their behaviour. Thus with understanding of this aspect one can evaluate its
strengths and improvement areas for developing self-confidence. Mattingly and Kraiger, (2019)
elucidated social perspective as third aspect of emotional quotient. In the previous researches
author emphasised that for leaders it is important for leaders to have emotional quotient because
it allows them to understand the concerns, needs and emotional of other people. The
understanding helps to recognise motivational and power dynamics suitable for the professional
environment.
The lack of emotional connectivity can influence the fourth aspect of emotional intelligence
which is relationship management. If individuals are not able to make emotional bonds, then they
may not have long term professional relationships. According to Goleman, (2021)
communication and understanding gaps can cause conflicts and poor collaboration which
deteriorate professional relations. Contrary to this Goleman and Boyatzis, (2017) emphasised his
work on individual performance due to emotional intelligence. It is stated that emotional aspect
can have major impact on physical as well as mental health of individuals. Uncontrollable
emotions can weaken the immune system and other health complications along with
psychological disorders. Thus author argues to have more future research in this area so that
individual productivity and professional outcomes can be improved using methods to build
emotional intelligence.
Drigas and Papoutsi, (2018) argued that contemporary business organisations must seek
research relate to development of emotional intelligence through training programs. It will help
to build a work force which is mature enough to have emotional understanding for better
outcomes and processes. However, Hodzic and et.al., (2018) also consider that emotional
intelligence must be developed in controlled way otherwise people can use emotional
understanding of others to take unfair advantages. The emotional quotient is greatly beneficial
for the individuals as they can tackle their emotions so that they do not make any unfair
decisions. It becomes particularly more important when managing teams (Cejudo and et.al.,
2018). If individuals are not able to understand the emotional strengths and weaknesses, then
there are higher possibilities that they may take wrong decisions due to emotional sensitivity or
easy manipulation by others.
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CONCLUSION
It can be concluded from the above critical review that for making accurate decisions one
must be able to manage emotions. In order to retain professional success for long run and for
mutually rewarding the personal as well as corporate relationship it is necessary that emotional
intelligence must be given equal priority as given to intelligence ability. With improving
technology and globalisation it is very common for individuals to work in diverse or cross
cultural teams. While working in such complex team’s individuals may face challenges in
collaboration and understanding.
For effective team working people are required to understand emotions of themselves as
well as of others. It is also suggested that development of emotional intelligence must be
encouraged to avoid conflict issues and to enhance productivity. Contemporary organisations can
do this by providing cross cultural team work trainings so that people can understand the
perspective and emotions of others. Individuals must also be inspired to have regular evaluation
of emotional and psychological wellbeing. Any kind of emotional concerns must be taken into
consideration so that one can improve them and can make enhancement in emotional quotient. It
is also considered as crucial in overall wellbeing of person so that one can manage the stress and
work place challenges. It is also recommended that for personal and professional along with the
skills and intelligence quotient one must also give equal priority to the emotions as well. It will
help to improve the professional relationships so that corporate and personal development goals
can be achieved.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Cejudo, J. and et.al., 2018. Emotional intelligence and its relationship with levels of social
anxiety and stress in adolescents. International journal of environmental research and
public health. 15(6). p.1073.
Di Fabio, A. and Saklofske, D.H., 2018. The contributions of personality and emotional
intelligence to resiliency. Personality and Individual Differences. 123. pp.140-144.
Drigas, A.S. and Papoutsi, C., 2018. A new layered model on emotional intelligence. Behavioral
Sciences. 8(5). p.45.
Goleman, D. and Boyatzis, R., 2017. Emotional intelligence has 12 elements. Which do you
need to work on. Harvard Business Review. 84(2). pp.1-5.
Goleman, D., 2021. Leadership: The power of emotional intelligence. More Than Sound LLC.
Hodzic, S. and et.al., 2018. How efficient are emotional intelligence trainings: A meta-
analysis. Emotion Review. 10(2). pp.138-148.
Kotsou, I. and et.al.,2019. Improving emotional intelligence: A systematic review of existing
work and future challenges. Emotion Review. 11(2). pp.151-165.
MacCann, C. and et.al., 2020. Emotional intelligence predicts academic performance: A meta-
analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 146(2), p.150.
Mattingly, V. and Kraiger, K., 2019. Can emotional intelligence be trained? A meta-analytical
investigation. Human Resource Management Review. 29(2). pp.140-155.
O'Connor, P.J. and et.al.,2019. The measurement of emotional intelligence: A critical review of
the literature and recommendations for researchers and practitioners. Frontiers in
psychology. 10. p.1116.
Rezvani, A., Khosravi, P. and Ashkanasy, N.M., 2018. Examining the interdependencies among
emotional intelligence, trust, and performance in infrastructure projects: A multilevel
study. International Journal of Project Management. 36(8). pp.1034-1046.
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