Emotional Intelligence

Emotional Intelligence is the ability to identify, understand, and manage emotions. It also refers to ones ability to detect and manage emotional cues and information. An "emotion" is described as intense feelings being directed at someone or something. Emotional Intelligence is composed of five dimensions. The first dimension is self-awareness. Self-awareness is the ability to knowing how to detect what you are feeling. The second dimension is self-management. Self-Management is the ability to manage ones own emotions and impulses. Self-Motivation is the third dimension. It allows for the ability to persist in the face of setbacks and failures. The fourth and fifth dimensions are empathy and social skills. Empathy refers to the ability to sense how others are feeling and social skills are the ability to handle the emotions of others.

Emotional Intelligence can be of extreme importance within organizations. It can play an important role in job performance especially employee behavior. A person's emotion can impact greatly a decision that needs to be made. Jobs that demand I high degree of social interaction can greatly impact ones emotions. For examples, a person in sales should be able to interact well in a social environment and possess high emotional intelligence.

Can people be emotionless? Are there gender differences regarding emotions?

Felt emotions are an individual's actual emotions whereas displayed emotions are those that are organizationally requires and considered appropriate in a given job. Displayed emotions are not innate; they are learned. For example, employees of McDonalds are trained on hospitality and are required to greet the customer with a smile as well as be friendly and courteous.

Emotions play a well defined role in our everyday lives during and outside of work. However, for quite some time, researchers had disregarded the role of emotions in the field of OB. A possible explanation for this disregard is the "Myth of Rationality." The Myth of Rationality began in the late nineteenth century

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