Emotional intelligence through workplace learning

The critique section highlights some areas of the study in a critical light as well as reviews other evidence in support of the findings and of the author's position n the topic. The recommendations given are derived from Ideas presented throughout the critique section and the conclusion provides some Insight Into the area of developing emotional Intelligence In the workplace within a certain context.Article Title Clarke, N 2006, 'Developing emotional intelligence through workplace learning: Findings from a case study in healthcare', Human Resource Development International, 9, 4, up.

447-465 Summary of Article This Article sets out to explore the development of Emotional Intelligence (E') within the workplace. The argument presented is the influence of a particular context, such as working within the healthcare industry, on workplace learning and the effects it may have on particular aspects of developing emotional Intelligence on the Job.A case study approach was taken which Involved a collection of two sets of data; first from surveys carried out across all UK hospices, and secondly from two focus groups consisting of twenty-two;o volunteers from twenty different hospices around the UK. The author flirts demonstrates the importance of workplace learning in developing motional intelligence, as opposed to traditional methods, with several studies showing positive relationships between these two variables.

The study then presents further evidence in relation to the importance of acquiring the abilities to perform in such an emotional environment as the healthcare industry, while also noting that this particular area of study is in its infancy and has very little empirical evidence to provide support for what theoretical literature is available. It is then, with the aim of providing some input Into the area of developing emotional intelligence through oracle learning, that the author conducts the case study presented in this article.The mall data which Is reviewed for the findings of this report comes from the two focus groups consisting of twenty two members (of which only two were male); fourteen were Involved In education roles, SIX were clinical nurse specialists, and two had been identified as service managers; all had volunteered through invitations groups held discussions based on findings from the surveys conducted; the author, along with another researcher, was present throughout the conversations and corded these discussions while only interrupting to extract definitions on key points.Common trends were then identified upon reviewing transcripts of the discussions which then enabled coding excerpts to be extracted and further examined in order to find as many commonalities and trends as possible.

Categorization of the results took place based on important aspects of El and the workplace which allowed the author to identify key themes and their relationship with workplace learning. The findings are presented under different sections which include some direct quotes from participants representing the major themes resulting from the discussions.The importance of emotional abilities, dialogue, and reflection, as well as tacit learning within a social structure were demonstrated and found to play major roles among the experiences of the healthcare workers. In relation to the aim of the article, two themes were very significant; the workplace environment and the conceptualized nature of emotional abilities. The workplace environment was seen as playing a major part in not Just allowing other factors to aka place, such as dialogue and reflection, but providing a culture of support and nurturing the development of El.

The discussion on the conceptualized nature of the workplace provided insight into how emotional abilities are a measure of professional integrity within the healthcare industry. The participants placed meaning, in a professional sense, to certain emotional abilities which shows that the development of certain abilities could be influenced by the requirements of a particular industry. Critique The population used from which the participants of the study were selected was impressive as it included all I-J hospices; however the actual sample used for the focus groups may not have been ideal.This point was admitted by the author himself on noting the ratio of women to men as well as the fact they had volunteered themselves. The issue of sample bias is a prominent criticism of case study analysis and can have an impact on the validity of the findings, a concern supported by Gearing (2007).

In light of the author's admission of his knowledge on this point, this critique suggests more importance should have been placed on the selection of the artisans from the beginning of the research. Further improvements could have been made to this study in order to give it more depth. The participants had an average of 5. Years of experience within the industry which should be sufficient enough to develop any aspects of El as a result of working in the care industry.

However the study did not actually attempt to measure the El of the participants which surely could have produced interesting data for discussion. The author could have made use of the Salvoes and Mayer (1990, cited by Mishear 2009) ability model, he Bar-on (1997, cited by Mishear 2009) Mixed ability model, or the Cherries and Coleman (2001 , cited by Mishear 2009) personality model; these models are described by Mishear (2009) as being the most studied and relevant models today.In particular, the Salvoes and Mayer (1990, Cited by Mishear 2009) ability model which measures one's ability to perceive, manage, understand, and use emotions to facilitate thinking, would have added another dimension to the research. Another study involving the students El in order to test for a correlation with collaborative learning - interestingly his produced no correlation which may support the argument for workplace learning as opposed to traditional methods. Despite these issues, there is evidence in support of the findings of this article.A more recent study investigating the development of El in emergency care workers, (bailey et al, 2011), suggests that these workers are able to cope with caring for the dying through the development of E'; the study was conducted over a twelve month period within a large emergency care unit and involved in-depth interviews with patients, relatives, and staff, providing some ere convincing evidence; a commentary on this study by Has & Dash (2012) referred to Nurses crying in the presence of relatives of recently deceased patients and suggested that 'preserving the environment' was key to preventing such an issue, this relates to Slacker's (2006) finding in relation to the importance of the workplace environment for developing El.

Previous research conducted by lavish (2001) which examines the relationships of E', individuals' 'meaning' of work, and conflict management styles, produced findings of a positive relationship between El and meaning of work; this finding is interesting in relation to Slacker's (2006) study where workers were said to place significant meaning to certain emotional abilities with respect to professional integrity; indeed developed El is regarded to be what can separate 'star performers' from other employees within industries where high IQ is a pre-requisite (Wall, 2006), which suggests that El is stimulated within the workplace, more so than the traditional learning environment. Finally, the author provides a good review of literature in order establish the rationale behind this study.The introduction of the article creates awareness of the lack of evidence for understanding how El is developed despite the recognition from many sources of the specific emotional traits needed within the healthcare industry (Beanies et al. , 1991 ; Feely, 1995; Larson and Frederick, 1993; Macaque, 2004, cited by Clarke, 2006). Another study reviewed shows evidence of the limitations of traditional education in preparing healthcare workers in caring for the ill and dying (McLeod, 2001 , cited by Clarke, 2006), similar evidence is found by Lloyd-Williams (2002, cited by Clarke, 2005) ho identified 'experiential' learning as playing an important role within the healthcare industry; this provides some scope to the issue and gives some validation to the argument of developing El through workplace learning.

More recent research conducted by Waller (2008) also confirmed the lack of development of El from MBA degree students in Utah State University which, along with Slacker's (2006) evidence, points towards the importance of developing El in the workplace and hence the need for a deeper understanding of how this takes place within different industries. Conclusion The article provides insight into the subject of how El is developed and what conditions it is best nurtured under. There is some clear evidence that traditional learning, such as within the classroom, does not develop El well in preparation for the workplace. Instead, evidence suggests that the workplace itself is where El is affected and developed most.

The article goes further into these findings and produces findings of how a certain industry can develop certain aspects of El more than others, based on which aspects are most relevant to that particular industry. Ensue on reviewing other research and material based on El and the workplace. For example, the idea that El is what separates higher performers from others in high skilled environments fits in with the study findings of workers giving meaning to certain aspects of El which represent professional integrity; individuals who develop these certain characteristics should indeed excel in their careers. The healthcare industry in particular is very demanding of El and studies such as this highlight how essential the development of El is and provides valuable input into future understanding and research into this area.