Proceedings of the 12th European Conference on Knowledge ...

Fattah Nazem
Self-regulation: handling our emotions so that <strong>the</strong>y facilitate ra<strong>the</strong>r than interfere with <strong>the</strong> task at
hand; being conscientious and delaying gratification to pursue goals; recovering well from
emotional distress.
Motivation: using our deepest preferences to move and guide us toward our goals, to help us take
initiative and strive to improve, and to persevere in <strong>the</strong> face <strong>of</strong> setbacks and frustrations.
Empathy: sensing what people are feeling, being able to take <strong>the</strong>ir perspective, and cultivating
rapport and attunement with a broad diversity <strong>of</strong> people.
Social skills: handling emotions in relationships well and accurately reading social situations and
networks, interacting smoothly; using <strong>the</strong>se skills to persuade and lead, negotiate and settle
disputes, for cooperation and teamwork (p.318).
In his study, Smith (2006) found that <strong>the</strong>re is a relationship between <strong>the</strong> emotional intelligence and
leadership <strong>of</strong> change. The results <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> study done by Cook (2006) showed that emotional
intelligence has a positive effect on <strong>the</strong> principles <strong>of</strong> performance leadership. In o<strong>the</strong>r words, he
found that <strong>the</strong> effective leadership requires a series <strong>of</strong> skills including emotional intelligence. In
addition, Jones (2007) found that emotional intelligence can be considered as a predictive factor <strong>of</strong>
productivity and <strong>the</strong> fact that <strong>the</strong> managers who possess this skill perform more competitively.
Regarding <strong>the</strong> relationship between emotional intelligence and <strong>the</strong> effective leadership in
organizations, various studies have been done. Some <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>m are as follows: Downey et al. (2006),
Vartanian (2006), Danehy (2006), Kluemper (2006), Durham (2006), Higley (2007), Rego et al.
(2007), Heiken (2007), and Chadnick (2007).Hayashi (2005) found that <strong>the</strong> higher <strong>the</strong> emotional
intelligence, <strong>the</strong> better and more effective <strong>the</strong> managers’ performance will be. Emotional intelligence
is a necessary factor for <strong>the</strong> managers and leaders. Eicher (2003), in his research entitled, “<strong>the</strong>
relationship between <strong>the</strong> emotional intelligence and social skills necessary for staff” concluded that
emotional intelligence is very suitable in developing <strong>the</strong> staff’s executive programs. Fur<strong>the</strong>rmore,
regarding <strong>the</strong> effect <strong>of</strong> emotional intelligence and job progress, Watkin (2000) found that <strong>the</strong>
application <strong>of</strong> emotional intelligence leads to <strong>the</strong> development and improvement <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> process <strong>of</strong>
pr<strong>of</strong>essional decision making and <strong>the</strong> fact that it has a direct effect on <strong>the</strong> level <strong>of</strong> product sale. The
final remark <strong>of</strong> his study is that people with high level <strong>of</strong> emotional intelligence have higher efficiency
in jobs which need technical expertise. The result <strong>of</strong> a study in India by Singh(2007) also depicted
emotional intelligence as being positively and significantly related with three phases <strong>of</strong> organizational
learning (innovation, implementation, and stabilization) and five mechanisms <strong>of</strong> organizational
learning (experimentation, mutuality, planning, uses <strong>of</strong> temporary systems, and competency
mechanisms). The findings have implications for how to manage employees in a way that creates and
maintains organisational learning. Gottleib ( 2006) found that to promote learning, humanistic
leadership that embodies cultural and relational competencies may be essential. Data from <strong>the</strong> survey
revealed statistically significant results that emotional intelligence in managers positively correlates to
organizational learning in teams.
Senge (1990) identifies <strong>the</strong> five disciplines associated with <strong>the</strong> organisational learning to be personal
mastery, mental models, systems thinking, team learning, and building a shared vision for <strong>the</strong>
organisation. I contend that each <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>se disciplines can be linked to specific emotional intelligence
abilities <strong>of</strong> (a) emotional awareness, (b) emotional facilitation, (c) emotional knowledge, and (d)
emotional regulation (Mayer & Salovey, 1997). Jordan (2006) found that by linking emotional
intelligence to <strong>the</strong> learning organisation principles and o<strong>the</strong>r interpersonal skills needed by
management and employees in <strong>the</strong> workplace during organisational change, we may gain a deeper
insight into how to make <strong>the</strong>se change programs successful. The need for management and
leadership is vital and sensible in all fields <strong>of</strong> social activities. The related background information
shows that if universities have managers who enjoy a high degree <strong>of</strong> emotional intelligence, <strong>the</strong>
universities will be able to achieve <strong>the</strong>ir goals while <strong>the</strong>y spend fewer sources. They can also
increase <strong>the</strong> level <strong>of</strong> organizational learning <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> higher education system.
2. Research questions
What is <strong>the</strong> structural model <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> organizational learning based on managers’ emotional
intelligence in higher education Institutions?
Which variables have <strong>the</strong> highest effectiveness on organizational learning?
How predictive is emotional intelligence on promoting organizational learning?
How much is <strong>the</strong> goodness <strong>of</strong> fit in this study?
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