School of Hospitality Business Faculty Research Assists Industry Leaders

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. January 30, 2009

JANUARY 29, 2009 - Faculty members in The School of Hospitality Business have been studying Emotional Intelligence (EI) in the private club industry and the automatic merchandising industry for a number of years. Their latest research, just published in the January 2009 issue of the Journal of Human Resources in Hospitality & Tourism, and supported in part by a grant from the National Automatic Merchandising Association (NAMA) foundation, studied the contribution of emotional intelligence to social skills and stress management skills among automated foodservice industry executives.

Drs. Ronald F. Cichy, Jaemin Cha, and Seung Hyun Kim developed and examined surveys completed by nearly 200 NAMA executives. Using confirmatory factor analysis, t-tests, and a number of fit indices, they concluded the following:

o Emotional Intelligence (EI) is a set of capabilities, competencies, and skills related to how leaders perceive, understand, utilize, and manage their emotions, perceive and understand others' emotions, and how they integrate their thinking and interacting with others in relationships.

o EI has been proven to contain three dimensions: IN, OUT, and RELATIONSHIPS. IN is the ability to sense, lead, and utilize one's own emotions. IN is a combination of self-awareness and self-leadership. OUT is the ability to be aware of, relate to, and understand others' emotions. OUT couples an awareness of others with empathy. The RELATIONSHIPS dimension includes the ability to integrate one's emotional experiences with one's own thoughts and actions while interacting with others.

o Those with higher EI are more likely to manage their work-related stress better and have better social skills than those with lower EI.

o Those with higher EI scores are more likely to recognize different emotional patterns in themselves and others, and are likely to direct these feelings to appropriate outcomes.

o Vending and coffee service leaders who effectively practice EI are capable of assessing how staff members feel and effectively use EI to influence the emotions of the staff members.

o When one practices and develops EI abilities in order to understand, regulate, use, and manage one's own or others' emotions, these abilities contribute to acting professionally in stressful circumstances, managing highly demanding workloads well, and becoming more effective.

o One's EI capabilities help in understanding what to say and how to behave, because they help you place yourself in others' shoes.

o EI skills help you move in the direction you choose, adjust your behavior accordingly, and adapt to what is required in each situation.

o Effectively utilizing EI in vending and coffee service industries is an indicator of personal and organizational success.

'As with any research done with a business perspective, we hope that it is applicable to the industry we study and teach about,' says author, professor, and director of The School Ron Cichy. 'Hospitality industry executives can practice what we learn to better lead their companies and train their associates.'

The next phase of the professors' EI research will examine the relationship between EI and contextual performance (i.e., interpersonal facilitation and job dedication) in vending and coffee services executives.

Founded in 1927, The School celebrates its 81st year anniversary in 2008. The School has more than 9,000 graduates worldwide, including a number of leading academicians and industry executives, who have earned both undergraduate and graduate degrees. The mission of The School is to continually enhance The School's leadership position in hospitality business education through teaching, research, and service. Recognized as the top-ranked hospitality business school in the world, The School offers an exceptionally well-crafted curriculum, taught by innovative professors who are leading textbook authors, sought-after consultants, and respected researchers. The mission of The School of Hospitality Business Alumni Association is to provide active leadership in support of the mission of The School of Hospitality Business through membership participation, image enhancement, financial commitment, and promotion of synergies among students, faculty, alumni, and friends.