EI Chapter 2 Case Study - assignment 1 PDF

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Chapter 2: Foundations of Recruitment and Selection Reliability and Validity Case Study A story in the Daily Commercial News reported that a growing number of Canadian companies are using measures of emotional intelligence (EQ) as part of the screening devices administered to job applicants. These companies are looking for a measure to tap into emotions. They are seeking candidates who have the ability to inspire colleagues, to handle customers, and to be a positive influence in the office. One of the more popular measures of emotional intelligence is the Bar-On Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQi), which is distributed by Multi-Health Systems of Toronto. Steven Stein, president of Multi-Health Systems, is quoted in the article as saying that IQ has to do with solving math problems and that verbal ability has its place but emotional skills are much more valuable for success in the workplace. Can a measure of emotional intelligence predict job success? Lorne Sulsky, an industrial-organizational psychologist at the University of Calgary, is skeptical because the concept is too fuzzy and EQ tests are too imprecise to be reliable. Sulsky asks, “Why should there to be a relationship between job performance and EQ?” Discussion Questions: 1. What do you think? Should there be a relationship between job performance and EQ? How can the construct of EQ be improved? Is it too broad? Is EQ simply another aspect of personality?

2. If you were going to use EQ as part of your selection system, discuss the steps that you would take to ensure that you were able to make reliable and accurate inferences about job performance in your work situation. This assignment is worth 2% of your overall grade.

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In today’s business world, where collaboration is a crucial part of work, it is essential to have team players that fit right in the organization. While IQ gives you the cognitive ability to do the job, EQ is what gets you to perform well in a team environment. EQ is made up of 5 main components; self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy and social skill. Each of these components play important roles at work. Self-awareness gives one the ability to understand their emotions, strengths and limitations. Self-regulation enables one to manage those emotions, be more conscientious, flexible and adapt well to change. This can lead to better business decisions as people are often not capable of making perfectly rational decisions. Empathy and social skill can be a competitive advantage as it gives one the ability to build relationships, develop strong rapport, have strong communication skills (both verbal and nonverbal), better conflict resolution and understand power dynamics. Motivation gives one the driving force to fulfil their goals and take initiatives. They also manage stress well making them more likely to keep their cool under pressure. While EQ and personality have some overlap, studies have shown that EQ adds incremental value over personality, yet personality does not add value over EQ (Van Rooy, Viswesvaran, 2004) Research also shows that EQ can be improved through training and practice, however IQ and personality tend to be fixed, making EQ a valuable asset. Hence, there is a relationship between EQ and job performance. The right combination of IQ and EQ can lead to job and overall career success.

2. By understanding the value of EQ, it is beneficial to be able to implement it in the recruitment stage to identify it in candidates. Investing in such a process will ensure the company hires more engaged, motivated, committed employees with good collaboration skills that will lead to higher retention rates. Bar-On Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQi) is a good way to measure EQ, however in order to make sure the results are reliable and accurate, the following steps can be taken alongside: -

Use standardized tests in order to make them fair for all candidates and free from bias and judgement. Test and retest in order to reduce the reliability error of chance.

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Conduct multiple interviews of alternate forms (phone, in person) to reduce the reliability error of temporary individual characteristics (bad health, fatigue, emotional state) Include different forms of questions on the test questionnaire like open-ended, close-ended, situation based etc. to get more accurate results as they cover multiple aspects. Include it in your job description. E.g. “team player” to make it known you’re seeking that type of person Check references as previous bosses/colleagues are the best people to provide feedback on the candidate’s behaviors at work. Let some of the current employees conduct an interview as they are the best people to ask questions that would directly relate to work situations.

Works cited: Van Rooy, D. L., & Viswesvaran, C. (2004). Emotional intelligence: A meta-analytic investigation of predictive validity and nomological net. Journal of Vocational Behavior, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0001-8791(03)00076-9...