Name the four building blocks of Emotional Intelligence, and define each. Describe the concept of a “corporate athlete.”

Describe two physiological outcomes of stress.

Stress can be manifested internally as nervousness, tension, anger or irritability. It can also be manifested externally through skin conditions and sweating.

Because stress causes a suppression of the immune system, there are links between stress and high blood pressure, ulcers and illness susceptibility.

146. Name two psychological outcomes of stress.

Anxiety and depression are two psychological outcomes of stress.

147. Research links stress to what work outcomes?

Stress is linked to higher turnover and lower levels of performance. Stressed individuals also tend to be less prone to engaging in organizational citizenship behaviors and to exhibit lower organization commitment.

148. Differentiate between a Type A personality and a Type B personality.

A Type A personality is a person who displays high levels of speed/impatience, job involvement and hard-driving competitiveness.

Type B personalities are calmer than Type A personalities who are more prone to thinking through situations than their Type A counterparts who tend to respond emotionally.

149. What are two individual approaches to managing stress?

The individual approaches to managing stress include: The corporate athlete concept, flow, diet, exercise, sleep, social support networks and time management.

The corporate athlete is training so that the employee is healthy in mind and body and embraces challenges versus avoiding them.

Flow is the concept of totally immersing yourself in the job.

Social support networks include coworkers, friends and family.

150. Describe the concept of a “corporate athlete.”

The corporate athlete is an approach to managing stress developed by Jack Groppel at the University of Illinois. The concept relies on applying principles of athletic performance to workplace performance. The corporate athlete is thus an individual who trains his mind and body to perform at peak levels (and under less stress) due to better eating habits, more focused training and positive action. The resulting strong mind and body embraces challenges, not avoids them.

151. Name two organizational approaches to managing stress.

Organizational approaches to managing stress include: making expectations (job duties, for example) clear, employee autonomy, fair work environment, telecommuting, sabbaticals and employee assistance program.

152. Describe positive emotions.

Positive emotions include joy, love and surprise. These emotions result from events.

153. Name two negative emotions.

Negative emotions include: anger, fear and sadness.

154. Describe Affective Events Theory.

Affective Events Theory looks at how events on the job cause different kinds of people to feel different kinds of emotions.

155. Differentiate between surface, deep and genuine acting.

Surface acting is exhibiting physical signs like smiles to reflect emotions you do not really feel.

Deep acting is an individual pretending to experience emotions he does not feel.

Genuine acting is when individuals are asked to display emotions aligned with their own.

156. What is cognitive dissonance?

Cognitive dissonance is a mismatch between emotions, attitudes, beliefs and behaviors.

Many firms operating in multiple countries find their employees face cognitive dissonance because of the different business practices within those countries. For example, in China, to secure permission to talk about land purchases, a major U.S. company’s executives has to make payments directly to village leaders. Such scenarios created quite a bit of dissonance for those individuals.

157. Name the four building blocks of Emotional Intelligence, and define each.

The four building blocks are: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness and relationship management.

Self-awareness is being able to accurately perceive, evaluate and display your emotions.

Self-management is being able to direct your emotions in a positive way when needed.

Social awareness is when you are able to understand how others feel.

Relationship management is when you are able to help others manage their own emotions and establish supportive relationships with others.