Guidelines of integrated management solutions: volunteers’ emotional intelligence, intercultural training and work productivity

Jolita Vveinhardt,Rita Bendaravičienė,Ingrida Vinickyte

doi:10.21511/ppm.17(2).2019.31

Jolita Vveinhardt, Rita Bendaravičienė + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.21511/ppm.17(2).2019.31

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Abstract

The relevance of the research presented in the article is based on the results of studies of the last few decades, which show the increasing involvement of volunteers in various social and cultural areas of activities, but it should be emphasized that the involvement of volunteers could be even higher. However, there are considerable challenges in the area of volunteer work management, especially when analyzing the issues of emotional intelligence education, development of intercultural competence to increase work productivity.The aim of this paper is to establish the guidelines of integrated management solutions for the increase of work productivity via the development of emotional intelligence and intercultural training of volunteers.The aim was achieved not only based on the analysis of scientific literature, but also on the results of previous researches carried out by the authors of the article, i.e. a qualitative study interviewing individuals working with volunteers coming to Lithuania from foreign countries (N = 7) and a quantitative study in which the volunteers were surveyed (N = 174).The paper, as a result, presents guidelines for the development of emotional intelligence and intercultural competence based on the concept of the expanding efforts by organizations that send, receive and coordinate volunteers. Four intersecting pairs of criteria for emotional intelligence and intercultural competence have been identified, the integration of which could serve to increase work productivity of volunteers in foreign countries.The value of the article is based on the proposed new idea of integrating emotional intelligence and intercultural competence in order to increase work productivity of volunteers; additionally, it presents their development guidelines for organization management specialists. This study is focused on the integration of emotional intelligence and intercultural competence and identification of interrelated components. For this reason, it would be beneficial in the future to elaborate on the mechanism of how volunteers are prepared for foreign missions with the help of activities by the coordinating, sending and receiving organizations.

Highlights

The research problem is raised in the form of a question as to how, after evaluating the insights of studies on intercultural competence and emotional intelligence, to formulate the principles based on which work productivity of volunteers would be improved, while making adequate management decisions that would address the development of the volunteers’ emotional intelligence and intercultural training
Even though studies have shown that intercultural competence and emotional intelligence contribute significantly to the increase of work productivity, and some of the resultant ideas can be used when preparing volunteers for work, attention has to be drawn to the fact that there is still a lack of a unifying perspective, which would combine these components
The classic human resource management theory should be expanded in response to issues related to volunteer work

Summary

INTRODUCTION

While it has been observed that, in a culturally diverse context, emotional intelligence creates the potential to achieve higher work productivity with the help of empathy and social skills (Lilis & Tian, 2009), there is a shortage of studies that would combine such components as intercultural competence, emotional intelligence, and work productivity (Vveinhardt et al, 2019). This exact systematic perspective would make it possible to prepare and empower volunteers more effectively.

THE SPECIFICS OF WORK which is relevant both to volunteers arriving from

DISCUSSION

CONCLUSION