Social & Emotional Intelligence

{draw:frame} {draw:frame} Bachelor of International Hospitality Management Essay 1500 words Due: Friday 28th August 2009, 12 noon By Cody Huxtable ID# 0791315 “How can developing skills in social and e*motional intelligence benefit you as a hospitality management practitioner?*” Social intelligence can be organised into two categories: ‘social awareness’ which describes what we sense about others, and ‘social facility’ which describes what we do with that awareness. Social awareness refers to “a spectrum that runs from primal empathy (instantaneously sensing another’s inner state) to empathetic accuracy (understanding a person’s feelings and thoughts) to social cognition (getting complicated social situations) (Goleman, 2006).” Social facility on the other hand, further adds to this concept of social awareness, and “includes self-presentation, influence, concern and synchrony or interacting smoothly non-verbally (Goleman, 2006).” These two categories of social intelligence add a new element to how we live our social lives and give us an understanding of how fragile our emotions can be (Butler, 2007). Those hospitality management practitioners who are able to develop high levels of social intelligence are said to have “nourishing behaviours” by making others around them feel valued, respected, appealing and appreciated (About Intelligence, 2009). These positive emotions are demonstrated through our gestures, our smiles, our full attention, and our empathy, all contributing to this nourishment. For example, when selling a service to a customer who is smiling and friendly in conversation, it is these positive feelings that are transferred across to form a long lasting relationship between both parties. Conversely, those who illustrate low levels of social intelligence are described as being “toxic”, which includes those certain individuals who show feelings of anger, frustration or inadequacy (About Intelligence, 2009). For example, if a

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