Whitelaw, Paul A and Morda, Romana (2003) An Emotionally Intelligent Industry? Assessing The Emotional Intelligence of Hospitality Employees And Students. In: Riding the Wave of Tourism and Hospitality Research : Proceedings of The Council of Australian University Tourism and Hospitality Education Conference. Braithwaite, Robyn L and Braithwaite, Richard W, eds. Southern Cross University, Lismore, NSW, pp. 1036-1050.

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to assess whether there are any differences in the emotional intelligence of hospitality employees and students compared to those employed in or studying to enter other industries. Emotional intelligence has received considerable attention in recent years and has been purported by some authors to be the “magic ingredient” which leads to superior performance. This article begins by broadly defining emotional intelligence and discusses the general debate surrounding the conceptualisation, definition and operationalisation of this construct. It then proceeds to use an established, objective, performance based measure of Emotional Intelligence (the MSCEIT) on a self selected sample of 184 respondents. The sample included hospitality practitioners and students as well as practitioners and students from other industries. The emotional intelligence of the groups within the sample was compared in terms of; gender, industry, age, and occupation. Finally, the emotional intelligence of this sample was compared to that of a normed, North American sample. The results, which suggest that a combination of maturity and industry experience contribute most to the development of emotional intelligence, are evaluated in light of their implications for the hospitality industry and hospitality education.

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