Emotional and Social Competency Display: a Motivational Model

Informações

Código: EOR3121
Divisão: EOR - Estudos Organizacionais
Tema de Interesse: Tema 09 - Indivíduos, Grupos e Comportamento em Organizações

Autores

Alaíde Sipahi Dantas

Resumo

The objective of this paper is to propose a model that explains the process through whichemotionally and socially competent behaviors are displayed. To do this, this theoretical paperaddresses the following question: what is the process by which a motivational pattern,resultant from the combination of the social motives achievement, power and affiliation, isexpressed through emotionally and socially competent behavior?The motivational model of emotional and social competence display integrates two previouslyunrelated theories of work motivation: the goal setting theory (Latham & Baldes, 1975; Locke& Latham, 1984; Locke, 2003) and McClelland’s social motives theory (McClelland, 1976;McClelland, 1982, McClelland et al., 1989). Moreover, it advances research in the field ofemotional and social competence. Motivational theories are mainly concerned with the reasonwhy people behave the way they do. Implicit motives, more stable and difficult to change, areresponsible for the behavioural tendencies. Explicit motives, less stable, incite cognitivedecisions as goal setting. These two sources of behavioural selection and exhibition can allowa better understanding of the emotional and social competencies display. Studies haverevealed that the efficacy of organizations and professionals is rooted in the emotional andsocial competencies (Spencer, 1997; Boyatzis et al., 2002; Goleman et al, 2002). According tothose findings the emotional and social competencies explain considerable part of thevariability of work outcomes.Based on these premises this paper presents a model of emotional and social competenciesdisplay based on the three social motives affiliation, power and achievement.The model and its propositions derive mainly from the field of work-motivation andcompetencies. The basic idea of the model here proposed is that one’s social and emotionalgoals will moderate the relationship between one’s behavioral impulses/tendencies and thedisplay of emotionally and socially competent behavior. The positivity of the relationshipbetween behavioral impulses and emotional and social competencies is going to beconsiderably stronger when a person’s behavioral impulse (e.g. expressing his/her provocativeopinion during a research meeting) is channeled according to his/her social and emotionalgoals (e.g. questioning the social dynamics of the meetings while avoiding conflicts) thanwhen the social and emotional goal is not taken into consideration. At the same time, thelikelihood of emotionally and socially competent behavior display is reduced when thebehavioral impulses (e.g. expressing his/her provocative opinion during a research meeting)are not channeled according to the emotional and social goals (e.g. speaking up what he/shethinks before considering the best way to avoid people blaming each other), thereby changingthe direction of the relationship between behavioral impulse and emotionally and sociallycompetent behavior from positive to negative.

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