TITLE

Conflict management styles and emotional intelligence of faculty and staff at a selected college in southern Taiwan (China)

AUTHOR

Lee, Fen Ming (Ellen)

SCHOOL

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA

DEGREE

Ed.D.

DATE

2003

PAGES

189

ADVISOR

Boschee, Floyd

ABSTRACT

Conflict is inevitable in a rapidly changing society and also in higher educational systems. A review of the related literature and research revealed that conflict management requires skills that are emotionally based, and emotional intelligence (EI) is a more significant factor in predicting success than are other types of intelligence. The purpose of this study was to identify the faculty and staff members' conflict-management the styles and emotional intelligence at a selected college in Taiwan. The examined population for the research was comprised of 290 faculty and staff. The researcher received 231 (79.6%) completed and usable surveys. The research survey was developed with permission from the Rahim's Organizational Conflict Inventory and Wu's Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire. The survey, comprising 89 items, employed a five-point Likert scale format. The data obtained from the returned survey instruments were analyzed by using descriptive and inferential statistics, including item means, analyses of variance, Pearson Product Moment correlations, and multiple regression analyses. Analyses of the data indicated that the majority of faculty and staff members used the integrating style most often and the obliging style least often. In regard to the five dimensions of emotional intelligence-self-awareness, managing emotions, self-motivation, empathy, and handling relationships-the faculty and staff members' scores were highest in self-motivation and lowest in managing emotion. The results of the ANOVAs showed that EI level, gender, and position affected faculty and staff members' conflict-management styles. In addition, gender, academic rank, and position influenced emotional intelligence. Significant interaction effects were found between emotional intelligence level and academic rank as well as between emotional intelligence level and age in faculty and staff members' conflict-management styles. The results of Pearson Product Moment correlations revealed that both integrating and compromising styles have significant and positive relationships with emotional intelligence. The findings also showed that self-motivation, managing emotions, and self-awareness of emotional intelligence are significant predictors in predicting both the integrating and compromising conflict-management styles.