Guidelines of integrated management solutions: Volunteers' emotional intelligence, intercultural training and work productivity

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.