Women's Bulletin

Mrs C Natarajan is pleased to inform that DRDO MKM plans to bring out Women's Bulletin, an online magazine. It will endeavour to bring views that will help women in their task of juggling job, home, and family. It will focus on points that sensibly solve or illuminate a problem unique to our readers. It will mainly include: time, home, and money management; family relationships; job-related ( Work/ family/Health) issues. It will also include Informative General Popular Science Articles. Humour, Jokes, Anecdotes can also be considered.

Suggestions are welcome.
All those interested in contributing may kindly contact Mrs Vinod Kumari Sharma (23813591) or Mrs Alka Bansal (23819975)

Mrs Vinod Kumari Sharma
E-mail ID : vinodkumarisharma[at]drdo[dot]gov[dot]in

Mrs Alka Bansal
E-mail ID : alkabansal[at]drdo[dot]gov[dot]in

Ruby Kapur
Secretary DRDO MKM

Aims & Scope

Women' s Bulletin is an online magazine. It endeavours to bring views that will help women in their task of juggling job, home, and family. It focuses on points that sensibly solve or illuminate a problem unique to our readers. It includes: time, home, and money management; family relationships; job-related (work/family/health) issues. It also includes informative popular science articles, jokes, anecdotes, etc.

Submission of Manuscript

Manuscripts should be typewritten on single side of the A4 size paper with a margin not less than 40 mm on the left side and the text should be double-spaced. The popular science articles may include (where applicable): (1) abstract, (2) nomenclature of symbols used (3) tables/figures/illustrations typed/drawn on separate sheets along with their captions in serial order as they appear in the text. Author(s) also have to submit the paper in electronic form in MS Word compatible files in floppy/CD/E-mail.

Language English References

References to already published literature should be numbered consecutively in order of their citation in the text and should be placed at the end of the text. In the text they should be indicated by superscripts (number placed above the line). References to personal communication and unpublished literature should not be placed under references, but should be cited in the text in parentheses. Explanatory material may be given as an appendix rather than as a footnote.

Manuscript will not be returned. Papers/articles (max length: 1200 words or four typed pages of A4 size including figures (if any)) which contain original ideas, survey, or new information are prefered Then, if the subject is found suitable, the Editorial Board will discuss the best way to handle the material. Due to the large volume of queries, the Editorial Board will be receiving , it may not be able to respond to every proposal. Therefore, if authors don't hear from Editors within three months, please assume that the Board has not found the particular idea suitable for the magazine.

ditors do not assume responsibility for the statements/opinions by the author(s) of the contributions. All manuscripts and queries should be addressed to:

Editorial Board
Women's Bulletin
E-mail ID: vinodkumarisharma[at]drdo[dot]gov[dot]in / alkabansal[at]drdo[dot]gov[dot]in

Editorial Board

Women and Emotional Intelligence
Shobha Aralikatti, Sc'E' R&DE(E), Pune - 15

Introduction

Women, in India and elsewhere, continue to be largely responsible for the running a home, bringing up children, cooking, cleaning. However even in India the roles expected of a man as the bread-winner and a woman as the home maker is being redefined and more opportunities are opening up for women at the workplace. The sheer pressure of ability will propel more and more women into management..

Well, have you ever tried handling work and home, the cleaning, washing, cooking and to top it off meetings, presentations and targets at the workplace? Once considered a problem of men, stress from high-powered jobs is becoming second nature to women too. A 12-14 hour working day, inadequate relaxation and travelling leave them little time for themselves. De-stressing and proper management of priorities is important. We also know the critical importance of developing trust in our relationships both at work and at home if we are to achieve the best outcomes.

Training for taking up a management role is crucial for men and women. Management is not just about intelligence or IQ. It is also about sociology and behaviour, and team leadership, as well as being part of a team. If a manager, man or woman, is not trained in the family, school or college to seamlessly merge into a team, he or she might face a problem. The rules for work are changing. We're being judged by a new yardstick: not just by how smart we are, or by our training and expertise, but also by how well we handle ourselves and others. For generations, it's been called 'women's intuition - the ability to sense what's really going on in a situation, to assess people's thoughts and feelings accurately, to express empathy and to respond appropriately. Now, thanks to psychologist and best-selling author Daniel Goleman(1)this talent has a name - Emotional Intelligence and also has a scientific explanation.

What is Emotional Intelligence

Emotional intelligence (EI) is the silent partner of rational intelligence -- equal in importance, yet frequently overlooked and rarely schooled or tested. Emotional intelligence is a very recently described intelligence form. It is the ability to sense, understand, and effectively apply the power and acumen of emotions as a source of human energy, information, connection, and influence. The skills which belong to the highly developed emotional intelligence include: to be independent from your own feelings, ability to adjust yourself to them, ability to recognise, name and direct your feelings, discern the nuances of feelings and use them in positive way, and be able to derive actions from them. Emotional intelligence accompanies our daily life and in many cases is as important as the 'common' intelligence, especially in our modern society.

How it Works?

A small structure in the limbic region of the brain, the amygdala, is the center of the emotional mind (2). All incoming sensory data -- sight, sound, smell, sensation -- pass through the amygdala where they are instantly analysed for their emotional value before going to the cerebral cortex for processing. Every piece of data is infused by the amygdala with an emotional charge. If powerful enough, that charge can override reasoned thinking and logic. Far quicker than the rational mind, it charges into action without regard for the consequences. In an emotional emergency, the amygdala proclaims a crisis, recruiting the rest of the brain to its urgent agenda. Goleman calls this an emotional hijacking, because it occurs so fast that the thinking brain has no opportunity to grasp what is occurring and decide on the best course of action. Emotional hijackings produce astonishing feats of bravery, hideous acts of violence, and everything in between. Meanwhile the neocortex, in the prefrontal lobes just behind the forehead, is working to control feelings in order to reappraise situations and deal with them more effectively. It functions like a master strategist, planning and organising actions toward a goal. When an emotion triggers, within moments the prefrontal lobes analyse possible actions and choose the best alternative. When a person hears loud crash in the next room, it's the amygdala that sends a paralyzing jolt of fear through his body. A moment later, the neocortex starts ticking off the possibilities: cat, window, intruder and what to do about them. The neocortex is capable of muffling emergency signals, but it is slower, involving more circuitry.

The amygdala and neocortex may sound like perfect partners, the sentry signaling danger and the cool strategist selecting prudent courses of action, but the sentry can easily overreact and powerful emotions can disrupt your ability to think and reason. Fear can render one mute; anger can make one lash out violently. In such moments, the circuits from the amygdala to the prefrontal lobes are creating neural static, sabotaging the ability of the prefrontal lobe to maintain working memory. That's why one complains that he 'can't think straight' when he is upset.

These emotional circuits, and the automatic reactions they convey, are sculpted by experience throughout childhood. Emotionally-driven automatic responses are usually learned very early -- as early as four years of age. All it takes is for some feature of the present situation to resemble a situation from the past. The instant that feature is recognised by the emotional mind, the feelings that went with the past event are triggered. The emotional mind reacts to the present as if it were the past. The reaction is fast and automatic, but not necessarily accurate or appropriate to the situation at hand. So while EI relies on the warp-speed reactions of the amygdala, it relies even more on the management skills of the neocortex. Having high EI doesn't mean that one never panics or loses his temper. It does mean that a person brings his feelings under control and channel them into productive behaviours. The ability to bring out-of-control emotions back into line results in what earlier generations called emotional maturity.

Now let's look at what emotional intelligence is not. Emotional intelligence is not about being nice all the time. It's about being honest. Emotional intelligence is not about being touchy-feely. It's about being aware of one's feelings, yours and other peoples' feelings. And EI is not about being emotional. It's about being smart with one's own emotions. It's knowing how to use his own emotions to motivate himself and others. And it's knowing how to keep his distressing emotions under control.

Components of Emotional Intelligence

These are "personal competence" - how we manage ourselves, and "social competence" - how we manage relationships (table1)

Self-awareness is defined as the ability to recognize and understand your moods, emotions and drives as well as their effects on others.

Self-regulation is defined as the ability to control or re-direct disrupting impulses or moods. It is the propensity to suspend judgment, to think before acting.

Motivation is a passion to work for reasons beyond status or money; a propensity to pursue goals with energy and persistence.

Components of Emotional Intelligence

Empathy is the ability to understand the emotional makeup of other people and the skill of treating people according to their emotional reactions.

Social skill is the proficiency in managing relationships and building networks. It is an ability to find common ground and build rapport.

Importantance of Emotional Intelligence to Performance?

Across various job levels: Emotional intelligence matters twice as much as technical and analytic skill combined. For better performance and the higher people move up in the organisation, the more crucial emotional intelligence becomes.

For managers and 1st 1line supervisors

Supervisors in a manufacturing plant receive training in emotional competencies like how to listen better, help employees resolve problems on their own, how to empower and inspire others, and how to become more effective personal leaders. After training:

Formal grievances were reduced from an average of 15/ year to 3/ year
Plant exceeded productivity goals by $250,000 (Pesuric & Byham,1996).
Lost time accidents were reduced by 50 percent.

For leaders

The table 2 depicts the number of times those individuals who became president /CEO displayed emotionally intelligent competencies.

Level of Profitability Attributable to E I

Not only does EI greatly contribute to job performance and leadership, it has also been found to increase profits. The following chart shows the relationship between emotional competencies high enough to positively affect performance and the amount of profit generated at a multinational services firm per year per partner. As the chart shows, self-regulation appears to have the greatest impact on profit generation.

Women and Emotional Intelligence

Emotionally intelligent women tend to be assertive and express their feelings directly, and to feel positive about themselves; life holds meaning for them. They are outgoing and gregarious and express their feelings appropriately. They adapt well to stress. Their social poise lets them easily reach out to new people; they are comfortable enough with themselves. They exhibit qualities like impulse control, self-esteem, self-motivation, mood management and people skills. Unlike the women purely high in IQ, they rarely feel anxious or guilty, or sink into rumination.

Men and women have different kinds and levels of Emotional Intelligence. While the average EQ (Bar iOn EQ-i) scores for women (98) and men (100) were on par(4), the following sub-component scores demonstrate where the genders differ the most.

Human are born with a certain IQ and can expand it upto some extent, but it is largely fixed. However, one can increase EQ indefinitely. This is possible by deepening self-awareness and insight into other people, by developing discipline and focus, and through expanding the store of wisdom and good judgment. This will help both at work and home.

References

• Daniel Goleman Emotional Intelligence: Why it can matter more than IQ.Bantam Books, 1995
• Dianne Schilling Emotional Intelligence -You can help how you feel!
• Institute for Health and Human potential What is EQ?.
• Dr. Reuven Bar On Emotional Quotient Inventory

DRDO Mahila Kalyan Manch (MKM) Circular No.02/07 401 KB