Madukwe, O. T.
Department of Business Administration, Faculty of Administration and Management,
Rivers State University, Nkpolu-Oroworukwo, Port Harcourt, Nigeria
Asawo, S. P.
Department of Business Administration, Faculty of Administration and Management,
Rivers State University, Nkpolu-Oroworukwo, Port Harcourt, Nigeria
and
Lebura, S.
Department of Business Administration, Faculty of Administration and Management,
Rivers State University, Nkpolu-Oroworukwo, Port Harcourt, Nigeria
ABSTRACT
This study investigates the influence of relationship management, a core dimension of emotional intelligence, on workers’ integration within plastic manufacturing firms in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria. Workers’ integration is examined through the lenses of cultural inclusion, economic inclusion, and emotional inclusion. The study is grounded in Goleman’s Emotional Intelligence Framework and supported by Thorndike’s Social Intelligence Theory to explore how leaders’ relational competencies foster inclusive and supportive organizational environments. Employing a correlational survey research design, the study adopted a cross-sectional time horizon in a non-contrived field setting. Data were obtained using structured questionnaires distributed to a population of 253 employees selected through simple random sampling. Descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation) were used for univariate analysis, while Spearman’s Rank Order Correlation was applied for bivariate analysis. Findings reveal that relationship management has a positive and statistically significant effect on all three dimensions of workers’ integration, with the strongest relationship observed between relationship management and emotional inclusion. The study concludes that leaders’ ability to manage relationships effectively enhances employees’ sense of cultural belonging, equitable access to opportunities, and emotional security in the workplace. It recommends that organizations invest in leadership development programs that emphasize emotional intelligence competencies as a strategic approach to promoting integration, cohesion, and performance in organizational settings
Keywords: relationship management, emotional intelligence, inclusion, leadership, integration, workplace
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