Impact of Emotional Intelligence and Organisational Culture on the Performance of Malaysian Administrative and Diplomatic Officers

Abstract

Organisational performance in the public administration is an area of interest. The Institute for Management Development (IMD) reported that Malaysia secured a 12th position in 2014 and later dropped to the 24th position in 2017 in the World Competitiveness Report. The government plays an integral role in stimulating and promoting competitiveness of the domestic market through various policies and shortening of the procedures. As civil servants are the implementers of these policies and procedures in facilitating the growth of national productivity. Thus, this study focuses on emotional intelligence and organisational culture in improving effectiveness and efficiency of organisational performance amongst public administrators. A sample of 375 Administrative and Diplomatic Officers (ADOs) from various ministries based in Putrajaya completed the survey questionnaire. This study examines the direct effect of emotional intelligence (EI) on organisational performance (OP) and explores the mediating effect of organisational culture (OC) between emotional intelligence and organisational performance (OP). The emotional intelligence scale, organisational culture scale and balanced scorecard scale guided the data to be collected. The data was analysed using SPSS version 21.0 and Smart PLS (Smart Partial Least Square) 3.2.6. version. The results indicate that EI has a significant impact on OP and OC has a significant mediating effect on the relationship between EI and OP. This study contributes to a better understanding of organisational performance in the public sector and establishes emotional intelligence as a determinant of organisational performance and simultaneously suggests ways in ensuring it is prioritised in the public administration domain. The findings are expected to contribute to government policies specifically in recruitment, training and development, organisational learning and development and succession planning encouraging the emergence of effective future leaders.