You are working in Human Resources $($HR$)$ for Johnson Controls, a multinational company with a

large Wisconsin presence focused on production and sales of fire, HVAC, and security equipment

for buildings. Your team$$s focus is on training and development for employees in sales, with the

goal of building your sales force$$s skills and abilities so that they can continually increase their job

performance and the sales numbers for your company.

Your HR team is currently exploring offering a new training program in Emotional Intelligence

to your sales force. This program is intended to build skills related to emotional awareness and

regulation, and has been shown to increase employee job performance in a wide range of roles

$($including leadership, sales, and other customer service positions$)$ based on your review of the

available research. However, the program is also expensive, costing a flat rate of $$18,000$ plus an

additional fee based on the number of employees trained $($and the cost to the company of those

employees missing one half$-$day of $$regular work$).$ Before committing to such an investment for the

entire sales force of $500$ employees, your team wants to be sure it will be worthwhile. In particular,

your team wants to investigate if and how much emotional intelligence relates to sales performance

for Johnson Controls employees. $(*$Fun Fact: this is part of what is known as a $$Needs Analysis$,$

the first step in the training and development process.$)$