Contingency Theory Approach

1. Contingency Theory Approach AGED 3153

2. Leadership should be more participative than directive, more enabling than performing.~Mary D. Poole

3. Overview • Contingency theory approach perspective • Leadership styles • Situational variables • Research findings • How does the contingency theory approach work?

4. Based on… • Fiedler & colleagues • Studied styles of leaders who worked in different contexts. • Primarily military organizations • Styles of good and bad leaders • Assessed: • Styles • Situations • Effectiveness

5. Contingency Theory Approach • Why “contingency?” • based on how well the leader’s style fits the context • To understand performance you must understand the situations in which one leads. • Concerned with

6. Contingency Theory Approach • leader-match theory Effective leadership • contingent on matching a leader’s style to the right setting

7. Leadership Styles • Leadership styles are described as: • Task motivated • goal achievement • Relationship motivated • developing close interpersonal relationships • Least Preferred Co-Worker or LPC • Used to measure leader style • Measures your style by having you describe a coworker with whom you had difficulty completing a job. • Not necessarily someone you don’t like

8. Situational Variables • Determine favorableness of various situations in organizations. • Three situation factors • group atmosphere • degree of confidence & loyalty • attraction of followers for leader • degree to which task requirements are clear & defined • designates the amount of authority a leader has to reward or punish followers

9. Positive atmosphere Subordinates trust, like and get along with leader Unfriendly atmosphere Friction exists within group Leader-Member Relations (LMR)

10. Structured Gives leader more control Requirements clearly stated & known Few alternatives Clearly demonstrated task Limited number of correct solutions Example: Unstructured Lessens the leaders control No clear rules Many alternatives Correctness cannot be verified No best way Example: Task Structure(TS)

11. Strong Hire or fire or give raises in rank and pay Weak Limited ability to reward or punish Position Power (PP) Includes legitimate power

12. Good Poor High Structure Low Structure High Structure Low Structure Strong Power Weak Power Strong Power Weak Power Strong Power Weak Power Strong Power Weak Power 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Low LPCs Middle LPCs Low LPCs High LPCs Contingency Model Situational Variables Preferred Leadership Style

13. Favorable Situations going smoothly Moderately favorable Situations with some degree of certainty; not completely in or out of leader’s control Unfavorable Situations out of control Most favorable Good LMR Defined TS Strong PP Least favorable Poor LMR Defined TS Weak PP Moderately favorable Falls between 2 extremes Situational Variables

14. Task orientation LMR - TS - PP good-structured-strong good–structured-weak good–unstructured–strong poor–unstructured-strong poor–unstructured-weak Relationship orientation LMR – TS – PP good–unstructured–weak poor–structured–strong poor–structured-weak Eight categories

15. Interpretation of ineffective leaders Fiedler (1995) Leader working in the wrong situation experiences stress & anxiety Leader reverts to less mature ways of coping Results in poor decision making Negative work outcomes

16. How does the contingency theory work?

17. What are strengths of the contingency theory?

18. What are weaknesses of the contingency theory?

19. How do we use the contingency theory?