sessioon9 ld11 contingency theory of leadership

7/29/2019 Sessioon9 LD11 Contingency Theory of Leadership

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Leadership

Session9 - Contingency Theory

Northouse, 5 th edition


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Overview

Contingency Theory Approach Perspective

Leadership Styles

Situational Variables

Research Findings of Leader Style Effectiveness

How Does the Contingency Theory Approach Work?


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Contingency Theory Approach Description

Contingency theory is a leader-match theory (Fiedler & Chemers, 1974)

Tries to match leaders to appropriatesituations

Leaders effectiveness depends on how

well the leaders style fits the context Fiedlers generalizations about which stylesof leadership are best and worst are basedon empirically grounded generalizations

Perspective


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Definition

Assessment based on: Leadership Styles Situational Variables

Contingency Theory Approach Description

Effective leadership is contingent onmatching a leaders style to the rightsetting


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Leadership StylesLeadership styles are described as:

Task-motivated (Low LPCs) Leaders are concerned primarily with reaching a

goal

Relationship-motivated (High LPCs) Leaders are concerned with developing close

interpersonal relationships

Leader Style Measurement Scale (Fiedler)

Least Preferred Co-Worker (LPC) ScaleHigh LPCs = Relationship-motivatedLow LPCs = Task-motivated


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Situational Variables/3 Factors

Leader- Member Relations- Refers to the group atmosphere and the degreeof confidence, loyalty, and attraction of followersfor leader

Group atmosphere Good high degree of subordinate trust,

liking, positive relationshipPoor little or no subordinate trust, frictionexists, unfriendly


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Task Structure The degree to which requirements of a

task are clear and spelled outHigh Structure requirements/rules - are clearly stated/known path to accomplish - has few alternatives task completion - can be clearly demonstrated limited number - correct solutions exist


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Task Structure, contd. Low Structure

requirements/rules - not clearly stated/known path to accomplish - has many alternatives task completion - cannot be clearly

demonstrated/verified unlimited number - correct solutions exist


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Position Power Designates the amount of authority a

leader has to reward or punish followersStrong Power

authority to hire or fire, give raises in rankor pay

Weak Power no authority to hire or fire, give raises in

rank or pay


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3 Factors - determine the favorableness of various situations in organizations

Situations that are rated: Most Favorable -

good leader-follower relations,

defined tasks (high structure), &strong leader position power


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Situations that are rated: Least Favorable -

Poor leader-follower relations,unstructured tasks (low structure), &Weak leader position power

Moderately Favorable

Fall in between these extremes


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Contingency Model


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Research Findings of Leader Style

Effectiveness

LPC ScoreFavorableness

of Situation Definition

Low Very FavorableVery Unfavorable

Situations going smoothlySituations out of control

High ModeratelyFavorable

Situations with some degree

of certainty; not completelyin or out of leaders control


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Research Findings of Leader StyleEffectiveness

Reasons for leader mismatch,ineffectiveness:

LPC style doesnt match a particular situation;stress and anxiety resultUnder stress, leader reverts to less mature

coping style learned in earlier development Leaders less mature coping style results inpoor decision making and consequentlynegative work outcomes


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How Does the ContingencyTheory Approach Work?

Focus of Contingency TheoryStrengthsCriticismsApplication


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Contingency Theory Approach

By assessing the 3 situational variables, anyorganizational context can be placed in one of the 8categories represented in the Contingency Theory Model

After the nature of a situation is determined, the fitbetween leaders style and the situation can beevaluated

By measuring Leaders LPC score and the 3 situational variables , it is possible to predict whether a leader will beeffective in a particular setting

Focus

Overall Scope


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How Does Contingency Theory Work?

Effective in Categories 1, 2, 3, & 8

If individuals style matches appropriate category in themodel, leader will be effectiveIf individuals style does not match appropriate category inthe model, leader will not be effective

Low LPCs Task-Oriented

Middle LPCs

High LPCs

Relationship-Oriented

Effective in Categories

4, 5, 6, & 7

Effective in Categories 1, 2, & 3


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How Does Contingency Theory Work?

How Does it Work?

Example:Situation

Leader Member Relation GoodTask Structure HighPosition Power HighCategory 1

Low LPC (Individual who is task-oriented will beeffective)

By measuring Leaders LPC score and the 3 situational variables , it ispossible to predict whether a leader will be effective in a particular setting


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StrengthsEmpirical support. Contingency theory has been tested bymany researchers and found to be a valid and reliableapproach to explaining how to achieve effective leadership.

Broadened understanding. Contingency theory hasbroadened the scope of leadership understanding from afocus on a single, best type of leadership (e.g., traitapproach) to emphasizing the importance of a leaders styleand the demands of different situations.

Predictive. Because Contingency theory is predictive, itprovides relevant information regarding the type of leadership that is most likely to be effective in particular contexts.


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Strengths

Not an all-or-nothing approach . Contingencytheory contends that leaders should not expect tobe effective in every situation; thus companies

should strive to place leaders in optimal situationsaccording to their leadership style.

Leadership profiles. Contingency theory

supplies data on leadership styles that could beuseful to organizations in developing leadershipprofiles for human resource planning.


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CriticismsFails to fully explain why leaders with particular leadership styles are more effective in somesituations than others

Criticism of LPC scale validity as it does notcorrelate well with other standard leadershipmeasures

Cumbersome to use in real-world settings

Fails to adequately explain what should be done about a leader/situation mismatch in theworkplace


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ApplicationUseful in answering amultitude of questionsabout the leadership of individuals in various typesof organizationsHelpful tool to assist upper management in makingchanges to lower levelpositions to ensure a goodfit between an existingmanager and a certainwork context


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Activity1

Fill the LPC Questionnaire individually andshare Your results in small groups.

Compile a master list of the most commonlyreported styles as each group reports itsresults in a large-group discussion.Discuss views on the accuracy of your ownscores and to explain the scores meaning asrelated to their leadership ability.


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Activity 2

Write a coherent paragraph using all of them: Fiedler, task motivation,

relationship motivation, Least PreferredCoworker scale, leader-member relations, task structure, strong power,

weak power, favorableness of situations, and effectiveness.

sessioon9 ld11 contingency theory of leadership

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