CONTINGENCY THEORY
Group Leader: Zaka Ul Hassan
Group Members:
Uzair Ali Shah (051)
Kazim Raza Shah (010)
Salman Saeed (021)
Contingency:
Something that may happen: an event that might occur in the future, especially a problem,
emergency, or expense that might arise unexpectedly and therefore must be prepared for.
Overview Contingency Theory:
This is a leader match theory because it tries to match leaders to The theory was
suitable situations. A leader’s effectiveness depends on how well developed by
the leader’s style fits the situation. studying the
styles of leaders
It is important to note that contingency theory stresses that in situations and
leaders are NOT successful in all situations. whether they
were effective.
There is no one best way to structure and manage organizations. (That primarily in
Structure and management are on the nature of the environment military
in which the organization is situated. organizations).
Contingency Theory
Assumptions:
The leader's ability to lead is dependent upon various situational
factors, including the leader's preferred style, the capabilities and behaviors of
followers and various other situational factors.
Description:
Contingency theories are a class of behavioral theory that challenge
that there is no one best way of leading and that a leadership style that is effective in
some situations may not be successful in others.
An effect of this is that leaders who are very effective at one place and time may
become unsuccessful either when transplanted to another situation or when the
factors around them change.
Contingency Leadership Model
Proposed
Proposed by
by the
the Austrian
Austrian psychologist
psychologist Fred
Fred Edward
Edward Fiedler
Fiedler (1922).
(1922).
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
The upper half of a figure shows situational analysis and the lower half indicates
the appropriate style.
In upper portion three questions are used to analyze the situation:
1). Are leaders– member relation good or poor?
2). Is the task structured or not?
3). Is the leader’s position power strong or weak?
In lower portion we see which style is stuiationally appropriate. For situations 1,
2, 3 and 8 task motivated leadership style is more effective. And in situations 4,
5, 6 and 7 relationship motivated leadership is more appropriate.
Different situations dictate different leadership styles. Fiedler measured
leadership styles with an instrument assessing the leader’s least preferred
coworker (LPC).
Fiedler considered two leadership styles:
Task motivated leadership: Places primary emphasis on
completing the task and is more likely exhibited by
leaders with low LPC score.
Relationship motivated leadership: Emphasize maintain
good interpersonal relationships and is more likely from
high LPC leaders.
The
The Contingency
Contingency Approach
Approach
A research effort to determine which managerial practices and techniques are
appropriate in specific situations.
Different situations require different managerial responses and Can deal with
intercultural feelings in which custom and habits cannot be taken for granted.
Contingency Approaches:
Understand how leadership is often conditional on people and situations.
Apply Fiedler’s contingency model to key relationships among leader style,
situational favorability, and group task performance.
Apply Hersey and Blanchard’s situational theory of leader style to the level of
follower readiness.
Use the Vroom model to identify the correct amount of follower participation in
specific decision situations.
Know how to use the power of situational variables to substitute for or neutralize
the need for leadership.
Note all action memos in the chapter.
Contingency Theory as a Situational Theory
Contingency theory is similar to situational theory in that there is an assumption of
no simple one right way. The main difference is that situational theory tends to
focus more on the behaviors that the leader should adopt, given situational factors
(often about follower behavior), whereas contingency theory takes a broader view
that includes contingent factors about leader capability and other variables within
the situation.
Fiedler's theory conceives two classifications of leaders:
(1). Those motivated by the need to accomplish assigned tasks
(task-orientated).
(2). Those motivated by close and supportive relations with members of
the group (people-orientated).
Contingency Theory Factors:
Some examples of such constraints (factors) include:
• The size of the organization.
• How the firm adapts itself to its environment.
• Differences among resources and operations activities.
• Assumptions of managers about employees Strategies.
• Technologies being used… etc
How Does the Contingency Theory Approach Work?
Focus of Contingency Theory Approach:
• Strengths
• Criticisms
• Application
Strengths:
Empirical support. Contingency theory has been tested by many researchers and
found to be a valid and reliable approach to explaining how to achieve effective
leadership.
Leadership profiles. Contingency theory supplies data on leadership styles that could be
useful to organizations in developing leadership profiles for human resource planning.
Criticism:
Awkward to use in real-world settings.
Fails to adequately explain what should be done about a leader/situation mismatch in the
workplace.
Application:
Useful in answering a multitude of questions about the leadership of individuals
in various types of organizations.
Helpful tool to assist upper management in making changes to lower level positions to
ensure a good fit between an existing manager and a certain work environment.
Application of Contingency Theory to Human Services Management:
Contingency theory attempts to relate research on many management variables, for
example, research on professionalism and centralized decision making or worker
education and task complexity. It allows analyzing a situation and determining what
variables influence the decision with which we are concerned.
Environment
Environment
Political Political
Forces and Forces and
Institutions Institutions
Structure
Structure Tasks
Tasks
People/
People/ Purpose/
Purpose/
Manager
Manager Goal
Goal
Technolo
Technolo
Socio Cultural gy Economic
Forces and gy Forces and
Institutions Institutions
Contingency Process
Achievem
Policy
ent
Plan
Execution &
Assurance
Achievem
ent
1). Contingency Theory on the organization:
There is no universal way or one best way to manage an organization.
The design of an organization and its subsystems must 'fit' with the environment.
Effective organizations not only have a proper 'fit' with the environment, but also between its
subsystems.
The needs of an organization are better satisfied when it is properly designed and the
management style is appropriate both to the tasks undertaken and the nature of the work group.
2). Contingency Theory of leadership:
In the Contingency Theory of leadership, the success of the leader is a function of various factors
in the form of subordinate, task, and/or group variables. The effectiveness of a given pattern of
leader behavior is contingent upon the demands imposed by the situation. These theories stress
using different styles of leadership appropriate to the needs created by different organizational
situations.
3). Contingency Theory of decision making:
There are also contingency theories that relate to decision making. According to these models,
the effectiveness of a decision procedure depends upon a number of aspects of the situation: the
importance of the decision quality and acceptance; the amount of relevant information possessed
by the leader and subordinates; the possibility that subordinates will accept a repressive decision
or cooperate in trying to make a good decision if allowed to participate.
REFERENCES
Northouse, P.G. (2007) Leadership Theory and Practice. Sage Publications, Inc.
Thousand Oaks, CA.
Questions/Queries?
