Contingency Theory Essay

1159 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Contingency theory in practice

The meaning of contingency theory is one thing depends on other things. An effectiveness of a leader must be well fix between its style and behavior and the condition of the situation. A leadership style work in one situation might not necessary work in other situation. In contingency theory, leadership style describe as task-oriented or relationship-oriented. A relationship-oriented leader established respect, mutual trust and listen to employees needs. A task-oriented leader is motivated by task accomplishment. Next, task-oriented provide clear directions and set performance standards. The theory provides effectively matching the leader and situation. The most important elements to contingencies are the situation and followers. In contingency approach it’s surrounding with leader, followers and situation. The three main factors of contingency approach are leader member relations, position power and task structure. Task, structure, context, and environment are important to leadership style. Fiedler’s contingency model, situational theory, path-goal theory and Vroom-Jago contingency model developed the contingency model by Fiedler and his associates. The Fiedler’s contingency model was design to diagnose leadership style and situation in organization. The principle of this model is In Fiedler’s contingency model styles is task-oriented or relationship-oriented. To measure leader styles, Fielder’s developed the Least Preferred Coworker (LPC) scale. When leaders who score high on this scale, which are relationship oriented and those who score low on this scale are describe as task oriented. A task-oriented leader builds respect, mutual trust and listens to employee’s needs. A relationship-ori... ... middle of paper ... ...riented leadership and participative leadership (House & Mitchell, 1974, p. 83). Path goal theory attempts to combine the motivation principles become a theory of leadership. This makes path-goal theory unique because no other leadership approaches deal with this way. The other strength of path goal theory that is leaders clarifies the paths to the goals and helps remove any difficulties for the subordinates. The disadvantage that is path goal theory has not examined the basic motivational assumptions of the theory. Next, most leadership scholars agree that path-goal theory has not been adequately tested (Thomas, P. D. G. 1971). Path goal does not describe how a leader could use different styles to help subordinates feel assured of success. For example, path-goal theory does not explain how directive leadership increase subordinate motivation during ambiguous task.

Show More
Related

  • Boone and Yost

    853 Words  | 2 Pages

    2) “Attitude reflects leadership, captain”. That shows that Julius is satisfied by the way his captain is thinking. Managerial leadership has influenced organizational activities in many ways. These influences include motivating subordinates, budgeting scarce resources, and serving as a source of communication. We are referring to the LPC contingency theory. "The first and perhaps most popular, situational theory to be advanced was the ‘Contingency Theory of Leadership Effectiveness' developed by Fred E. Fiedler" (Bedeian, Glueck 504). This theory explains that group performance is a result of interaction. (Online reviews)

    Read More

  • Contingency Theory Of Leadership In Criminal Justice Organizations

    400 Words  | 1 Pages

    Contingency theorists believe that examining various situational variables is central to understanding leadership in organizations. This approach is very useful for studying leadership in criminal justice. Fiedler’s contingency model and the path-goal theory, both have distinctive elements that contribute to our understanding of leadership in criminal justice organizations Stojkovic, Kalinich, Klofas 2015 p.198). According to Fiedler, the leadership process is constrained by three major situational dimensions. First, leader-member relations are the level of trust and the degree of likability the leader enjoys with subordinate groups.

    Read More

  • My Directive Leadership Theory: Participative Leadership

    1713 Words  | 4 Pages

    My impression of leadership is the ability to motivate, inspire, set a visualization, connect, and lead by example. To become a successful leader you have to be able to convince your followers that you are trustworthy of being followed. During this semester, we have learned many, if not all of the major leadership theories and how they play a role in our everyday lives. But personally, a few of these leadership models caught me and intrigued me the whole semester so much that this paper is going to predominately be referenced about them. For example, the proposed framework that organizes leadership theories based on each theory 's focus and approach. Focus is referred to as whether or not leadership is viewed as a set of traits or actions.

    Read More

  • Leadership Self Assessment Paper

    899 Words  | 2 Pages

    In this theory leadership style changes as needed to ensure that the goal is achieved (Huber, 2014). Each situation may need to be addressed differently, which requires flexibility by all involved, especially leadership. Managers need to evaluate every individual to understand what they are capable of and how they fit the needs of the institution and or situation (Nash, 2015). As a nurse I think this is a very important trait for a leader to have because of how quickly things change and how we must work within our environment. For example, in healthcare we sometimes have to allow others to take control of a situation on to ensure the best possible outcome for each patient. In addition, the manager needs to ensure that each person works within the scope of their practice, functions at the highest level allowed and completes their tasks. To be a successful leader in healthcare and achieve desired outcomes requires a high level of flexibility by leadership. I would also say that the contingency theory would also fit into my leadership style. The basis premise of this theory is that each situation is different and leadership needs to take that into account when managing a situation (Huber, 2014). At times a leader needs to look at the bigger picture and incorporate that in their decision making process. When looking at a specific situation taking input from all parties involved can lead to a more effective solution. We can learn a lot form those around us and need to take that in account to be an effective

    Read More

  • Trader Joe's Management Style

    631 Words  | 2 Pages

    (Schermerhorn, 2012) defines Contingency thinking, “Recognizes that management practices must be tailored to fit the exact nature of each situation” (p.6). The research suggests that Trader Joe’s management is very formulaic in their approaches from defining and maintaining company culture to site location and advertising methods. Daft, R. L. (2015) States, The idea behind contingency theories is that leaders can analyze their behavior to improve leadership effectiveness” (p.17).

    Read More

  • Comparing Two Leadership Theories

    1017 Words  | 3 Pages

    Fiedler’ model is considered the first highly visible theory to present the contingency approach. It stated that effective groups depend on a proper match between a leader’s style of interacting with subordinates and the degree to which the situation gives control and influence to the leader (Fiedler, 1967). Fiedler argued that the leadership style could be indentified by taking a Least Preferred Co-worker (LPC) questionnaire he designed. When evaluating a least enjoyed co-worker, a relationship oriented leader scores high in LPC, while a task oriented leader scores low. Fiedler identified three contingency or situational dimensions: leader-member relations, task structure, and position power. A leader will have more control if he has better leader-member relations, high structured job, and stronger position power. The task-oriented leaders perform best in situations of high and low control, while relationship-oriented leaders perform best in moderate control situations. Feedler views an individual’s leadership style as fixed. To assure leader effectiveness, either situation needs to change to fit the leader or the leader needs to be replaced to fit the situation. But in reality, a leader can not use a homogeneous style to treat all their followers in a similar fashion in their work unit (Robbins & Judge, 2011, p. 382).

    Read More

  • Hersey and Blanchard´s Situational Leadership Theory Analysis

    2037 Words  | 5 Pages

    For example, under this theory the leader would employ High Directive/High Support leadership behaviors to the Disillusioned Learner. Ideally, the leader helps the followers as they progress through the stages to achieve the Self-Reliant Achiever/Delegating level. While I do not necessarily fully subscribe to the theory, it does seem to have merit and I do believe that it is important for an effective leader to have the capability and flexibility to adapt his or her style to the needs of the followers in order to encourage everyone’s success. I also believe that an effective leader plays a significant role in promoting and molding individuals’ readiness as it relates to motivation and commitment. As such, I developed my leadership assessment with these points in mind. The assessment focuses on 14 attributes that I believe are important not only for a leader to be successful within the parameters of the SLT, but...

    Read More

  • Path-Goal Leadership Theory

    867 Words  | 2 Pages

    Path-goal theory deals with the leader's style to motivate followers, to accomplish set goals (Northouse, 2010). The path-goal theory is simply the implication that a leader works with an individual to establish a goal. The leader does this by individual motivation to achieve the proposed goal, while working through obstacles that may hinder achieving that goal (Whitener, 2007). The basic assumption of path-goal theory is that the following motivates subordinates: the capability to perform the work, their efforts will result in a certain outcome, and the payoff will be worthwhile (Whitener, 2007). The path-goal theory is a pragmatic approach that the leader uses to motivate the followers to achieve the set goals.

    Read More

  • Management Theory: Contingency Theory, Theory X And Theory Y

    963 Words  | 2 Pages

    Those who take this approach assess the current situation by identifying its major factors, then focus and act on those aspects of the situation (McNamara). In his book, “Leadership Management: Achieving Breakthroughs,” K. Barman writes that by adopting the Contingency theory, the manager believes that there is no correct or best way of leading; what works in one situation may not necessarily work in another. Due to this assumption, one can say that contingency theory is similar to situational theory; there is no single, simple, or exact way to handle all situations, and effective management depends on the situation (50). Contingency theory is different from situational theory, however. He writes,

    Read More

  • Aspect Of Leadership Essay

    1811 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the contingency leadership theories both the task and the follower’s characteristics are used to determine which behavior is better suited for effective leadership. Within the contingency approach are several factors to consider: the quality of relationships, tasks and activities to be performed, perceptions of the leader based on history, the motivation of both the leader and the follower, and personal characteristics influencing the situation (Leadership Theories and Studies, 2009). The first contingency leadership theories studies were conducted by Fred Fiedler, a leadership researcher and the earliest pioneer in the field of contingency leadership, who focused on how situational variables interact with leader personality and behavior (Contingency Approach to Management, 2009); from these studies he developed the contingency leadership model. The contingency leadership model is used to determine whether a person’s leadership style is task– or relationship-oriented, and if the situation (leader-member relationships, task structure and position power) matches the leader’s style to maximize performance (Lussier & Achua, 2010). Fielder discovered that leadership effectiveness was dependent on the factors of the leader–follower relationship, task structure, and leader position.

    Read More

  • Leadership in Today's Business World

    2063 Words  | 5 Pages

    The contemporary era is the time with constant changes and new demands. In view of this point, we can't put unitary leadership into real work. Accordingly, the term of "contingency leadership theory" (also namely "situational leadership") is given rise to by those situational factors. This theory notes that managers can vary their styles to suit different circumstances.

    Read More

  • Leadership Theory

    1819 Words  | 4 Pages

    We can divide the theories that deal with leadership in 3 chronological groups. First were the trait theories. Until the 1940's, research in the field of leadership was dominated by these theories. Second came the behavioral theories which were very influent until the late 1960's. Finally, contingency theories are the most modern theories about leadership.

    Read More

  • Entrepreneurship: Advice on Starting a Business

    3528 Words  | 8 Pages

    ...House, R. J. (1996). Path-Goal Theory of Leadership: Lessons, Legacy, and a Reformulated Theory. Wharton School of Management, Leadership Quarterly. 7 (3) P. 323-352. Retrieved from http://leadership.wharton.upenn.edu/l_change/publications/House/house2.pdf

    Read More

  • Contingency Theory

    1134 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the last two decades both the public and private sector organisations have experienced incredible changes in their management processes (Hassard et al 2013). Some of these changes in the world of work have been influenced by technology, demography, globalisation to name but a few. These changes are occurring at different areas and levels thus posing a challenge for the management of organisations (Burke and Cooper 2006), hence the importance of using theoretical approaches in organisational development. Organisational theories therefore can be seen as radical changes in organizational thinking based on the changes occurring in human resource management (HRM) (Hassard, et al 2013). Supporting the thinking of Suddaby et

    Read More

  • Leadership Speech

    1103 Words  | 3 Pages

    There are many different types of theories on leadership. There is Fiedler’s contingency theory, situational theories of leadership and House’s path-goal theory. These theories are used to make an individual or manager a more effective leader. They can be used as a guide for individuals and help them achieve whatever goal is set out by their organization or group.

    Read More

More about Contingency Theory Essay

Open Document