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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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Situational Variables/3 Factors
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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Situational Variables/3 Factors
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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Situational Variables/3 Factors
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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Situational Variables/3 Factors
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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Situational Variables/3 Factors
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.