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LEADERSHIP THEORY AND PRACTICE SIXTH EDITION
Contingency Theory
Chapter 6
LEADERSHIP THEORY AND PRACTICE SIXTH EDITION
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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LEADERSHIP THEORY AND PRACTICE SIXTH EDITION
Contingency Theory Approach Description
Contingency theory is a leader-match theory (Fiedler & Chemers, 1974)
Tries to match leaders to appropriate situations
Leader’s effectiveness depends on how well the leader’s style fits the context
Fiedler’s generalizations about which styles of leadership are best and worst are based on empirically grounded generalizations
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Perspective
LEADERSHIP THEORY AND PRACTICE SIXTH EDITION
Contingency Theory Approach Description
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Effective leadership is contingent on matching a leader’s style to the right setting
Assessment Based On:
Leadership Styles
Situational Variables
Definition
LEADERSHIP THEORY AND PRACTICE SIXTH EDITION
Leadership Styles
Leadership 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-motivated
Low LPCs = Task-motivated
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LEADERSHIP THEORY AND PRACTICE SIXTH EDITION
Leader-Member Relations
Refers to the group atmosphere and the degree of confidence, loyalty, and attraction of followers for leader Group atmosphere –
• Good – high degree of subordinate trust, liking, positive relationship
• Poor – little or no subordinate trust, friction exists, unfriendly
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LEADERSHIP THEORY AND PRACTICE SIXTH EDITION
Task Structure
The degree to which requirements of a task are clear and spelled out• High 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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LEADERSHIP THEORY AND PRACTICE SIXTH EDITION
Task Structure continued
• Low Structure – requirements/rules - not clearly
stated/knownpath to accomplish - has many
alternativestask completion - cannot be clearly
demonstrated/verified unlimited number - correct solutions
exist
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LEADERSHIP THEORY AND PRACTICE SIXTH EDITION
Situational Variables/3 Factors
Position PowerDesignates the amount of authority a leader
has to reward or punish followers• Strong Power –
authority to hire or fire, give raises in rank or pay
• Weak Power – no authority to hire or fire, give raises in
rank or pay
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LEADERSHIP THEORY AND PRACTICE SIXTH EDITION
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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LEADERSHIP THEORY AND PRACTICE SIXTH EDITION
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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LEADERSHIP THEORY AND PRACTICE SIXTH EDITION 12
Northouse - Leadership Theory and Practice, Sixth Edition © 2012 SAGE Publications, Inc.
LEADERSHIP THEORY AND PRACTICE SIXTH EDITION
Research Findings of Leader Style Effectiveness
LPC ScoreFavorableness
of SituationDefinition
LowVery Favorable
Very Unfavorable
Situations going smoothly
Situations out of control
High
Moderately Favorable
Situations with some degreeof certainty; not completelyin or out of leader’s control
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LEADERSHIP THEORY AND PRACTICE SIXTH EDITION
Research Findings of Leader Style Effectiveness
Reasons for leader mismatch, ineffectiveness:
LPC style doesn’t match a particular situation; stress and anxiety result
Under stress, leader reverts to less mature coping style learned in earlier development
Leader’s less mature coping style results in poor decision making and consequently negative work outcomes
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LEADERSHIP THEORY AND PRACTICE SIXTH EDITION
How Does the Contingency Theory Approach Work?
Focus of Contingency Theory
Strengths
Criticisms
Application
LEADERSHIP THEORY AND PRACTICE SIXTH EDITION
Contingency Theory Approach
By assessing the 3 situational variables, any organizational context can be placed in one of the 8 categories represented in the Contingency Theory Model
After the nature of a situation is determined, the fit between leader’s style and the situation can be evaluated
By measuring Leader’s LPC score and the 3 situational variables, it is possible to predict whether a leader will be effective in a particular setting
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Focus
Overall Scope
LEADERSHIP THEORY AND PRACTICE SIXTH EDITION
How Does Contingency Theory Work?
Effective in Categories – 1, 2, 3, & 8
If individual’s style matches appropriate category in the model, leader will be effective
If individual’s style does not match appropriate category in the 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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LEADERSHIP THEORY AND PRACTICE SIXTH EDITION
How Does Contingency Theory Work?
Example:Situation
Leader–Member Relation – GoodTask Structure – HighPosition Power – HighCategory – 1Low LPC – (Individual who is task-oriented will be effective)
By measuring Leader’s LPC score and the 3 situational variables, it is possible to predict whether a leader will be effective in a particular setting.
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LEADERSHIP THEORY AND PRACTICE SIXTH EDITION
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.
Broadened understanding. Contingency theory has broadened the scope of leadership understanding from a focus on a single, best type of leadership (e.g., trait approach) to emphasizing the importance of a leader’s style and the demands of different situations.
Predictive. Because Contingency theory is predictive, it provides relevant information regarding the type of leadership that is most likely to be effective in particular contexts.
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LEADERSHIP THEORY AND PRACTICE SIXTH EDITION
Strengths Not an all-or-nothing approach. Contingency
theory contends that leaders should not expect to be effective in every situation; thus companies should strive to place leaders in optimal situations according to their leadership style.
Leadership profiles. Contingency theory supplies data on leadership styles that could be useful to organizations in developing leadership profiles for human resource planning.
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LEADERSHIP THEORY AND PRACTICE SIXTH EDITION
Criticisms Fails to fully explain why leaders with
particular leadership styles are more effective in some situations than others
Criticism of LPC scale validity as it does not correlate well with other standard leadership measures
Cumbersome to use in real-world settings Fails to adequately explain what should be
done about a leader/situation mismatch in the workplace
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LEADERSHIP THEORY AND PRACTICE SIXTH EDITION
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 context
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