Leadership

Chapter 6 - Contingency Theory

Mansoor Ullah Baig (IMSciences, Peshawar)

Overview
 Contingency Theory Approach Perspective
 Leadership Styles
 Situational Variables
 Research Findings of Leader Style Effectiveness

 How Does the Contingency Theory Approach Work?

Mansoor Ullah Baig (IMSciences, Peshawar)

Contingency Theory Approach Description

Perspective

 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

Mansoor Ullah Baig (IMSciences, Peshawar)

 Contingency Theory Approach Description

Definition

Effective leadership is contingent on matching

a leader’s style to the right setting

 Assessment based on:

 Leadership Styles
 Situational Variables

Mansoor Ullah Baig (IMSciences, Peshawar)

Leadership Styles
Leadership styles are described as:
 Task-motivated (Low Least Preferred Co-workers)
 Leaders are concerned primarily with reaching a goal
 Relationship-motivated (High Least Preferred Co-workers)
 Leaders are concerned with developing close interpersonal
relationships

Leader Style Measurement Scale (Fiedler)

Least Preferred Co-Worker Scale
High LPCS = Relationship-motivated
Low LPCS = Task-motivated
Situational Variables/3 Factors

o 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

Mansoor Ullah Baig (IMSciences, Peshawar)

 Situational Variables/3 Factors
o Task Structure
Concerns 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
Mansoor Ullah Baig (IMSciences, Peshawar)
 Situational Variables/3 Factors
o Task Structure, cont’d.
Concerns the degree to which requirements
of a task are clear and spelled out
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
Mansoor Ullah Baig (IMSciences, Peshawar)
 Situational Variables/3 Factors

o Position Power
– Designates 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
Mansoor Ullah Baig (IMSciences, Peshawar)
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

Mansoor Ullah Baig (IMSciences, Peshawar)

Situational Variables/3 Factors
3 Factors - determine the favorableness of
various situations in organizations
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
Mansoor Ullah Baig (IMSciences, Peshawar)
 Contingency Model

Mansoor Ullah Baig (IMSciences, Peshawar)

Research Findings of Leader Style
Effectiveness

Favorableness
LPCS Score of Situation Definition

Low Very Favorable Situations going smoothly

Very Unfavorable
Situations out of control

High Moderately Situations with some degree

Favorable of certainty; not completely
in or out of leader’s control

Mansoor Ullah Baig (IMSciences, Peshawar)

Mansoor Ullah Baig (IMSciences, Peshawar)
Research Findings of Leader Style
Effectiveness
 Reasons for leader mismatch ineffectiveness:
• LPCS 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

Mansoor Ullah Baig (IMSciences, Peshawar)

 How Does the Contingency
Theory Approach Work?
 Focus of Contingency Theory
 Strengths
 Criticisms
 Application

Mansoor Ullah Baig (IMSciences, Peshawar)

 Contingency Theory Approach
Focus

 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

Overall Scope

 By measuring Leader’s LPCS score and the 3 situational

variables, it is possible to predict whether a leader will be
effective in a particular setting
Mansoor Ullah Baig (IMSciences, Peshawar)
 How Does Contingency Theory Work?

 If individuals style matches appropriate category in the model,

leader will be effective

 If individuals style does not match appropriate category in the

model, leader will not be effective

Mansoor Ullah Baig (IMSciences, Peshawar)

 How Does Contingency Theory Work?
How Does it Work?

Example:
Situation
Leader–Member Relation – Good
Task Structure – High
Position Power – High
Category – 1
Low LPCS – (Individual who is task-oriented will be effective)

By measuring Leader’s LPCS score and the 3 situational variables, it is possible

to predict whether a leader will be effective in a particular setting
Mansoor Ullah Baig (IMSciences, Peshawar)
 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 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.

Mansoor Ullah Baig (IMSciences, Peshawar)

 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.

Mansoor Ullah Baig (IMSciences, Peshawar)

Criticisms
 Fails to fully explain why leaders with particular leadership styles
are more effective in some situations than others
 Criticism of LPCS scale validity as it does not correlate well with
other standard leadership measures
 Fails to adequately explain what should be done about a
leader/situation mismatch in the workplace

Mansoor Ullah Baig (IMSciences, Peshawar)

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

Mansoor Ullah Baig (IMSciences, Peshawar)