Unit -1

Management and leadership

theories
Contingency / Situational theory
Presented by :- Urmila Prajapati
Babita Regmi
Astha subedee
Uma Thapa
Amrita Pandeya
CONTINGENCY THEORY
• Contingency theory is a behavioral theory based on the views
that there is “no one best way” to lead an organization,
organize a cooperation or to make a decision.

• Contingency theory state that these action are dependent

(contingent) to the internal and external factors.

• Thus it states that there is no single theory of contingency

management.
CONTINGENCY VARIABLES
• Size of organization
• Task technology
Knowledge technology
Information technology
Biomedical technology

• Environmental uncertainties
• Individual difference
• Geographical spread of the organization
• The type of work being done
The Contingency Approach
• Fiedler’s Contingency Theory
• The Path-Goal Theory (House and Dressler)
• The Situational Leadership Theory
(Hershey and Blanchard)
• Normative Decision Model
(Vroom, Yetton / Vroom,Yetton, and Jago)
 Fiedler’s Contingency Theory
• In 1938, at the age of 16, Fred fielder emigrated from

Austria (Vienna) to the united states. He studied at the

University of Chicago.

• Fred Fiedler first obtained his Master’s Degree (MSc.)

in psychology and later he obtained his doctorate

(Ph.D.) within the field of clinical psychology

 Fiedler’s Contingency Theory
• At the end of the 1940s Fred Fiedler embarked on a study into leadership and he

studied behavior and personal characteristics in particular.

• Fred Fiedler began with a study of the leadership of high school basketball

teams.

• Fred Fiedler continued to study various areas of activity in the field of effective

leadership

• The results of these years of study can be found in the ground breaking book

Theory performanceof Leadership Effectiveness, which was published in 1967.

Contd….
• This was the first leadership theory to predict and measure the
interaction between a leader’s personality and their situational
control as a predictor of their leadership performance of Leadership
Effectiveness, which was published in 1967.
• “The quality of leadership, more than any other single factor,
determines the success or failure of an organization.”
Fiedler’s Contingency Theory

• The basic idea is simple:

 Match the leader’s style with the situation most favorable for
his/her success.
• Fiedler’s contingency theory of leadership states that best
leadership style is determined by the situation in which the
leader works.
• It recognizes natural behavioral tendencies of leaders and
suggests certain situations where these behaviors may be
more or less effective.
• Probably the earliest and certainly the most well-known
contingency theory.
Fiedler’s Contingency Theory (cont.)

• Some leaders may be generally more supportive and

relationship- oriented, whereas others may be more
concerned with task or goal accomplishment.
• The contingency model suggests that leader
effectiveness is primarily determined by selecting the
right kind of leader for a certain situation or changing
the situation to fit the particular leader’s style.
• To understand the contingency theory one must look first
at the critical characteristics of the leader and then at
the critical aspects of the situation.
 Fiedler’s Contingency Theory (cont.)

Least Preferred Coworker

- LPC Scale
• The LPC scale measures the degree to which a leader
describes favorably or unfavorably an employee with whom
he or she could work least well.
• Not the coworker you LIKED least, but the one you had the
most difficulty getting a job done with.
• A relationship-motivated leader tends to describe their
LPC in favorable terms.
• A task-motivated leader tends to describe their LPC in
unfavorable terms
 Fiedler’s Contingency Theory (cont.)

Measuring the Leadership Situation

• Leadership situations are classified as High,
Moderate, or Low control.
• More controllable situations are viewed as more
favorable for the leader.
• Control is determined by three dimensions:
 Leader-Member Relations
 Task Structure
 Position Power
 Fiedler’s Contingency Theory (cont.)
Summary of Findings From Fiedler’s Contingency Theory
Task –motivated leaders Relationship –motivated Task-motivated leaders
perform best when they leaders perform best when perform best when they
have the most control (highly they have moderate have low control (highly
favorable) control.(moderately unfavorable.
favorable)

High Moderate Low

AMOUNT OF SITUATIONAL CONTROL BY LEADER

a. Leader-member relations Both favorable and a. Leader-member relations

are good. unfavorable factors are are poor.
b. Task is well structured present b. Task is poorly structured
c. Leader has high position c. Leader has low position
power. power
PATH GOAL THEORY
This theory is also known as path goal theory of leader
effectiveness,developed by the American psychologist Robert House
in 1971 and revised in 1996.
This theory is the combination of situational leadership and Vroom’s
expectancy theory of motivation and based on academic
research(Robert house teaches at the wharton school.)
His research interests are leadership, motivation, personality and
performance and cross-cultural organizational behavior.
Contd…..
• The path goal mode can be a contingency or as transactional
leadership theory.
• This theory also attempt to predict the effect of leadership behaviour
under different situations.
• According to this theory ,leadership behaviour can affect the
performance ,satisfaction,and motivation of agroup by reward for the
performance goals, clarifying path to acheve goals and compensates
for deficiencies.
• Thus the main function of the leader is to clarify and set the goals
with subordinates and help them to find the best path to achieve the
goal in a particular situation.
LEADERSHIP STYLES IN PATH GOAL THEORY
• Basically there are four leadership styles :
1. DIRECTIVE STYLE
2. SUPPORTIVE STYLE
3. PARTICIPATIVE STYLE
4. ACHIEVEMENT ORIENTED STYLE
DIRECTIVE STYLE
• In directive leadership style ,the leaders give specific guidance of
performance , and provides rules and regulations to subordinates.
SUPPORTIVE STYLE
• In supportive, the leader is friendly and shows concern to
subordinates.
• This style of leadership is relationship oriented , with the leader
providing encouragement, interest, and attention.
PARTICIPATORY STYLE
• Participatory leadership means that the leader focuses on involving
followers in the decision making process.
• The leaders have dialogues with the subordinates and considers their
suggestions.
ACHIVEMENT ORIENTED STYLE

• Here ,leaders set high goals and expect subordinates to have high
level performance
• The achievement oriented style provides high structure and dirction
as well as high support through consideration behavior .
Contd….
• The leaders may adopt any of the styles depending upon the
situation.
• In order to adopt the type of behavior ,the leader must also take into
consideration the characteristics of subordinates - age, ability,
acceptance of authority and environmental factors-nature of the task
, structure of the organization to improve subordinates performance
and their satisfaction .
Contd….
• The nurse manager can assume any one of the leadership behavior to
affect subordinates performance .
• According to this theory , leaders must help followers to attain the
goals and must change behavior to fit the situation (environmental
contingencies and subordinates contingencies.)
 Situational Leadership Theory
Paul Hersey (1931-2012
• Renowned educationalist.
• Bachelor’s degree (BSc.) from the Seton Hall University
• A Master of Business Administration from the University of Chicago
• A doctorate (Ph.D.) from the University of Massachusetts.
• In 1960 Paul Hersey founded a center for leadership studies with his
colleagues Douglas McGregor, and Carl Rogers.
• Paul Hersey served on the faculties of a number of universities
including the Nova South-eastern University, the University of California
and the Universities of Arkansas and Ohio (United States)
 Ken Blanchard 1939

• American researcher, consultant and writer of several management

books
• Bachelor’s Degree (BA) in political science Philosophy from Cornell
University in 1961.
• Master’s Degree (MA) in the field of sociology from Colgate
University in 1963.
• Doctorate (Ph.D.) in the field of education management and
leadership from Cornell University.
• Ken Blanchard is still employed by the Cornell University in the
capacity of Visiting Professor
• After he had worked in the academic world for some time, Ken
Blanchard decided to start up a management consultancy with his
wife in 1979.
• The one minute manager (1982)
Situational Leadership Theory

• Developed by Kenneth Blanchard and Paul Hersey

• The Situational Leadership Theory explains how to match
leadership style with follower readiness.

• The key contingency factors are group member

characteristics.

• That study identified 2 distinct leader behavior categories:

1. Initiating structure (task behavior)
2. Consideration (relationship behavior)
Situational Leadership Theory (cont.)
Basics of the Model
• Task behavior is the extent to which the leader spells out
the duties and responsibilities of an individual or group.
• Relationship behavior is the extent to which the leader
engages in two- way or multi-way communication.
• leaders adapt their style or behavior based on he maturity
of their followers.
• The most effective style depends on the readiness level of
group members.
• Readiness is the extent to which a follower is able and
willing to accomplish a specific task
Situational Leadership Theory (cont.)
Components of Follower Maturity

• Job maturity- the amount of task-relevant knowledge,

experience, skill, and ability that the follower possesses.
(i.e. ability, KSA’s)
• Psychological maturity- the follower’s self confidence,
commitment, motivation, and self-respect relative to the task
at hand (i.e. willingness)
Situational Leadership Theory (cont.)
Four Levels of Readiness
• Style 1- High task and low relationship. The “telling” style
is directive.
• Style 2- High task and high relationship. The “selling”
style is also directive, but in a more persuasive, guiding,
manner.
• Style3- High relationship and low task. In the
“participating” leadership style there is less direction and
more collaboration between leader and group members.
• Style 4- Low relationship and low task. In the
“delegating” style, the leader delegates and is kept
informed of progress.
High Competence Moderate to high Low to some Low competence
High commitment competence competence low commitment
Variable commitment Low commitment
• The effective leader must gain intimate knowledge
of their followers’ needs ability and their job
demand, and change their leadership style gradually
as demanded by the situation
Situational Leadership Theory (cont.)
Evaluation of the Theory
• Based on fundamental truth about leadership: Competent
people require the least specific direction
• Gives false impression that all situations are clear-cut
• Popular because of its commonsense approach but not a lot of
empirical research to support its validity
• Situational Leadership is a useful way to get leaders to think
about how leadership effectiveness may depend somewhat on
being flexible with different subordinates, not on acting the same
way toward them all.
Normative Decision Model

• The Normative Decision Model views leadership as a

decision-making process. It specifies what a leader ought
to do in a given situation. It is solely directed at
determining the amount of subordinate input in the
decision-making process. Normative refers to the idea that
the leader should follow certain prescriptions indicated in
the model.
• Two key factors in the model are decision quality and
decision acceptance.
Normative Decision Model (cont.)

• Decision quality refers to the objective aspects of a decision that

affect group or individual performance. When an effective
alternative is chosen, decision quality is said to be high.

• Decision quality is not important when the consequences of

choosing various alternatives are about the same, or when the
consequences of the decision are unimportant.

• Decision acceptance refers to how committed group members

are to implementing a decision effectively. If group members are
responsible for implementing a decision, acceptance is crucial. At
times decision acceptance is not an issue because very few
employees are involved in implementation
Normative Decision Model (cont.)

The model identifies 5 levels of leader-subordinate (follower)

participation:
1. AI- leader decides completely alone
2. AII- leader obtains information from subordinates, leader decides
3. CI- Leader shares problem individually with subordinates, obtains
opinions, leader decides.
4. CII- leader shares problem collectively with subordinates, obtains
opinions, leader decides.
5. GII- leader shares problem with group, group decides.
A decision tree is required to implement the model. The leader
diagnoses situational variables by considering key questions.
Normative Decision Model (cont.)

• The Decision Tree- provides a branching set of questions

to be answered either “yes” or “no” which lead to a set of
decision processes that will protect quality and acceptance.
Time and subordinate development may be factored in if of
importance AFTER ensuring quality and acceptance by
using the decision tree.
Normative Decision Model (cont.)
Evaluation of the Model
• Pro:
• Supported by numerous empirical studies
• Prompts leaders to ask themselves intelligent, perceptive,
focused questions
• Following step-by-step procedures increases decision-making
effectiveness
• Con:
• Decision processes are treated as a single, discrete episode
that occur at one point in time
• Being a good decision-maker is not enough to be a good leader
• Excludes “trial-balloon” approaches to decision-making (leader
floating tentative decisions) • More about management than
about leadership, and therefore has little to do with inspiring and
influencing others and bringing about important changes
Implication of the theory in Nursing
• Based on fundamental truth about leadership:
Competent people require the least specific direction
The leader will have most influence and control when she uses a
task-oriented leadership style under favorable conditions.
• Favorable conditions may imply the that leader is accepted by
followers, the task is structured and the leader has strong position
power .
• If the group is relatively complex and unstructured and when the
leader has little position power .
STRENGTH
• Best used with new hires
• Can be valuable in training and development
• Contingency theory represents and important in modern management theory.
• Contingency approach are now widely adopted in planning organizing leading and
motivating function of management.
• Supported by a lot of empirical research
• Looks at the impact of the situation on leaders
• It is predictive
• It does not require that people be effective in all situations
• It provides a way to assess leader style that could be useful to an organization
LIMITATION
• It fails to identify all the important contingencies.
• These theory may not be applicable to all managerial issues.
• There is some doubt whether the LPC (Least preferred co-worker) is a
true measure of leadership style
• It is cumbersome to use
• Doesn't explain what to do when there is a mismatch between style
and situation
• Other situational variables, like training and experience, have an
impact in a leader's effectiveness
 References
• Finkelman w. anita (2009), Leadership and Management in Nursing, page
no.5, published by Dorling Kindersley (india). Pvt.Ltd., licensees of
Pearson education in South Asia.
• Patricia Kelly, Leadership and management in nursing
• Patricia S. YoderWise, Leading and managing in nursing, sixth edition
• Basu Rumki (2004), Public Administration (Concepts and Theories), 5th
edition, page no. 163, published by: STERLING PUBLISHERS PRIVATE
LIMITED A-59, Okhla Industrial Area, Phase- II, New, Delhi-110020.
• Dr. Singh Indira (2012), Leading and Managing in Health, 2nd edition, page
no. 145-149, published by: Mr. J.B. Singh, Sallaghari, Bansbari,
Kathmandu-3
• Pant .P(,2009) principles of management, published by budha academic
publisher and distributer pvt .ltd Kathmandu,nepal
Evaluating Fiedler’s Theory (cont.)

• Fiedler’s research suggests that low LPC leaders will perform

better in either low favorability situations or in very high
favorability situations. High LPC leaders will perform best in
moderate favorability situations.

• However, Fiedler’s Contingency Theory was found to be too

complicated to have had much of an impact on the majority of
leaders.
Path-Goal Theory (cont.)
Evaluation of Theory
• Path-Goal Theory is so complicated and has so many
nuances
– it is primarily studied by researchers and scholars in
the field of leadership
– it has little value or at best questionable value for
practicing leaders.