UNIVERSITY OF GONDAR

COLLEGE OF MEDICINE AND HEALTH SCIENCES

School of Public Health
Department of management and economics
 PRESENTATION ON:
THE CONTIGENCY SCHOOL OF
THOUGHT By
Azmeraw T.
Zewdi A.
Tadesse G.
Nigussie B.
 THE CONTIGENCY SCHOOL OF
THOUGHT

History of the thought

The contingency approach can be seen as
a development of the systems approach.
The starting point for contingency theory is
generally recognized to be significant after
researches conducted at England's
Tavistock institute by Burns and stalker
study (1961) and Joan Wood ward (1965).
 Major contributors

1.The Burns and stalker study(1961)

From their study they distinguish
 The effects of the external environment on their
pattern of management and economic performance.
 five different kinds of environments ranging from stable
to least predictable (complex) environments.
 They also identified two divergent systems of
management practice and structure
• The mechanistic system
• The organic system which can be used
depending on the structure and stability of the
organization.
 2.The Lawrence and Lorsch study(1967)

• Attempted to extend the work of the Burns and Stalker

• Examined not only the over all structure but also the way
in which specific departments were organized to meet
different aspects of organizational environment.
 3.The Joan Wood ward study (1965).

• The effect of technology on organizational structure

was carried out.
• Her main thesis was that industrial organizations which
design their formal organizational structures to fit the
type of production technology they employ are likely to
be commercially successful
 4.The work of Charles Perrow(1970) on
major dimensions of technology

• The work by wood ward was extended by Perrow

suggests that by classifying organizations according to
their technology and predictability of work tasks, we
should be able to predicted the most effective form of
structure.
 5.The peters and Waterman study

• show the relation ship between

o size of an organizational subunits and
o individual attitudes and behavior.
• found that in the larger subunits there appeared to be a
clear negative relation ship to
o job satisfaction,
o absenteeism and staff turn over,
o subject to organizational insufficiency.
 These pioneering efforts have refined
most recently by the Aston group (a
group of researchers from the university
of Aston England) in 1970
 IDEOLOGY
OF CONTIENGENCY SCHOOL
The classical approach
Focused attention on
• The formal structure
• Technical requirements of the organization and
• General principle of the organization.
The human behavior/relation approach
Focused attention on
• The informal organization and
• On psychological and social needs of people at work.
The System view of organization and management
Placed emphasis on
• The socio technical approach,
• The interrelationship of sub systems and
• Multiple channels of interaction
 IDEOLOGY con…

In contrast, the contingency approach, which

can be seen as an extension of the
systems approach
• suggests that a more mechanistic form
of organization is more effective when
The environment is relatively simple and stable
Tasks and technology are relatively routine
 Relatively high percentage of non professional
workers are employed.
 IDEOLOGY con…

• In contrast, a less bureaucratic or more

organic form of organization is likely to be
more effective when
The environment is complex and dynamic,
The tasks and technology are non routine
Relatively high percentage of professionals are
involved.
 IDEOLOGY con…

• Contingency theorists suggest that the

quality of improvement function might be
organized differently depending on
The environment (external Vs internal) faced by
each organization
Nature of problems and outer issues being
addressed
The type of employees available.
 IDEOLOGY con…

The Contingency approach takes the view that

there
• is no one best universal structure
• are a large number of variables or situational
factors which influence organizational
• design
• performance.
• It also emphasizes on the need of flexibility.
 IDEOLOGY con…

• A contingent approach can be seen as a

form of “If-Then” functional relation ship.
 If -certain situational factors exist
 Then- certain variables in the organizational
structure and systems of management are most
appropriate.
 Fig. A Conceptual frame work for
contingency model
THEN:-
variables in
organizational
Structure and system
Of management

IF:-environment (situational factors)

Internal - structure, size, technology, process
External -social, political/legal, technical, economic
 Contributions of the contingency
theory
It has provided:
• a further insight in to our understanding of relation ship
among factors influencing the
» structure,
» management
» operation of work organizations.
• Has relevance in terms of
division of work
coordination of activities
hierarchy and definition of responsibilities
 method of work
motivation and commitment of staff
style and system of management.
 Contributions con…

Help managers to develop:

• a more through understanding of complex
situations
• to take appropriate action .
• It draws attention to the difficulties with mixed
forms of organizations
• Understanding of different structures for different
activities and situation.
• Helps to contribute more effective performance
through flexibility.
 Criticisms or limitations

The criticisms, difficulties and limitations of the contingency

approach usually revolve around seven main issues
1.Causal relation ship:-
 The nature of causal relation ship between organization
and situational factors are open to question.
 Most contingency models imply a causal relation ship
between structure and performance. However, certain
factors influences performance independently of
structure .
 2. Organizational performance

 Organizational performance is multi faceted and the

measurement of performance applied in many of the
contingency studies has not been precise .
 It is impossible to drive a single criterion for the
appropriateness of the fit among various factors
organization and improved performance .
 3. Independent variables

-The statues of the “contingent” variables is open to

question.
-large organizations may be in position to exercise to
control over certain aspects of their organization.
 4. Multiple contingencies

Organizations
 face multiple unique contingencies
there is potential for multi-way relation ship among
the range of organizations
 there are variables which result in the need for
different pattern of structure
 5.Planned change

• Contingency models of organization fail to give sufficient

emphasis to unanticipated consequences of planned
change
(e.g. introduction to new technology)
 6.Power factors

• Organizational structure is not necessarily determined by

impersonal contingency conditions but also what are
referred to as “power” factor.
• The pressure of external control
 Government control
 political context
 power of social norms, etc are Lesley
emphasized
 7.Time of organizational change

• Most organizations operate under conditions of constant

change.
• There might be a change in the contingency factor
before the organization will respond.
Generally, contingency approach

It gives few clue on to how to asses the

situation
It might be difficult to asses the whole situation
Attempts to present all situational problems
THANK YOU