PRINCIPLES OF MANAGEMENT

2019-21

• Situational Or Contingency Approach

• Fiedler’s Contingency Approach To Leadership

Submitted To : Prof. Aslam Ansari

Leadership
Leadership is the art of motivating a group of people to act towards
achieving a common goal.

Uses of leadership in Business

In a business organization, it can used in directing workers and

colleagues with a strategy to meet the company’s goals and objectives.
Situational Or Contingency Approach
• Also known as Hersey-Blanchard model.

The Hersey-Blanchard Model, or situational leadership, was developed

by author Paul Hersey, and leadership expert Ken Blanchard, author of
"The One Minute Manager." The model is not a static leadership style.
Instead, it is flexible, wherein the manager adapts management style to
various factors in the workplace including his or her relationship with
other employees.
What does it means?
• It simply means managers who live by the model must choose
the leadership style as it relates to the maturity of followers. For
example, if follower maturity is high, the model suggests the leader
provide minimal guidance. By contrast, if follower maturity is low, the
manager may need to provide explicit directions and supervise work
closely in order to ensure the group has clarity on their goals and how
they are expected to achieve them.
 Maturity levels of employees
• The maturity level of followers is divided into three categories:

1.High : High maturity includes highly capable and confident individuals who
are experienced and work well on their own.

2.Moderate : Moderate maturity is generally divided into two groups—the

first are employees who are capable, but lack enough confidence to take on
the responsibility to do so, and the second has the confidence but is not
willing to do the task at hand.

3.Low : Low maturity employees are not skilled enough to do the task but
are very enthusiastic.
Special Considerations
• Hersey and Blanchard came up with four different types of leadership
styles based on the task and relationships leaders come in contact
with in the workplace. According to the model, the following are
styles of leadership managers can use:

1. Delegating style
2. Participating style
3. Selling style
4. Telling style
 Contd…
1. Delegating Styles : A low-task, low-relationship style wherein the leader
allows the group to take responsibility for task decisions. This is best
used with high maturity followers.

2. Participating Style : A low-task, high-relationship style that emphasizes

shared ideas and decisions. Managers using the participating style tend to
use it with moderate followers who are not only experienced but with
those who aren't as confident to do the tasks assigned.
3. Selling Style : Refers to a high-task, high-relationship style, in which the
leader attempts to sell his ideas to the group by explaining task directions in
a persuasive manner. This, too, is used with moderate followers. Unlike the
previous style, these followers have the ability but are unwilling to do the
job.

4. Telling Style: Refers a high-task, low-relationship style wherein the leader

gives explicit directions and supervises work closely. This style is geared
toward low maturity followers.
Advantages of Hersey-Blanchard model.
• Leaders can change their style at their own discretion at any time.

• Employees may find a leader who adapts to shifting changes in the

workforce as a desirable trait.

• A manager can quickly evaluate a situation and make decisions as he

or she sees fit.
Disadvantages of Hersey-Blanchard model.
• Situational leadership may put too much responsibility on the
manager.

• The model may not also be applicable to different cultures.

• The model may also prioritize relationships and tasks, as opposed to a

company's long-term goals.
Fiedler’s Contingency Approach To Leadership
Introduction
• Fiedler’s Contingency Theory, just like all contingency theories, states
that there is no one best way to lead your team. The best way to lead
your team will instead be determined by the situation.

• It is important to realize that in Fiedler’s Contingency Theory your

leadership style is fixed. You cannot change your style to suit the
situation. Instead, you must put leaders into situations that match
their style.
• There are two important factors in Fiedler’s Contingency Theory: Leadership style
and Situational Favourableness.

1. Leadership Styles

Identify Your Leadership Style

The first step in using the model is to determine your natural leadership styles.

* To score yourself on this scale you have to describe the co-worker with whom you
least prefer to work.
* What do you think about those people you least prefer working with?
HOW??
• To do this, Fiedler developed a scale called the Least Preferred Co-
worker (LPC).

* To score yourself on this scale you have to describe the co-worker

with whom you least prefer to work.

* What do you think about those people you least prefer working
with?
Least Preferred Co-Worker Score Calculator
Negative Score Positive
12345678 Harmonious
Quarrelsome

Untrustworthy 12345678 Trustworthy

Unkind 12345678 Kind
Insincere 12345678 Sincere
Uncooperative 12345678 Cooperative
Backbiting 12345678 Loyal
Boring 12345678 Interesting
Rejecting 12345678 Accepting
Unpleasant 12345678 Pleasant
Gloomy 12345678 Cheerful
Guarded 12345678 Open
Calculation
• You can now calculate your LPC score by totalling all the numbers you
circled.
You can interpret your score as follows:
A. 73 and above: You are a relationship-oriented leader.
B. 54 and below: You are a task-oriented leader.
C. Between 55 and 72: You are a mixture of both and it’s up to you to
determine which style suits you the best.
2. Situational Favourableness
• The next step is to understand the favourableness of the situation you face. This is determined by

how much control over the situation you have as a leader.

• Determining situational favourableness is done by examining the following three factors:

A. Leader-Member Relations

B. Task Structure

C. Position Power
 A. Leader-Member Relations : This factor measures how much your
team trusts you. Greater trust increases the favourableness of the
situation and less trust reduces it.

B. Task Structure : This factor measures the tasks that need to be

performed. Are they clear and precise or vague?

C. Position Power
This is determined by your authority, meaning the power you have to
reward or punish your subordinates. As you might expect, having more
power increases the situational favourableness.
Understand your Situation

To understand the situation you are facing answer the following questions:

• Is trust with your team high or low (member relations)?

• Are tasks vague or clear-cut and well understood (task structure)?

• Is your authority low or high (position power)?

The easiest way to do this is to score each answer from 1 to 10, with 10
representing the highest value.
Find the Right Leadership Style

The red line in this diagram represents task-oriented leaders, and the yellow line
represents relationship-oriented leaders.
Advantages of Fiedler’s Contingency Theory of Leadership

• It provides a simple rule of thumb for identifying which leaders are best for
which situations.

• Unlike many other leadership theories, it takes the situation into account in
determining the effectiveness of a leader.

• Both the LPC and the situational factors are easy to measure
Disadvantages of Fiedler’s Contingency Theory of Leadership

• It’s not flexible at all. If your leadership style doesn’t match the
situation that’s it. Game over. You need to be replaced. There is
nothing you can do to change the situation.
• The LPC scale is subjective and so its possible incorrectly assess your
own leadership style.
• If you happen to fall in the middle of the LPC scale then there is no
guidance as to which kind of leader you might be.
• Your assessment of the situation is subjective. This means you may
incorrectly assess the situation and consequently, you may incorrectly
determine what kind of leader is required.
Conclusion
• Fiedler’s Contingency Theory of Leadership states that your effectiveness as a
leader is determined by how well your leadership style matches the situation.

• The theory is based on the premise that each of us has one and only one
leadership style which can be scored on the Least Preferred Co-worker (LPC)
scale. Using this LPC scale you are either a relationship-oriented leader or a task-
oriented leader.

• According to Fiedler, task-oriented leaders get the best results when faced with
strongly favourable or strongly unfavourable situations. In situations of mixed
favourableness then relationship-oriented leaders get the best results.
Made And Presented By Group 4