Leadership Final Review Chapter 6

Front 1

Contingency theory description

Back 1

-leader/match theory
-match leaders to appropriate situations
-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

Front 2

definition

Back 2

-match leader's style to the right setting
-assessment based on
a. leadership styles
b. situational variables

Front 3

leadership styles

Back 3

-task motivated (low LPC's): concerned with reaching goal
-relationship motivated (High LPC's): concerned with developing close interpersonal relationship

Front 4

leader style measurement scale (Fiedler)

Back 4

least preferred co-worker (LPC) scale
high LPC's=relationship motivated
low LPC's=task motivated

Front 5

situational variables : 3 factors

Back 5

a. leader member relations
b. task structure
c. position power

Front 6

leader member relations

Back 6

-refers to the group atmosphere and the degree of confidence, loyalty, and attraction of followers for leader
-group atmosphere:
good: high degree of sub. trust, liking, positive relationship
bad: little or no trust, friction exists, unfriendly

Front 7

task structure

Back 7

-concerns the degree to which requirements of a task are clear and spelled out
-high structure:
a. rules/requirements are clearly stated and known
b. path to accomplish has few alternatives
c. task completion can be clearly demonstrated
d. correct solutions exist

Front 8

task structure cont'd

Back 8

-low structure:
a. rules/requirements are unclear/not stated
b. path to accomplish has many alternatives
c. task completion cannot be demonstrated/verified
d. unlimited number of correct solutions exiest

Front 9

position power

Back 9

-designates the amount of authority a lead has to reward or punish followers
-strong power: can hire, fire, give raises in rank or pay
-weak power: no authority to hire, fire, or give raises

Front 10

situational variables : 3 factors

Back 10

-determine the favorableness of various situations in organizations
-situations that are rated
a. most favorable: good leader-follower relations, defined tasks, and strong leader position power
b. least favorable: poor leader-follower relations, unstructured tasks, and weak leader position power
c. moderately favorable: fall in between extremes

Front 11

reasons for leader mismatch ineffectiveness

Back 11

-LPC style doesn't match situation which creates stress and anxiety
-under stress, leaders revert to less mature coping style learned in early development
-leader's less mature coping style results in poor decision making and consequently negative work outcomes

Front 12

how contingency theory works

Back 12

-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 leader's style can be matched
-overall scope: by measuring leader's LPC score and the 3 variables, it's possible to predict whether a leader will be effective

Front 13

how it works

Back 13

-low LPC's (task)=1,2,3,and 8
-high LPC's (relationship)=4,5,6,and 7
-mid LPC's=1,2, and 3
-if style matches situation, leader will be effective and vice versa

Front 14

strengths

Back 14

-empirical support: tested and found valid and reliable in explaining how to achieve effective leadership
-broadened understanding: broadened scope of leadership
-predictive: provides info regarding type of leadership that will most likely be effective in particular contexts

Front 15

strengths

Back 15

-not an all-or-nothing approach: leaders should not expect to be effective in every situation
-leadership profiles

Front 16

criticisms

Back 16

-fails to explain why leaders with certain styles are more effective in some situations than others
-criticism of LPC scale validity, does not correlate well with other measurement tools
-cumbersome to use in real world
-doesn't explain what should be done with a leader/situation mismatch

Front 17

application

Back 17

-answers many questions about leadership of individuals in various org.
-helpful in assisting upper management in making changes to lower level positions