Fiedler’s Contingency Theory of Leadership

Discuss About The Education Door Twelfth Biennial Symposium.

The analysis of the essay is based on the recommendations that can be given to the sales managers of a large manufacturing organization. The major reasons behind this decision of the managers are the rapid changes that have occurred in the external environment and the requirement of providing immediate response to the customers (Fiedler 2015). The high staff turnover was also a major reason behind the change related decision of the manager. The reason behind the high staff turnover has been the directive nature of the management and the lack of contribution from the employees in the decision-making process of the company (Lehmann-Willenbrock et al. 2015). The three theories of leadership will be analysed in the essay so that the best theory can be applied in the organization by the sales manager.

According to, Appelbaum et al. (2015), Fiedler’s contingency theory of leadership is related to the effectiveness of the leadership in an organization which is based on the study of the wide range of activities related to effectiveness. This study is mainly concentrated on relationship between the organizational performance and leadership. The organization can achieve the effectiveness in group activities with the help of leadership and there is also a need for the assessment of the leader according to the underlying trait.

Traits of the leader – The attitudes of the leader can be assessed with the help of the scale developed by Fiedler named the ‘least preferred co-worker’ scale. This scale is used to rate the leaders with whom the employees are least willing to work. The scale is based on a questionnaire which consists of 16 items which are used to reflect the disposition of the leader towards the others in the organization (Oc 2017). The theory states that the leaders who score high on the LPC scale are more oriented towards the relationship with the employees and the low score implies that the leaders are more oriented towards the tasks. The leaders with high LPC scores derive more satisfaction in the interpersonal relationships and on the other hand the leaders with low scores are concerned about the completion of tasks (Boehe 2016).

Situational factors – The behaviour of the leaders is based on the favourability of the situation in which they work. As suggested by Fiedler, the three factors that are related to the determination of favourable situation for the leaders are as follows,

Hersey’s and Blanchard’s Situational Leadership Model

Leader-member relations – The degree of trust between the leaders and the members of the group and the level of willingness of the group members to follow the instructions of the leader.

Task structure – The degree of understanding of the tasks by the members is also affects the behaviour of the leaders in the organization (McCleskey 2014).

Position power – The power that is possessed by the leader with respect to the position that they hold in the organization and the degree up to which the leaders can exercise their authority affect the behaviour of the leader.

Effectiveness of leadership – The effectiveness of the leaders is based on the interaction related to the leader’s behavioural style with the favourableness of situational characteristics. The situation is most favourable when the relationships between the leaders and the members are good, the tasks are structured in nature, and leader holds a strong position. It also suggested by Fiedler that the leaders can act in different ways in different types of situations (Bates 2016).

The model states that every different type of leader can be successful in their own style. The different ways by which the management can increase the efficiency of the teams are explained in the model. This model can help the organization in the identification of the best type of leader who can be effective for the organization (Vandayani, Kartini and Hilmiana 2015).

The model has many disadvantages as well which are related to the inadequacy of the information provided in the literatures. The complexity of the model is also another major disadvantage of the model. The third cultural change related to increase of motivation of the employees can be successfully made with the help of this model (Todd et al. 2014).

As discussed by, Fernandez (2017), The Hersey’s and Blanchard’s Situational Leadership model deals states that the leadership style of the managers in the organization needs to match with the readiness of the subordinates or the employees which completes an entire cycle in the organizational processes. The theory mainly deals with the readiness levels of the members of the team working under the leader. Readiness mainly relates to the extent up to which the followers possess the ability and the willingness to complete a specific task. Ability is related to the knowledge, skill and experience that an employee had developed with the help of which he can complete the given job. Willingness is related to the commitment and motivation that is required by the individual for the accomplishment of particular tasks. This style of leadership therefore totally depends on the readiness of the followers (Meier 2016). The business of the individuals can be measured based on four major levels which are, R1 – low readiness of the follower, R2 – low to moderate readiness of the follower, R3 – moderate to high readiness of the follower, R4 – high readiness of followers (Dinh et al. 2014).

Path Goal Model of Leadership

The directions are provided to the followers at lower levels of readiness, due to this the decisions are directed by the leaders. On the other hand, in case of high levels of readiness that directions are provided by the followers, and the decisions are follower directed. The movement of the followers from the low to higher levels determine the changes that occur in their levels of readiness (Tyssen, Wald and Spieth 2014).

Task behaviour – The extent up to which the leader provides instructions, duties and responsibilities to the follower. The leader defines their role in the organization and in this case one-way communication takes place between them.

Relationship behaviour – The extent up to which the leader pays attention to the followers and provides them with the encouragement that is required to complete the tasks. In this case, two-way communication occurs between the leaders and the followers (Xenikou 2017).

The task behaviour and relationship behaviour are combined and four different styles of leadership can be formed which are as follows, S1 Telling, S2 Selling, S3 Participating, S4 Delegating (Antonakis and House 2014).

The major advantage of this leadership model is related to the simplicity related to its usage as compared to the Fiedler’s Contingency Model. The model helps in the recognition of the flexibility related to the leaders and the importance of followers which determines the behaviour of the leaders (Wong and Giessner 2016).

The limitations of this model deals with the lack of explanation in the theory related to the leadership style of the female managers as comparted to the male managers. The definition that is provided in the model related to the maturity of the followers is also not sufficient to determine the ability by which they can take responsibility.

The cultural changes which can be made in the organization if the manager uses this theory are increasing the levels of motivation among the sales person with the increase in the willingness of the employees to complete their jobs (Behrendt, Matz and Göritz 2017). The increase in level of readiness will enable to empower the employees and increase their involvement in the decision-making process of the organization. The sales team can also be motivated up to higher levels in comparison to the past (Murase et al. 2014).

According to, Domingues, Vieira and Agnihotri (2017), the Path Goal Model of Leadership is used to describe the ways by which leaders can encourage and further support the followers to achieve the goals that have been set by developing an easier path which is easy and clear for the employees. The main functions of the leaders are, to describe the path to the subordinates so that they can decide the appropriate way to proceed. The roadblocks that can arise in the fulfilment of the job can also be removed by the leader. The leaders can choose to take a limited or strong approach in these cases. In the process of removing the problems in their path, the leader can either act in a positive or negative manner. The employees can be provided with occasional rewards or the leaders can provide huge amounts of rewards (Hamstra et al. 2014). This theory mainly relates with four different styles of leadership as discussed below,

Traits of the leader

Supportive leadership – This style will enable the leaders in understanding the needs of followers and further creating a working environment which is friendly in nature (Anderson and Sun 2017).

Directive leadership – This style is related to the leaders who provide instructions to the followers about the jobs that need to be done and the ways by which the followers can complete the job.

Participative leadership – The leaders who follow this style of leadership will consult with the followers before taking any decision related to the organizational processes (Fitzsimons, Sackett and Finkel 2016).

Achievement – oriented leadership – The leaders following this style of leadership will set goals for the followers so that they can improve their work processes (Li, Mitchell and Boyle 2016).

The advantages of the path goal theory rely in its ability to provide results when there is an emergency situation. The irrational ways of the leaders can also cause problems in the application of this theory in the organizations. The over dependence on leaders can cause issues in the entire work process (Whisnant and Khasawneh 2014).

The three cultural changes can be made by the sales manager with the application of this theory. The sales team can be empowered by applying the participative style of leadership and including them in the decision-making process (Peck 2017). The team can be provided with more value by applying the supportive style of leadership and understanding their needs and demands. The motivation levels can be applying the achievement-oriented style of leadership and setting up goals for the followers (Lehmann-Willenbrock et al. 2015).

The Fiedler’s Contingency model is complicated in nature and the information provided is also inadequate. This model does not provide adequate information for the purpose of solving the issues that are raised in the case study by the sales manager. It only helps in judging the best type of leaders for the company. On the other hand, the Hersey’s and Blanchard’s Situational Leadership model is used for the purpose of judging the readiness of the leaders regarding the readiness level or motivation of the employees. This model can only be used for the purpose of increasing the levels of motivation in the organization. The Path Goal Model of Leadership is used for the purpose of judging style of leadership and helping the subordinates in achieving their goals. The rewards related factor can also be introduced with the help of this model. This can help the sales manager to achieve the cultural changes that are mentioned in the case study.

Situational factors

Conclusion

The above discussed theories can be implemented by the sales manager to bring the desired changes. The changes in the external environment of the organization demands changes in the organizational processes as well. The leadership style which is the most suitable for organization facing employee related problems is the transformational leadership which will help the management in motivating the employees. The employees need to be involved in the process of decision-making of the organization and their ideas need to be given importance. This will further make the employees like they are a part of the organization and will increase their loyalty as well. This requires the leaders to focus on the big picture and help the employees in achieving the goals and targets.

The Sales Manager of the large manufacturing company can be recommended to use the situational leadership style and the path goal leadership style. The implementation of these two styles will help the manager in making the three changes in the organization. The rapid changes in the external environment of the manufacturing organization can be addressed by the implementation of the two theories. The sales manager in the manufacturing company needs to play a crucial role in the implementation of changes. The staff turnover can also be reduced with the help of path goal leadership theory and the ways by which the sales manager discussed in the case study influences the followers. The lack in the continuity of services can be addressed by the sales manager by implementing the theories in the organization. The management of the manufacturing company can also become flexible after the implementation of the two theories. The example that can be provided with relation to the solution that can be implemented in the organization is that the participative leader will take the opinions of the followers before taking an important decision. The leadership style followed in Google is most relevant example in this case. The second example is related to the leadership style that is followed in Amazon which is related to achievement-oriented leadership where the employees have to follow the set of goals that are set by the leaders or the management of the organization,

References

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Effectiveness of leadership

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