Learning Objective 4
  • LO 4 Apply concepts and philosophies of 
   organisational behaviour to a given business 
   situation
   Contingency Models of Leadership
  • The emphasis on contingency models of leadership 
   is based on a recognition that when a leader who 
   certain traits or who can perform in certain ways is 
   not necessarily going to be effective. 
  • Leadership demands that one takes into account 
   the situation or context in which leadership is 
   exercised.
  • The effectiveness of a leader who has certain traits 
   or performs in a certain manner depends on, or is 
   contingent on the situation or context.
    Fiedler’s Contingency Model
  • Fred Fiedler’s model helps to explain why a 
   leader may be effective on one situation and 
   ineffective in another. It also explains which kinds 
   of managers are likely to be most effective in 
   which situations.
  • His theory proposes that effective groups depend 
   upon a proper match between the leader’s style 
   of interacting with subordinates and the degree 
   to which the situation gives control and influence 
   to the leader (Robbins, 2001)
    Fiedler’s Contingency Model
  • He proposes that the style of the leader, i.e., 
   the manager’s characteristic approach to 
   leadership, can influence his effectiveness. He 
   describes two basic leader styles: 
   –Relationship-oriented 
   –Task-oriented
   Relationship-Oriented Leaders
 • They are primarily concerned with developing good 
  relationships with their subordinates and to be 
  liked by them. High-quality interpersonal 
  relationships with subordinates is their focus (Jones 
  & George, 2015).
 • Fiedler developed the Least Preferred Co-worker 
  (LPC) questionnaire with 16 contrasting adjectives. 
  Respondents were asked to identify the one person 
  they least enjoyed working with by rating him/her 
  on a scale of 1 to 8 for each of the 16 adjectives.