Critically Evaluate the Relevance of the Contingency Approach to Managing on the Managerial Work of the Manager You Interviewed.
Critically evaluate the relevance of the contingency approach to managing on the managerial work of the manager you interviewed.
Jane Smith is the Director of Human Resources and Operations of a mid-sized (approx. 700 staff), ASX listed, insurance and wealth management firm – XYZ Wealth (pseudonyms have been used to respect the privacy of both the HRD and the firm involved). XYZ Wealth operates across Australia, with the management team based in Melbourne. Jane directly leads a team of seven HR and communication employees and five operations staff, and has a strong influence across the organisation. Reporting to the CEO, with both board and ASX reporting responsibilities, Jane’s role and authority at XYZ Wealth is prominent. As the HR Director, Jane is involved in structure, employment issues, human resource allocation, recruitment and retention decisions and sets the people strategy for the organisation (J. Smith, pers.comm, 2011). As she faces many different situations everyday in her work, she heavily relies on the contingency approach to management.
The contingency approach states that “organisations are different, face different situations (contingencies) and require different ways of managing” (Robbins, Bergman, Stagg & Coulter, 2009 p. 53). The classical, behavioural and systems approach to management theory assumed a universal or ‘one-best-way’ of management that applied the same techniques to all companies. However, experienced managers know that not all people and situations can be managed exactly the same. Thus the contingency approach to management suggests that what managers do in practice depends on the situation. However, the contingency approach is not without its critics. A major problem is that it often is used as an excuse for not acquiring formal knowledge about management, but just lets managers make adhoc decisions. There are four popular contingency variables: organizational size, routineness of task technology, environmental
Jane Smith is the Director of Human Resources and Operations of a mid-sized (approx. 700 staff), ASX listed, insurance and wealth management firm – XYZ Wealth (pseudonyms have been used to respect the privacy of both the HRD and the firm involved). XYZ Wealth operates across Australia, with the management team based in Melbourne. Jane directly leads a team of seven HR and communication employees and five operations staff, and has a strong influence across the organisation. Reporting to the CEO, with both board and ASX reporting responsibilities, Jane’s role and authority at XYZ Wealth is prominent. As the HR Director, Jane is involved in structure, employment issues, human resource allocation, recruitment and retention decisions and sets the people strategy for the organisation (J. Smith, pers.comm, 2011). As she faces many different situations everyday in her work, she heavily relies on the contingency approach to management.
The contingency approach states that “organisations are different, face different situations (contingencies) and require different ways of managing” (Robbins, Bergman, Stagg & Coulter, 2009 p. 53). The classical, behavioural and systems approach to management theory assumed a universal or ‘one-best-way’ of management that applied the same techniques to all companies. However, experienced managers know that not all people and situations can be managed exactly the same. Thus the contingency approach to management suggests that what managers do in practice depends on the situation. However, the contingency approach is not without its critics. A major problem is that it often is used as an excuse for not acquiring formal knowledge about management, but just lets managers make adhoc decisions. There are four popular contingency variables: organizational size, routineness of task technology, environmental
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