Fiedler's Contingency Theory
Fiedler's Contingency Theory
Proposed by the Austrian psychologist Fred Edward Fiedler (1922- ). The contingency model emphasizes the importance of both the leader's personality and the situation in which that leader operates. A leader is the individual who is given the task of directing and coordinating task-relevant activities, or the one who carries the responsibility for performing these functions when there is no appointed leader.
Fiedler relates the effectiveness of the leader to aspects of the group situation. Fred Fiedler's Contingency Model also predicts that the effectiveness of the leader will depend on both the characteristics of the leader and the favourableness of the situation.
Additional Resources
When business management students first learn about Fiedler's Contingency Theory, they generally think of the more readily used form of the word "contingency". Essentially, they think that a contingency is an something which is dependent upon or caused by some other event. Groups of people, leadership, or relationships seldom come to mind. And yet, as its very root, the base-word contingent means a group of people in contact with each other, with connection or dependence among the followers and their leader.
In the late 1950s and early 1960s, industrial and business psychologists such as Fiedler and Woodward started to study the leadership and behavior styles of managers. Before Fiedler's study, industrial psychologists focused on the personal traits of successful leaders and believed in an ideal science of organization. They felt there was a best way to run a company or group which produced the best decisions and most effective business practices. The importance of Fiedler's contingency theory is that it has influenced almost all modern management theories by denying the existence of a singular ideal organizational approach.
The basis of Fiedler's contingency model involved assessing a potential leader with a scale of work style ranging from
Proposed by the Austrian psychologist Fred Edward Fiedler (1922- ). The contingency model emphasizes the importance of both the leader's personality and the situation in which that leader operates. A leader is the individual who is given the task of directing and coordinating task-relevant activities, or the one who carries the responsibility for performing these functions when there is no appointed leader.
Fiedler relates the effectiveness of the leader to aspects of the group situation. Fred Fiedler's Contingency Model also predicts that the effectiveness of the leader will depend on both the characteristics of the leader and the favourableness of the situation.
Additional Resources
When business management students first learn about Fiedler's Contingency Theory, they generally think of the more readily used form of the word "contingency". Essentially, they think that a contingency is an something which is dependent upon or caused by some other event. Groups of people, leadership, or relationships seldom come to mind. And yet, as its very root, the base-word contingent means a group of people in contact with each other, with connection or dependence among the followers and their leader.
In the late 1950s and early 1960s, industrial and business psychologists such as Fiedler and Woodward started to study the leadership and behavior styles of managers. Before Fiedler's study, industrial psychologists focused on the personal traits of successful leaders and believed in an ideal science of organization. They felt there was a best way to run a company or group which produced the best decisions and most effective business practices. The importance of Fiedler's contingency theory is that it has influenced almost all modern management theories by denying the existence of a singular ideal organizational approach.
The basis of Fiedler's contingency model involved assessing a potential leader with a scale of work style ranging from