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Section IV - Situational Approaches to Leadership
Activity #9
Relevant Reading:
- Contingency Theory of Leadership
LPC Scale
Interpretation
Low LPCs (score of 57 or below) are task motivated. They are individuals whose primary needs are to accomplish tasks and whose secondary needs are focused on getting along with people. In a work setting, they are concerned with achieving success on assigned tasks, even if at the cost of having poor interpersonal relationships with coworkers. Low LPCs gain self-esteem through achieving their goals. They attend to interpersonal relationships, but only after they first have directed themselves toward the tasks of the group.
Middle LPCs (score of 58-63) are socio-independent leaders. In the context of work, they are self-directed and not overly concerned with the task or with how others view them. They are more removed from the situation and act more independent than low or high LPCS.
High LPCs (score of 64 or more) are motivated by relationships. These individuals derive their major satisfaction in an organization from getting along with people-inter- personal relationships. A high LPC sees positive qualities even in the co- worker she or he least prefers, even though the high LPC does not work well with that person. In an organizational setting, the high LPC attends to tasks, but only after she or he is certain that the relationships between people are in good shape.
Because the LPC is a personality measure, the score you get on the LPC scale is believed to be quite stable over time and not easily changed.
As noted in the readings, the LPC measure considers leadership style on one continuum with task behavior at one end and relationships behavior at the other. The only assessment you have taken that treats style in a similar manner is the autocratic/democratic scale in Section I. You may want to compare your results on these two self-awareness suggestions.
Situational Management Skill According to Fiedler (not in student area)
The professional manager is a manager of total situations. Situational management skill is nothing more than changing the demands of the situational elements so that managerial effectiveness is increased. As this always involves change, a central skill in management is the smooth introduction of change, or put another way, overcoming resistance to change.
A manager's situational sensitivity can help him determine the existing conditions in the social systems he manages. It will also lead him to decide what problems require solutions and what the solution, or ideal state, should be. All this requires intellectual skill. To apply this knowledge to reality he must devise an action plan program to increase acceptance for the change and then see that the change is implemented. The change to be made may be reassigning duties, modifying a work process, changing the role of a staff unit, or perhaps changing an organization structure that has not been touched in years.
Professional managers have no need to passively adapt to situations in which they find themselves. At times, of course, they must, but usually some form of situational management is desirable. Managers should, in fact, seek opportunities to change the demands of one or more situational elements. They should change them only with the view to increasing their own managerial effectiveness. It may be that subordinates' expectations are unrealistic in the face of the job to be done. They may expect to be treated in a related fashion, yet the work system may virtually demand that they be treated in a dedicated fashion. Obviously these are in conflict, and one or both must be changed if managerial effectiveness is to be maximized.
The objective of situational management is to arrange a situation that those in it cooperate of their own accord. It produces motivation to work and effectiveness. Motivation is not best seen as being produced by what a manager does to someone. Instead it is best seen as arising from a matching of all the demands of the situation. Situational management is concerned with a planned, tested, rational, logical approach that considers as its central issue how change can be effectively implemented.
Leadership Styles and Other Contingency Approaches
Leadership style in the Tannenbaum and Schmidt model is depicted along one continuum with the leader having all the influence at one end and the subordinates having it at the other; between these extremes are degrees of shared influence. The Vroom-Yetton model is similar in terms of the degrees of influence by the leader and the subordinates but is unique in that the focus is upon a specific decision-problem.
Leadership style in the Managerial Grid Theory and the Four Factor Theory of Leadership presented in Section III and Life Cycle Theory, 3-D Model and Path-Goal Theory, in Section IV are all based upon the Ohio State dimensions of consideration and initiating structure (often referred to as task behavior and relationships behavior or similar variations). As noted in the reading, the Path-Goal Theory adds two additional leadership behaviors as does the Four Factor Theory.
The Life Cycle Theory and the 3-D Model, as opposed to the Fiedler approach, view style as something the leader is able to change in order to fit the situation. Knowing your preference is important in this regard and your style is described by your initiating structure and consideration scores as well as that from the Managerial Grid assessment in Section III.
Hofstede's contribution is equally unique in that the “situational” variable of interest is culture and leader behaviors of interest go beyond that defined by consideration and initiating structure and include a variety of leader behaviors and actions which are described in his article.
The Hersey/Blanchard Situational Leadership Model
Relevant Reading:
- Life Cycle Theory of Leadership
Although the basics are the same, this model has evolved somewhat since their seminal piece. Complicating the matter to a small degree is that each author now has his
"unique" version of this model. My take is that the Hersey version is far superior and truer to the original than the Blanchard model.
Situational leadership style self-assessment
Note: This assessment is not in the students' area. Provide the link if you wish them to complete it.
This is another opportunity to validate earlier style assessments. The results here can be compared to Section II Activities
Situational Management Skill According to Reddin (not in student area)
Reddin's model is similar to the Hersey-Blanchard model in that leadership style is defined by
Attention to task and relationships and is based on the Ohio State concepts of consideration and
Initiating structure and followers are considered an important situational variable. It is different in
"situation" is conceived in a much broader fashion and includes technology, the organization, the
Manager's superior and the manager's co-workers. Additionally, Reddin introduces the option of changing the situation, as Fiedler does, but Hersey and Blanchard do not.
From the central principle of 3-D Theory that managerial effectiveness results from a match of style
to the situation, the three key skills of an effective manager may be basically described as
situational sensitivity skill, style flexibility skill and situational management skill. A manager needs
situational sensitivity to diagnose a situation and either style flexibility skill to match his/her
style to the situation or situational management skill to change the situation itself.
Case Study One - Acme
Case Study Two - Smith
Changing the Situation
Leadership and Decision Making (Vroom, Yetton, Jago)
Relevant Reading:
- Leadership and Decision Making
Decision Making Cases
Cross-Cultural Variables as Contingency Factors in Leadership
Here are two short letters that bring to life the variables in the Hofstede reading.
An appropriate assignment would be to ask students to explain the misunderstandings communicated using the variables in the Hofstede reading.
A note from Mr. Phillips
A note from Sr. Luna
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