UNIT II

SCHOOLS OF MANAGEMENT

Evolution of Management Thought - Contributions of F.W. Taylor, Henry

Fayol, Elton Mayo, Approaches of Management Thought (including MBO &
MBE) Functions of Management. Concept of Leadership- Theories and Styles

EVOLUTION OF MANAGEMENT

PRE SCIENTIFIC MANAGEMENT ERA:

1. Robert Owen (1771- 1858) he advocated that workers should be treated as

human beings, he has taken efforts to improve working conditions in the factory
reduce working hours, increase minimum wages, provide meals to employees,
allocate education provision , housing and other labor welfare facilities. His main
contribution is that the effective and good personnel management was essential
part of manager’s job since it pays dividends to the employer.

2. Charles Babbage (1792-1872): he was a professor of math’s of Cambridge

university from 1828to 1839. He has suggested aspects like division of labor, work
measurement, profit sharing and engineering to improve the efficiency of
management. He has invented mechanical calculators which were called as
“differential machine”. He has emphasized in improving efficiency through the
application of math’s and science in the operation of factories.

3. Charles Dupin (1784-1873) he has emphasized systematic education in

management. He was French engineer and formally tried to structure the subject
matter of management. These early contributors focused attention on managerial
problems. They have not presented any unified theory of management. Systematic
and scientific study of management started after 1880. Due to the creation of joint
stock corporate organizational set up.

TAYLOR’S SCIENTIFIC MANAGEMENT THEORY

F.W. Taylor : He is known as the father of scientific management. He started his

career as apprentice (machinist) in a small machine shop in USA in 1875 and by
his handwork he could go up to chief engineer in the organization. Acc to him
management “the art of knowing exactly what you want your meant to do and
seeing that they do it in the best and the cheapest way”

ELEMENTS AND TOOLS OF SCIENTIFIC MANAGEMENT

➢ Separation of planning & doing: Taylor emphasized the separation of planning

aspect from actual doing of the work. In other words planning should be left to the
supervisor and the worker should concentrate only operational work.

➢ Functional foremanship: Taylor introduced the concept of functional

foremanship based on specialization of functions. In this system, eight persons are
involved to direct the activities of workers. Out of these four persons are concerned
with planning viz., route clerk, instruction card clerk, time and cost clerk and
disciplinarian. The remaining four persons are concerned with doing aspect of the
job, viz., speed boss, inspector, gang boss and maintenance foreman. It is against to
the principle of unity of command.

 Route clerk: his job is to determine the sequence of operations to be performed

in any work.
 Instruction card clerk: he will prepare the necessary instructions pertaining to
the work and accordingly the workers will perform their duties.
 Time and Cost Clerk: he will frame the timetable for doing the various jobs. He
will also keep the necessary cost records.

The persons who will work in the factory are as follows.

▪ Gang Boss: his duty is to keep all the materials and tools ready so that the
workers can start their work without any delay.

▪ Speed boss: he will ensure that each job is done well in time

▪ Repair Boss: he will keep all the tools and machines in the factory in perfect
condition.

Inspector: his duty is to ensure that the work is done in accordance with standard
laid down by the planning department.

▪ Disciplinarian: to coordinate the work of all the seven persons mentioned above.
➢ Job Analysis: It is useful to find out the one best way of doing the things. The
best way of doing a job is one which requires the least movements, consequently
less time and cost. The best way of doing the thing can be determined by taking up
time –motion - fatigue studies.

 Time study involves the determination of time a movement takes to

complete.
 Motion study involves the study of movements in parts which are involved
in doing a job and thereby eliminating the wasteful movements
 Fatigue study shows the amount and frequency of rest required in
completing the work. Thus, job analysis identifies the fair amount of a day’s
work requiring certain movements and rest periods to complete it.
 Standardization: As far as possible, standardization should be maintained
in respect of instruments and tools, period of work, amount of work,
working conditions, cost of production etc.,. These things should be fixed
in advance on the basis of job analysis and various elements of costs that
in performing a work.
 Scientific Selection and Training of Workers: A worker should be given
work for which he is physically and technically most suitable like,
education, work experience, aptitude, physical strength etc.
 Financial Incentives: Financial incentives can motivate workers to put in
their maximum efforts. If provisions exist to earn higher wages by
putting in extra effort, workers will be motivated to earn more.
 Economy: The economy and profit can be achieved by making the
resources more productive as well as by eliminating the wastages.
 Mental Revolution: Scientific management depends on the mutual co-
operation between management and workers. For this co-operation, there
should be mental change in both parties from conflict to co-operation

PRINCIPLES OF SCIENTIFIC MANAGEMENT:

➢ Replacing rule of thumb with Science: scientific management requires scientific

study and analysis of each element of a job in order to replace the old rule of
thumb method. Decisions should be made on the basis of facts rather than opinions
and beliefs. Ex. a school admission.

➢ Harmony in group action Scientific management enables efficient workers to

earn more as payment is linked to output. As the management is also benefited as a
result of increased output, there exists harmonies relationship between the workers
and the management.

➢ Cooperation Management can expect higher profits only if the workers work
with maximum efficiency than the management comes forward recognizes their
efficiency and reward them.

➢ Maximum Output More output enables the workers to earn more remuneration
this both the management and the workers are interested in maximizing protection
under scientific management.

➢ Development of workers:The workers should be selected and trained in

accordance with the requirements of the jobs. Placement of workers will be done
based on their capacities. Training enables the workers to perform their duties with
maximum efficiency.

HENRY FAYOL (1841-1925) GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF

MANAGEMENT

1. Division of work: The total work to be done is divided into small parts, each
entrusted to a particular individual. As each individual performs only a particular
activity, he becomes specialist in due course.

2. Authority and Responsibility: Authority is the official right of the manager. It

comes to him by virtue of his official position. Responsibility is the duty on the
part of a subordinate to account for the work done by him.

3. Discipline: Fayol says that employees must follow the discipline by being
obedient, by applying themselves fully in the task undertaken by being energetic
and leader must be efficient to enforce discipline.

4. Unity of Command: An employee should receive orders from one superior only
and is accountable to him alone. If there are two superiors for an employee he will
not know whom he should report to and whose orders he should carry out first.

5. Unity of direction: Each group of activities having the same objective should
have one head and one plan, the efforts of all the members of departments must be
directed towards the attainment of that departmental target.
6. Subordination of Individual interest to common interest: The interest of the
individual is should be based on common interest. This should be maintained by
constant supervision and fair agreement.

7. Remuneration of Personnel: Remuneration payable to the employees should

be fair and should give maximum satisfaction to both the employees and the
employers. It should be based on cost of living, financial position of the company
etc.

8. Centralization: The authority at a particular place is centralization and dispersal

of authority in different places of the organization is known as decentralization. It
is based on the size of the organization.

9. Scalar chain: it is chain of superiors ranging from the highest to the lowest
level in the organization. Every communication should follow the prescribed line
of authority

Gang Plank

If E wants to communicate anything to I, it will be route through DCBAFGH and

if I wants to convey any information to E, it will pass through HGFABCD. In such
an arrangement there is scope for delay. So to avoid delay E and I may establish
direct contact with each other after obtaining permission from their respective
superior namely D & H.

10. Order: two types to order, material order and social order. Material order
means everything in its place, in order to avoid loss of material. Social order means
the selection of the right man for the right job.
11. Equity: it ensures fairness, kindness and justice in the treatment of employees
by their managers. The managers shall be impartial in their dealings with their
subordinates.

12. Stability of Tenure of Personnel: it means that an employee shall not be

shifted unnecessarily from one job to another. An employee should be given
enough opportunity to learn every aspect of his work only then he will become an
expert in his time of work.

13. Initiative: according to him the freedom to think and act is what initiative is.
An employee who has the freedom to think and act in an organization will show
greater interest in his work and this will lead to a higher level of job satisfaction.

14. Espirit De Corps: Union is strength, team spirit and co-operation among the
members of an organization are essential for its success

HUMAN RELATIONS THEORY ELTON MAYO:

HAWTHRONE EXPERIMENTS

Illumination Experiments, Relay assemble test room Experiments, Interview

programme, Bank wiring group observations The Hawthorne experiments were
conducted in four stages. These are given below:

1. Illumination Experiments: the main objective of the illumination experiments

was to study the effect of the quality of lighting in the workroom on the efficiency
of the workers. For this purpose the workers were divided into two groups. One
group of workers was made to work in a room where lighting remained constant.
The other group was made to work in a room where lighting was varied. The
experiments revealed the production increased in both the rooms and therefore the
quality of lighting had no impact on the efficiency level of the workers.

2. Relay Assembly Test room experiments – these experiments were conducted

in an assembly department where telephone relay units were assembled. The object
of the experiments was to ascertain the relationship between working conditions
and productivity. Those employed in the department were all women and the work
was repetitive one. A group of six women workers was made to take in a separate
room. As they were doing their work a series of changes were introduced during
the period of investigation. A new financial incentive plan was introduced to the
group that assured additional remuneration for an each worker depending on the
collective performance of the group. The rest periods during week were also
gradually increased. The workers were also permitted to leave an hour earlier.
They were also given one full day holiday (on Saturdays). The study revealed that
output of each individual and also that of the group increased due to the changes
introduced.

3. Interview program: a massive interview programmed was conducted covering

more than ten thousand workers to find out their views on their jobs, working
conditions , supervision etc. the interview programmed revealed that the morale of
the workers improved as they had the satisfaction that their views were heard. The
complaints of the workers were not objective statements of facts. They were
reflections of a workers personal feelings and sentiments.

4. Bank wiring Group observations- the main aim of the study here is to find out
the influence of the group on a worker to restrict his output in spite of the existence
of incentives for higher output. The working conditions were not altered for the
sake of the investigation. The group consisted of fourteen workers and its task was
to attach wires to the telephone equipment, soldering and to check the quality of
work. The incentives given for the work were attractive. But neither an individual
worker not he group as a whole made an attempt to increase output. The group also
did not let any worker exceed his output.

Findings of Hawthorne Experiments: the following are the findings of the

Hawthorne Experiments:

1. A social factors such as recognition, sense of belongings etc, influence

production more than physical factors.

2. Monetary incentives do not induce a worker, working in a group to increase

output. He cares more for the friendship and respect of his co-workers.

3. Workers do not react as individuals but as members of a group. No workers

want to incur the ill will or displeasure of his co – workers.

4. An individual in a group is a accepted as its leader by the other members. Such

an informal leader is able to guide and influence the co-workers.
5. What encourages worker more is the feeling that his views and suggestions are
heard by the management

MANAGEMENT BY OBJECTIVE (MBO)

Management by objectives (MBO) is now practiced all over the world. Yet, despite
its wide applications, it is not always clear what is meant by MBO. Some says that
it is an appraisal tool; other sees it is a motivational technique; still others consider
MBO a planning and control device. In other words, definitions and applications of
MBO differ widely. MBO process consists of setting goals at the highest level of
the organization, clarifying the rules of responsible persons for achieving the goals.
Some still define MBO in a very narrow, limited way.

MANAGEMENT BY OBJECTIVES (MBO):- A technique used for improving

the performance of management. It shapes a clearly structured, generally
applicable implementation methodology out of the various concepts and theories of
management. It is also called “result management” or “management by results”.

STEPS IN MBO OR PROCESS OF MBO:-

 Setting objectives.
 Developing action plan.
 Appraising annual performance.

PRECAUTIONS FOR MBO PROCESS:-

 Setting clear and well defined objectives.

 Communicating the objectives to achieve results
 Integration of department objectives with overall organizational objectives.
 Set reasonably attainable objectives.
 Consideration for uncontrollable, factors while fixing the individual factors
i.e, objectives.
 Review of objectives periodically and change if necessary.
 Complete participation by all personnel.
FLOW CHART FOR MBO

MBO HAS THREE ELEMENTS

1. Managers (Subordinate manger) should be measured what they accomplish

rather than how they spend their time.

2. Manager must be well informed of their objectives. Manager objectives are their
duties that they must perform.

3. Manager and their subordinates should jointly set performance objectives.

ADVANTAGES OF MBO:-

 Provides a basis for planning.

 It provides meaning and direction to people.
 Better coordination is possible.
 It constitutes standards and so it is a controlling measure.
 It is a motivating device.
  It shows the path to the management to think ahead.
 It makes individuals more aware of the organizational goals.
 It makes evaluation process more equitable by focusing on specific
accomplishment. It also lets subordinates know their objectives will.

LIMITATIONS:-

 Not all objectives can be quantified.

 This may cause tension and resentment.
 It is difficult for the superiors to help instead of judging the subordinates.
 Not all people are capable of participating.

MANAGEMENT BY EXCEPTION (MBE):-

It is a system of identification and communication that signals to the manager

when his attention is needed. MBE is a controlling technique.

PROCESS OF MBE:

 Measurement.
 Projection.
 Selection.
 Observation.
 Comparision.
 Decision-Making

Measurement:- By assigning values to past and present performances, exceptional

areas can be identified.

Projection:- All the values that are meaningful to the organizational objectives are
to be extended (projected) to see further or future requirements (whether they can
be achieved or not).

Selection:- This involves the criteria and method which the management will use
to follow the progress path towards organizational objectives.

Observation:- Current performance are observed and measured so that managers

are aware of the current state of affairs in the organization.
Comparision:- Involves the evaluation of the actual performance against planned
performance, identifying the exceptions that require attention and reporting the
variations to the management

Decision Making:- Involves prescribing the action that must be taken in order to
bring performance back into control or to adjust expectations to reflect changing
conditions within and outside the organization or to exploit the opportunity.

Difference Between MBE And Other Practices:-

Superiors attention is drawn only in the case of exceptional differences between

planned performance and actual performance. When there is no such large or
exception difference, the decisions are taken by subordinate manager. All
exceptional work should go through the entire process till normally is established.

ADVANTAGES:-

 Executives are left with more time to tackle bigger and tougher issues as the
details of small problems are left to the subordinates.
 There is better utilization of managerial talent across the organization as
even the subordinates get to implement their own decisions and solve
problems in their way, however small they may be.
 It increases the span of management and delegation of authority is improved.
 It provides great opportunity and thus to increase confidence and motivation.
 It uses the latest knowledge on trends, history and business data.
 It forces every manager to be through and precise and also up-to-date with
all relevant information.
 It helps to identify problems before they became big.
 It also prevents last minute rush and panic.
 Increased chances of better performance and hence improves motivation.
 Communication is improved between different segment of an organization.
 Better organizations cohesiveness for the achievement of objectives.

LIMITATIONS/DISADVANTAGES:-

 Training subordinates to be almost at the level of superiors, but still

retaining them at the lower level, often leads to demotivation and stress
among individuals.
 Too much of focus on results leads to lack of quality in the process.
  Too much Newly established organizations and organizations with a
dynamic environment cannot adapt this technique.
 Establishing standards i.e, both qualitative and quantitative takes a dot of
time and involves a lot of effort and precision (accuracy).
 Proper (suitable) and knowledgeable subordinates need to be found, which is
a difficult process.
 Subordinates act out of over confidence and think they can handle
better/bigger problems.
 Keeping lack of all the latest trends is often tedious. of accuracy leads to
magnifying even the slightest change in trend and creating problems for the
organization and the executive.

Functions of Management / Management Process / POSDCORB

1. Planning: Planning means forecasting or predicting the future activity in a

specific manner or structure. It is the basic function and essential for all the
organization.

2. Organizing: It is collection or joining of all the resources available within the

organization and outside, in order to achieve the organizational goal with
efficiency.

3. Staffing: It involves appointing the right man for the right job at the right time.
The management is to analyze the human resource, see if he is suitable for the job
and accordingly allocate the work in the organization.

4. Directing: It is showing the correct path or correct way to achieve the

organizational goal within the stipulated time.

5. Controlling: Controlling as a function involves regulating the person or

examining the person whether he is working in the right way or not. In order to
achieve the common goal as efficient as possible

6. Coordinating: It is a type of support function. It involves accumulating the

work to achieve the task.

7. Budgeting: It means allocation of the resources. It involves financial planning

for the future activities.
8. Reporting: It is a statement showing the various activities to the top
management. It shows the status of the work done

Leadership

Leadership is the art of motivating a group of people to act toward achieving a

common goal. In a business setting, this can mean directing workers and
colleagues with a strategy to meet the company's needs.

Importance of Leadership

 Motivates employees
 Creates confidence in employees
 Builds morale among employees
 Leadership skills
 Ability to use power effectively and in a responsible manner
 Ability to comprehend that human beings have different motivation forces at
different times and in different situations
 Ability to inspire
 Ability to act in a manner that will develop a climate conducive to
responding to an arousing motivations

Leadership ingredients

 Leadership is power
 Fundamental understanding of people Ability to inspire followers to apply
their fullest capacities to a project.
 Developing a particular style of leadership
 Leadership means to develop willingness to work enthusiastically with zeal
and confidence.

Leadership styles (3 styles of leadership)

1. Autocratic Style
2. Democratic Style
3. Free rein Style
1. Autocratic Style

It is also known as authoritarian directive or monothetic style. In this style a

manager centralizes decision-making power in himself. He structures the complete
situation for his employeed and they do what they are told. Here the leadership
may be negative because followers are uniformed, insecure, and afraid on the
leader‘s authority. There are three categories of autocratic leaders.

 Strict Autocrat:

He is very strict, his style or method of influencing his subordinates is through

negative motivation i.e. by ciritcising his subordinates, imposing penalty etc.,

 Benevolent Autocrat:
He centralizes decision making power in him, but his motivation style is
positive. He can be effective in getting efficiency in many situations. Some
people to work under strong authority structure and they derive satisfaction
by this leadership.

 Incompetent Autocrat:
Sometimes superior adopt autocratic leadership style just to hide their
incompetence. Because they feel in other styles they may be exposed before
their subordinates. However this cannot be used for a long time

Advantages of autocratic style of leadership

1. Employees who like to work under strong authority structure and they
derive satisfaction by this leadership.
2. Provides strong motivation and reward to a manger exercising this style.
3. Help in quick decision making.
4. Less competent employees also have scope to work based on the
instruction given to them by their leaders.

Disadvantages of autocratic style of leadership

1. People dislike strict style of leadership and they get demotivated.

2. Frustration, low morale and conflict develops in the
organsiation ,jeopardizing organizational efficiency.
 3. Employees loose their individuality and creativity because of
continuously listening and following the instruction given by the
leaders.

2. Democratic or Participative Style :

The style is democratic, consultative or ideographic. It involves a mental and

emotional involvement of an employee in a group situation which encourages him
to contribute to group goals and share responsibility in them. The manager in this
style emphasizes on consultation and participation of his subordinates. Hence a
participative manager decentralizes on consultation and participation of his
subordinates. Subordinates are also broadly informed about the conditions
affecting them and their jobs. He also encourages, accepts and appreciates the
ideas and suggestions given by them

Advantages

1. Employees‘ feels recognized

2. It a highly motivating technique for employees, Raises the morale and
attitude of employees. Productivity increases.

Disadvantages

1. Employees may not have understood the organizational process and may
intervene and give suggestions
2. Employees who are not ready to interact and participate may create
problems.

3. Free rein Style

It means giving complete freedom to the subordinates. In this style manager once
determines the policies, programs and limitations for action and the entire process
is left to the subordinates. Group members perform everything and the manager
usually maintains contacts with outside persons to bring the information and
materials which the group needs.

This type of leadership is suitable in certain situations, where the manager can
leave a choice to the group. This helps the managers to develop independent
personality. However contribution of the manager is almost nil. Hence this style is
rarely used in organizations

Leadership theories

 Trait Theory
 Charismatic leadership theory
 Behavioural Theory
 Situational theory
 Managerial Grid
 Contingency theory

Trait Theory:

The behavioural psychological researchers accepted the fact that leadership traits
are not completely inborn but they also be acquired through learning and
experience. Trait is defined as an enduring quality of an individual. The trait
approach seeks to determine what makes a successful leader form the leader‘s own
personal characteristics.

Trait approach leadership studies were quite familiar between 1930 to [Link]
method was to select leaders of eminence and their characteristics were studied. It
was the hypothesis that leaders with certain traits could become more successful
leaders. The studies have given that intelligence, attitudes, personality and
biological factors are ingredients for effective leaders. A review of various
research studies has been presented by Stogdill. He has suggested these traits in a
successful leader

 Physical and constitutional factors (height, weight, physique, energy, health,

appearance) Intelligence Self-confidence
 Sociability
 Will ( initiative, persistence ambition) Dominance
 Surgency (talkative, cheerfulness, geniality, enthusiasm, expressiveness,
alertness and alertness and originality)
 Various studies Shows various traits, hence these traits can be classified into
innate qualities and acquirable traits
 Innate traits are those traits which are inborn in an individual they are related
to one physical features and intelligence.
Acquirable traits are those traits which are acquired and increased through various
processes like self learning, training, experience etc. they are traits like emotional
stability, human relations, empathy, objectivity, motivation skills, technical skills,
communication skills, social skills etc.,

Limitations of the theory

1. There cannot be generalization of traits for successful leaders.

2. No evidence can be given about the degree of traits because have various
traits in various degrees.
3. No definite conclusion can be drawn for the measurement of the traits.

2. Charismatic leadership theory

They are called great man theory and can be traced back to ancient times .Plato‘s
Republic and Confucius‘ Analects dealt with leadership. They provided some
insights on leadership. Subsequent studies based on these insights have suggested
that ‗a leader is born and is not made‘. A leader has some charisma which acts as
influencer. Charismatic is a Greek work which means gift. Thus charisma is a god
gifted attribute in a person which makes him a leader irrespective of situations in
which he works, Charismatic leaders are those who inspire and have a major
impact on their organizations through their personal vision and energy.
Occasionally, a leader emerges whose high visibilit y and personal charisma catch
the public consciousness. Charismatic leader have extremely high level of self
confidence, dominance, and a strong conviction .they are always oriented towards
high level of goals or vision, which captures the energy of followers. The theory
believes that only a transformation leader inspires his followers through vision and
energy which a normal leader cannot do. The best examples are the Great leaders
like Mahatma Gandhi and Lenin and the great industrialists like JRD Tata. GD
Birla, Dhirbai Ambani who created industrial empires because of their own vision,
energy and entrepreneurship.

The basic assumption of charismatic theory are: 1. Leader has exceptional inborn
leadership qualities which bestowed upon them by the divine power. 16 2. These
inborn qualities are sufficient for a leader to successful. 3 . Since these qualities are
inborn, these cannot be enhanced through education and training. 4. Further these
qualities are of very personal nature, these cannot be shard by others. 5. These
leadership qualities make a leader very effective and situational factors do not have
any influence.

Limitation of the theory

[Link] we assume that leaders are born, it means that we cannot develop leaders in the
organizations.

2. A charismatic leader may fail in certain situations

3. Behavioural Theory

Behavioural theory of leadership emphasizes that strong leadership is a result of

effective role behaviour. Leadership is shown by a persons act rather by his traits.
Researchers exploring leadership role have cpnsluded to operate effectively,
groups need some one to perform two major functions; task related function and
group maintenance function Task related function relate to providing solutions to
the problems faced by the groups, in performing jobs and activities. Group
maintenance function or social functions are related to actions of mediating
disputes and ensuring that individuals feel valued by the group. An individual who
is able to perform both roles successfully would be an effective leader. These two
roles requires two different sets of behaviour from the leader, known as leadership
styles. Leaders behavior may be viewed in two ways, functional and dysfunctional.
Functional leader influences followers positively by giving clear goals, motivating
employees for achieving goals, raising the level of morale, building team spirit,
effective two way communication, etc., Dysfunctional leader on the other hand is
unfavourable towards employees and denotes ineffective leadership. Such a
behaviour may an inability to accept employees ideas, display of emotional
immaturity , poor human relations

Limitations of the theory

1. A behaviour which has been functional at a point of time may be dysfunctional

at another point of time.

2. Effectiveness of the leadership behaviour is depended on two external variables

Nature of followers Situation in which the leader operates etc.

4. Situational theory
 The approach was applied for the first time in 1920 in the armed forces of
Germany with the objective to get good generals under different situations. The
studies when conducted in organizations in 1950‘s gave prime attention in
situational theory of leadership ( also known as contingency theory) is given to the
situation in which the leadership is exercised. There for the theory states that the
effectiveness of leadership will be affected by the factors associated with the leader
and factors associated with the situation. Situational theories of leadership work on
the assumption that the most effective style of leadership changes from situation to
situation. To be most effective and successful, a leader must be able to adapt his
style and approach to diverse circumstances. For example, some employees
function better under a leader who is more autocratic and directive. For others,
success will be more likely if the leader can step back and trust his team to make
decisions and carry out plans without the leader‘s direct involvement. On a similar
note, not all types of industries and business settings require the same skills and
leadership traits in equal measure. Some fields demand a large measure of
innovation, whereas in others, personal charisma and relational connection with
clients are far more important. Different theories have been developed that
recognize the situational aspects of leadership. Each theory attempts to provide its
own analysis of how leadership can be most successful in various situations. Let‘s
consider a few of the key theories.

Hersey and Blanchard’s Situational Leadership Theory

The term ―situational leadership‖ is most commonly derived from and connected
with Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard‘s Situational Leadership Theory. This
approach to leadership suggests the need to match two key elements appropriately:
the leader‘s leadership style and the followers‘ maturity or preparedness levels.
The theory identifies four main leadership approaches: Telling: Directive and
authoritative approach. The leader makes decisions and tells employees what to do.
Selling: The leader is still the decision maker, but he communicates and works to
persuade the employees rather than simply directing them. Participating: The
leader works with the team members to make decisions together. He supports and
encourages them and is more democratic.

Delegating: The leader assigns decision-making responsibility to team members

but oversees their work. In addition to these four approaches to leadership, there
are also four levels of follower maturity: Level M1: Followers have low
competence and low commitment. Level M2: Followers have low competence, but
high commitment. Level M3: Followers have high competence, but low
commitment and confidence. Level M4: Followers have high competence and high
commitment and confidence.

In Hersey and Blanchard‘s approach, the key to successful leadership is matching

the proper leadership style to the corresponding maturity level of the employees.
As a general rule, each of the four leadership styles is appropriate for the
corresponding employee maturity level:

Telling style works best for leading employees at the M1 level (low competence,
low commitment). 2. Selling style works best for leading employees at the M2
level (low competence, high commitment). 3. Participating style works best for
leading employees at the M3 level (high competence, low
commitment/confidence). 4. Delegating style works best for leading employees at
the M4 level (high competence, high commitment/confidence).
Identifying the employee maturity level becomes a very important part of the
process, and the leader must have the willingness and ability to use any of the four
leadership styles as needed.

Managerial Grid

One of the most widely known approaches of leadership styles in the managerial
grid developed by Blake and Mouton. They emphasize the leadership consists of
factors of both task oriented and relation-oriented behaviour in varying
[Link] variable have been taken for the study

The concern for phrase has been used to convey how managers are concerned for
people or production. Concern for production means the attitudes of superiors
towards a variety of things, such as, quality of policy decisions, procedures and
processes creativeness of research, quality of staff services, work efficiency and
volume of output. Concern for people includes degree of personal commitment
toward goal achievement, maintaining the self esteem of workers, responsibility
based on trust, and satisfying inter personal relations. The managerial grid
identifies five leadership styles based upon these two factors(Concern for
production &Concern for people) found in organizations.
Blake and Mouton have described five styles of leadership based on the given
model They are impoverished (1,1), country club (1,9), task (9,1) , Middle road
(5,5) and Team (9,9) styles of leadership .

Impoverished (1,1): exertion of minimum effort is required to get work done and
sustain organization morale. Country club (1,9): Thoughtful attention to needs of
people leads to friendly and comfortable organization atmosphere and work tempo,
Task (9,1) : efficiency results from arranging work requirements in such a way that
human elements have little effect

Middle road (5,5) : adequate performance through balance of work requirements

and maintaining satisfactory morale.

Team (9,9) : work accomplished is from committed people with interdependence

through a common stake in organization purpose and with trust and respect.

Managerial grid is useful device to a manager for identifying and classifying

managerial styles, it helps him to understand why he gets the reaction that he does
from his subordinates. It is a means of managerial training and of identifying
various combinations of leadership styles. for given situations..

Fiedler's Contingency Model

Matching Leadership Style To a Situation

The Fiedler Contingency Model was created in the mid-1960s by Fred Fiedler, a
scientist who studied the personality and characteristics of leaders. The model
states that there is no one best style of leadership. Instead, a leader's effectiveness
is based on the situation. This is the result of two factors – "leadership style" and
"situational favorableness" (later called "situational control").

Leadership Style

Identifying leadership style is the first st ep in using the model. Fiedler believed
that leadership style is fixed, and it can be measured using a scale he developed
called LeastPreferred Co-Worker (LPC) Scale. The scale asks you to think about
the person who you've least enjoyed working with. This can be a person who
you've worked with in your job, or in education or training. You then rate how you
feel about this person for each factor, and add up your scores. If your total score is
high, you're likely to be a relationship-orientated leader. If your total score is low,
you're more likely to be task-orientated leader.

Least-Preferred Co-Worker Scale

The model says that task-oriented leaders usually view their LPCs more
negatively, resulting in a lower score. Fiedler called these low LPC-leaders. He
said that low LPCs are very effective at completing tasks. They're quick to
organize a group to get tasks and projects done. Relationship- building is a low
priority. However, relationship-oriented leaders usually view their LPCs more
positively, giving them a higher score. These are high-LPC leaders. High LPCs
focus more on personal connections, and they're good at avoiding and managing
conflict. They're better able to make complex decisions

Situational Favorableness
Next, you determine the "situational favorableness" of your particular situation.
This depends on three distinct factors:

Leader-Member Relations – This is the level of trust and confidence that your
team has in you. A leader who is more trusted and has more influence within the
group is in a more favorable situation than a leader who is not trusted.

Task Structure – This refers to the type of task you're doing: clear and structured,
or vague and unstructured. Unstructured tasks, or tasks where the team and leader
have little knowledge of how to achieve them, are viewed unfavorably.

Leader's Position Power – This is the amount of power you have to direct the
group, and provide reward or punishment. The more power you have, the more
favorable your situation. Fiedler identifies power as being either strong or weak.
Rate your experience with this person using the scale in figure above. According to
this model, a higher sc your experience with this person using the scale in figure
above. According to this model, a higher score means that you're naturally
relationship-focused, and a lower score means that you're naturally task-focused

Step 2: Identify your situation

 Are leader-member relations good or poor?

 Is the task you're doing structured, or is it more unstructured, or do you have
little experience of solving similar problems?
 Do you have strong or weak power?

Step 3: Determine the most effective leadership style

The below figure shows a breakdown of all of the factors we've covered: Leader-
Member Relations, Task Structure, and Leader's Position Power. The final column
identifies the type of leader that Fiedler believed would be most effective in each
situation

Breakdown of Most Effective Leader Style

For instance, imagine that you've just started working at a new company, replacing
a much-loved leader who recently retired. You're leading a team who views you
with distrust (so your Leader-Member Relations are poor). The task you're all
doing together is well defined (structured), and your position of power is high
because you're the boss, and you're able to offer reward or punishment to the
group. The most effective leader in this situation would be high LPC – that is, a
leader who can focus on building relationships first. Or, imagine that you're
leading a team who likes and respects you (so your Leader Member relations are
good). The project you're working on together is highly creative (unstructured) and
your position of power is high since, again, you're in a management position of
strength. In this situation, a task-focused leadership style would be most effective.

Criticisms of the Model

There are some criticisms of the Fiedler Contingency Model. One of the biggest is
lack of flexibility. Fiedler believed that because our natural leadership style is
fixed, the most effective way to handle situations is to change the leader. He didn't
allow for flexibility in leaders.

For instance, if a low-LPC leader is in charge of a group with good relations and
doing unstructured tasks, and she has a weak position (the fourth situation), then,
according to the model, the best solution is to replace her with a high-LPC leader –
instead of asking her to use a different leadership style.