| dc.description.abstract | In Fiedler’s contingency theory, situation favourableness for leader depends upon
three situational variables - Group Atmosphere, Task Structure and Position Power.
Each variable is dichotomized as high or low to define a 2 x 2 x 2 factorial cube with
eight octants, and correlations between leadership style and effectiveness are plotted
against the octants. To place these octants along a one-dimensional scale of
favourableness, Fiedler assumes that Group Atmosphere is most important and Position
Power is least important, and that the situational variables combine according to
an adding rule. In four judgmental experiments conducted during different periods of
national emergency in India, favourableness of leadership situations was studied with
the methods of Anderson’s information integration theory. Results indicated (a) that
relative importance of situational variables changed across situations, (b) that situational
variables were averaged in judgment of situation favourableness, and (c) that
spacing of octants on the horizontal axis according to their functional measurement
values generated a considerably better bo w-shaped curve for correlation between
leadership style and effectiveness than was obtained with Fiedler’s octant scale.
Judgmental experiments seemed to have great potential for providing a more analytic
approach to further work on contingency theory and leadership behaviour. | |
