q. characteristics of the situation “when you’ve exhausted all possibilities, remember this: you...

Characteristics of the Situation

Characteristics of the Situation

“When you’ve exhausted all possibilities, remember this: You haven’t!”

~Robert H. Schuller

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BackgroundBackgroundThe appropriateness of a leader’s behavior with a

group of followers often makes sense only when you look at the situational context in which the behavior occurs.

The situation, not someone’s traits or abilities, plays the most important role in determining who emerges as a leader.

Great leaders typically emerged during economic crisis, social upheavals, or revolutions; great leaders were generally not associated with periods of relative calm or quiet.

McGraw-Hill/Irwin © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.11-3

Situational Factors That Affect Leaders’ Behaviors

Situational Factors That Affect Leaders’ Behaviors

In role theory, a leader’s behavior depends on a leader’s perceptions of several critical aspects of the situation: Rules and regulations governing the job Role expectations of subordinates, peers, and superiors The nature of the task Feedback about subordinates’ performance

Multiple-influence model Microvariables Macrovariables

Situational levels


From the Industrial Age to the Information Age

From the Industrial Age to the Information Age

In the new information age many of the fundamental assumptions of the industrial age are becoming obsolete.

Changes in the ways companies operate:Cross functionsLinks to customers and suppliersCustomer segmentationGlobal scaleInnovationKnowledge workers


The Congruence ModelThe Congruence Model


Figure 11-2

The Work – Job CharacteristicsThe Work – Job Characteristics Skill variety refers to the degree to which a job involves

performing a variety of different activities or skills. Task identity refers to the degree to which a situation or

task requires completion of a whole unit of work from beginning to end with a visible outcome.

Task significance is the degree to which a job substantially impacts others’ lives.

Autonomy is the degree to which a job provides an individual with some control over what he does and how he does it.

Feedback refers to the degree to which a person accomplishing a task receives information about performance from performing the task itself.


The Work – Task StructureThe Work – Task StructureIndividuals with higher tolerance for stress may

handle ambiguous and unstructured tasks more easily than people with low tolerance for stress.

Subordinates need help when: A task is unstructured. They do not know what the desired outcome looks like. They do not know how to achieve the outcome.

Reducing the degree of ambiguity inherent in an unstructured situation is a leadership behavior usually appreciated by followers.


The Work – Task InterdependenceThe Work – Task Interdependence

Task interdependence concerns the degree to which tasks require coordination and synchronization in order for work groups or teams to accomplish desired goals.

Tasks with high levels of interdependence place a premium on leaders’ organizing and planning, directing, and communication skills.

Like task structure and skill variety, task interdependence can also dictate which leader behaviors will be effective in a particular situation.


The PeopleThe People Leaders should look at the followers in terms of:

Skills Knowledge Experience Expectations Needs Preferences

In a rapidly changing environment, diversity allows the species to sense and adapt more quickly.

Diversity is essential to quality and survival in a rapidly changing world.


The Formal Organization – Level of Authority

The Formal Organization – Level of Authority

Level of authority concerns one’s hierarchical level in an organization.

The types of behaviors most critical to leadership effectiveness can change substantially as one moves up an organizational ladder.

Leaders at high organizational levels often perform a greater variety of activities and are more apt to use participation and delegation.


The Formal Organization – Organizational Structure

The Formal Organization – Organizational Structure

Organizational structure refers to the way an organization’s activities are coordinated and controlled, and represents another level of the situation in which leaders and followers must operate.

Complexity is made up of: Horizontal complexity Vertical complexity Spatial complexity

Formalization describes the degree of standardization in an organization.

Centralization refers to the diffusion of decision making throughout an organization.


Organizational Design - Functional DesignOrganizational Design - Functional Design


Figure 11-3

Organizational Design – Product DesignOrganizational Design – Product Design


Figure 11-4

Organizational Design – Matrix DesignOrganizational Design – Matrix Design


Figure 11-5

Organizational Design – Lateral Interdependence

Organizational Design – Lateral Interdependence

Lateral interdependence concerns the degree of coordination or synchronization required between organizational units in order to accomplish work-group or organizational goals.

As lateral interdependence increases, leaders usually spend more time building and maintaining contacts in other work units or on public relations activities.

Leaders are more likely to use rational persuasion as an influence tactic when the level of lateral interdependence is high.


The Informal OrganizationThe Informal OrganizationOrganizational culture is a system of shared

backgrounds, norms, values, or beliefs among members of a group.

Organizational climate concerns members’ subjective reactions about the organization.

Leaders can change culture by attending to or ignoring particular issues, problems, or projects.

Leaders can modify culture through their reactions to crisis, by rewarding new or different kinds of behavior, or by eliminating previous punishments or negative consequences for certain behaviors.


Environmental CharacteristicsEnvironmental CharacteristicsEnvironmental characteristics concern situational

factors outside the task or organization that still affect the leadership process.

These factors include: Technological forces Economic forces Political forces Social forces Legal forces

These factors often create anxiety, and therefore cause an increase in employees’ security needs.


Technology and UncertaintyTechnology and UncertaintyIn environments of low technological

complexity, workers play a large role and are able to modify their behavior depending on the situation.

Different kinds of organizational structures or designs are best suited for different technological environments.

The degree of environmental uncertainty affects optimal organizational design.


CrisisCrisisSome researchers believe that crises play such an

important part in charismatic leadership that certain leaders will purposely create crises in order to be perceived as being charismatic.

During crises, followers are more likely to look to leaders to identify the problem as well as develop and implement a solution.

Leaders are less apt to use participation or consultation during crises.


Situational EngineeringSituational Engineering A leader or follower can become more effective by

identifying problem areas and restructuring the situation so that these problems become easier to overcome.

By asking questions and listening effectively, leaders may be able to redesign work using the suggestions from Hackman and Oldham’s job characteristics model or Herzberg’s two-factor theory to improve followers’ satisfaction and productivity levels.

The most important point regarding situational engineering is to get leaders and followers to understand that the situation is not set in concrete, and to think about how they can change the situation for everyone to be more satisfied and productive.


SummarySummary In terms of work factors, leaders need to be aware of how

task interdependence, task structure, and job characteristics can affect both their own and their followers’ behaviors, and how they might change these factors in order to improve followers’ satisfaction and performance.

Research has also shown that organizational factors, such as lateral interdependence, structure, design, and culture, play major roles in determining why certain communication problems and conflicts might exist, how work is accomplished, and why some people may be more satisfied in the organization than others.


Summary (continued)Summary (continued)The informal organization or the

organizational culture can have a profound impact on the way both leaders and followers behave.

Factors in the environment, such as legal, political, or economic forces, can also affect leaders’ and followers’ behaviors.


q. characteristics of the situation “when you’ve exhausted all possibilities, remember this: you...

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