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What are the characteristics of contingency management viewpoint?
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The contingency management viewpoint asserts that no single management style fits all situations. It emphasizes adapting leadership approaches based on specific circumstances, considering factors like employee dynamics and organizational culture. This approach values flexibility, diversity, and tailored solutions over rigid guidelines. Managers must match their style to the situation and clearly define roles to maintain accountability. While it fosters effective, context-specific solutions, it can be time-consuming and requires effort to implement effectively.
Contingency viewpoint management, to put it quite simply, dictates that
different situations will inevitably call for different approaches when
managing a team. Often times managers will attempt a fair and fool-proof system
by adopting rigid guidelines to leadership that they see as "one-size-fits-all"
solutions to any possible problem. Contingency viewpoint, however, maintains
that solutions that will work in one context may be completely useless in
another, and vice-versa, depending on several factors such as employees, jobs,
and levels of accountability.
Contingency theory acknowledges that there is no one best way to lead an
organization, and even a situational "best way" is subject to change. Operating
under this sort of management style requires varying positions of leadership
with various traits that will be better suited to different situations.
The contingency management approach holds that there are a variety of styles of management and there is no style that is better than...
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the rest. The rationale focuses on the situation, which forces the manager to seek the correct way or style to manage. Thus, the manager is responsible for matching the right style to the right situation. The manager also needs to know their style of leadership in order to accommodate and work with the rest of the employees.
To ensure the management system works, the roles of each member of the organization should be clearly defined, which enhances the level of accountability. In this case, the manager can objectively evaluate the members based on their tasks and deliverables. A good working relationship between the manager and the rest of the staff is essential in a contingency system because it places the manager in control of the organization.
In summary, an organization based on contingency management
- Applies different approaches based on the situation it is facing
- Is focused on creating synergies between the different members of the organization
- Is aimed at adapting to the different circumstances
- Appreciates diversity because it results in new ideas and new ways of getting things done
References
The contingency viewpoint of management involves a manager weighing many different possibilities when solving an organizational problem. This process appreciates the constantly changing environment in which a problem is solved, as well as the dynamic needs of management and employees. When coming up with possible solutions, a manager considers many variables, including the makeup of the workforce, the organizational culture of the company, the company's size, the company's environment, and other factors. The advantage of this type of solution is that it can produce solutions that are specific to the problem, rather than adopting a one-size-fits-all approach. As the manager has considered many factors in producing the solution, the solution has a better chance of being feasible. The disadvantage of this process is that it can require a great deal of effort and time to produce customized responses to different types of problems that arise in an organization.Â