Deck 5: Contingency and Situational Leadership

Question 1

According to Fiedler's theory, task-motivated leaders perform the best in situations of high control and low control.

Answer 1

True
According to Fiedler's theory, task-motivated leaders perform best when they have the most control and the least control. See "Fiedler's Contingency Theory of Leadership Effectiveness."

Question 2

In the normative decision model, the leader examines certain factors within the situation to determine which decision-making style will be the most effective.

Answer 2

True
The normative decision model views leadership as a decision-making process in which the leader examines certain factors within the situation to determine which decision-making style will be the most effective.See "The Normative Decision Model."

Question 3

When asked about leadership effectiveness, an executive said in part, "The length of the leash varies with different people. . . ." The executive's comments support the _____ perspective on leadership.

A) contingency
B) relationship-oriented
C) task-oriented
D) universal theory

Answer 3

A
The essence of a contingency approach to leadership is that leaders are most effective when they make their behavior contingent on situational forces, including group member characteristics.See "Situational Influences on Effective Leadership Behavior."

Question 4

A success factor for the leader of an organization or a key organizational unit is to think strategically, including visualizing the big picture.

Question 5

In the normative decision model, decision significance is defined as the significance of the decision to the success of the project or organization.

Question 6

Branch manager Marissa uses evidence-based leadership when she will accuse subordinates of wrongdoing only when she can heavily document her accusations.

Question 7

In the situational leadership model II, when group members have the highest level of competence and commitment, the directing style is recommended.

Question 8

An ineffective way to lead an organization through a crisis is to strongly defend yourself against your critics or deny wrongdoing.

Question 9

In the situational leadership model II, the key contingency factor is the development level of group members as determined by commitment and competence.

Question 10

The achievement-oriented leadership style works well with group members working on ambiguous and nonrepetitive tasks.

Question 11

The contingency approach to leadership explains that leaders are most effective when they:

A) plan for emergencies before they occur.
B) make their behavior tuned to situational forces.
C) follow universal managerial principles when faced with contingencies.
D) create backup plans to deal with human resources problems.

Question 12

According to the path-goal theory, the participative style is recommended when group members are performing repetitive tasks.

Question 13

If a leader wants to practice the path-goal theory of leadership, he should be prepared to compensate for the deficiencies of subordinates.

Question 14

A major proposition of the path-goal theory is that the leader should engage in behaviors that run counter to the subordinates' environment and abilities.

Question 15

According to Fiedler's theory, relationship-motivated leaders perform the best in situations of low control.

Question 16

Baxter, a chief operating officer, practices contingency leadership when he:

A) warns workers in advance about potential punishments.
B) maintains an optimistic, positive attitude.
C) challenges the use of new technologies.
D) discards old ideas that no longer fit the situational forces.

Question 17

In the situational leadership model II, the supporting style leader emphasizes low directing, low supporting behaviors.

Question 18

Contingency theories of leadership specify the personal characteristics of the leader that will contribute to effectiveness in a wide variety of situations.

Question 19

An important situational factor in the normative model is the importance of commitment.

Question 20

An example of a situational force in leadership is group member characteristics.

Question 21

The general purpose of disaster planning is to:

A) deal effectively with a crisis.
B) practice transformational leadership skills.
C) minimize leadership liability for a crisis.
D) prevent a crisis.

Question 22

In path-goal theory, the directive leader improves morale when:

A) group members perform repetitive tasks.
B) group members are highly motivated.
C) there is ample time for task completion.
D) the task is unclear and vague.

Question 23

In path-goal theory, the participative leader is best suited for improving the morale of:

A) well-motivated employees who perform repetitive tasks.
B) well-motivated employees who perform nonrepetitive tasks.
C) poorly-motivated employees who perform repetitive tasks.
D) poorly-motivated employees who perform nonrepetitive tasks.

Question 24

Following Fiedler's contingency model, a leader can increase situational control by:

A) decreasing the task structure for group members.
B) creating conflict between himself or herself and group members.
C) increasing his or her position power.
D) increasing the demands on group members.

Question 25

Which one of the following is a recommended approach to leadership during a crisis?

A) Think tactically
B) Lead with compassion
C) Be a transactional leader
D) Be indecisive

Question 26

The general point of Fiedler's contingency theory of leadership is that the best style of leadership is determined by:

A) the leader's personality.
B) how well the leader gets along with group members.
C) a balance of task and relationship factors.
D) the situation in which a leader works.

Question 27

The general thrust of path-goal theory is to specify what the leader must do to:

A) make a directive style of leadership acceptable.
B) achieve high productivity and morale in a given situation.
C) improve the work attitudes of group members.
D) make the situation more favorable.

Question 28

The coaching style of leadership in the situational leadership model II is described as:

A) high on directing and high on supporting behaviors.
B) high on directing and low on supporting behaviors.
C) low on directing and low on supporting behaviors.
D) low on directing and high on supporting behaviors.

Question 29

According to the normative decision model, leaders must choose a style that brings about the correct degree of _____ when making decisions.

A) group participation
B) group motivation
C) goal setting
D) job satisfaction

Question 30

Contingency leadership theorists believe that in terms of shaping the leader's behavior,_____.

A) forces in the situation are more important that the leader's personal characteristics.
B) the internal environment is more critical than the external environment.
C) the leadership situation has a negligible influence.
D) the leader's personal characteristics have a negligible influence.

Question 31

Which one of the following is the most recommended approach to leadership during a crisis?

A) Lead with compassion.
B) Rely heavily on consensus leadership.
C) Move group members away from their usual work routine.
D) Choose a circle-the-wagons mentality.

Question 32

The situational leadership model II emphasizes contingency factors relating to:

A) characteristics of group members.
B) characteristics of the organizational climate.
C) the attitudes of the leader.
D) the skills of the leader.

Question 33

A suggestion to the leader based on path-goal theory is for the leader to:

A) give people careful instructions, even when they can perform the task well.
B) encourage group members to provide their own structure.
C) purposely make ambiguous the path between goal attainment and receiving a reward.
D) reduce frustrating barriers to reaching goals.

Question 34

The contingency factors in the normative decision model are known as:

A) commitment requirements.
B) decision-making styles.
C) characteristics of the leader.
D) problem attributes.

Question 35

_____ is designed to increase the frequency and quality of conversations about performance and professional development between managers and group members so that competence is developed, commitment takes place, and turnover among talented workers is reduced.

A) The charismatic leadership theory
B) The Path goal model
C) Situational leadership II
D) The normative decision model

Question 36

According to the normative decision model, group support refers to:

A) the likelyhood that the team might commit to a decision that it might take on its own.
B) team members' knowledge or expertise in relation to the problem.
C) the degree to which the team supports the organization's objectives at stake in the problem.
D) the ability of team members to work together in solving problems.

Question 37

Division manager Pedro believes strongly in the path-goal theory of leadership, so he engages in behaviors that:

A) have a high probability of winning.
B) set quite high goals for all subordinates.
C) complement subordinate characteristics and task demands.
D) follow a logical path.

Question 38

In Fiedler's contingency theory, an important dimension for rating the situation is :

A) position power.
B) leader-member relations.
C) personal power.
D) task structure.

Question 39

A _____ perspective is that the leader's behavior is profoundly influenced by the situation.

A) path goal leadership
B) contingency leadership
C) normative decision model
D) middle of the road management

Question 40

According to the situational leadership model II, the directing style is the most effective when team members are:

A) low in competence but high on commitment.
B) at the highest level of commitment and competence.
C) growing in competence but with variable commitment.
D) having some competence but are low in commitment.

Question 41

A key part of evidence-based leadership or management is to:

A) keep a log of the mistakes of subordinates.
B) justify asking for an increased budget.
C) prove that your decision was the right one.
D) translate principles into practice.

Question 42

Annette's team has been able to meet the production target of 20,000 units per year. In the next financial year, Annette sets a target of 25,000 units for the team. Accordingly, the individual targets are set to increase. In the context of the path-goal theory of leadership effectiveness, Annette follows the _____ of leadership.

A) directive and controlling style
B) supportive style
C) participative style
D) achievement oriented style

Question 43

Jonathan has to make use of the path-goal theory to adopt a specific style of leadership in his team. He consults his superior to get a clear idea on this. In this case, give a picture of what Jonathan's superior would suggest .

Question 44

Alfred intends to follow a directive style of leadership among his team members. In the context of the path-goal theory of leadership effectiveness, which of the following situations would have made Alfred stick to a directive leadership style?

A) The exact sales revenue that his team should bring in is unclear, however the team is given orders to improve its performance.
B) A few of the group members have gone through an emotionally disturbing phase and they need emotional support from the leader.
C) Each group member has a thorough knowledge of their individual contributions to the team, making the task of the leader easier.
D) The team has been performing exceptionally well, and therefore further focus will be on building relationships with members of the team.

Question 45

Which of the following serves as an example for evidence based leadership?

A) The management decides to refer to management practices in the past to find out a solution to the isuue in hand.
B) The management decides to collect feedback from the employees about the existing compensation policy.
C) The management decides to carry out job appraisal of individual employees.
D) The management decides to keep a check on politics in the firm.

Question 46

George and Jonathan are the production and marketing managers of a firm. While George is optimistic to work out the issues of his least preferred coworker, Jonathan is adamant that the least preferred coworker in his team has to be replaced. In this case, which of the following statements is true?

A) Both George and Jonathan are task motivated leaders.
B) George is relationship motivated , while Jonathan is task motivated.
C) Jonathan is relationship motivated, while George is task motivated.
D) Both George and Jonathan are relationship motivated.

Question 47

In the context of Situational Leadership II, who among the following is identified as an enthusiastic beginner?

A) Adrian, a highly skilled employee who exceeds his targets
B) Milan, who is capable of achieving her targets but is not dependable
C) Tina, who needs help with her technical skills but is a motivated learner
D) Alfina, a high performing employee, who occasionally takes long vacations

Question 48

Who among the following is a delegating leader?

A) Ryan, who neither sets clear goals for his teammates, nor encourages them
B) Brian, who sets clear goals for his teammates and encourages them
C) Rahul, who sets clear goals for his teammates, but does not encourage them
D) Milan, who encourages her teammates, but does not set clear goals for them

Question 49

Who among the following is a coaching leader?

A) Milan, who neither gives clear task directions to her teammates, nor encourages and listens to them
B) Ryan, who gives clear task directions to his teammates and encourages and listens to them
C) Aftab, who gives clear directions to his teammates , but does not encourage or listen to his teammates
D) Linda, who does not give clear directions to her teammates, but encourages and listens to them

Question 50

Ayan, the newly appointed team manager of the sales team, practices autocratic leadership in his team. However, his team members who are quite experienced and equipped in their fields are not satisfied with the style of leadership practised by Ayan, which negatively affects the team productivity. This scenario depicts the violation of _____.

A) a contingency approach to leadership
B) a strict authoritarian approach to leadership
C) a liberal authoritarian approach to leadership
D) a middle of the road approach to leadership

Question 51

Craig, a sales manager, has been asked to explain the under performance of his team in the previous financial year. Instead of understanding and working on resolving the team's issues, Craig comes up with a number of defensive statements and deny wrong doing from his team's part. This is known as _____ the problem.

A) stonewalling
B) debasing
C) ingratiating
D) reinforcing

Question 52

Which of the following is true of a delegating decision making style?

A) The leader works behind the screen.
B) The leader makes decisions for the group.
C) The leader directly intervenes in group deliberations.
D) The leader sells his decisions.

Question 53

Which of the following is true of leadership during a crisis?

A) It is important to prevent potential crisis through disaster planning.
B) It is important to think tactically and have short term goals, to avoid any crisis.
C) It is important that the work is flexible and non-routinistic, to prevent crisis.
D) It is important to be a transactional, and not a transformational leader, to minimize crisis.

Question 54

Kevin announces that starting next financial year, 25% of his team members' salaries will depend on their performance. His team members had no say in this process. In the context of the Normative Decision Model, Kevin demonstrates _____.

A) facilitating
B) deciding
C) delegating
D) consulting

Question 55

Vroom, the sales manager of a firm, has tried implementing the path-goal theory among his teammates. However, on further analysis, he tries to study the details of the normative decision model , and apply the key concepts of the model in his team. What would be the key decision making styles from which Vroom can choose a strategy for his team?

Question 56

Rohan is asked by his supervisors to study the contingency approach to leadership and the path goal model to implement the essential tactics drawn from both these theories in his team. Provide a database that will help Rohan make a decision in this regard.

Question 57

Adapting to changing times is the most important for which approach to leadership?

A) Leadership Grid
B) Charismatic
C) Trait approach
D) Contingency approach

Question 58

Alan used to follow a libertarian leadership style. He recently decided to become stricter toward productivity targets as a result of the fluctuations in the market. He does this in order to make his team more task oriented. This is an example of _____.

A) leaders using debasement techniques
B) situations shaping how leaders behave
C) leaders using techniques of ingratiation
D) dividing the group into in-group and out-group

Question 59

A consultative or collaborative decision-making style is likely to bring about the best results when:

A) the problem is clearly defined.
B) the leader needs information from the teammembers to solve a problem in hand.
C) team members' acceptance of the decision is trivial.
D) there is urgency in decision making.

Question 60

Plant manager Kristina practices evidence-based leadership when she:

A) uses leadership practices proven to be effective.
B) carefully documents poor performance.
C) asks group members to justify their claims.
D) maintains a log of her interactions with group members.