Deck 13: Contingency Theories of Leadership

Question 1

The highest levels of situational favorability occur when leader-member relations are good,the task is structured,and the position power is high.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

With Situational Leadership,follower readiness refers to a follower's ability and willingness to accomplish a particular task.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

The path-goal theory assumes that leaders use the same styles with different subordinates.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

According to the path-goal theory,follower satisfaction is directly related to the degree of participative behaviors manifested by the leader.

Question 5

Both leader behaviors and follower characteristics are important in determining outcomes in path-goal theory.

Question 6

The normative decision model shifts focus away from the situation and the followers to the leader.

Question 7

According to the path-goal theory,a leader should assess the situation before choosing an appropriate leadership behavior.

Question 8

With Situational Leadership,developmental interventions are intended to increase follower readiness levels and help followers in their development.

Question 9

Position power is not a characteristic of leaders but of the situations that leaders finds themselves in.

Question 10

The positive effects of Situational Leadership in the workplace are significantly documented with published research,which partially explains the theory's appeal to both leadership practitioners and organizations.

Question 11

Leader-member exchange has not changed in the last twenty years.

Question 12

Situational Leadership is a useful way for getting leaders to think about how leadership effectiveness may depend on being flexible with different subordinates.

Question 13

The contingency model of leadership maintains that leaders are flexible in their behavior.

Question 14

Path-goal theory considers three situational factors that moderate the effects of leader behavior on follower behavior.

Question 15

The normative decision model has been established as an all-encompassing theory.

Question 16

According to path-goal theory,followers will actively support a leader as long as they view the leader's actions as a means for increasing their own levels of satisfaction.

Question 17

According to Fiedler's contingency model,the content of leadership training should emphasize behavioral flexibility in leaders rather than situational engineering.

Question 18

Low-LPC leaders will focus on improving their relationships with followers after they are assured that assigned tasks are being satisfactorily accomplished.

Question 19

In the context of contingency theory,the least preferred co-worker (LPC)score is intended to represent follower behaviors and situational factors.

Question 20

According to the normative decision model,acceptance of a decision is not always critical for implementation.

Question 21

Which of the following statements is most likely true of the leadership theories?

A) Situational Leadership suggests that leaders remain consistent in their behaviors.
B) The contingency model emphasizes flexibility in leader behaviors.
C) Situational Leadership asserts that leaders should use a decision tree in stressful situations.
D) The contingency model suggests that leader effectiveness depends on selecting the right kind of leader for a certain situation.

Question 22

In terms of the four leadership styles of situational leadership,a high task/low relationship behavior is referred to as:

A) delegating.
B) selling.
C) participating.
D) telling.

Question 23

Which statement best summarizes the leader-member exchange (LMX)theory?

A) It highlights the flexibility needed by leaders.
B) It focuses on interactions between leaders and followers.
C) It looks at the positive and negative characteristics of situations.
D) It considers the effects of leader decision-making on group members.

Question 24

The delegating leadership style has:

A) high task/low relationship behavior.
B) low task/low relationship behavior.
C) high task/high relationship behavior.
D) low task/high relationship behavior.

Question 25

Follower readiness refers to a(n):

A) follower's ability and willingness to accomplish a particular task.
B) assessment of an individual's personality in certain situations.
C) personal trait or value that is difficult to change.
D) follower's reaction to certain leadership styles.

Question 26

Situational Leadership suggests that effective leaders base behavior upon:

A) valued rewards.
B) follower maturity.
C) task structure.
D) leader-member relations.

Question 27

Which of the following statements about high-LPC leaders is most likely true?

A) If tasks are being accomplished in an acceptable manner,they will move to their secondary level of motivation,which is forming and maintaining relationships with followers.
B) They focus on improving their relationships with followers after they are assured that assigned tasks are being satisfactorily accomplished.
C) They are primarily satisfied by establishing and maintaining close interpersonal relationships.
D) They primarily gain satisfaction from task accomplishment.

Question 28

Leaders exhibiting participative leadership are most likely to:

A) emphasize status differentials among followers.
B) establish norms and procedures immediately.
C) share work problems with followers.
D) be viewed as demanding.

Question 29

If a decision has a rational or objectively determinable "better or worse" alternative,the leader should select the better alternative.This most likely refers to:

A) strategic agility.
B) decision acceptance.
C) problem solving.
D) decision quality.

Question 30

Which of the following statements about the normative decision model is true?

A) The model shifts focus away from the leader and followers to the situation.
B) Decision tree questions focus on the problem and situational factors.
C) The model focuses on the effects of formal authority systems.
D) It is about personal opinions rather than theory.

Question 31

Which of the following statements about the path-goal theory is most likely FALSE?

A) The three sub-elements in situation favorability are the task,the formal authority system,and the primary work group.
B) Redundant leader behaviors might be interpreted by followers as a lack of understanding.
C) If a task is very structured,informal authority decreases follower motivation levels.
D) It maintains that follower and situational variables can impact each other.

Question 32

What should leaders first assess in order to apply the situational leadership model?

A) The level of task and relationship behavior that will likely produce successful outcomes.
B) The readiness level of the follower relative to the task to be accomplished.
C) The leader's behavior that best suits the current situation and task.
D) The historical behavior patterns of the leader and follower.

Question 33

According to the situational leadership theory,four types of leadership behavior can be identified.They include all of the following EXCEPT:

A) delegating.
B) selling.
C) participating.
D) modeling.

Question 34

According to the path-goal theory,which leader behavior is most likely characterized by remaining open and approachable to followers?

A) Achievement-oriented leadership
B) Directive leadership
C) Participative leadership
D) Supportive leadership

Question 35

The highest levels of situational favorability most likely occur when:

A) leader-member relations are good,the task is structured,and position power is high.
B) there are high levels of leader-member conflict,the task is unstructured,and the leader uses reward power.
C) leader-member relations are good,the task is unstructured,and position power is low.
D) there are high levels of leader-member conflict,the task is structured,and the leader uses coercive power.

Question 36

In terms of the path-goal theory,which of the following is considered a situational factor?

A) The decision quality
B) Leader-member relations
C) Position power
D) The task

Question 37

Which two broad categories of leader behaviors did the situational leadership model originally identify?

A) Directive and supportive
B) Transformational and transactional
C) Behavior-oriented and cognitively-oriented
D) Initiating structure and consideration

Question 38

The normative decision model is limited only to:

A) decision making.
B) task behaviors.
C) goal accomplishment.
D) goal expectancy.

Question 39

What is the weakest element of situational favorability?

A) Subordinate acceptance
B) Leader-member relations
C) Task structure
D) Position power

Question 40

Which of the following instruments does Fiedler's contingency theory use to determine the relevant characteristic of the leader?

A) The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
B) The California Personality Inventory
C) The Least Preferred Co-worker Scale
D) The Five Factor Personality Inventory

Question 41

Differentiate between task behaviors and relationship behaviors in the Situational Leadership model.Provide examples of each.

Question 42

Why have researchers criticized the contingency model?

Question 43

What is the least preferred co-worker scale? What can be learned from LPC scores?

Question 44

What are some of the problems with the normative decision model?

Question 45

Illustrate how a leader might use path-goal theory to improve leadership effectiveness.

Question 46

Describe the primary difference between Fiedler's contingency model and the other contingency theories presented.What are the implications of this difference in an organizational setting?

Question 47

Discuss how the Leader-Member Exchange (LMX)theory has changed in the last 20 years.

Question 48

Describe a situation where the variables from path-goal theory would make certain leader behaviors redundant.

Question 49

Describe how the Vroom and Yetton normative decision model incorporates quality,acceptance,time,and subordinate development.

Question 50

What is follower readiness? Provide an example.