Modern Management: concepts and skills, 14/e

The Contingency Approach

In simple terms, the contingency approach to management emphasizes that what managers do in practice depends on, or is contingent upon, a given set of circumstances—a situation.39 In essence, this approach emphasizes “if–then” relationships: “If” this situational variable exists, “then” a manager probably would take this particular action. For example, if a manager has a group of inexperienced subordinates, then the contingency approach would recommend that he or she lead in a different fashion than if the subordinates were experienced.40

In general, the contingency approach attempts to identify the conditions or situations in which various management methods have the best chance of success.41 This approach is based ...