Required information Putting the Contingency Model into Practice Simply possessing certain traits or performing certain behaviors does not ensure that a manager will be an effective leader in all situations. Some managers who seem to possess the right traits and perform the right behaviors turn out to be ineffective leaders. Managers lead in a wide variety of situations and organizations, and have various kinds ofsubordinates performing diverse tasks in a multiplicity of environmental contexts. Given the wide variety of situations in which leadership occurs, what makes a manager an effective leader in one situation is not necessarily what that manager needs to be equally effective in a different situation. Contingency models of leadership take into account the situation or context within which leadership occurs. According to contingency models, whether or not a manager is an effective leader is the result of the interplay between the manager's leadership style and the situation in which leadership takes place. Contingency models propose that whether a leader who possesses certain traits or performs certain behaviors is effective depends on, or is contingent upon, the situation or context. In this exercise, you will read about the situation in which Cynthia, the new manager ofthe product development group at the hypothetical company Acme, |nc., nds herself. After reading about the task structure, leader-member relations, and position power elements in the department, you will help Cynthia determine if her leadership style will enable her to be an effective leader ofthis group. Review the section in the text on Fiedler's Contingency Model before beginning this activity. Read the case below and answer the questions that follow: Cynthia has just accepted a position as leader ofthe new products department at the hypothetical company Acme, Inc. The position involves leading a staff of ten as they create new products for the organization. She expects extremely high performance from her subordinates and is particularly focused on achieving the tasks efficiently and effectivelyon time and under budget as frequently as possible. She is excited at the challenge presented by this new leadership opportunity. However, Cynthia is also worried because of several elements in the situation. First, her workers are predisposed to dislike and distrust her. She has already heard comments asserting that she does not know what she is doing and that she only got thejob because she is related to the company's owner. Additionally, there is some grumbling because she is a woman and only men have led this group in the past. She knows she looks young, which makes others take her less seriously. She does have an MBA from a leading university, but she is not sure how to let the workers know this without sounding like she is bragging and being condescending. Her subordinates would probably dislike her even more. Second, she does not have a lot of rewards or even punishments she can use to encourage high performance. She only has a small bonus fund, which might allow for a lunch or a $50 gift certificate. Also, she knows that this type of reward probably will not help with the creative work and long hours that will be needed from her followers. She does not have the power to dock pay or suspend someone for poor behavior without going through her boss. Lastly, she is worried because her boss did not really set any substantive goals. Her bossjust told Cynthia to have her people \"do their best." Cynthia's boss did not even give her any indication of what types of products the company wanted her to focus on or how many they are expecting. All she knows is that her group is supposed to come up with creative new products. She has a specific budget and one year in which to prove herself. Cynthia is determined to develop her group into a high-performance work team by focusing on task accomplishment. However, she wonders, will her task-focused leadership style work in this situation? As a woman in a leadership position, we might expect that her subordinates see her as Multiple Choice O more supportive than concerned with interpersonal relations. O more nurturing than directive. O more charismatic than as an expert. O more task-oriented than supportive. O more capable than a male in the same position.According to Fiedler's Contingency Theory, Cynthia's position power is Multiple Choice O weak. O growing. O strong. O moderate. O irrelevant.According to Fiedler's Contingency Theory, leader-member relations is starting out for Cynthia as Multiple Choice O moderate. O typical. O poor. good