During the management process, a manager needs to redefine the management philosophy that suits the nature of the organization and its environment. One of the best ways to implement such a managerial philosophy is to use the contingency theory of management to structure the organization. According to Peters, Hartke & Pohlmann, (1985), the contingency theory of management is premised on the idea that there are multiple ways for managers to make decisions in an organization based on different factors. The implication is that a manager that prefers the contingency management approach must be flexible and assess the environment under which a business operates at the time they need to make a decision. Therefore, the final decision will depend on the organization's context and factors that shape its operations at that time. With the complexities that arise in the modern management field, understanding the techniques of management through the use of contingency is paramount to the managers. From the literature reviewed for this discussion, it is evident that the contingency management approach suits the current modern business environment because it allows a high degree of flexibility to managers, and this enables them to be versatile while deciding on the organization's operations.
Relevance of Topic
The suitability of the contingency management approach is the topic of the discussion. The contingency approach to management is based on the theory of contingency. The theory states that t here is no particular best way to manage a business or organization. The management activities such as planning, controlling, leadership, or organization are entirely dependent on the circumstances and the environment. The theory suggests that when a manager faces a problem, they scan the environment under which the business operates and make a decision based on the situation where they are and the resource they have at their disposal. The theory proposes that it is the managers to change their style of management and perception of issues to suits the role they have to play or decision they have to make within a particular time.
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The contingency theory is relevant to managers in the modern world, where they have to be flexible to stay effective and competitive. In the current business environment, the managers face the challenge of creating a competitive organization and workforce. They also face the challenge of working with a diverse population in addition to staying ethically and legally relevant in the business environment. The problem to keep updated with the new technology that changes the nature of business is also another reason to stay flexible. Therefore, the manager must understand that they need to change and stay focused to appoint where they can act effectively and differently in different environments the business challenges present to them or throw on their path (Johnson, Masyn&McKelvie, 2020). The contingency theory, therefore, makes the managers understand that uncertainties are current in the business environment, and they come with different challenges. Thus, the manager should not rely on a single arsenal to defend themselves against such uncertainties; instead, they should be flexible as this is the only way to handle these uncertainties that attack in different styles.
Review of Literature
Findings
The literature review reveals the benefits a manager can derive by employing the contingency management approach as a management philosophy in the organization. From the literature review, it is evident that the contingency approach to management is an extrapolation of emotional intelligence in management. Emotional intelligence, according to McFarland, Rode,& Shervani (2015) the ability to identify and managers’ own emotions , as well as the emotions of others. A manager needs to understand how to vary emotion with regards to the situation they face. They also need to understand the emotions of the stakeholder, the customers, and workers as a way of creating a good working environment with them. Therefore, they need contingency based management to allow them to regulate their emotions based on the circumstances for people and emotion-free decision making.
Also, from the literature review, it is evident that the manager needs to use the contingency approach in management as it acts as the booster of innovation and effective employee motivation and management. What comes out from the literature review is the fact that there is a need for a manager to develop a Business Model Innovation ( BMI ) that allows them to be flexible in how they operate. With the management approach that allows for flexibility such as a contingency approach, it becomes easy for the managers to create Business model innovation that will enable them to rethink business around a clear though not always obvious customer need. Such a model, therefore, allows them to realign the resources, processes, and profit formula with this new value proposition ( Kranich, P., & Wald, A. (2017). With such autonomy and flexibility, Yin, Xing, Li & Guo, (2017) attest that a manager can be in a position to motivate the employees to work perfectly at any condition they find themselves. The implication, in this case, is that when a manager comes up with business model innovation, they can innovate creative ways to work together and perfectly with the employees to encourage them and motivate them to be flexible enough to work in any environment they find themselves.
Another finding from these literature reviews is about top management and employee turnover. The literature review reveals that contingent factors that are not accounted for when changing management and how such factors can be critical in determining the success of the new management team ( Boyne, James, Josh & Petrovsky, 2011). For instance, factors such as moderating effects of prior performance define the performance of the new staff, and without creating a contingency management philosophy, they are challenging to identify and thus may result in adverse performance for the new team. Hollenbeck et al. (2002) further emphasize the benefit of using the contingency theory of management to manage a diverse group and reduce turnover. Such a finding amplified the idea that when faced with a different team, a manager needs to be sensitive to the situation the team presents and the challenges that come with such a team as a way of preparing to manage them effectively (Hollenbeck et al., 2002).
Also, Fiedler’s Contingency theory is under scrutiny in the literature review, and the results reveal the effectiveness of this approach of management in today's employees' management. From the literature, what comes out is the fact that leaders can rely on Fiedler’s Contingency theory to create a creative and productive workforce in the organization. Peters, Hartke & Pohlmann, (1985) claim that employees' performance is contingent on a leader's psychological makeup and orientation. Therefore, a leader needs to understand the atmosphere, task structure they give to the employees, and the power position as these are contingent factors that influence the employees ' ability to perform a task to their best level. The suggestion, therefore, is that by following Fiedler’s Contingency theory, a leader has a high chance for better employee management. In addition to creating a strong workforce (Cheng 2016) further reveals that considering the contingency factors in marketing can also be critical. These include factors such as a new market niche, new technology in the marketing, and also new customers' needs in the market are some of the good reasons that make managers think of the contingency management approach ( Contandriopoulos, Perroux & Duhoux, 2018).
Lessons
The research on the topic has revealed numerous takeaways. For instance, it has revealed that successful management in the current modern world depends on how well the manager is prepared to handle the uncertainties that come with business management. Therefore, the degree of flexibility for the management determines their mental preparedness to process the uncertainties that come with management ( Hollenbeck et al., 2002).
Another important revelation is the impact of the management contingency awareness on the management of the employees within the company or business. From the research study, what comes out clear is that manager who understands that uncertainties lie ahead usually prepare the employees for the same. Such a manager uses contingency theories such as Fiedler’s Contingency theory to design tasks that suit their employees at any stage of their project. They also come up with a flexible team and assert theory authorities so that when they faced a new task that demands a certain degree of change, managing a change becomes easy for them ( Taylor & Taylor, 2014).
Finally, it is evident from the research that the current dynamic business environment, the manager needs to create a business environment that is versatile and adaptable to any situation so that when the there is a need to change, it becomes less costly and easy to manage ( Madlock, 018). From the literature, the authors emphasize the need to have a contingency approach to management so that managers prepare the environment where they operate to change. In this sense, operations such as marketing, managing diverse teams, changing a product, changing the brand name, and restructuring an organization become easy when the manager and the team are prepared to face such challenges uniquely to achieve unique results. In doing so, most of these authors agree that the manager shall have asserted authority designed a task and created working place environment where they can manipulate resources, team, and structure of the organization to meet such needs ( Kundu & Mondal, 2019).
The Relevance of the literature
The information from this literature is essential in the sense that it gives an overview of what makes the manager and business owner need to prepare to face any situation that they encounter during business operation. Also, the information in this article is a reminder to the manager to remain flexible to make a decision based on tasks and circumstances they experience while trying to achieve results. It also urges the user that there is no best way to prepare for a contingency. It implies that what needs to happen that the users need to figure out the best way to find a solution to their problem at the time it comes.
Changing the philosophy and the structure of the organization to reflect the idea the authors present in this literature is the best way to use the information. The idea, in this case, is that an organization should take the challenges and changes based on how they come and should not involve in a prior preparation because such changes come with different challenges. Therefore, changing the policies and management policy in the organization to adopt such ideas can be the best way to adopt such information into the organization.
The consumers of such information are diverse. For instance, the managers are the main target for the discussion. These are people who are charged with the responsibilities of overseeing the success of organizations. Therefore, their philosophies account for the success of any organization. Other users include the business owners who also need to understand the process of change management and the philosophies that drive the organization or business success. For all these consumers, what they need to understand is that at any given time, the organization can deploy any strategy to achieve success when faced with a task or challenge.
From the discussion and the literature review, it is clear that a manager that uses the philosophy of the contingency theory will come up with solutions to tackle a managerial challenge when they occur instead of attempting to prepare for them before they happen. It is an idea that most of the authors, as demonstrated in the article review support as they claim that in most cases where such an approach have been adopted, the results have been positive.
References
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Cheng, Y. (2016). Social media keep buzzing! A test of contingency theory in China’s Red Cross credibility crisis. International Journal of Communication (19328036), 10, 3241–3260.
Contandriopoulos, D., Perroux, M., & Duhoux, A. (2018). Formalisation and subordination: a contingency theory approach to optimising primary care teams. BMJ Open , 8 (11), e025007. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2018-025007
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Johnson, A. R., Masyn, K. E., &McKelvie, A. (2020). A contingency approach to the incubation of new ventures in entrepreneurial ecosystems: Descriptive exploratory plots for continuous and survival outcomes. In Research Handbook on Start-Up Incubation Ecosystems . Edward Elgar Publishing.
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Madlock, P. E. (2018). The influence of leadership style on telecommuters in the insurance industry: A contingency theory approach. Journal of Leadership, Accountability and Ethics, 15 (2), 73-85.
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Yin, K., Xing, L., Li, C., & Guo, Y. (2017). Are Empowered Employees More Proactive? The Contingency of How They Evaluate Their Leader. online at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5673857/
