Tarlac State Universitiy

GRADUATE STUDIES
Tarlac City, Tarlac

A Project on Education 506: Administrative Behavior on Education

A Reaction Paper
on
The Contingency Theory
(Lesson No. 4)

Submitted by:

JOSEPHINE FAJARDO- LORESCA

MaEd- EdMa
First Semester, 2010-2011

Submitted to:

DR. MARIA AGNES P. LADIA

INTRODUCTION
 A successful businessman was once asked: “What is the secret of your success?” He

replied: “The secret is…… there is no secret.” Pretty much, he was able to raise his point and

that is- there is no perfect formula in running an organization.

While it is true that a lot of leadership styles have been identified, still for someone who believes

that each situation that comes through is different from the others, then such person will not be

confining himself to one style. He will continue seeking for more styles that will make him deal with the

situation and his employees reasonably.

Therefore the question is: Is this theory the answer to all our management problems?

SUMMARY

Contingency theories are a class of behavioral theory that contend that there is no best way of

leading and that a leadership style that is effective in some situations may not be successful in others. .

In other words: The optimal organization / leadership style is contingent upon various internal and

external constraints. These constraints may include: the size of the organization, how it adapts to its

environment, differences among resources and operations activities, managerial assumptions about

employees, strategies, technologies used, etc.

Four important ideas of Contingency Theories are:

1. There is no universal or one best way to manage.

2. The design of an organization and its subsystems must 'fit' with the environment

3. Effective organizations not only have a proper 'fit' with the environment but also between its

subsystems and

4. The needs of an organization are better satisfied when it is properly designed and the management

style is appropriate both to the tasks undertaken and the nature of the work group.

Choosing the Organizational Structure. Organizations can respond to change in their environments

in a variety of planned and unplanned ways. In complex organizations, when the environment is

unstable, managers need to examine their assumptions about how organizations function in order to

develop effective strategies for introducing creativity and change.

REACTION:

“The leader's ability to lead is contingent upon various situational factors, including the leader's

preferred style, the capabilities and behaviors of followers and also various other situational factors.”
 On the standpoint of a classroom teacher, this theory is very effective being the “it all

depends” approach. The teaching process is characterized with so much dynamism that it tends to

become adaptable from one group of students to another. You see, each group of students needs to be

dealt with, with exclusivity, in like manner with a student being treated individually under the idea that

“All individuals are different from each other.” With this, teachers become flexible in their everyday

dealings with the students to be able to meet their group needs and individual needs as well.

A person capable of doing this needs a lot of open mindedness, patience and creativity.

Creativity is the foremost requirement. For some, this is such a tedious job which practically drains up

their energy each day. With that, teaching becomes a burden. Unwilling to go extra mile, these teachers

would resort to what is comfortable on their part which is just to deliver what they need deliver

unmindful whether the students learn or not. Why is this so? It is easy.

The other group of teachers sees teaching as a vocation. Their very aim is to make sure that

every student learns. They fully understand that what is true to one section may not be applicable to

another group of students, so they become pragmatic thinkers. The difficulty of preparation is nothing

because the end results give them a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction.

Consideration of the differences of the intellectual level among the students is the situation that

we need to look into. For it was said: “The situation is important in deciding which style is appropriate to

use. Leadership style should fit the situation where it is applied.”(Martires and Fule, 2000)

As a future school leader, a thorough understanding of this theory is indeed very rewarding. If

one is able to recognize the uniqueness of every individual within the confines of the classroom, then it

is perceived that there isn’t much of a problem given a bigger scenario where such theory can be

applied. Whether a school leader is surrounded by young or old, idealistic or traditional, achievers or

just the mediocre ones- without a doubt, he can be as pliant as a bamboo…