Fiedler's Least Research Articles

Thomas‐Kilmann's Conflict Management Modes and their relationship to Fiedler's Leadership Styles (basing on Estonian organizations)

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyze the relationship between Thomas‐Kilmann's Conflict Management Modes (CMM) and Fiedler's Leadership Style (LS) measures, both in the data, and from the theoretical perspective. Based on the conceptual similarities, the authors first propose the existence of a relationship between Thomas‐Kilmann's CMM and Fiedler's LS measures, then establish the presence of the relationship, based on a dataset of Estonian managers.Design/methodology/approachThe authors use a unique dataset of 343 leaders and specialists from different Estonian organizations, on both Thomas‐Kilmann's CMM and Fiedler's Least Preferred Co‐worker test. The data were analyzed by multivariate methods.FindingsThe results indicate that leaders who are task‐oriented, according to Fiedler's model, tend to use more competing as the dominant CMM, while relationship‐oriented leaders are more accommodating. The authors also analyze the effect of individual characteristics, finding that younger managers are more task‐oriented while older ones are typically relationship‐oriented and conflict avoiding; women are more collaborative and less conflict avoiding, and men tend to use the accommodating mode more than women. Surprisingly, women tend to be more competitive.Originality/valueThis is the first study to establish a relationship between Fiedler's Leadership Style and Thomas‐Kilmann's Conflict Mode Instrument. This relationship can potentially be used for assessing the reliability and validity of measurements. The particular shape of it may be used to analyze the links between conflicts, relationships and assertiveness. Additionally, the paper provides an empirical analysis of conflict management habits and leadership styles of Estonian managers.

Development and Application of a New Approach to Testing the Bipolarity of Semantic Differential Items

A new method of testing semantic differential scales for bipolarity is developed, using a new conceptualization of bipolarity that does not require unidimensionality. Using 63 subjects and multidimensional scaling (MDS) procedures, the investigation assessed Fiedler's Least Preferred Coworker (LPC) instrument and revealed it to suffer significant departures from bipolarity in 9 of 10 tested bipolar pairs. Future research implications are discussed.

The Equal-Interval Nature of Semantic Differential Scales: An Empirical Investigation Using Fiedler'S Least Preferred Coworker (Lpc) Scale And Magnitude Estimation and Case Iii Scaling Procedures

An assumption made in using semantic differential measures is that the adjective pairs used are truly bipolar; otherwise, statistical analyses may yield distorted findings. This article examines the 18 bipolar adjective pairs used in Fiedler's Least Preferred Coworker (LPC) instrument by using two scaling techniques and a sample of 113 respondents. To replicate and extend previous research, the 36 LPC adjectives were ranked according to their relative interpersonal favorability. The same sample also scaled the 36 adjectives using Stevens's magnitude estimation technique (MET). Both pair-comparison treatment of complete ranks scaling (under Thurstone's Case III) and the magnitude estimation procedure indicated that true bipolarity did not characterize most of the paired adjectives. Implications for future LPC and semantic differential research are discussed.

Leadership style of construction managers in Hong Kong

Hong Kong's construction industry is one of the most dynamic in the world and the Territory has a remarkable record of completing projects to budget in seemingly impossible times. Despite the fact that 97% of the population is Chinese, the Territory remains under British Colonial rule (until 1 July 1997) making Hong Kong a meeting point for Western and Eastern cultures. This mixture of cultures raises interesting managerial issues and an issue particularly relevant to construction project management is leadership behaviour style. This paper studies the leadership styles of Hong Kong Chinese construction managers (by means of Fiedler's Least Preferred Co-worker (LPC) scale and House's styles grid) and compares these styles with those of their western counterparts. Hong Kong managers are found to be much more relationship-orientated than their western counterparts. The issue of the effect of situational variables on the style adopted is explored.

Fiedler's Least Preferred Coworker (LPC) Instrument: An Investigation of its True Bipolarity

One methodological concern which exists with regard to the use of semantic differential measures is whether or not they meet the assumption of true bipolarity; if they do not, the use of interval-scale statistical analyses may distort data-analytic results and produce artifactual findings. This paper presents two tests examining the psychological midpoints of the 18 bipolar adjective pairs that make up the most current version of Fiedler's Least Preferred Coworker (LPC) instrument. In the weaker test, 131 subjects assessed scale midpoints by bisecting 18 five-inch lines which were anchored at their ends by Fiedler's adjective pairs. The results indicated that there were nonsignificant differences between the true scale midpoints and the midpoints identified by the subjects. In the stronger test, the adjectives were presented in three sets and the same 131 subjects ranked them based on the favorableness of each as an interpersonal descriptor. Using paired comparison treatment of the rank data (under Thurstone's Case III), the investigators found that six of the LPC adjective pairs deviated significantly from true bipolarity. Implications for future LPC use and for future research are considered.

Sex Differences in the Relationship Between Self-Monitoring and Leader Behavior

A laboratory study and afield survey found that Snyder's Self-Monitoring Test was significantly correlated with task-oriented leadership behavior (including Fiedler's Least Preferred Coworker Scale) only for female group leaders. There were no significant correlations between self-monitoring and social-emotional behavior of either male or female group leaders in either study. It was suggested that self- monitoring ability should enhance the enactment of nontraditional roles as in the case of women in leadership roles. Implications for self-monitoring and leadership training in groups are discussed.

Leader orientation and organizational transience: An investigation using Fiedler's LPC Scale

In spite of the increased interest in the role of situational factors as moderators of leader orientation‐performance relationships, the possible role of organizational transience as a mediating variable has been ignored. The authors used Fiedler's Least Preferred Co‐worker (LPC) Scale in a study of 39 construction site managers. It was found that these managers have a stronger task orientation than other occupational groups who are typically located in relatively permanent organizations. The degree of transience of construction sites (i.e. the length of projects) moderated the LPC‐performance relationship.

On Some Psychometric Properties of Fiedler's Contingency Model of Leadership

Afactor analysis of Fiedler's Least Preferred Co- Worker (LPC) Scale and measure of situational control produced eight factors: (1) emotional stability, (2) dependability and surgency in the LPC, (3) leader/member relations, (4) goal clarity, (5) decision verifiability, (6) solution multiplicity, (7) training and experience, and (8) power of sanction in the situational control measure. Several factors failed to demonstrate internal consistency upon replication. It is argued that the LPC and situational control measure are more complex than generally assumed. Further attention to the operational measurement of Fiedler's constructs is suggested as an initial first step toward testing the Contingency Model of Leadership.

Experimental Examination of the Contingency Model and the Leader-Environment-Follower Interaction Theory of Leadership

The intent of this paper was to examine basic hypotheses of Fiedler's contingency theory concerning the relationship of situational variables with the effectiveness of leadership styles. The paper also examines the content validity of the LPC scale. In addition the paper tests the basic position of the Leader-Environment-Follower Interaction (LEFI) Theory that leaders' facilitation of followers' ability, goals, role perception, and environment yields increased performance. The subjects included 107 female and 149 male students from introductory classes in management. 64 were selected as leaders and were trained to behave in a manner designed to vary the LEFI Theory variables. An assembly-simulation task was performed by the followers. Fiedler's Least Preferred Co-worker (LPC) scores and his measures of situational variables were completed by the leader at the conclusion of the session. The LPC scores correlated with followers' performance in the direction opposite that predicted by Fiedler. Situational effects were not statistically significant. The LEFI Theory positions were supported by an analysis of variance. These variables accounted for 54% of the variance in followers' performance.

Predictive and Perceived Empathy as Predictors of Leadership Style

Research on leadership has suggested a possible relationship between style of leadership and being able to understand the viewpoints of others. The present investigation sought to determine the relationship between two measures of empathy and style of leadership. 127 undergraduate students, participating in small groups, were given Hobart and Fahlberg's predictive empathy measure, Barrett-Lennard's Relationship Inventory (perceived empathy), and Fiedler's Least Preferred Co-worker Scale (leadership style). A multiple regression analysis indicated that predictive empathy was a significant but moderate predictor of style while perceived empathy was not a significant predictor. The results were discussed in terms of future research and theory building.

Leader LPC and follower satisfaction: A review

Research relating follower satisfaction to the leader's score on Fiedler's Least Preferred Co-Worker (LPC) scale was reviewed. Available data suggest that contingency model research using follower satisfaction as a measure of leadership effectiveness yields results with a level of orderliness and replicability quite comparable to the group task performance measures usually considered by the model. The motivational hierarchy and value-attitude interpretations of LPC were considered as alternative explanations for this pattern of results. The implications of including follower satisfaction as a second measure of leadership effectiveness within the contingency model framework was discussed in terms of both theoretical extensions and organizational practices based on the theory.

Least Preferred Co-Worker Score as a Measure of Cognitive Complexity

To test the assertion by Foa, Mitchell, and Fiedler (1971) and by Mitchell (1970) that Fiedler's Least Preferred Co-worker scale measures cognitive complexity, questionnaires from 357 subjects were subjected to the complexity analysis of Foa, et al. (1971). The perceptions of high scorers were not more complex than those of low scorers. Self-ratings of effectiveness of performance of 88 leaders of small groups were correlated with the ratings of their 269 subordinates. Self-assessments of high scoring leaders were not more accurate than those of low scoring leaders. Results seem to question cognitive complexity as an interpretation of scores on the Least Preferred Co-worker scale. In a second analysis, the variance score of the questionnaire, another measure of cognitive complexity (Evans & Dermer, 1974), showed subjects with high variance held more complex perceptions of their least preferred co-workers and made more accurate assessments of their own performance than did subjects with low variance.

Construct validity of the least preferred co-worker score.

Twenty-five years of research using Fiedler's Least Preferred Co-Worker (LPC) Scale is reviewed in order to develop the nomological network defining the construct space of LPC. Four general categories of research are reviewed: (a) attitudes held by high- and low-LPC persons, (b) observable behaviors engaged in by high- and low-LPC persons, (c) reactions of other group members to high- and low-LPC persons, and (d) determinants of responses to the LPC scale. Data concerning the relationship between leader LPC and either group performance or follower satisfaction are not reviewed; such data are thought to provide little insight into the LPC construct itself, despite their importance to the contingency model. The review provides extensive documentation for Fiedler's often repeated proposition that low-LPC persons are task oriented and high-LPC persons are relationship oriented. A value-attitude interpretation of LPC is offered as a vehicle to interpret this task-interpersonal distinction. The value-attitude interpretation is explicitly compared with previous efforts to interpret LPC.

Comparison of Task- and Relation-Oriented Individuals' Ability to Perceive Viewpoints of others

Undergraduate education students (28 males, 104 females) were administered Fiedler's Least Preferred Co-worker Scale. Those who scored greater than = ½ SD from the mean were administered a modified version of Laurendeau and Pinard's Coordination of Perspectives Test, a measure of perception of viewpoints of others in respect to the arrangement of objects. That high scoring subjects perceive the viewpoints of others more accurately than low scoring subjects was supported.

An intergrative factor analysis of leadership measures and theories.

Since the instruments for measuring most of the current leadership models have never been reconciled, it is important that the relationships between them be clearly understood before assumptions of similarity are made. A sample of 103 male working students were given a battery of tests measuring leadership orientations. The tests included role preference and role pressure measures from Sweney's Response to Power Model, the California F Scale, Fiedler's Least Preferred Co-Worker Scale and Assumed Similarity Between Opposites Scale, Costley and Downey's six scales to measure McGregor's "Theory X" and "Theory Y" constructs, modified scales for the Blake and Mouton Managerial Grid, and relevant scales from the 16 PF. The results were intercorrelated and yielded 11 varimax factors based upon a Guttman criterion, as follows: Authoritarian Role Preferance, Authoritarian Role Pressure, Equalitarian Role Preferance, Equalitarian Role Pressure, Balanced Manager, People Oriented Manager, Assumed Similarity Between Opposites, Contemptuous Indulgence, Supportive Values, People Tolerance, and Organizational Tolerance. The instruments measuring authoritarianism loaded the first factor in the right direction, but most of them had their primary loadings elsewhere, suggesting greater conceptual complexity to this area than previously recognized.

Leadership-Style Effects at Two Managerial Levels in a Simulated Organization

A laboratory experiment investigated leadership-style effects of two management levels on team performance and various measures of satisfaction. Twenty-six teams, each headed by an executive, performed a complex problemsolving task. Each team had two interdependent sections, each with a manager and two subordinates. The teams were grouped into four executive-manager leadership-style combinations according to Fiedler's Least Preferred Coworker scale. Criteria were compared for each combination as well as for executive leadership alone and manager leadership alone. The additive combination of executive-manager leadership style predicted performance, but not satisfaction significantly better than either leadership measure alone although executive leadership style was itself significantly related to performance

Leadership style and role differentiation as determinants of group effectiveness.

All-male and all-female groups discussed a case history and provided a statement of their analysis of the case The relationship between leadership style, as measured by Fiedler's Least Preferred Co-worker (LPC) instrument, and task effectiveness (quality of the statement) was investigated for both the top task contributor and the best-liked member of the group LPC of the top task contributor did not relate to task effectiveness. In the role-differentiated groups, LPC of the best-liked member related positively to task effectiveness in the male groups (p < .05) and negatively in the female groups (p < .01) For the male groups, questionnaire data were consistent with the interpretation that the relationship between LPC of the best-liked member and task effectiveness was mediated by the ability of the high-LPC best-liked member to reduce interpersonal tension that interfered with task effectiveness. LPC of die best-liked member of the female groups was related to intermember attraction LPC did not affect role recruitment.

The Effect of Leadership Style Upon the Performance and Adjustment of Volunteer Teams Operating in Stressful Foreign Environment

Abstract : This study considered the joint effects of leadership style and environmental stress upon group performance and individual adjustment in small volunteer groups. These groups performed public health and community development work in small isolated villages in Central America. Fiedler's Least Preferred Coworker scale (LPC) was used as a measure of leadership style while performance and adjustment measures were obtained from a number of questionnaires and rating scales. Results showed that the task-oriented, low LPC leaders were more effective in the favorable and very unfavorable situations, whereas the person-oriented high LPC leaders were more effective in situations of intermediate favorableness. In villages where the external stress was minimal, the task-oriented (low LPC) leaders had groups which were relatively better adjusted than groups having relationship-oriented (high LPC) leaders. However, in villages where external stress was high, this relationship between leadership style and group adjustment was reversed. Under conditions of high stress, relationship-oriented leaders had groups which were relatively better adjusted.

Field independence, achievement values and the evaluation of a competency related dimension on the least preferred co-worker (LPC) measure.

The purpose of the study was to investigate personality correlates of Fiedler's Least Preferred Co-worker Scale (LPC), which has been found to be predictive of leadership effectiveness. The independent variables were several measures of psychological differentiation (field dependence-independence) and a measure of achievement versus affiliation orientation. The dependent variables were the LPC total score and several subscales derived from principal components analysis. As predicted, the results showed that for a sample of 55 male undergraduates those Ss who evaluated their least preferred co-worker relatively unfavorably on the Competence subscale of the LPC were field independent, masculine (the moderator variable), and achievement- rather than socio-emotionally oriented. As predicted, no relationships appeared for measures of field independence and the socio-emotional subscales of the LPC. The authors discuss the significance of the measures of field independence for leadership research.