What is the Contingency Approach?
The contingency approach, otherwise known as the situational approach, asserts that there is not a single management style that is perfect for all organizations. Rather, it claims that each corporation will have to find what suits them best by evaluating the external and internal needs of their organization.
The Basic Idea
“It depends.” It can be pretty frustrating when you’re seeking out an answer and you get the vague, seemingly non-answer of “it depends.” What’s worse is when the other person smiles as if their response was satisfactory!
Is there ever a time when “it depends” is the right answer? According to the contingency approach, yes! The contingency approach to management, also known as the situational approach, holds that there is no single, textbook rule for the best way to manage an organization.1 In each company’s case, the “best” approach will be contingent upon the company’s internal and external needs. Leaders who use the contingency approach are flexible when choosing strategies and adapting to new demands.
The best way to organize depends on the nature of the environment to which the organization must relate.
– Richard Scott, organizational sociologist and author of Organizations: Rational, Natural, and Open Systems
