Contingency Theory of Management (CTM) has been used in multiple research approaches, both qualitatively and in mixed methods approach to help in understanding leadership situations and interactions between managers and employees— employers and employees. Applying the contingency theory of management requires managers to stay alert and avoid relying on rules, policies and tradition as the only guides for their choices. To improve productivity and employee morale, managers must understand the importance of contingency theory and its positive implications at the workplace. It is especially true according to Lorsch (2010) to think a manager could use the same style and decisions over and over again in different situations without expecting the same outcome? Or without realizing that a situation today could be a lot dissimilar from the past situation? Using a contingency management style, managers can respond to the causes of individual problems rather than overreacting to the problem itself. Instead of focusing on the results of the problem, managers who understand the importance of contingency theory will seek to understand all of the influences that led to the problem. For example, a warehouse manager dealing with the problem of decreasing efficiency as it relates to loading and unloading goods may look closer and realize that the lack of proper ventilation is causing warehouse workers to tire quickly and need to take frequent breaks. Had the manager simply relied on motivation theories as an automatic response to productivity problems, he might not have missed the real culprit for the decrease in production.
Lorsch, J. (2010). A contingency theory of leadership. In N. Nohria & R. Khurana (Eds.), Handbook of leadership theory and practice: A HBS centennial colloquium on advancing leadership (pp. 411–432). Boston, MA: Harvard Business School. Retrieved March 22, 2015, from http://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cb/pl/19338696/19347523/d1e7950e904387ccf7537a0dec8066f7
