ABSTRACT
This chapter explains the circumstances leading to the conception of behavioral research and describes a socio-technical contingency model used in its undertaking. Leadership style, decision making, and participation are closely intertwined variables. According to the Human Resources Model, participation enables people to use their abilities and helps them to acquire new skills. Feedback loops reinforce skill utilization, and, via improvements in work effectiveness, lead to greater managerial confidence in the use of power-sharing decision methods. Power-sharing decision methods are seen as one way of liberating pent-up skill-motivation resources, but they have to be used situationally rather than universally. Contingency variables are listed separately in five groups called Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, and Omega. The overall conclusion is that leadership and decision-making behavior must be analyzed from a contingency rather than a universalistic perspective. Leadership style, decision making, and participation are closely intertwined variables.
