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The factor structure, alternative scoring procedures, and reliability of the LPC scale are reviewed. Discussion and specific suggestions for future use of the LPC scale center on four issues: stability and change of LPC, role of item content, use of middle-LPC respondents, and stereotypic responses to the LPC scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evaluates the research on follower satisfaction based on the score of the leader on the least preferred co-worker (LPC) scale of Fiedler. Measurement of leadership effectiveness; Application of the hierarchy and value-attitude interpretations of LPC; Impact of follower satisfaction on leadership effectiveness.

Discusses the impact of leader sex roles and follower attitudes toward women on group performance and group member perceptions. Use of Post-task questionnaire in determining leader behavior; Determinant of group process; Empirical criteria of effective leadership.

After briefly discussing the prominence, basic substance, and history of Fiedler's contingency model of leadership effectiveness, four issues crucial to the current status and future development of the model were considered: (a) the form of the contingent relationship actually constituting the model; (b) the need for direct measurement of situational favorableness; (c) the problem of classifying results from evidential validation studies; and (d) the need for process measurement in studies evaluating organizational applications of the model. Conclusions were offered concerning the contribution already made by the contingency model to leadership research and key directions for future research involving the model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a laboratory study of 72 four-person ad-hoc groups of West Point cadets, the evidential validity of Fiedler's contingency model was tested for female and male leaders. For leaders of both sexes, the relationships between leader LPC scores and objective measures of group task performance were statistically significant in several cases. Difficulties in interpreting the degree to which these results support predictions of the model suggested the need to develop direct measures of situational favorableness. Such a measurement system would allow researchers to avoid reliance on assumptions that cannot be subjected to empirical verification. Conclusions called for further development of the contingency model for both female and male leaders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explored the meaning of Fiedler's (1967) LPC. scale through direct examination of respondents' reported experiences with their least preferred co-workers and reactions to the LPC scale. An in-depth interview focused on specific incidents in which the co-worker proved troublesome. An attitude-value perspective of the task versus interpersonal interpretation of the LPC provided a framework for content analysis of these data. The complexity of the link between attitudes and behavior is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ratings of leadership ability for 1096 male and 91 female cadets at the U.S. Military Academy (West Point) were examined for gender differences. Males were rated significantly higher than females for two of the three rating periods. Correlates of these ratings were examined in an effort to explore the meaning of such ratings for males and females. For both male and female cadets, situationally specific correlates of leadership ratings were identified. Physical ability and performance were most highly correlated with leadership ratings during summer training camp, while academic ability and performance were most highly correlated with these ratings during the academic year. These correlations were generally higher for females than for males. The value of such information to organizational newcomers and the means by which such information might be transmitted to them were discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Usable critical incident descriptions of leadership were collected from followers who were freshmen cadets in basic training (n = 400) at the U. S. Military Academy. A content analysis revealed several situational and behavior categories, both typifying and discriminating between "good" and "bad" leadership descriptions. The most notable findings were (1) the concordance between results obtained from the critical incident technique and from rating scales of leadership, and (2) the high correspondence between behaviors identified in good leadership descriptions and lacking (or absent) in bad leadership descriptions. The results support the notion of setting specific leadership typologies; future research using this technique is also proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]