A theory that presupposes that there is no theory or method for operating a business that can be applied in all instances.
(of organizational structure and behavior) regards the design of an effective organization as necessarily having to be adapted to cope with the 'contingencies' which derive from the circumstances of environment, technology, scale, resources and other factors." (Child/Ranson et al.)
this principle examines the fit between the leader and the situation and provides guidelines for managers to achieve an effective fit (also known as situational theory).
the next major school of thought after classical theory to focus on the issue of organization structure. Suggested that appropriate structures are ‘contingent' on a variety of contextual factors, like size, technology, and environment.
A theoretical framework for understanding the structures and practices of police organizations based on the underlying premise that these organizations are created and structured to achieve specific goals, such as crime control, and will ultimately fail if unable to adjust to environmental contingencies.
Contingency theory holds that organizations are fully effective only when their internal structures, procedures and cultures are suited to the contingencies or circumstances they encounter. Organizations are shaped by contingencies, because they need to adapt to them in order to avoid loss of performance. In other words, contingencies determine organizational characteristics. Contingency theory is particularly concerned with the stability of organizations’ markets, their technological environments, their size and their strategy (Donaldson 2001) Sections 6.1, 6.2
Contingency theory refers to any of a number of management theories. Several contingency approaches were developed concurrently in the late 1960s.