Final answer:
Fiedler determined the effectiveness of a situation by analyzing the contingency between the leader's style and the situational favorableness.
Step-by-step explanation:
According to Fiedler, the effectiveness of a situation can be determined by examining the contingency between the leader's style and the situational favorableness.
Fiedler introduced the concept of the Least Preferred Co-worker (LPC) scale to measure a leader's style. The LPC scale assesses whether a leader describes their least preferred co-worker in positive or negative terms. If a leader describes their least preferred co-worker positively, they have a relationship-oriented leadership style.
If a leader describes their least preferred co-worker negatively, they have a task-oriented leadership style. The situational favorableness is determined by three factors: leader-member relations, task structure, and positional power.
Situations are considered more favorable when leader-member relations are good, tasks are structured, and the leader has strong positional power. By analyzing the contingency between the leader's style (relationship-oriented or task-oriented) and the situational favorableness, Fiedler's model determines the effectiveness of a situation.