Jim is the daytime supervisor for an automobile assembly line. He supervises 45 people who perform relatively routine jobs that require minimal training. The shop is unionized, so Jim has little latitude when it comes to dismissing poor performers. However, he does have the authority to transfer employees and has been known to reassign poor performers to less desirable jobs on the assembly line. Jim has a reputation for only transferring employees with just cause, and generally is viewed as a fair supervisor by his employees. Although he would like greater autonomy to determine salaries, Jim generally divides bonuses and raises equally among his employees. To do otherwise would likely create conflict with union members and representatives. According to Fiedler’s model, what would the task structure of Jim’s employees be considered?

Fiedler’s model that is referred to here, refers to Fiedler’s contingency model, which classifies leadership styles according to several variables. These variables are task structures, leader-member relations, and leader position power. Each of these variables, when combined, create a unique leadership style that a person should use when faced with these situations.

In the case of Jim, it is clear that his employees’ work is highly structured, since they work in an assembly line, and thus each person has clearly defined roles and responsibilities, as well as output that they have to reach.