Likert’s Management System

Rensis Likert and his associates studied the patterns and styles of managers for three decades at the University of Michigan, USA, and identified a four-fold model of management systems.

The model was developed on the basis of a questionnaire administered to managers in over 200 organizations and research into the performance characteristics of different types of organizations.

The four systems of management system or the four leadership styles identified by Likert are:

1. System 1 - Exploitative Authoritative: Responsibility lies in the hands of the people at the upper echelons of the hierarchy. The superior has no trust and confidence in subordinates.

   The decisions are imposed on subordinates and they do not feel free at all to discuss things about the job with their superior. The teamwork or communication is very little and the motivation is based on threats.

2. System 2 - Benevolent Authoritative: The responsibility lies at the managerial levels but not at the lower levels of the organizational hierarchy. The superior has condescending confidence and trust in subordinates (master-servant relationship).

   Here again, the subordinates do not feel free to discuss things about the job with their superior. The teamwork or communication is very little and motivation is based on a system of rewards.

3. System 3 - Consultative: Responsibility is spread widely through the organizational hierarchy. The superior has substantial but not complete confidence in subordinates.

   Some amount of discussion about job related things takes place between the superior and subordinates. There is a fair amount of teamwork, and communication takes place vertically and horizontally. The motivation is based on rewards and involvement in the job.

4. System 4 - Participative: Responsibility for achieving the organizational goals is widespread throughout the organizational hierarchy.

   There is a high level of confidence that the superior has in his subordinates. There is a high level of teamwork, communication, and participation.

The nature of these four management systems has been described by Likert through a profile of organizational characteristics. In this profile, the four management systems have been compared with one another on the basis of certain organizational variables which are:

• Leadership processes
• Motivational forces
• Communication process
• Interaction-influence process
• Decision-making process
• Goal-setting or ordering
• Control processes

On the basis of this profile, Likert administered a questionnaire to several employees belonging to different organizations and from different managerial positions (both line and staff).

His studies confirmed that the departments or units employing management practices within Systems 1 and 2 were the least productive, and the departments or units employing management practices within Systems 3 and 4 were the most productive.

Advantages of Likert’s Management System

With the help of the profile developed by Likert, it became possible to quantify the results of the work done in the field of group dynamics.

Likert theory also facilitated the measurement of the “soft” areas of management, such as trust and communication.

Conclusion

According to Rensis Likert, the nearer the behavioral characteristics of an organization approach System 4 (Participative), the more likely this will lead to long-term improvement in staff turnover and high productivity, low scrap, low costs, and high earnings if an organization wants to achieve optimum effectiveness, then the ideal system

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