LIKERT'S TYPOLOGY OF MANAGEMENT STYLE

PROPONENT:
Rensis Likert

Born August 5, 1903, Cheyenne, Wyoming, U.S. – died September 3, 1981.

American social scientist who developed scales for attitude measurement and introduced the concept of participative management.

Dr. Rensis Likert has conducted much research on human behavior within organizations, particularly in industrial situations.

He asserts that to achieve maximum profitability, good labor relations and high productivity, every organization must make optimum use of their human assets.

DEFINITION OF TERMS

LEADERSHIP - the power or ability to lead other people

MANAGEMENT - act or skill of controlling and making decisions about a business, department, etc.

TYPES OF MANAGEMENT STYLES:

1. EXPLOITATIVE-AUTHORITATIVE

EXPLOITATIVE-AUTHORITATIVE

• management use fear and threats
• communication is downward
• superiors and subordinates are psychologically distant
• majority of decisions are made at the top
• 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.

2. BENEVOLENT – AUTHORITATIVE

management uses rewards

attitudes to superiors are servile; information flowing upward is restricted to "what superiors want to hear"

- strategy decisions are taken at the top of the organization.
- The teamwork or communication is very little.

- The superior has condescending confidence and trust in subordinates (master-servant relationship)

3. CONSULTATIVE

- management uses rewards and occasional punishment
- some involvement of subordinates is sought

- The superior has substantial but not complete confidence in subordinates
- communication is both up and down

- There is a fair amount of teamwork, and communication takes place vertically and horizontally.

4. PARTICIPATIVE / PARTICIPATIVE-GROUP

- communication is open
- subordinates and superiors are psychologically close

- use of group participation and involvement in setting high performance goals & improving work methods

- Responsibility for achieving the organizational goals is widespread throughout the organizational hierarchy
- There is a high level of teamwork, communication, and participation.

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ADVANTAGES & DISADVANTAGES

- 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.

PARTICIPANT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
- The research focus of this theory is on small groups, yet the findings are applied to the total organization. Liker tans his associates felt the need for clarity in role definitions , but simultaneously suggested, for example, cross-functional teams and matrix departmentalization, which usually INCREASE ROLE CONFLICT and UNCERTAINTY.

HUMAN ASSET ACCOUNTING
- Likert has suggested methods for measuring the value of the human assets of an enterprise but it is DIFFICULT TO DO SO. There is little evidence that this has been done with an agreeable degree of credibility. There is conflict among management experts, between the proponents of human resource accounting and the financial people who have to develop the system for measuring the human assets.

MEASURING VARIABLES
- While Likert has developed a means of measuring the participative group management under System 4, the measurement is still rather CRUDE, and much more empirical research is needed to verify its utility.

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