Likert's Management System

INTRODUCTION

Management has many different approaches within the organization. Rensis Likert proposed that Management styles could be classified into one of four different systems:

System 1 - "Exploitive Authoritative"

System 2 - "Benevolent Authoritative"

System 3 - "Consultative"

System 4 - "Participative Group"

LITERATURE REVIEW

Likert's first book about management styles, New patterns of management, was written in 1961. Likert talks about the authoritative form of organization which has decision making from the top, and the participative form of organization which has decision making widely throughout the organization.

Likert wrote another book in 1967, titled, "The human organization. In this book Likert changed the names of the four styles, --Exploitive authoritative, benevolent authoritative, Consultative, and Participative group - to System 1, System 2, System 3, and System 4.

System 4 is the ideal management style, in which Likert wrote a substantial amount to back this up. He believes that the superior/subordinate relationship is extremely crucial. In proving his ideal management style as System 4, he touched upon some of the following topics:

(1) The use by the manager of the principle of supportive relationships.

(2) His use of group decision-making and group methods of supervision.

(3) His high performance goals for the organization.

Likert wrote System 1, System 2, and System 3, the other Management styles - in the form of disadvantages.

Some managers in Likert's research felt that a manager should move toward System 4 after he has achieved high levels of productivity. "They feel that the way to move from low to high productivity is to use a management system well toward the left (e.g., System 1 or 2) and move toward System 4 only after high productivity is achieved " Research results show that...