Likert Leadership Style

Likert Life …
• He was born in Cheyenne, Wyoming in 1903, where his father was an
engineer with the Union Pacific Railroad. After training to be an
engineer, he was working as an intern with Union Pacific Railroad
during the watershed 1922 strike. The lack of communication between
the two parties made a profound impression on him and caused him to
study organizations and their behaviour for the rest of his life.
• Rensis Likert received his B.A. in Sociology from the University of
Michigan in 1926. His early grounding in these fields was the basis for
much of Likert's work. The field of sociology in the 1920s was highly
experimental and incorporated many aspects of modern psychology. In
1932 he received his Ph.D in psychology from Columbia University.
For his thesis work, Likert produced a survey scale (Likert Scales) as a
means of measuring attitudes, showing that it captured more
information than competing methods. The 1-5 Likert Scales would
eventually become Likert's best-known work
Likert Grid
 Likert Grid
• a.      System 1: exploitative-authoritative system. Under this system the 
executive manages with an iron hand. Decisions are made by the 
executive, with no use of feedback. 

• b.     System 2: benevolent authoritative leadership, is similar to system 1, 
except that the manager is sensitive to the needs of the worker. 

• c.      System 3: consultative system in which authority figures still 
maintain control, but they seek consultation from below. 

• d.     System 4: participative management, allows the worker to participate 
fully in decision making. According to Likert, system 4 leads to high 
performance and an increased sense of responsibility and motivation
 Conclusion
• Rensis Likert and its group of
collaborator, reached the conclusion
that the most efficient system was the 4.
You criticize them to this system are
based, on the one hand, in the fact that
the studies normally take small groups,
but not to all the company and, by
another one, in the fact that they have
been made in moments of prosperity.