Rensis Likert was an American psychologist who contributed significantly to the field of organizational psychology. He is best known for developing the Likert scale, a method of measuring attitudes and opinions.
Rensis Likert was born in 1903 in Cheyenne, Wyoming, and completed his education at the University of Michigan. He went on to work at the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research, where he conducted extensive research on organizational behavior and management. Likert's studies focused on understanding the relationship between employee attitudes and organizational effectiveness.
Likert's most significant contribution was the development of the Likert scale. This scale consists of a series of statements with response options, ranging from strongly agree to strongly disagree. Individuals are asked to indicate their level of agreement or disagreement with each statement, providing a numerical score for each response. The Likert scale is widely used in research studies and surveys to measure attitudes, opinions, and perceptions.
Likert's research also led to the development of his management systems theory, which proposed four different management styles: exploitative-authoritative, benevolent-authoritative, consultative, and participative. He argued that the participative management style, where employees have a say in decision-making processes, leads to higher levels of job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and better overall performance.
Rensis Likert's work has had a lasting impact on the fields of organizational psychology and management. His Likert scale and management systems theory continue to be widely used and studied to understand and improve employee attitudes and organizational effectiveness.
