Mary Parker Follett: Management as a Collaborative Value
Background:
- Graduated from Radcliffe (Harvard's
women's college) summa cum laude in 1898. Authored major
work in political science (1909)
- Early work included involvement with
community social programs - developed philosophy of
integrating individual desires/interests with the
collective, wider organization, through participatory
democracy. This philosophy was expressed in The New State
(1918)
- Creative
Experience (1924) attracted a large business
audience because it provided a progressive view of
managing the firm in a democratic nation.
Major views:
- Organizations are an interdependence
of people.
- People have individual interests but
also share common goals which should be the basis of
conflict resolution.
- Use of power or coercion creates
conflict. People will defer to the facts of a situation
for authority.
Contribution to contemporary management
thinking:
- collaborative leadership
- conflict resolution
- worker empowerment
- self-managed teams
- the value of inclusivity and
diversity
- corporate social responsibility.
