Topic 1 Mary Parker Follett Has Been Described by...

Topic 1: Mary Parker Follett has been described by Schermerhorn et al. (2011) as an Administrative Theorist within the Classical approach to management. However, others have seen her as ahead of her time, and have even described her as thoroughly modern (Hurst, 1992).What were Mary Parker Follett s main contributions to management thought and practice; how do they relate to Classical management theory; and how are they relevant to practicing managers in contemporary organisations? ‘Classical approach to management mainly concerned with the increasing the efficiency of workers and organisations based on management practices, which were an outcome of careful observation. Besides, administration principles are based on attempts to†¦show more content†¦In other words power should be jointly developed between management and employees and not employed in a coercive way by management. Power is one of the problems in organisation. Follett said that ‘the question of power was the central problem of social relations’ (Follett, 1930, p.12). She did not think that power can be deputed but she believed in giving employees opportunities to gain his or her own power. Follett was only interested in studying how an organisation will give power while the others had been paid attention to the division of power and how to achieve it. She said: ‘So far as my observation has gone, it seems to me that whereas power usually means power-over, the po wer of some person or group over some other person or group, it is possible to develop the conception of power-with’ (Follett, 1940, p.101). Follett announced that only ‘power-with’ was acceptable. She explained this: â€Å"True power then is ‘power-with’ another, not ‘power-other’ another. Until everyone within an organisation realises that they are bound together, each will see only their own situation. â€Å"Power with† can only come from obedience to a single, shared situation(Dynamic Administration (DA), 1965, p.100). Perhaps this is why managers in the 1970s seemed so powerless to implement their strategies. They had ‘power over’ – but the strategies themselves did not generate ‘power with’.(Mary Parker Follett, 1930) ‘Follett’s writings are probably most relevant to us