Search results

Coming from a long tradition of Quaker beliefs, Mary Parker Follett advocated for an integrative unity in the organization or state where members work together, consensus is built, and power is shared. She applied her process of integration to management practices in both business and government. Parker Follettʼns communitarian ideas and philosophy of smaller more participative government have often run counter to administration and managementsʼn focus on regulation and centralized power. This has contributed to the benign neglect of Parker Follettʼns work in the administrative and management literature. Parker Follettʼns work has been lost and found repeatedly over the past half century. In the rapidly changing and uncertain times of the new millennium we need once again to rediscover her holistic and healing approach to administration and management.

This paper proposes the use of the model of visionary leadership adapted by this researcher from Westley and Mintzberg’s 1989 paper “Visionary leadership and strategic management” to view the work of Mary Parker Follet. The model augments Westley and Mintzberg’s model with much earlier work by Mary Parker Follett. Follett’s work on leadership, group membership, contribution, participation and co‐operation are as relevant to the study of human relations today as they were 70 years ago. The model highlights the elements of visionary leadership and group membership. This model was developed to place a framework on the many writings of Follett. The framework is fully discussed and is based on some of the work of Westley and Mintzberg.

This paper aims to depict the pivotal roles played by Mary Parker Follett and Mary Barnett Gilson, as they uniquely contributed to early management thought, theory, and practice through “spirituality” despite the chauvinism of their day.

Synthesizing articles from history journals, writings about the figures of interest, annals, published works by the figures themselves, and other resources; this paper illustrates how the input of Follett and Gilson made distinctive and valuable contributions to the management field.

This research concludes that Follett and Gilson, although from the mid‐nineteenth to mid‐twentieth century, when men were dominant in any arena relating to management, were responsive to their “spiritual” insight despite its contrariness to the credence of their day. Consequently, they initiated an understanding that significantly impacted management theory and practice. Their perceptive revelations also led to changing mindsets and actions that influenced the wellbeing of organizations, as well as their employees.

During this era, although not widely publicized, the “weaker” sex did make its mark. This is the first paper to examine, from a “spiritual” viewpoint, the contributions of these members of the “weaker” sex to management history.

There is a divergence between the contributions of Mary Parker Follett on an intellectual plane and the practical application of her ideas and rationale. Apart from her unparagoned writing style, the obvious complexity of her abstract and interdisciplinary approach makes it extremely challenging to understand and apply her insights to achieve a harmonious organizational life. Yet, in her integrative mind, she viewed philosophy as directly related to action and reality. This paper reduces this divergence by translating her thoughts into practical guidelines for the manager, educator and researcher. The application of Follett's philosophy to a paradigm of lifelong learning and education, the key to lasting change (hitherto unexplored), is addressed, along with implications for the researcher. The purpose of this paper, therefore, is to view the work of Follett through a new lens – that of advocate of lifelong learning. Two appendices list Follett's contribution to management thought and education.

Mary Parker Follett was an outstanding public intellectual of her day, both in the US and the UK. We have a lot to learn from her about the ‘democratic deficit’, leadership, participation, partnership and difference, that is relevant to key current concerns in the UK. Her thinking was based on her own extensive experience, observation and reflection, her ideas are profound, relevant and accessible for us today. In this article we signal her continuing significance in three areas: building democratic processes, leadership and ideas about complexity.

Follett's relational process theory illuminates key aspects of interdependence among organizations in the field of education that are essential to fostering capacities for interorganizational resilience. The article argues for the necessity of developing mutualism in systems of education as essential preparation for times of instability and crisis, as demonstrated through recent experiences with the COVID-19 pandemic.

This article provides an introduction to the relational process theory of Mary Parker Follett, a foundational theorist of organizing and administration. This theoretical review uses worked examples drawn from a collaborative, continuous improvement partnership focused on educational leadership preparation and development.

The author identifies four aspects of Follett's theory that connect most directly to collaborative, continuous improvement partnerships. These include mutualism as circular response, coactive power, embrace of difference through constructive conflict and integrating experience through learning. The article discusses how these offer an integrated framework of foundational concepts for nurturing and sustaining educational systems capable of adaptive change in the face of complex challenges.

Follett's relational process theory offers a perspective on partnering as a dynamic and evolving constellation of interactions and activity. The implications of Follett's core ideas for education resonate beyond improvement partnerships and offer guidance at all levels of educational systems seeking to orient towards an evolutionary logic.

To examine Mary Parker Follett's writings with respect to organizational justice and highlight insights that can advance contemporary organizational justice theory as well as help justice scholars effectively address challenges currently facing the field.

By comparing and contrasting Follett's writings with contemporary research, the author argues that Follett provides a number of insights that can advance contemporary justice theory and research. Discusses ways in which the field can capitalize on these insights.

Follett foreshadowed a number of important justice issues that have subsequently captured the attention of contemporary justice scholars. More importantly, her process‐oriented perspective suggests a number of research avenues that have yet to be fully explored including emotionality of injustice, integrative unity, and circular responses. In order to take advantage of Follett's insights, however, contemporary justice researchers may need to re‐examine current assumptions about: the nature of organizational justice; the way that it should be studied; and the relationship between theory and practice.

This paper is the first to examine Follett's writings in the context of organizational justice. Although the field of organizational justice has not yet recognized Follett's work, her writings deal both explicitly and implicitly with the concept of justice in considerable depth. Not only does Follett foreshadow contemporary research, but her writings also provide alternative avenues for theory development and research.

This paper introduces and reviews current understanding of the empowerment construct, recognizing Mary Parker Follett’s contribution to this area. Common themes between the empowerment literature and Follett’s writing are identified with special emphasis placed on the “Empowerment Paradox.” The paradox is described and suggestions for how Follett’s writing can help inform us are included. The paper concludes with directions for future research.

Governance network managers are charged with triggering and sustaining collaborative dynamics, but often struggle to do so because they come from and interact with hierarchical and competitive organizations and systems. Thus, an important step toward effectively managing governance networks is to clarify collaborative dynamics. While the recently proposed collaborative governance regime (CGR) model provides a good start, it lacks both the conceptual clarity and parsimony needed in a useful analytical tool. This theoretical chapter uses the logic model framework to assess and reorganize the CGR model and then amends it using Follett’s theory of integrative process to provide a parsimonious understanding of collaborative dynamics, as opposed to authoritative coordination or negotiated cooperation. Uniquely, Follett draws from political and organizational theory practically grounded in the study of civic and business groups to frame the manner in which integrative process permeates collaboration. We argue that the disposition, style of relating, and mode of association in her integrative method foster collaborative dynamics while avoiding the counterproductive characteristics of hierarchy and competition. We develop an alternative logic model for studying collaborative dynamics that clarifies and defines these dynamics for future operationalization and empirical study.

This article aims to depict the pivotal role Octavia Hill, Jane Addams and Mary Parker Follett played in the field of social entrepreneurship. The article aims to examine the contributions made by these remarkable women who made valuable theoretical and practical contributions to the emerging field of social entrepreneurship.

Synthesizing articles from history journals, writings about the figures of interest, published works by the figures themselves and other resources, this paper illustrates how Hill, Addams and Follett made valuable contributions to social entrepreneurship and questioned the rectitude of unadulterated capitalism.

This paper concludes that Hill, Addams and Follett refuted the viewpoint that self-interest and single-minded self-survival were the best ways to live and to conduct business. By their actions, the women showed that they did indeed bring “capitalism in question”, by recognizing the importance of seeking others’ interests.

This article highlights the contributions made by Hill, Addams and Follett, who made valuable contributions in the field of social entrepreneurship which is made evident by their work with housing settlements, community center development, etc.