Mary Parker Follett's Main Contributions to Management - Coursework Example

Mary Parker Follett's main contributions to management thought and practice; how do they relate to classical management theory and practice and how are they relevant to managers in contemporary organizations?” Introduction Mary Parker Follett was a consultant, a social worker, a speaker and a writer of various books on democracy, human interrelations as well as management. She was a political and a management theorist who introduced the concepts of authority and power, conflict resolution and the task of leadership. She has therefore been coined as the inventor of management. Though her work in management is somewhat not recognized by many scholars today, her contributions to the contemporary management practice have been so insidious that, Warren Bennis, a management theorist recognizes her as the inspiration behind all the modern ideas on leadership and management. This paper seeks to explore Mary Follett’s contributions to management theory and how they are influential to managers in the contemporary organizational settings. Workers as part of production Mary Parker believed that employees are not robots to be pushed around but are rather persons with values and believes. In her context she believed that employees in an organization should be incorporated as part of the mechanical and production system (Parker, 1984). They should not be taken just as resources to produce results and profits as such, but should be treated in a way to facilitate achievement of organizational goals. This belief is shared by the classical management theory put forward by Fredrick W. Taylor. Taylor supported scientific management theory in which he emphasized on increasing the effectiveness of employees by greatly enhancing their productivity to increase maximum benefit of employees or workers as a result of scientific management (VectorStudy, 2008). He advocated for the principle of scientifically selecting, training, fostering and cultivating workers to enhance their performance. Similarly, Henri Fayol argued in favor of Parker’s theory in one of his fourteen universal principles of organization; initiative, in which he argues that when employees are allowed to formulate and enforce planning, they would complete their tasks with lots of effort (VectorStudy, 2008). Consequently, Mary Parker has emphasized on the importance of workers in the organization. Mary Parker also believed that managers should be perceived as professionals and management as a profession just like other sectors such as medicine, engineering, etc. She insisted that when management is taken as a profession, it is easier to attain the set goals of an organization unlike when it is taken as a practice. This is also supported by Weber’s bureaucratic management characteristics of occupation orientation as he describes in organization structure. Mary Follett has been described as an Administrative Theorist in the Classical approach to management. However, others have viewed her as ahead of her time, and have even described her as "thoroughly modern". This is because Mary Parker widely advocated for ‘a pull’ rather than ‘a push’ approach towards motivating employees. Employee engagement is a concept that has been widely explored in the modern management theories. The basic idea of employee engagement is mainly through incorporating employees into the mechanical and production system of the organization. Employees become engaged when their managers give them room to or allow them to actively participate in making important decisions within the organization. Hence, the work of Mary Follett has contributed largely to development of the concept employee engagement. Nevertheless according to Max Weber’s classical bureaucratic management theory is emphasized which is contrary to Mary Parker’s ideas (VectorStudy, 2008). Consequently, Mary Parker claimed that, individuals working for an organization are far more important than the organization they are working for. Mary parker perceived employees as the greatest asset of the company and hence should be treated with lots of importance and dignity that they deserve (Sapru, 2006). Human resource managers should seek to attain better working conditions for their employees, better reward systems, motivational schemes, health and safety as well as security of the employees. The organization should spend limitlessly (financial, socially, legal, health, safety etc) on the employees’ welfare in order to achieve not only profits but also a satisfied workforce. Many organizations are using this trend in seeking high returns, employee retention, improved productivity as well as employee engagement thanks to the contributions of Mary Parker Follett. Employees feel motivated working for an organization that puts their needs prior the needs of the organization. This concept has been advocated for by many management theorist and various studies in management has sought to link this principles to organizational success where positive relations have been established. Leadership management Mary Parker helped differentiate between the ‘power with’ and’ power over’ forms of leadership. This is referred to as empowerment. She does not believe that power can be passed on to employees, but believes that employees can acquire power when given a chance to ‘nurture’ or ‘develop’ their own power. Power according to parker is ‘coactive’ (power with) and not ‘coercive’ (power over) (Sapru, 2006). This management and leadership principle focuses on the manager as a guide and not an instructor. He is mandated with the role of leading a team that is focused a common goal. In the context of Mary Parker, a manager should manage employees or workers through participation. The managers is an example to the workers and he or she is open to ideas of the employees are they are part of the organization. Mary Parker emphasized on the connections of management and workers. She perceives management and leadership in a holistic way, presaging contemporary systems approaches; she describes a leader as "someone who sees the whole rather than the particular."(Barbara, 1998). Max Weber’s classical management theory on the other hand sought to assert authority in the workplace. The bureaucratic model of organizational structure advocates for leadership with authority ‘power over’ (VectorStudy, 2008). Nevertheless, Parker’s theory of leadership has been very useful for contemporary managers. Management in an organization is designed mainly to achieve the goals of the company as well as meet the need of the employees. Today, many companies are seeking to work with highly motivated individuals who have also found satisfaction in their work. This form of achievement is obtained through a participative management principle coined by Mary Parker for over 80 years ago. Mary parker believed that, the manager or the Chief Executive Officer in an organization is a coordinator or an organizer of the skills of the employees. He is not an autocrat that expects his orders to be followed like in the political form of leadership. Hence, Mary Parker’s perception on leadership and management is entirely based on the principle of the manager as a motivator of employees towards achievement of a common organizational goal (Pauline, 2003). Giving employees’ power to influence decisions and execute various duties and responsibilities in the contemporary organizations has been utilized to achieve optimal results. In the most successful companies in the world, such as Apple Inc., Samsung electronics to mention but a few, such management ideology has been employed where employees are given the power to give their opinions and apply whatever approach they think will produce better results. Conflict resolution Mary parker is also known to contribute to conflict management in an organization. She was the very first to introduce the concept of conflict resolution. She believes that, integration is the best way to resolve a conflict (Domenec, 2007). Mary Parker believed that conflict is part and parcel of human nature. In an organization, conflict cannot be avoided. The way conflict is resolved is very important in helping people keep on track and achieve the set goals. In her speech, she compared conflict with friction between the road and the wheel which makes a car move and a violin which produces some sweet music from conflict. Thus, Parker believed that conflict can be integrated to produce a positive result rather than in destroying relations and affecting production. She devised three main conflict management principles which include domination, integration and compromise. Domination is a victory of one part over the other. It is the simplest and easiest ways of tackling a conflict and involves force just like in a war. Unfortunately it does not provide a long term solution to a conflict as it leaves open wounds that create further conflict. Compromise on the other hand entails the conflicting parties giving up a little to allow the activity disrupted by a conflict to continue. This is one way largely used to resolve conflict. This principle is applied by trade unions. Trade unionists usually ask for more than he really expects when bargaining for employees which allows for what is going to be lopped off during the negotiations. This ignorant of trade unionists of not knowing what they really want is a great barrier to achieving successful resolution of conflicts. The third method of resolving conflict that was highly advocated by Mary Parker is integration. In integration, the conflicting parties come into terms and incorporate the conflicting desires. This means that, a solution has been reached in which both parties are satisfied without giving up anything (Pauline, 2003). Mary Parker’s contribution to management of conflict is highly regarded and slowly gaining recognition in the contemporary organizations. She is today coined as the “mother of conflict resolution”. Such conflict resolution technique has been widely accepted in the business and the political world today. Conflicts have been known in the past to bring down big companies and there has been great need to look on more amicable ways of resolving conflicts. The integration processes of resolving conflict has proved a success in finding long term solutions to conflicts within the organization or outside the organization. Conclusion Mary Parker’s contribution to management is endless and is widely experienced in the modern world of management. Despite being sparsely referenced in management, Mary Parkers contributions have had a great influence more than 80 years when she coined them. The consultant, come an author and a social worker had wide knowledge in management and political leadership. Her contributions are varied including the perception of employees as part of a mechanical production; leadership in a more open manner (power with) and not autocratic (power over); perceiving management as a profession; and conflict resolution through integration. She also brought about the concept of ‘ethic’ even though she never mentioned it. This is evident in her arguments towards leadership, importance of employees in an organization and general well being of individuals over productivity. Her contributions have had great influence and will continue inspiring many leaders, managers as well as scholars in the management filed. References Barbara P. N. (1998). Mary Parker Follett: Prophet of Management edited by Pauline Graham Harvard Business Review issue no 2. available http://www.strategy-business.com/article/8566?gko=65d90 (Accessed March 23, 2012). Domenec M. (2007). Ethics in Management: Exploring the Contribution of Mary Parker Follett, International Journal of Public Administration, 30 (4): 1-17. Parker. L. (1984). Control in Organizational Life: The Contribution of Mary Parker Follett, The Academy of Management Review 9, (4): pp. 736-745. Pauline G. (2003). Mary Parker Follett Prophet of Management. New York: Beard Books. Sapru, R.K. (2006). Administrative Theories and Management Thought. New York: PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd. VectorStudy, (2008). Classical School: Management School. Available http://www.vectorstudy.com/management_schools/classical_school.htm (Accessed March 26, 2012). Read More