Mary Parker Follett

From New World Encyclopedia
Revision as of 00:50, 13 September 2007 by AdminBot (talk | contribs) (Robot: Recategorize as Economists)



Mary Parker Follett (1868–1933) was an American social worker, consultant, and author of books on democracy, human relations, and management. She worked as a management and political theorist, introducing such phrases as "conflict resolution," "authority and power," and "the task of leadership."

Follett was born into an affluent Quaker family in Massachusetts and spent much of her early life there. In 1898 she graduated from Radcliffe College. Over the next three decades, she published several books, including:

  • The Speaker of the House of Representatives (1896)
  • The New State (1918)
  • Creative Experience (1924)
  • Dynamic Administration (1941) (this collection of speeches and short articles was published posthumously)

Follett suggested that organizations function on the principle of power "with" and not power "over." She recognized the holistic nature of community and advanced the idea of "reciprocal relationships" in understanding the dynamic aspects of the individual in relationship to others. Follett advocated the principle of integration, "power sharing." Her ideas on negotiation, power, and employee participation were influential in the development of organizational studies.

She was a pioneer of community centers.

External links


Credits

New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article in accordance with New World Encyclopedia standards. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. Credit is due under the terms of this license that can reference both the New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. To cite this article click here for a list of acceptable citing formats.The history of earlier contributions by wikipedians is accessible to researchers here:

The history of this article since it was imported to New World Encyclopedia:

Note: Some restrictions may apply to use of individual images which are separately licensed.